Vertical trust/mistrust during information strategy formation

Based on findings of a longitudinal study this paper deals trust or mistrust between superiors and subordinates during the information strategy formation process. Working from within an interpretive framework, through which organisation 'stories' are explored, it provides a grounded model of factors which engender trust. The key factors that emerge are that senior managers and/or systems and structures should be seen as competent, coherent, open, benevolent, reliable and as having integrity, if trust is to be established in the organisation. The relationship of this model to existing models and research is explored and existing models are extended and developed. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.