The faces of personal trust

Abstract

The representation of personal trust mobilized in the field of Trust Studies in management conditions an oriented reading of social relations. This trust is generally seen as a rational and positive relationship that provides multiple benefits. This established approach to trust only captures a fragmented reality of social relations. Thus, the critical approach proposes to go beyond this perspective. It then depicts a trust that is motivated by the rational pursuit of all its benefits, including those that rely on abuses of trust. The ethical and perverse approaches are two other approaches that help to overcome the exclusively rational vision of trust. These four forms are summarized in a typology. It facilitates a rigorous diagnosis of the relationships of trust at work in organizations.