Martin Carlsson-Wall

Conducting a case study of one inter-organizational relationship, we explore the process of inter-organizational trust repair. We make a conceptual distinction between cross-group trust consensus and cross-group trust discord within organizations and point to its importance for inter-organizational trust repair. Moreover, we identify the possibility of local trust repair – i.e. a situation where one group regains trust in the partner organization, while distrust persists at other group(s) – and develop propositions on its drivers and implications. Jointly, our findings contribute to a better understanding of multi-level trust processes, illuminating the theoretical relevance of cross-group interaction within organizations for better understanding trust development between organizations. We also develop a three-step process model of inter-organizational trust repair, showing how local trust repair can be an important intermediate step in repairing inter-organizational trust when multiple groups are involved. Finally, we point to the relevance of counter-intuitive governance strategies to repair trust in inter-organizational relationships.