Assessing Trust and Effectiveness in Virtual Teams: Latent Growth Curve and Latent Change Score Models

Michael D. Coovert, Evgeniya E. Pavlova Miller and Winston Bennett
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Michael D. Coovert: Department of Psychology, University of South Florida; Tampa, FL 33620, USA
Evgeniya E. Pavlova Miller: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, Atlanta, GA 30346, USA
Winston Bennett: Air Force Research Laboratory, Airman Systems Directorate; Dayton, OH 45433, USA

Social Sciences, 2017, vol. 6, issue 3, 1-26

Abstract: Trust plays a central role in the effectiveness of work groups and teams. This is the case for both face-to-face and virtual teams. Yet little is known about the development of trust in virtual teams. We examined cognitive and affective trust and their relationship to team effectiveness as reflected through satisfaction with one’s team and task performance. Latent growth curve analysis reveals both trust types start at a significant level with individual differences in that initial level. Cognitive trust follows a linear growth pattern while affective trust is overall non-linear, but becomes linear once established. Latent change score models are utilized to examine change in trust and also its relationship with satisfaction with the team and team performance. In examining only change in trust and its relationship to satisfaction there appears to be a straightforward influence of trust on satisfaction and satisfaction on trust. However, when incorporated into a bivariate coupling latent change model the dynamics of the relationship are revealed. A similar pattern holds for trust and task performance; however, in the bivariate coupling change model a more parsimonious representation is preferred.

Keywords: trust; teams; latent growth; latent change scores; distributed teams; cognitive; affective (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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