บทที่ 2 ลองอีกครั้ง

Measuring Trust

As previously noted, trust has been measured along all the dimensions mentioned in this paper. Rotter (1967) developed the Interpersonal Trust Scale which measured a person’s disposition to trust others, which some have called general trust. Rotter’s scale was replicated in many studies, most of which used game theory to test trust in specific relations and situations. Lazerlere & Huston (1980) developed a Dyadic Trust Scale that used a seven-point Likert scale to test perceptions of benevolence, honesty, sincerity, dependency, and fairness in relationships.

To measure the relationship between individuals and groups found in organizational settings, Cummings and Bromily (1996) developed the Organizational Trust Inventory (OTI). The instrument tested whether individuals trusted larger entities, such as an organization, by asking whether people in the organization behave in accordance with commitments, are honest in the negotiations leading to the commitment, and don’t try to take advantage of others, even if the opportunity is available. Butler (1991) developed a Conditions of Trust Inventory (CTI) to measure the conditions that must exist to activate and sustain trust. Using interviews and surveys, Butler derived an instrument with 10 reliable and valid conditions: availability, competence, consistency, fairness, integrity, loyalty (similar to benevolence in other studies), openness, overall trust, promise fulfillment, and receptivity.

It has been measured at the organizational level (Shockley-Zalabak et al., 2000) and at the consumer level leading to exchange relationships such as purchasing over the Internet (McKnight et al., 2002). It has been measured as an essential component to credibility (Callister, 2002) and to satisfactory relationships (Bruning & Leddingham. 2000; Hon & Grunig, 1999). Each of these instruments can be used or modified to help an organization measure the trust it has with key stakeholders. In particular, Paine (2003) has modified the relationship-related trust indicators into an instrument for measuring trust in organizations.

Each year there are several studies measuring the current state of trust in our society. The Golin Harris Trust survey, conducted every few years, has shown that there is still a trust deficit in our society, but that as corporate citizenship improves so does consumer and employee trust (GolinHarris 2002, 2005). The Edelman Trust Barometer, conducted each year since 2001, shows that people don’t trust large institutions as much as they trust “a person like yourself.” Trust in media and business moved up from 2006 to 2007, while trust in government continued to decline. The most trusted institutions are non-governmental organizations (NGOs), while academics trust of corporations has improved slightly from 2005 to 2006, but that trust in government continues to decline. Of particular concern is the evidence that PR practitioners have low levels of trust by others. In the Trust Barometer, public relations executives are below 30% on the credibility scale, but still higher than entertainers (26%) and bloggers (16%).