Can I Trust You? Profile Elements that Inform First Impressions of Trustworthiness in Virtual Project Teams

This explorative study identifies information elements that are commonly perceived as important to inform initial trustworthiness assessments of colleagues within virtual project teams. Collaboration in virtual project teams heavily relies on interpersonal trust, for which perceived trustworthiness is an important determinant. Knowing what information elements are used to form a first impression of trustworthiness, one can optimize the design of personal profiles so that they support trustworthiness assessments in virtual project teams. The authors reviewed various trust-requiring online environments to determine what elements were available through profile templates. A group of 226 students with experience in virtual project teams indicated the importance of the elements thus found for the formation of a first impression of trustworthiness. On the basis of the results obtained, the authors formulated recommendations for the design of personal identity profiles in groupware environments.