Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-tj2md Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T06:31:58.917Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

13 - Toward a better understanding of public trust in business

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2014

By
Jared D. Harris ,
Andrew C. Wicks  and
Brian T. Moriarty
Edited by
Jared D. Harris ,
Brian Moriarty  and
Andrew C. Wicks
Jared D. Harris
Affiliation:
University of Virginia
Andrew C. Wicks
Affiliation:
University of Virginia
Brian T. Moriarty
Affiliation:
University of Virginia
Jared D. Harris
Affiliation:
University of Virginia
Brian Moriarty
Affiliation:
University of Virginia
Andrew C. Wicks
Affiliation:
University of Virginia
Get access

Summary

The research compiled in this volume, the consistently dismal poll results, and continued public interest in the role of business in society give rise to a number of opportunities to further improve our understanding of public trust in the institution of business. One of our primary objectives in commissioning these chapters was to stimulate further scholarly thinking and research on the subject of trust in the institution of business; as such, a number of questions offer potential avenues for additional analysis and inquiry.

Definition and antecedents

We need a better conceptual understanding of what constitutes “public trust” and how we might define it in terms that build on the existing literature and extend our theoretical understanding. Given the potential importance of trust in business as an institution, there is an opportunity for scholars to bring more precise understanding to what exactly respondents are talking about when they talk about public trust in business writ large. How much of one’s trust in business as an institution arises from one’s direct experiences with various specific businesses? How much is attributable to a particular stakeholder role or mindset? How is one’s generalized trust in business influenced by observations about others’ experiences, or the observed behavior of firms with which one has no direct experience? We need to better understand the drivers of trust in business as an institution. Several chapters in this volume begin to offer theory about how public trust is formed, but many questions remain.

Type
Chapter
Information
Public Trust in Business , pp. 361 - 368
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2014

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andersen, K. (2011), ‘The protester.’ Time, December 26, 53–89.
Appiah, K. (2008), Experiments in Ethics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Apps, P. (2011), ‘Wall Street action part of global Arab Spring?’ Reuters, October 11, 2011, retrieved November 24, 2011.
Ashforth, B. E. and Kreiner, G. E. (1999), ‘How can you do it: dirty work and the challenge of constructing a positive identity.’ Academy of Management Review, 24, 413–434.Google Scholar
Becker, B. (2011), ‘The Hill Poll: fears about income inequality grow.’ The Hill, October 31.
Bolton, R., Freeman, R. E., Harris, J. D., Moriarty, B., and Nash, L. (2009), The Dynamics of Public Trust in Business – Emerging Opportunities for Leaders, Charlottesville, VA: Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics, white paper.Google Scholar
Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethic (2004), Mapping the Terrain: Issues that Connect Business and Ethics, white paper.Google Scholar
Brossard, M. A. (1996), ‘Americans losing trust in each other and in institutions’, Washington Post, 28 and 29 January, A1.
Cavazos, D. E. and Rutherford, M. (2011), ‘Examining how media coverage impacts the regulatory notice and comment process.’ American Review of Public Administration, 41(6), 625–638.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deloitte (2011), A Risk Intelligent View of Reputation (white paper: Risk Intelligence Series, no. 22).Google Scholar
Economist (2012), ‘The never-ending crisis,’ (July 24).
Economist Intelligence Unit (2005), Reputation: Risk of Risks (white paper).Google Scholar
Fombrun, C. J. and Rindova, V. (1996) ‘Who’s tops and who decides? The social construction of corporate reputations,’ New York University, Stern School of Business, working paper.
Fukuyama, F. (1995), Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity, New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Gallup (2011), ‘Honesty/ethics in the professions.’ (Nov. 28–Dec. 1).
Gerzema, J. and Lebar, E. (2008), The Brand Bubble: The Looming Crisis in Brand Value and How to Avoid It. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Hargrave, T. (2009), ‘Moral imagination, collective action, and the achievement of moral outcomes.’ Business Ethics Quarterly, 19(1), 87–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, J. D. and Freeman, R. E. (2008), ‘The impossibility of the separation thesis.’ Business Ethics Quarterly, 18(4), 541–548.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hughes, E. C. (1958), Men and Their Work. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.Google Scholar
Mufson, S. and Vargas, T. (2010), ‘BP loses 15 percent of market value as US launches criminal probe of spill.’ Washington Post, June 2.
Ovide, S. (2011), ‘Billionaire tells Occupy Wall Street to get off his lawn.’ Wall Street Journal, October 11, retrieved October 23, 2011.
Parker, S. L. and Parker, G. R. (1993), ‘Why do we trust our congressman?’ Journal of Politics, 55(2), 442–453.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Porter, E. (2012), ‘The spreading scourge of corporate corruption.’ New York Times, July 10.
Searle, J. R. 1964. ‘How to derive “ought” from “is.”’ Philosophical Review, 73(1), 43–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Toobin, J. (2012), ‘Money unlimited.’ New Yorker, May 21.
Towers Perrin (2007–2008) Closing the Engagement Gap: A Road Map for Driving Superior Business Performancewhite paper.Google Scholar
Van de Ven, A. H. and Ring, P. S. (2006), ‘Relying on trust in cooperative inter-organizational relationships.’ In Bachmann, R. and Zaheer, A. (eds.), Handbook of Trust Research, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, p. 144.Google Scholar
Wicks, A. C., Berman, S., and Jones, T. (1999), ‘The structure of optimal trust: moral and strategic implications.’ Academy of Management Review, 24(1), 99–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×