Trust in Virtual Teams: Towards an Integrative Model of Trust Formation

Abstract

Traditional models of trust have seen trust as being created as a result of a long history of interaction, but recent studies of trust in virtual teams have shown the existence of high initial trust among team members. This paper proposes an integrated model of trust that encompasses both the traditional view of trust and the swift trust found in virtual teams. Based on the dual process theories of cognition, we argue that individuals form trust attitudes via three distinct routes at different stages of a relationship: the peripheral route, the central route, and the habitual route, irrespective. In the initial stages of a relationship when individuals lack information about each other, they rely on peripheral cues (e.g., third party information, social categories, roles, and rules) to form trust. Once individuals have shared history and knowledge of the other party, they use the central route, which involves the assessment of the other party’s ability, integrity, and benevolence. Finally, after long periods of shared history in which the individuals develop a habitual pattern of trust, along with possible emotional bonds, they are no longer motivated to deliberately assess trust, and instead simply enact prior trust attitudes via the habitual route. The mediated communication environment predominantly used by virtual teams slows down the progression among the three routes, and increases perceived risk.