TRUST IN THE PUBLIC-SECTOR - INDIVIDUAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL DETERMINANTS

Trust is of major theoretical and instrumental significance for the study of public organizations. Despite an extensive literature detailing the implications of trust in organizational life, there has been little systematic research on its individual or organizational determinants. This article develops and tests a model of trust formation in public organizations. Results of this research show that organizational trust is a distinct work-related attitude. Trust is based on individual demographics, psychological and individual predispositions, attitudes and beliefs, and affective responses to organizational factors. The most important determinants of trust, however, are found in the organizational climate established by supervisory relations.