The Role of Trust Dimension under Conditions of Network Organisations’ Cooperation

Purpose: Main purpose of the article is creating the categories and premises of trust, shaped through different forms of cooperation undertaken between companies in a selected economic group in Poland, and then – on the basis of opinions of managers/owners – assess the significance of the behavioural dimension of trust for conditions prevailing in this group. Methodology/approach: The basis for conducting an analysis of the problem of trust involved interviews conducted with the owners and/or key managers of 14 production companies. The obtained opinions on cooperation pointed out, on the one hand, distrust and rivalry, but also continuous cooperation and joint investments. Interviews were conducted with 6 small-sized companies, as well as 8 larger. All companies had long-term experience in operation within a group – at least 10 years of participation. Findings: The adopted methodology and manner of distinguishing dimensions of trust, for which a numeric evaluation of relations was introduced, captured the general framework of direct and indirect relations and condition of trust. Implications: The process of creating cooperation clusters among firms (especially in selected industrial sectors) will meet the problem of trust. The methods of measuring the trust level should be popularized and discussed. Originality/value of the paper: Empirical researches results have special value for recognizing contemporary and future managerial challenges. Identification these important challenges (like problem of multi organizational trust), could help in preparing firm’s cooperation and competition activities.