The mediating role between trust and organizational performance

Abstract

This article seeks to contribute to the discussions about the relationship between trust and organizational performance from an economics perspective. We examine the mediation role between trust and organizational performance by approaching the role of trust as an element of informal coordination within the organizations. We observe that interpersonal trust is central element to better understand relational contracts, like labor contracts, and investments in the creation and maintenance of trust environments should observe an economic rationality. From a literature review, we conclude that trust is an essential element to the execution of specific organizational tasks, and we observe its mediating relationship with organizational performance, trying to better understand the necessity and the benefits of high and low trust social contexts.