Research On Development Model Of Vertical Trust And Its Effects Within Organizations

Organizations are facing sudden and changeful business environment, which need the swift development of trust relationship. Within the researches on trust in organizations, it is an obvious development trend to focus on active trust development. Active trust development is an effective strategy for intensifying trust. Therefore, neither organizations nor individuals should regard trust development as a passive process which accumulated slowly and gradually with the passage of time, but should accelerate trust evolution more quickly on their own initiatives. In order to promote the initiatives of individual and organization in improving organizational trust climate and taking active steps for driving active trust development, the present study explored the trust development within organizations in a dual view of individual's behavior characteristics and organizational risk controlling, and empirically tested the cross-level model of trust development in organizations via the integrated analysis of both individual- and organization-level. Moreover, the present research further examined the effects of vertical trust on individual behavioir in organizations. The main conclusions of the present research as following:(1)Leader's behavior characteristics for trust-development-oriented involve five factors, that is, coaching behavior, equity behavior, control sharing, integrity behavior, and leader competence behavior, while subordinate' behavior characteristics have four factors of discreet behavior, loyalty behavior, integrity behavior, and subordinate competence behavior. Different dimensions of individual's behavior characteristics had different effects on cognition-based trust and affect-based trust. Leader's equity behavior had strongest influence on cognition-based trust in leader, and coaching behavior had strongest effect on affect-based trust in leader. Subordinate competence behavior had strongest effect on cognition-based trust in subordinate, and loyalty behavior had strongest effect on affect-based trust in subordinate.(2)The analysis of main effect indicated, system control and organizational climate had positive and approximately the same magnitude influence on cognition-based and affect-based trust in leader. However, system control had stronger effect on cognition-based trust in subordinate than on affect-based trust in subordinate, while organizational climate had stronger influence on affect-based trust in subordinate than on cognition-based trust in subordinate. The analysis of moderating effects showed, system control would strengthen the relationship of control sharing and cognition-based trust in leader. Organizational climate would weaken the relationship of integrity behavior, leader competence behavior and cognition-based trust in leader. System control and organizational climate would weaken the relationship of equity behavior and affect-based trust in leader. For the development of trust in subordinate, system control would weaken the relationship of integrity behavior and cognition-based trust in subordinate, the relationship between subordinate competence behavior, discreet behavior and affect-based trust in subordinate. Organizational climate would also weaken the relationship of loyalty behavior and affect-based trust in subordinate.(3)Cognition-based trust and affect-based trust in subordinate had differentia effects on different dimensions of leader empowering behavior. Cognition-based trust in subordinate had positive and biggest influence on participative decision, while affect-based trust in subordinate had positive and biggest effect on coaching and informing. Leader's individual power distance and system control had significant moderating effects on cognition-based trust in subordinate and three dimensions of leader empowering behaviors. But only system control had significant moderating effect on affect-based trust in subordinate and three dimensions of empowering behavior.(4)Cognition-based and affect-based trust in leader had different influences on subordinate's behavior and performance. Compared to the cognition-based trust, affect-based trust in leader had larger effect on employee's behavior and performance. In addition, ability to focus acted as mediator variable in the relationship of cognition-based trust in leader and employee's task performance and organizational citizenship behavior, that is, cognition-based trust in leader showed influence on employee's task performance and organizational citizenship behavior via ability to focus. Affect-based trust in leader had directly and indirectly effect on employee's behavior and performance. On one hand, affect-based trust in leader affected directly employee's task performance and individual-oriented citizenship behavior. On the other hand, it had effect on employee's task performance and organizational citizenship behavior via affect commitment.At last, the whole dissertation was summarized, the shortage of the study and future direction of the research were produced.