DOES SOCIAL INFORMATION MATTER? THE MODERATING EFFECT ON PORT REFORM TRUST

Abstract

Trust is important for assuring the success of organizational change. This paper investigates the influence of social information sources and communication on trust in organizational change, and also tests the moderating effect of the credibility of social information. Taking port reform as an example, this research discovers the following results: (1) communication is significantly related to employee's trust in organizational change; (2) social information from supervisors is positively associated with employee trust in organizational change; but information from unions does not exert a significant influence; and (3) social information credibility from supervisors and unions partially moderates the relationship between social information sources and employee's trust in organizational change. Finally, the results are briefly discussed.