In Teams We Trust - A Qualitative Study Exploring Industrial Differences in Virtual Team Trust

Abstract: Through a qualitative study, this thesis investigates the individual perception of team trust in pandemic-caused local virtual teams (PLVT) - teams that prior to the Covid-19 pandemic were office-based. Through an industry comparison between management consulting, which is service-based, and manufacturing, which is product-based, team trust differences is explored in different organizational settings. The thesis is based on interviews conducted with 20 professionals in Sweden, 10 from each industry. The theoretical frameworks used in this abductive study are Breuer's Taxonomy for Team Trust and Social Identity Theory. The main theoretical contribution from this cross-sectional and social constructivist study is an integration of the two models, which provides a new perspective in understanding team trust. Understanding team trust in PLVT is essential as there are indications that the pandemic will have long-lasting implications for the future workplace. Further, it is of relevance to research whether these effects differ in industries, as team trust has often been studied without including environmental aspects. The study concludes that team trust can be understood in terms of perceived trustworthiness factors and risk-taking behaviors in teams, as well as through social identity and group norms. A slight difference was found for team trust levels across industries, mainly stemming from differences in group norms.