Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics
Papers in Innovation Studies,
Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research
No 2013/16: The spatiality of trust – Antecedents of trust and the role of face-to-face contacts
Magnus Nilsson () and Jannika Mattes ()
Additional contact information
Magnus Nilsson: CIRCLE, Lund University, Postal: CIRCLE, Lund University, PO Box 117, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden
Jannika Mattes: Institute for Social Sciences, CETRO, University of Oldenburg, Germany and CIRCLE, Lund University, Sweden
Abstract: In this paper we analyze how the spatiality of interactions influences trust creation in multi-site corporate innovation projects. By drawing on insights from the discussion on initial and gradual trust and connecting them to contributions from the field of economic geography, we examine different antecedents of trust and their dependence on face-to-face interaction. We thereby illustrate the complexity of initial and gradual trust creation and the interplay between personality traits, group-based similarities, situational and institutional factors, reputational inference, and personal interaction as trust antecedents. We can show that the speed and level of resilient trust creation is decisively influenced by the frequency and duration of face-to-face exchange between key project actors. The empirical insights are based on two qualitative case studies on specific innovation projects in multinational companies. Our findings stress the need to incorporate space as a facilitating factor in the analysis of trust development.
Keywords: Trust; spatiality; proximity; face-to-face; project work
32 pages, April 17, 2013
Full text files
201316_Nilsson_Mattes.pdf
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