Differential trust effects on continuous team performance: Empirical test of a triaxial trust model

This study examines team effectiveness via a triaxial model of trust: Axis 1 refers to trust between the team members; Axis 2 refers to trust between the team and their coach; and Axis 3 refers to the trust of the team in their top management. The proposed model conceptualizes trust in organizational settings as a multidimensional construct produced at different levels of analyses. All psychometric properties of the multi-item variables employed in this study have been first tested at the individual level (n = 690) and are very satisfactory (alpha's >.80). The hypothesis of this study were tested at the team level (n = 59). The empirical data was collected from 4 distinct top professional sports leagues in Spain. The research was quasi-longitudinal design, where team effectiveness was measured during the mid term of the league and at the end of the competition. Findings reveal that some facets (axis) of trust have both a direct and indirect effect on team continuous performance. The full complexity of the relationships between trust and team continuous performance is revealed, and the utility of analyzing the latter using a triaxial model is discussed. Additional discussion evaluates the implications for managing teams in other contexts.