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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
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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

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