Trust relations in management of change Ole H. Sørensen a, * , Peter Hasle a , Jan H. Pejtersen b a National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Lersø Parkalle´105, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark b Danish National Centre for Social Research, Herluf Trolles Gade 11, DK-1052 Copenhagen K, Denmark Introduction Change has become the rule rather than the exception in contemporary organisations and, when tasks, structures and processes change, uncertainty develops (Piderit, 2000; Vince, 2001). Uncertainty about the future of an organisa- tion will almost certainly threaten trust relations between management and employees (Fox, 1974; Morgan & Zeffane, 2003). Several studies have shown that transformational change weakens trust and that distrust may subsequently develop (Saunders & Thornhill, 2004; Searle & Ball, 2004; Skinner, Saunders, & Duckett, 2004). A decrease in trust — and particularly the development of distrust — may impinge upon the change process and make it hard for management to implement intended changes (Brockner, Siegel, Daly, Tyler, & Martin, 1997). If maintained, trust can be a buffer, preventing change cynicism and preserving employee satis- faction in cases of change, such as downsizing, which may otherwise have a detrimental effect on the employees (Hopkins & Weathington, 2006). Trust, therefore, has the potential for containing employee uncertainty and facilitat- ing change processes. Although the literature on organisational trust is extensive (Dirks & Ferrin, 2001; Mo ¨llering, 2006; Schoorman, Mayer, & Davis, 2007), the relationship between trust and transforma- tional change has received relatively little attention, with a paucity of longitudinal research on the process of change and the evolution of trust over time. The transformational change literature generally takes an organisational perspective on change, whereas the trust literature typically takes an indi- vidual, psychological perspective on interpersonal trust devel- opment. In their assessments of the progress of trust research, Schoorman et al. (2007) stress the importance of studying and describing the evolution of trust over time and call for studies of organisational level trust. Mo ¨llering (2001) calls for inter- pretative research to supplement the theoretically and quan- titatively based trust research. Consequently, a gap exists between what we know about trust dynamics and what we Scandinavian Journal of Management (2011) 27, 405—417 KEYWORDS Trust; Distrust; Trust repair; Management—employee relations; Symbolic interpretation Abstract Trust is essential for the success of change, but transformational change challenges trust. This paper analyses how trust dynamics develop over time in two Danish manufacturing firms affected by major change programmes. The results show that change creates uncertainty among employees, thereby provoking intense scrutiny of management intentions and a tendency to make interpretations that exaggerate management intentions–—with the end result of reduced trust. Management then react similarly with negative interpretations of employee reactions, creating a vicious cycle of reduced trust. The paper proposes a model for how change and trust interact and suggests a managerial strategy for trust repair: Strong management actions that symbolise integrity, competence and benevolence may counteract reduced trust, but if low trust turns into distrust, the result may be a deadlock that both parties find difficult to break. # 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: ohs@nrcwe.dk (O.H. Sørensen), pha@nrcwe.dk (P. Hasle), jhp@sfi.dk (J.H. Pejtersen). Available online at www.sciencedirect.com j ou rn al home pag e: http: / /w ww. e lse vier. com/ loc ate /sc ama n 0956-5221/$ — see front matter # 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.scaman.2011.08.003