Exploring the indirect & direct effects of organizational trust on team performance

This study examines the relationship between trust and the performance of teams via a triaxial model of trust: among team members, with respect to the direct supervisor and top management. Variables such as cohesion, leadership, and organizational policies and a host of control variables are also identified. A database on 59 top professional sports teams (690 players) with a cross-sectional and quasi-longitudinal design was analyzed using bivariate and hierarchical regression techniques with the full complexity of the relationships having been introduced. Our findings reveal that some facets of trust have both a direct and indirect effect on a team?s performance.