Trust, culture and team performance: Validation of a triaxiale model

This study examines team performance within a sport context using a triaxial model of trust: The three axes in the model refer to: (1) trust between the team members; (2) trust between the team and their coach; and, (3) trust of the team in top management. It is hypothesized that the latter have a direct effect on team performance. Other relevant organization culture dimensions such as group cohesion, leadership, and organizational policies/practices, also impact team performance but are proposed as moderators, the latter are hypothesized to have an indirect effect between the axis of trust and the team performance. All psychometric properties of the multi-item variables employed in this study have been first tested at the individual level (n = 690), and were found to be very satisfactory (alpha's >.80). Nonetheless, given the team level of analysis, the hypotheses, were tested at the team level (n = 59). The empirical data was collected in 4 distinct professional sport leagues in Spain. The research includes both cross-sectional and quasi-longitudinal design, where team performance was measured during the mid term of the league and at the end of the competition (i.e. the place that the team occupies in the league was used as a proxi measure of performance). Analyses combined bivariate and multivariate hierarchical regression procedures. Findings reveal that some facets (axis) of trust have both a direct and indirect effect on a team's effectiveness, while all culture variables used have indeed indirect effect on performance. The full complexity of the relationships between trust and team long term performance is revealed, and the utility of analyzing the latter using a triaxial model is discussed. A new revised model is proposed based on the findings and implications for managing teams in other contexts are suggested. Finally, ideas for developing alternative models using multilevel approaches are discussed.