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Wednesday 17 October 2012

Trust your teammates or bosses? Differential effects of trust on transactive memory, job satisfaction, and performance

 

Journal cover: Employee Relations

Employee Relations

ISSN: 0142-5455
Online from: 1979
Subject Area: Human Resource Management
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EarlyCite Article
Trust your teammates or bosses? Differential effects of trust on transactive memory, job satisfaction, and performance


Document Information:
Title:Trust your teammates or bosses? Differential effects of trust on transactive memory, job satisfaction, and performance
Author(s):Rommel R. Robertson, (Farmingdale State College, The State University of New York), Christine Gockel, (University of Fribourg), Elisabeth Brauner, (Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center, The City University of New York)
Citation:Rommel R. Robertson, Christine Gockel, Elisabeth Brauner, (2012) "Trust your teammates or bosses? Differential effects of trust on transactive memory, job satisfaction, and performance", Employee Relations, Vol. 35 Iss: 2
Article type:Research paper
Publisher:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Abstract:Purpose - In two studies, we examined whether trust in teammates and trust in management influenced transactive memory and how strongly transactive memory, in turn, influenced perceived team performance and job satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected via questionnaires from two samples of employees (n1 = 383 and n2 = 40). Regression and mediational analyses were employed to test the hypotheses.
Findings - Trust in teammates predicted transactive memory and transactive memory, in turn, predicted perceived team performance and job satisfaction. Trust in management did not predict transactive memory, but it did predict job satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications - Data are cross-sectional and cannot establish cause-effect-relationships. Furthermore, objective performance measures could not be obtained due to the nature of the studies. Thus, future studies need to use longitudinal or experimental designs and objective performance measures.
Practical implications - Intangible factors such as trust, can strengthen knowledge sharing and transactive memory systems. This, in turn, can positively impact job satisfaction and team performance. Managers and team leaders should pay more attention to building a climate of trust and participation, both within teams and between team members and supervisors/management.
Originality/value - Results of two studies show the differential effects of trust in teammates versus trust in management. For finishing a knowledge-intensive task in a team, trust in teammates is more important than trust in management because trust influences transactive memory, which, in turn, leads to positive performance outcomes. However, for other organizational outcomes such as job satisfaction, trust in management can be as important as well.

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