Management Papers
Document Type
Technical Report
Date of this Version
9-2006
Publication Source
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
Volume
101
Issue
1
Start Page
1
Last Page
19
DOI
10.1016/j.obhdp.2006.05.005
Abstract
Trust is critical for organizations, effective management, and efficient negotiations, yet trust violations are common. Prior work has often assumed trust to be fragile—easily broken and difficult to repair. We investigate this proposition in a laboratory study and find that trust harmed by untrustworthy behavior can be effectively restored when individuals observe a consistent series of trustworthy actions. Trust harmed by the same untrustworthy actions and deception, however, never fully recovers—even when deceived participants receive a promise, an apology, and observe a consistent series of trustworthy actions. We also find that a promise to change behavior can significantly speed the trust recovery process, but prior deception harms the effectiveness of a promise in accelerating trust recovery.
Copyright/Permission Statement
© 2006 Elsevier. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Keywords
deception, negotiation, trust, trust repair
Recommended Citation
Schweitzer, M. E., Hershey, J. C., & Bradlow, E. T. (2006). Promises and Lies: Restoring Violated Trust. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 101 (1), 1-19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2006.05.005
Included in
Business Intelligence Commons, Cognition and Perception Commons, Cognitive Psychology Commons, Experimental Analysis of Behavior Commons, Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons, Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods Commons, Personality and Social Contexts Commons
Date Posted: 25 October 2018
This document has been peer reviewed.