Abstract
Research on inter-organizational trust to date has done little to elucidate the pivotal role of boundary spanners in trust building. Based on an institutionalization-of-trust perspective (Kroeger 2012, 2013), this chapter analyses how boundary role persons (BRP) build trust in transitory boundary systems and then translate interpersonal into inter-organizational trust through 'facework' (Giddens 1990). It describes how BRP link intra- to inter-organizational trust, as well as the potential conflicts which can arise from these processes, when inter- organizational trust clashes with intra-organizational suspicion or distrust. The conceptual model is fleshed out using data from a study of boundary-spanning behaviours in UK book publishing.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Boundary-Spanning in Organizations: Network, Influence, and Conflict. |
| Editors | Janice Langan-Fox, Cary L. Cooper |
| Publisher | Routledge |
| Pages | 253-84 |
| Number of pages | 32 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780203488058 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781138616882, 9780415628839 |
| Publication status | Published - 13 Aug 2013 |
Keywords
- trust
- Inter-organizational relations
- boundary spanners