Trust at a Distance—Trust in Online Communication in Environmental and Global Health Research Projects

Jasper R. De Vries, Séverine Van Bommel and Karin Peters
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Jasper R. De Vries: Strategic Communication Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 8130, 6700 EW Wageningen, The Netherlands
Séverine Van Bommel: Strategic Communication Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 8130, 6700 EW Wageningen, The Netherlands
Karin Peters: Cultural Geography Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 11, 1-14

Abstract: Online collaboration to deal with (global) environmental and public health problems continues to grow as the quality of technology for communication improves. In these collaborations, trust is seen as important for sustainable collaborations and organizations. However, face-to-face communication, which is often lacking in these contexts, is seen as a pre-requisite for trust development. Therefore, this paper aims to explore empirically which factors influence the emergence of trust in the early stages of online collaboration. Using the relevant literature, we conducted a series of interviews around projects in the field of public health and the environment on the interface between science and practice. The results show that trust does develop between participants. This trust is strongly influenced by perceived ability and integrity, fostered by reputation, third-party perceptions, and project structure. In these contexts, these types of trust facilitate collaboration but are also influenced by a wider set of aspects such as power, expectations, and uncertainty. However, from the results we also conclude that online collaboration does not create benevolence and a shared identity, thereby limiting further trust development and leading to less strong relations. Strong relations, however, are deemed important to reach creative and innovative solutions and long-term sustainable collaboration and organizations.

Keywords: trust; collaboration; virtual teams; integrity; ability; online (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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