Managing trust in public organisations Concepts and contradictions Researcher: Peter Oomsels Promotor: Prof. Dr. Geert Bouckaert
Feb 23, 2016
Managing trust in public organisationsConcepts and contradictions
Researcher: Peter OomselsPromotor: Prof. Dr. Geert Bouckaert
This presentation
1. Trust research and public administration2. Objectives of our research3. Dimensions and logics of ‘administrational trust’4. Integration: a consolidated conceptual matrix5. Discussing contradictions: towards a theoretical model6. Conclusion: lessons for trust research7. Contact
1. Trust research and public administration• Surge in trust literature in the 1990’s and 2000’s.
– But largely decoupled and dispersed: a “conceptual morass”– Political science, economics, sociology, psychology
• Trust and public administration
• Central topic in Public Administration reform discourse– But not a central topic in Public Administration research
• Research in some journals– Mainly citizen trust in administration– Trust between organisations sometimes considered as a
variable in some research on governance and coordination.
1. Trust research and public administration
Trust in title RelevanceSocial sciences 8.506 Public administration (general) 320 Public Money Management 19 Trust funds and organisational trustPublic Administration review 18 Mainly citizen trust in governmentIRAS 15 Mainly citizen trust in governmentAdministration and Society 12 Both citizen trust in government and
organisational trustJournal of Social Policy 12 Mainly citizen trust in governmentLocal government studies 8 Trust between organisations, political trustJPART 7 Trust between organisations, citizen trust in
government
2. Objectives of our research
• Specific focus on “administrational” trust: trust of administrations
• Research question:How can trust play a role for public management?– How can we describe, map and assess administrational trust? – How does administrational trust interact with structures and
processes of governance? – How can we manage administrational trust?
2. Objectives of our research
• Specific focus on “administrational” trust: trust of administrations
• Research question:How can trust play a role for public management?– How can we describe, map and assess administrational trust? – How does administrational trust interact with structures and
processes of governance? – How can we manage administrational trust?
This paper
3. Dimensions and logics of administrational trust• Trust often operationalised as
– Expectation of trustworthiness: assessment of performance– Willingness to be vulnerable to other’s actions: passive trust
attitude– Cooperative behaviour: active trust behaviour
• But rarely used in combination in research:• Administrational trust:
– A ‘social fact’ characterised by organisational behaviour in a transaction, inspired by a willingness to accept vulnerability based upon positive expectations of an actor in the face of risk and uncertainty
3. Dimensions and logics of administrational trust• Three perspectives on the essential logic of trust
(Rousseau et al, 1998)– Calculus-based: Trust is a rational choice (f.i. Hardin 2002)– Relation-based: Trust goes beyond rationality (f.i. Brathwaite
and Levi 1998; Luhmann 1979, 1988)– Institution-based: “depersonalised” (f.i. Bachmann 2011,
Luhmann 1979, Cook 2005)
4. Integration: a consolidated conceptual matrix
Theoretical logics of trustInstitutional Calculus Relational
Operational dimensions of
trust
Performance Lambda Sigma ThetaAssessment
(Trustworthiness)Compliance
Ability Integrity and
benevolence
Attitude(‘Passive trust’)
Institution based
Calculus based Relation based
Behaviour(‘Active trust’)
Hierarchy-inspired
Market-inspired
Network-inspired
5. Discussing contradictions: towards a theoretical model• Logic of consequences or appropriateness? • Transformative but not deterministic: time + institutions• The eye of the beholder? Performance, trustworthiness
and trust• Results or processes?• Problems of causality Different implications for research and management of trust
6. Conclusion: lessons for trust research• Theoretical framework:
– Multidimensional and transformative framework – starting from action-centered institutionalist perspective – as starting point of analysis of administrational trust – to provide practically relevant insights for using trust as an
instrument for public sector governance – and overcome contradictions that appear in reform discourse.
• Research approach: Multi-method approach in order to examine causal mechanisms– Quantitative mapping: find relationships– Qualitative cases: examine causality
7. Contact
Peter [email protected]
Public Management InstituteKU Leuven
Funded by: Steunpunt Bestuurlijke Organisatie Vlaanderen