How trust is defined: A qualitative and quantitative analysis of scientific literature

Abstract

We are confronted with situations requiring trust not only in business contexts but in our everyday lives. In literature, there is no consensus on a single definition of trust leading to a plethora of definitions. Determining what trust means conceptually, regardless whether adopting the organizational, managerial, psychological, social or cultural perspective, requires great effort. The purpose of this research is not to collect a definite list of trust definitions, but to study their similarities and differences especially within the IS discipline as well as interdisciplinary over a large time span. We feel this objective has been achieved with a total of 121 definitions spanning over 50 years of research. Our results aid researchers in finding and devising a fitting definition of trust for their research, while ensuring that no commonly accepted word clusters are omitted. Furthermore, our research enables practitioners to phrase trustbuilding statements more efficiently and more holistically.