The Crisis of Trust: Organizations under public scrutiny. (775334008Y)
All documents for this subject (2)
Seller
Follow
suhaniacharya1
Content preview
Week 1: Conceptualizing Trust
Background:
● There is a growing need for trust because society is becoming more dynamic,
uncertain, and chaotic.
● People need a sense of safety, hence, the need for trust is high.
● Society is built on trust.
○ Democracy would not exist if there was no trust.
● Organizations cannot fulfill their role (in society) without trust.
● But:
○ A growing level of distrust in Society:
■ Trust is NOT a given anymore
Trust:
● Is an interaction imperative => Necessary for interactions and communication.
● Greater trust is good for social relationships and for exchange.
● Globalized world => More generalized interpersonal trust is necessary.
● Elements of Trust:
○ A truster
○ A trustee
○ An expected behavior
● Importance of Trust:
○ Essential for institutions and the economy.
○ Trust in the economy: Improves economic processes; Low trust -> more
deviations -> ex: Mafia-like practices.
○ Necessary to build a civil society and a sustainable democracy.
○ Concepts related to organizational trust:
■ Legitimacy, reputation, credibility, ethics, compliance, etc
○ How do organizations gain trust?
■ STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION.
● Trust in Institutions = SOCIETAL EXPECTATIONS
Role of the Media in Trust/ Importance of the Media Environment:
● There is a strong link between media and political trust.
● Media are the window through which we understand the world around us.
● There are 2 ways to view media:
1. As an organization
, 2. As a platform
● Both are important for democracy
Crisis of Trust:
● Where multiple organizations are simultaneously no longer trusted to meet
expectations. A spiral of increased distrust and an information ecosystem challenged
by the constant fear of misinformation creates a downward trajectory that challenges
the functioning of organizations.
● Flew (2019):
○ indicates that there is a general crisis of trust that is underlying societal
challenges.
○ Factors underpinning the rise of populism:
1. Mediatization
2. Rise of Fake News:
a. Sometimes people have a lot of political and economic gains
from spreading fake news.
b. Social media acts as a catalyst for fake news.
3. Platformisation of the Internet and Rise of Social News:
a. Platformisation leads to a network monopoly => fewer voices
are heard..?
b. With the rise of social news -> more alternative/skeptical
sources (ex: conspiracy theorists) and partisan news is also
rising.
4. The Crisis of Institutional Trust:
a. Institutions failing societal expectations
b. Lower trust in Digital Platforms
● All of this leads to a SPIRAL OF DISTRUST.
● Conclusion: This crisis of trust creates a favourable environment for populist
movements.
● The Alarmed Citizen (Thorbjornsrud & Figenshou, 2022):
○ Alarmed citizens-> indication of the Crisis of Trust.
○ This is obviously not good because trust is a prerequisite for modern
democracies.
○ Media plays a role in this.
■ Media have a democratic role in keeping citizens informed.
■ Thus, there is a high level of dependency that involves the risk of being
misled.
■ Low trust in the media is associated with:
● Low political trust
● Rise of populist movements
● Anti-immigration attitudes
● Polarization
, ● Right-wing party identification
● Socio-demographics: Young, low income and education.
● CUMULATIVE RESULT: Use of ALTERNATIVE SOURCES
○ Characteristics of the Alarmed Citizens:
■ Low institutional and media trust
■ High in alertness and fear
■ Actively scrutinize institutions
■ Challenge the role of the established media as an authoritative expert.
■ More reliance on nonprofessional and alternative media.
● Issue with alternative media: They are often associated with
being hyper-partisan, manipulative and fake.
○ Conclusions:
■ Trust is not a given anymore.
■ Citizens are more critical and cynical.
■ More room for scrutinizing established institutions.
■ Expert institutes that used to be trusted, are now facing more
challenges to fulfill their societal role.
● Misinformation as a Context (Altay et al., 2023)
○ People are repeatedly warned about misinformation.
■ Leads to a LOT of FEAR.
● This, in turn, creates a context of distrust.
■ Thus, misinformation fear FEEDS the crisis of trust.
■
■ The study suggests that people are more likely to be uninformed than
misinformed, indicating a lack of trust in reliable sources.
■ Trust in the media is low, and trust in information encountered on
social media is even lower, contributing to the spread of
misinformation.
■ People deploy various strategies to detect and counter misinformation,
indicating a skeptical stance toward information sources.
, ■ The study highlights the need to focus on enhancing trust in reliable
sources as a priority over fostering distrust in unreliable sources.
■ Misinformation can exacerbate the crisis of trust by creating confusion
and eroding trust in reliable information.
Week 2: Introduction to Organizational (Dis)Trust
Defining and Distinguishing Trust and Distrust
Trust Distrust
Two Approaches can be used to define trust: Two approaches to define Distrust:
A. Intentions and Motives of the other A. Absence of Trust (so, exact opposite
party in social exchanges: of trust):
● Trust as “an individual’s ● Distrust as the opposite end
confidence about the good of the same conceptual
intentions of the other party continuum as trust.
and the belief that the other ● Trust and distrust are
party will behave as one considered perfect substitutes
hopes” and are mutually
B. Behavior or Conduct of the Other EXCLUSIVE.
Party: B. Distinct Expectations:
● Trust as “an individual’s a. Distrust as a “positive
optimistic expectations of the expectation of injurious
behaviors of another action” and trust as a positive
individual” expectation of a virtuous
But, balance is important/ already exists action.
when approaching trust. b. Trust as “confident positive
expectations regarding
another’s conduct and
distrust as confident negative
expectations regarding
another’s conduct.
c. Offers a more balanced
view..?
d. Ex: You can trust a brand for
the quality of their products,
but not for their compliance
to CSR standards.
Related to: Related to:
● Positive attributes ● Negative attributes
● Openness ● Agent pursues self-interest with
● Competence guile.
● Reliance on the predictability of ● Discredibility
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller suhaniacharya1. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $8.34. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.