Trust in management: The effect of managerial trustworthy behavior and reciprocity

In this paper we study the antecedents of subordinates’ trust in their leaders (STL). In particular, we focus on the effects of managerial trustworthy behavior (MTB) and subordinates’ perceptions of leaders’ trust in them (LTS). We develop a scale of managerial trustworthy behavior following the typology proposed by Whitener, Brodt, Korsgaard and Werner (1998) that includes: behavioral consistency, behavioral integrity, sharing and delegation of control, communication, and demonstration of concern. A sample of 109 Spanish middle managers provided data for our study. The results of the hierarchical regression analysis show that both MTB and LTS have a significant relationship with STL. Further, we study the effect of reciprocity in the trusting relationship. We find that there are significant differences between subordinates’ trust in management and their perceptions about superiors’ trust in them.trust; leadership; reciprocity; social exchange;

Behavior and Organizational Change

Advanced societies produce open and international economies where competitiveness is a necessary requirement, although this in itself is not enough to guarantee sustained success. Social, political, and cultural complexities, along with increasingly greater social and collective needs, are another feature of the environment in question. Given this environment, companies and organizations in general have to maintain a high level of strategic tension and a significant capacity to adapt and be flexible when faced with different contingencies. Organizations must be driven by people who are committed to its goals, who actively participate in the management of labor processes, who have creative skills, and who are capable of getting along well with others and working as part of a team. Likewise, leaders must lean toward transformational or shared leadership, in which both the management and workers assume responsibility for growth. Cooperation between workers and managers is based on the experience that insofar as the company's goals are achieved, so will those of each individual person. To appreciate the change, it is important to understand organizational behavior, as there can be no sustainable organizational change without a change in people's behavior.This book was published with generous financial support from the Basque Government.Introduction: Sabino Ayestarán and Jon Barrutia Güenaga ? 1. Human Resources and Innovation: A Study of Practices Developed by Innovative Companies in the Basque Country by Ibon Zamanillo Elguezabal and Eva Velasco Balmaseda ? 2. Vectors of Organizational Change in European Union Company Law by Juan Pablo Landa and Igone Altzelai ? 3. Company Stakeholder Responsibility (CSR) by Jose Luis Retolaza, Leire San-Jose, and Andrés Araujo de la Mata ? 4. Origins and Development of Industrial Clusters in the Basque Country: Path-Dependency and Economic Evolution by Jesús María Valdaliso, Aitziber Elola, María Jose Aranguren, and Santiago López ? 5. A Systemic and Multilevel Approach to Organizational Analysis by Nekane Balluerka ? 6. How Do Cultural Changes Influence the Psychological Contract between Worker and Organization? by José Valencia Gárate ? 7. Leadership Conduct and Its Consequences for Organizations in the Basque Country by Juan Jose Arrospide, Daniel Hermosilla, Félix Yenes, and Iñigo Calvo ? 8. Emotional Intelligence and Innovation: An Exploratory Study in Organizational Settings by Aitor Aritzeta ? Index ? List of Contributor