Publication Type

Book Chapter

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

2010

Abstract

Does trust and its development, functions and meaning, differ between people from different national–societal cultures? There is considerable anecdotal evidence and some theoretical argumentation to suggest it does, but are these supported by empirical research? This chapter reviews the available empirical evidence on the effects of national–societal culture on interpersonal trust. It focuses largely on quantitative empirical evidence to consider the extent to which, and the ways in which, interpersonal trust differs across national–societal cultures. In every category of our review we found evidence of cross-cultural differences, particularly on generalized trust, and also evidence of trust universals across cultures. In evaluating these findings, we conclude that trust may operate as a variform universal and variform functional universal. We conclude with two proposed routes for future research, and implications for practice.

Keywords

Trust, cultures, work relations, empirical research, interpersonal trust, cultural differences

Discipline

Multicultural Psychology | Organizational Behavior and Theory

Research Areas

Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources

Publication

Organizational Trust: A Cultural Perspective

Editor

Saunders, M.; Skinner, D.; Dietz, G.; Gillespie, N.; and Lewicki, R. J.

First Page

42

Last Page

86

ISBN

9780521737791

Identifier

10.1017/CBO9780511763106.003

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

City or Country

Cambridge

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511763106.003

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