Trust within organisations: a cross-cultural research on the role of character perception

Abstract

Previous research has demonstrated that employees’ trust in their manager is strongly influenced by their relationship with, and perceptions of, their manager. In this paper we draw on a convenience sample of survey data from ICT companies operating in three countries – namely Australia, Turkey and Ukraine (N=541). Furthermore, sub-components of trust and communication with the immediate manager mediate the relationship between perceptions of character and organisational outcomes. Overall, our findings create a new avenue for trust research by advancing the idea that perceptions of character are an important antecedent of workers’ trust in management.