Trust-mistrust as a design contingency: laboratory experimentation in a counterterrorism context

Abstract

Trust research assumes organizational managers ought to establish high levels of trust. Research also suggests trust is decreasing and therefor raises an important management dilemma. We study trust from a contingency theory framework and hypothesize that trust levels may vary depending on different organizational designs. Using the ELICIT multiplayer intelligence game we conduct laboratory experiments to examine the effect of trust levels and organizational design on performance. Results are mixed: trust and organizational design have strong interactions, and high levels of trust do not necessarily equate to good performance.