Trust in the Entrepreneurial Process

Keywords

entrepreneurial trust, social networks, opportunity exploitation

Abstract

Research on trust issues in the psychological, sociological, and organizational sciences is an established topic of interest (Graham & Tarbell, 2006; Mayer, Davis, & Schoorman, 1995; Mayer & Gavin, 2005; Rousseau, Sitkin, Burt, & Camerer, 1998). In a recent literature review on trust, Fulmer and Gelfand (2012) highlight the importance of studying trust not only across disciplines, but also at multiple levels of an organization (i.e., organization, team, and individual levels). Similarly, they recommend drawing upon various theoretical insights associated with each level to better understand how trust influences various outcomes of interest. While this research helps push us forward an understanding multi-level interactions of trust, there remain opportunities to take stock of extant research on trust at different stages of an organization’s lifespan. In particular, theoretical insights are likely to come from theorizing on trust across stages of organizational emergence and across stages of the entrepreneurial process (opportunity recognition, exploitation of an opportunity, exiting a venture) because each stage likely alters the importance and forms of trust.

Original Publication Citation

"Williams, T.A., Shepherd, D.A. (2018). Trust in the Entrepreneurial Process. In R. Searle, A. Nienaber, and S. Sitkin (Eds.) Routledge Companion to Trust. New York, Taylor & Francis."

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2018

Publisher

Routledge Companion to Trust

Language

English

College

Marriott School of Business

Department

Marketing

University Standing at Time of Publication

Associate Professor

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