Psychological Science ›› 2014, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (2): 438-445.

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Dyadic Trust between Superior and Subordinates in Organizations:Implication and Mechanism

1, 2   

  1. 1.
    2. Tianjin Normal University
  • Received:2013-04-17 Revised:2014-02-21 Online:2014-03-20 Published:2014-03-20

组织中上下级的双向信任:影响及机制

马华维,王欣   

  1. 天津师范大学
  • 通讯作者: 马华维

Abstract: The effect of organizational trust on work outcomes has already been indicated by numerous studies. However, the two directions of trust and its mechanism are not clear yet. This study used a new perspective of subordinates’ sense of being trusted instead of superiors’ trust in them. Subordinates’ sense of being trusted is a kind of trust that they perceived from their superiors, which may be a more critical aspect to their mental and behavioral changes. Moreover, Subordinates’ sense of being trusted and their trust in superiors are two types of trusts that may have different effects on work outcomes. This study focused the two directions of trust on every individual in organization. The paper explored the trust relationship between subordinates’ sense of being trusted by superiors and their trust in superiors in organization. The primary aim is to reveal the mechanism that how the dyadic trust affects subordinates’ mental and behavioral changes, and the possible mediating effects of psychological safety, gratitude and psychological empowerment. Data was obtained from 737 full-time employees in North China through questionnaire and analyzed by SEM. The confirmatory factor analysis showed that the measurement had good reliability and validity. The statistical package of Amos 16.0 was used to examine the hypotheses. A hypotheses model was set accordingly. In the first stage of data analysis, the research tested the hypotheses the relationship between subordinates’ sense of being trusted and their trust in superiors. In order to provide a stringent examination of the hypotheses, an alternative model was established. By comparing the alternative model with the hypotheses model, the result indicated that subordinates’ sense of being trusted related positively to trust in superiors. In the second stage of data analysis, the study explored the mediating effect of psychological safety, gratitude and psychological empowerment between the dyadic trust and outcomes. It was revealed that effect of trust in superiors on subordinates’ job performance and satisfaction is mediated by psychological safety. Results also supported gratitude mediated the relationship between subordinates’ sense of being trusted and their performance and their satisfaction. In addition, the psychological empowerment also mediated the effect of subordinates’ sense of being trusted on their job performance and satisfaction. The present study contributes to our understanding of the relationship between the dyadic trust and employees’ outcomes. The theoretical implication of this research is that it starts a new perspective of investigating the trust between superiors and subordinates. As for the practical implication, the results of this study showed that the two directions of trust are an interactive system, which have different influence on employees’ psychology and behavior. It provided evidence for managers to give more trust to their employees, which will play a big role in individual and organizational development.

Key words: subordinates’ sense of being trusted trust, in direct leader, psychological safety, gratitude, psychological empowerment

摘要: 研究采取双向信任的视角,同时考虑组织中员工感知到的来自上级的信任(即,被信任感)和员工对上级信任对员工心理和行为的影响及机制。以737名企业员工为被试、运用问卷调查法、采用结构方程模型分析数据,结果显示:下级的被信任感与对上级的信任正相关;下级对上级的信任对下级工作绩效的影响主要通过心理安全的完全中介作用实现;而下级的被信任感分别通过感激和心理授权的完全中介作用影响下级工作绩效和满意度。

关键词: 被信任感, 对上级信任, 心理安全, 感激, 心理授权

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