The Consumer Citizen, Trust, and Operational Transparency

Abstract

This chapter examines the consumer citizen and trust in government. Approaching citizens as consumer citizens can affect trust in government. Increases in trust can be obtained by using “operational transparency,” a concept from social psychology and management. Higher levels of operational transparency can make consumers more loyal and supportive of companies. An experiment conducted with the consumer psychologists who pioneered operational transparency makes clear that a similar dynamic can affect trust in government. When people see a computer simulation of the construction of a generic American town dubbed “Anytown” that meets the standards of operational transparency, their trust in government shoots up. However, as an additional experiment shows, when applied to governmental processes, operational transparency can reduce trust in government.