Most of my research examines how interpersonal trust is established in work relationships, and how it can be repaired if it is violated.
Building trust.
Working with others often involves becoming dependent upon them in some way, and you cannot force their compliance. Accepting this risk in spite of the vulnerability is at the heart of what we mean when we say we trust another.
There are many factors that go into decisions to trust another, including the personality of the trustor, the context in which trust occurs, and the characteristics of the trustee.
Furthermore, trust decisions can be based on rational calculation of how you expect the trustee to act, or based on an emotional attachment to the trustee.
For Further Reading:
Lewicki, R. J., Tomlinson, E. C., & Gillespie, N. (2006). Models of interpersonal trust development: Theoretical approaches, empirical evidence, and future directions. Journal of Management, 32, 991-1022. DOI: 10.1177/0149206306294405.
Lewicki, R.J. & Tomlinson, E.C. (2014). Trust, trust development, and trust repair. In M. Deutsch, P. Coleman, & E. Marcus (Eds.), The handbook of conflict resolution (3rd ed., pp. 104-136).
Simons, T., McLean Parks, J., & Tomlinson, E. C. (2018). The benefits of walking your talk: Aggregate effects of behavioral integrity on guest satisfaction, turnover, and hotel profitability. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 59, 257-274.
Tomlinson, E. C., Schnackenberg, A., Dawley, D., & Ash, S. R. (2020). Revisiting the trustworthiness-trust relationship: Exploring the differential predictors of cognition- and affect-based trust. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 41, 535-550.
Tomlinson, E. C., & Lewicki, R. J. (2003). Trust building. Intractable Conflict Knowledge Base Project, http://www.beyondintractability.org
Managing distrust.
Because individuals have both strengths and weaknesses, and relationships have many facets, it is possible to trust another in certain respects while distrusting them in others.
This suggests that trust and distrust are not opposites on the same spectrum, but qualitatively different ways of regarding another person.
While we often think of trust as good and distrust is bad, both have their rightful place in managing the risks that come with social interactions.
For Further Reading:
Tomlinson, E. C., & Lewicki, R. J. (2006). Managing distrust in intractable conflicts. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 24, 219-228. DOI: 10.1002/crq.170.
Lewicki, R.J. & Tomlinson, E.C. (2014). Trust, trust development, and trust repair. In M. Deutsch, P. Coleman, & E. Marcus (Eds.), The handbook of conflict resolution (3rd ed., pp. 104-136).
Tomlinson, E. C., & Lewicki, R. J. (2003). Distrust. Intractable Conflict Knowledge Base Project, http://www.beyondintractability.org
Repairing Broken Trust.
Trust involves placing confidence in another despite the risk of betrayal. Sometimes trustees do not live up to the expectations we have of them. Sometimes we are the trustees who fail to live up to the trust others have placed in us as well.
Because interpersonal relationships in the workplace must often endure, it becomes essential to understand how damaged trust can be repaired.
For Further Reading:
Tomlinson, E. C., Dineen, B. R., & Lewicki, R. J. (2004). The road to reconciliation: Antecedents of victim willingness to reconcile following a broken promise. Journal of Management, 30, 165-187. DOI: 10.1016/j.jm.2003.01.003.
Tomlinson, E. C., & Mayer, R. C. (2009). The role of causal attribution dimensions in trust repair. Academy of Management Review, 34, 85-104.
Tomlinson, E. C. (2011). The context of trust repair efforts: Exploring the role of relationship dependence and outcome severity. Journal of Trust Research, 1, 139-157.
Lewicki, R.J. & Tomlinson, E.C. (2014). Trust, trust development, and trust repair. In M. Deutsch, P. Coleman, & E. Marcus (Eds.), The handbook of conflict resolution (3rd ed., pp. 104-136).
Tomlinson, E. C., Nelson, C. A., & Langlinais, L. A. (2021). A cognitive process model of trust repair. International Journal of Conflict Management, 32, 340-360.