All in due time: The development of trust in computer-mediated and face-to-face teams

This study examines the development of trust and cooperation in computer-mediated and face-to-face teams. Fifty-two, three-person teams worked on a mixed-motive task over a 3-week period using computer-mediated or face-to-face interaction. Results showed that trust started lower in computer-mediated...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Organizational behavior and human decision processes 2006, Vol.99 (1), p.16-33
Main Authors: Wilson, Jeanne M., Straus, Susan G., McEvily, Bill
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior
Biological and medical sciences
Communication
Computer-mediated communication
Computers
Content analysis
Decision making
Differences
Distributed groups
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human behaviour
Interpersonal communication
Organization theory
Organizational behaviour
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Social interactions. Communication. Group processes
Social psychology
Studies
Teams
Teamwork
Technical communication
Trust
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Summary:This study examines the development of trust and cooperation in computer-mediated and face-to-face teams. Fifty-two, three-person teams worked on a mixed-motive task over a 3-week period using computer-mediated or face-to-face interaction. Results showed that trust started lower in computer-mediated teams but increased to levels comparable to those in face-to-face teams over time. Furthermore, this pattern of results also held for teams that switched from face-to-face to electronic media and vice versa. Content analysis showed that high levels of inflammatory remarks were associated with slow trust development in computer-mediated teams. The results challenge prevailing assumptions about how trust develops in distributed teams and suggest modifications to established theories of computer-mediated communication.
ISSN:0749-5978
1095-9920
DOI:10.1016/j.obhdp.2005.08.001