At What Level (and in Whom) We Trust

Despite the importance of trust across multiple levels in organizations, extant reviews have focused predominantly on trust at the individual level. A systematic review of trust research across levels and trust referents is sorely needed to synthesize the growing number of both micro and macro studies on this topic. Moreover, as trust is a linchpin for divergent areas, such as negotiation, leadership, team processes, human resource management, organizational change, entrepreneurship, and strategic alliances, a multilevel–multireferent review of trust can facilitate integration in the field of organizational sciences. In this review, the authors adopt a levels-of-analysis approach to organize the research on…