Analyzing Swift Trust Dynamics in Temporary Organizations

Management research tends to focus on either swift trust or trust dynamics, neglecting potential interrelations. Answering recent calls for novel research methods on trust, unusual contexts, and refining existing theories, this book aimed to develop an understanding of swift trust and trust dynamics operating in temporary organizations.

Empirically grounded in an ethnographic study of a university-based startup accelerator, the book offers an in-depth view of how hybrid teams interact across online and offline settings. Drawing on interviews, observations, and online documents, it identifies concrete practices through which actors actively build, maintain, or undermine trust. The analysis reveals distinct stages of trust dynamics, and an evolvement from swift trust to more enduring forms of trust: hybrid or deep-level trust.

This book adds a novel perspective to the literature on swift trust and trust dynamics by combining theoretical and empirical findings. It extends previous research by linking these streams through an integrated framework and offers practical implications for “trust management” in temporary organizations and hybrid work contexts, such as startup accelerators.