Resumo

Trust is a critical component of social interaction, businesses, and culturally diverse environments (SODERBERG; ROMNEY, 2022; MEYER, 2014). Yet, there is a growing trust gap in leadership: only one in three employees claim to trust their leaders (HARTER, 2019). Additionally, several external events, such as civil arrests and political disputes, erode trust in government (SODERBERG; ROMNEY, 2022). To close this gap, leaders from politics to the private sector must develop specific skills and critical behaviors to gain the trust of their followers.

This study proposes a critical appraisal of the last two years of academic articles to identify the practices used by leaders in organizations and governmental institutions to build trust. This study’s objectives are to (a) summarize the most recent studies about the practices leaders use or can use to build trust, (b) analyze those practices in comparison to the existing integrative model of trust (MAYER; DAVIS; SCHOORMAN, 1995), and (c) highlight differences between governmental and private organizations.

This paper is a qualitative study combining two frameworks. The first consists of the model for critical appraisal of academic articles proposed by Davis and Logan (2017). This model offers a systematic review checklist for scholarly articles. The second framework is based on the model of trust (MAYER; DAVIS; SCHOORMAN, 1995), which is the first comprehensive model for building trust in organizational environments. According to the model of trust, there are three main factors of perceived trustworthiness: ability, benevolence, and integrity.

This study offers an important list of actions leaders use to inspire trust in their followers. It has also revealed gaps in the literature and opportunities for improving the current practices and model of trust. The three main opportunities to build on the contemporary literature are (a) the need for a systematic revision of the model of trust, including new factors of worthiness, (b) innate characteristics that may influence trust, and (c) the unique characteristics leaders use to build trust in times of crisis.

This paper offered a summarized systematic review of the last two years' literature on building trust in private and public organizations. By comparing the current literature and the model of trust, this paper revealed opportunities to build on the current model of trust and literature. Such opportunities include: (a) reviewing the model of trust, (b) analyzing the innate characteristics of trustworthiness, and (c) possible creation of a model for building trust in times of crisis.

DAVIS, Barbara; LOGAN, Jo. Reading Research: A User-Friendly Guide for Health Professionals (6th ed.). Mosby Canada, 2017. Kindle Edition. MAYER, Roger C.; DAVIS, James H.; SCHOORMAN, F. David. An integrative model of organizational trust. Academy of Management Review, v. 20, n. 3, p. 709-734, 1995. SODERBERG, Andrew T.; ROMNEY, Alexander C. Building trust: How leaders can engender feelings of trust among followers. Business Horizons, v. 65, n. 2, p. 173-182, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2021.02.031