Trustworthy in the eye of the beholder? A cognitive perspective on personal profile information in virtual project teams

Collaboration in virtual project teams heavily relies on interpersonal trust, for which perceived trustworthiness is an important determinant. This study provides insight in the foundation of trustors’ information preferences to assess a trustee’s professional trustworthiness in the initial phase of a virtual project team. We hypothesize that trustors in virtual teams prefer particular information elements since they provide them with relevant cues for trust warranting properties of a trustee. Starting from a list of commonly preferred information elements to inform trustworthiness assessments (n=226), we analyze explanations for these preferences with the help of a theory-grounded coding scheme. Results show that indeed respondents prefer information elements as they provide them with multiple cues to assess the trustworthiness of a trustee. Information elements providing unique cues could not be identified. Results of this study can inform the design of artifacts to get acquainted in the initial phase of a virtual project team.