Introduction


In today's distributed, knowledge-based and competitive economy there are many challenges facing scientific research and development (R&D). To address these challenges, innovative approaches to management of geographically distributed and multi-institutional, or inter-organizational, R&D are emerging. One approach is the conceptual organization (Sonnenwald, 2002).

A conceptual organization (Figure 1) is founded based on a long-term vision that addresses large, complex and challenging problems of national and global importance. Its purpose is to work towards this vision, quickly and effectively contributing to relevant dynamic knowledge bases and meeting diverse stakeholder needs with minimum capitalization and start-up costs. To achieve this, it has an explicit conceptual organizational structure in addition to a physical structure, both of which are interwoven across other external organizational and multiple physical locations and structures. A conceptual organization is led by paradigm creators and pioneers, and has few employees in the traditional sense. Rather, it engages scientists through the appeal of its vision and implementation of socio-technical infrastructures that encourage and facilitate activities to achieve that vision. Its power is primarily integrative in nature, and collaboration is a primary mechanism used to achieve its organizational goals.

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Figure 1: Components of a Conceptual Organization

This chapter explores the management of cognitive and affective trust and distrust within the conceptual organization. Cognitive trust focuses on judgments of competence and reliability, and affective trust focuses on interpersonal bonds among individuals and institutions. Both cognitive and affective trust play an integral role in the conceptual organization because the organization relies on collaboration among individual members to achieve its goals and realize its vision. Collaboration is not possible without cognitive or affective trust. Yet, cognitive and affective trust may be more difficult to manage in a conceptual organization because mechanisms, such as informal face-to-face interactions and observations that typically are used in building and maintaining trust, are not universally present. Previous research has shown that when organizations are geographically distributed, trust among members is negatively impacted (Handy, 1995; Rocco, Finholt, Hofer, & Herbsleb, 2001; Jarvenpaa & Leidner, 1995).

Data from a two-year case study of a conceptual organization illuminates how the organization's infrastructure, in particular, its organizational structure and use of power and information and communications technology (ICT), impacts and relies on cognitive and affective trust. In addition, two examples illustrating everyday management of cognitive distrust in conjunction with affective trust, and affective distrust in conjunction with cognitive trust, are examined.

These results are relevant to other organizations in the knowledge-based economy where an individual's competence and reliability are increasingly important, and in organizations where members are geographically distributed. In addition, the results help inform our theoretical understanding of cognitive and affective trust and distrust and their impact on collaboration.




L., Iivonen M. Trust in Knowledge Management Systems in Organizations2004
WarDriving: Drive, Detect, Defend, A Guide to Wireless Security
ISBN: N/A
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 143

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