Does Interpersonal Trust Influence Organizational Behavior?

• Main Author: Aziz BAKAY
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ala-Too International University 2015-05-01
• Series: Eurasian Journal of Business and Economics
• Subjects: Interpersonal Trust; Organizational Behavior; Affective Commitment; Job Satisfaction; Turnover Intention; PLS based SEM
• Online Access: http://www.ejbe.org/EJBE2015Vol08No15p219BAKAY.pdf
• ISSN: 1694-5948; 1694-5972

This research investigates into interpersonal trust and workplace outcomes in organizations within social exchange perspective. Current study is building upon the theoretical underpinnings of trust studies that pose trust as a psychological state and a social glue. Current research develops a theoretical model of interpersonal trust presuming that different trust objects -namely peers and senior managementhave unique and direct effects on global workplace outcomes: Affective commitment, turnover intention, and job satisfaction. The data was collected via convenience sampling and data consists of 134 professionals working in Turkey. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using Partial Least Squares (PLS) is employed to test our model. Findings suggest that trust in peers and trust in senior management translate into higher affective commitment. Results indicate a positive association between job satisfaction and trust in senior management. Turnover intention however, did not significantly associate with any of the trust variables suggesting the difference between economic exchange and social exchange, which involves reciprocal behaviors. Simultaneous investigation of two trust objects in organizations as well as inclusion of variety of contextual factors bring rigor to the scope of the research and the explanations of workplace outcomes.