Unconventional Insights for Managing Stakeholder Trust

Abstract

Initiatives to build and maintain trust with various stakeholders — customers, employees, suppliers and investors — have risen to the top of the executive agenda at many organizations. We continually hear about “transparency” initiatives, open-door policies and 360-degree evaluations, customer-retention programs, voluntary product recalls, initiatives for corporate social responsibility, rethinking of “customers as partners” and other trust-building moves. But the problem is that most companies don’t really understand how to manage stakeholder trust effectively. In fact, our research suggests that many of the trust-building initiatives and approaches that organizations invest in may be of questionable value. Others might actually destroy trust.