Swift Trust and Temporary Groups

Argues that the notion of swift trust is a useful concept for understanding the functioning of temporary systems, drawing on the work of Lawrence Peter Goodman & Richard Alan Goodman (1976 [see abstract 77I5236]) & other secondary literature. Temporary systems are described as contexts in which a premium is placed on making do with whatever information is available & in which swift judgments of trust are mandatory. Aspects of trust, eg, vulnerability, uncertainty, & risk, are discussed in the context of the temporary system, & a number of propositions regarding trust in these situations are proposed: (1) Smaller labor pool & more vulnerability among workers equal more rapidly developed trust. (2) Role-based interaction will lead to more rapid development of trust than person-based interaction. (3) Inconsistent behavior or blurring of roles will lead to less trust. (4) Category rather than evidence-driven information is more important in temporary systems, leading to a faster reduction of uncertainty. (5) Swift trust is more likely at moderate vs low or high levels of interdependence. The role of the contractor in temporary systems is briefly considered. It is concluded that swift trust is a pragmatic strategy for dealing with uncertainties generated by a complex system.