A Comparative Empirical Analysis of Theoretical Formulations of Distrust

Abstract:     
Recently there has been a call for a better understanding of trust and distrust. This study examined the components of distrust. Content analysis was used to code the narratives of employees of a large paper-process organization. Separate content analyses examined two themes in the distrust literature: a) dimensions of distrust are opposite dimensions of trust, and b) distrust is a violation of trust. The findings demonstrate that dimensions of distrust that were opposite those of trust provided greater discrimination than treating distrust as a violation of trust, dimensions of distrust were rank-ordered differently than dimensions of trust, different features of distrust were identified with different targets of distrust, language intensity was not greater when targets of distrust were more upwardly distal in the organization, and different features and combinations of features elicited different levels of intensity.

Working Paper Series