Trust Matters: The governance of private and public services organizations' external relationships

Bachmann, Reinhard

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the external relationships of private and public sector organisations and puts trust in the focus of a comparative analysis. It starts with identifying the function of trust and suggests that it is a governance mechanism that ensures cooperation and coordination of expectations in social interactions. Trust is then examined in more detail with regard to how it can fulfil this task, and it is compared to functionally equivalent social mechanisms for governing organisations’ external relationships, such as power and the market principle. Furthermore, this chapter looks at the key actors and their mutual relationships in the private sector and in the context of public service organisations. Thus, the overarching goal is to elucidate what is known about trust in inter-organisational relationships in the private sector and apply it to the relationship between public sector organisations and citizens. It will be argued that accountability plays a central part in how these relationships can be governed and that the latter can only release its full potential when complemented by trust.

Citation

Bachmann, R. (in press). Trust Matters: The governance of private and public services organizations' external relationships. In F. Six, J. A. Hamm, D. Latusek, E. van Zimmeren, & K. Verhoest (Eds.), Handbook on Trust in Public Governance (76-84). Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781802201406.00010

• Acceptance Date: Jan 5, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Mar 13, 2025
• Deposit Date: May 2, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 14, 2026
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 76-84
• Series Title: Elgar Handbooks in Public Administration and Management
• Book Title: Handbook on Trust in Public Governance
• ISBN: 9781802201390
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781802201406.00010
• Keywords: Trust; Accountability; Governance; Inter-organisational relationships