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

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine, in two studies, 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.

Citation

Robertson, R., Gockel, C. and Brauner, E. (2013), "Trust your teammates or bosses? Differential effects of trust on transactive memory, job satisfaction, and performance", Employee Relations, Vol. 35 No. 2, pp. 222-242. https://doi.org/10.1108/01425451311287880