Numerous researchers have proposed that trust is essential for understanding interpersonal and group behavior, managerial effectiveness, economic exchange and social or political stability, yet according to a majority of these scholars, this concept has never been precisely defined. This article reviews definitions from various approaches within organizational theory, examines the consistencies and differences, and proposes that trust is based upon an underlying assumption of an implicit moral duty. This moral duty—an anomaly in much of organizational theory—has made a precise definition problematic. Trust also is examined from philosophical ethics, and a synthesis of the organizational and philosophical definitions that emphasizes an explicit sense of moral duty and is based upon accepted ethical principles of analysis is proposed. This new definition has the potential to combine research from the two fields of study in important areas of inquiry.

Trust: the connecting link between organizational theory and philosophical ethics

Charismatic leadership has been largely overlooked by organizational theorists. In part, the problem can be attributed to the lack of a systematic conceptual framework Drawing from political science, sociology, and social psychology, this paper addresses the problem by proposing a model linking organizational contexts to charismatic leadership. A series of research hypotheses is offered.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/258069.pdf

Toward a Behavioral Theory of Charismatic Leadership in Organizational Settings

Despite the wide use of reputational mechanisms such as eBay's Feedback Forum to promote trust, empirical studies have shown conflicting results as to whether online feedback mechanisms induce trust and lead to higher auction prices. This study examines the extent to which trust can be induced by proper feedback mechanisms in electronic markets, and how some risk factors play a role in trust formation. Drawing from economic, sociological, and marketing theories and using data from both an online experiment and an online auction market, we demonstrate that appropriate feedback mechanisms can induce calculus-based credibility trust without repeated interactions between two transacting parties. Trust can mitigate information asymmetry by reducing transaction-specific risks, therefore generating price premiums for reputable sellers. In addition, the research also examines the role that trust plays in mitigating the risks inherent in transactions that involve very expensive products.

Evidence of the effect of trust building technology in electronic markets: price premiums and buyer behavior

The article addresses the relationship between social distance and charismatic leadership. Current theories of charismatic leadership in organizations have borrowed ideas from the literature on socially distant charismatic leaders and applied them to leadership situations that involve direct contacts between leaders and their immediate subordinates. This article argues that while social distance is not a necessary condition for charismatic leadership, there are fundamental differences between distant charismatic leadership and close charismatic leadership. The article attempts to identify these differences through a theoretical analysis of the two leadership situations and through an exploratory content analysis of interviews about close and distant charismatic leaders.

/pdf/social-distance-and-charisma-theoretical-notes-and-an-4jb4ewvqqa.pdf

Social distance and charisma: Theoretical notes and an exploratory study.

Recent interest in the charismatic leadership role of managers in organizations calls for the identification and measurement of perceived behavior characteristics of such leadership. This article reports on the development of a questionnaire measure of the perceived behavioral dimensions of charismatic leadership proposed by the Conger and Kanungo (1987, 1988) model. Data were collected from 488 managers belonging to four organizations located in the U.S.A. and Canada. Analysis of the results revealed sound psychometric properties of the measure with adequate reliability, convergent and discriminant validity coefficients, and a stable factor structure. Implications of the measure for future research and practice are discussed.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/2488215.pdf

Charismatic leadership in organizations: Perceived behavioral attributes and their measurement

Max Weber: On Charisma and Institution Building

While rejecting both extremes, Jarvie tries to establish a middle ground between relativism and absolutism. His case for rejecting relativism is accepted and it is suggested that relativism as the theory that the truth and falsity of statements is culturally relative is self-refuting and, even if it is not, that there are no obvious reasons for accepting it. It is queried whether logically there could be a middle ground between the two doctrines. Counter-arguments are presented in response to Jarvie's attack on absolutism. In particular, it is argued that absolutism implies neither dogmatism nor ethnocentricity, and that absolutism allows for the possibility of there being degrees of truth.

Michael G. Scott

Papers

Max Weber: On Charisma and Institution Building

Rationality and Relativism: A Defence of Absolutism