Managing the COVID-19 pandemic: predictors of trust in institutions in Romania

Purpose The paper discusses the predictors of trust in the institutions and people involved in crisis management at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania. Trust in institutions might be a key factor in the way countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic deal with the crisis as people might be more willing to accept the restrictions and rules imposed if they trust the key institutions and people involved in managing the pandemic. The paper provides recommendations for key stakeholders to increase trust in people and institutions in times of crisis. Design/methodology/approach The authors draw evidence from a national online panel survey (N = 1,160) to investigate the main predictors of trust in this context. Findings The main results indicate that trust in institutions is positively correlated with news consumption and personal discussions about the pandemic, perceived incidence of COVID-19 fake news, belief in conspiracy theories and uncertainty about the future of the country. Originality/value To the best of the knowledge, this study is one of the few papers investigating the predictors of trust in the institutions and people involved in managing the current pandemic in a country in the Central and Eastern European region.