Trust in Ambivalent and Inconsistent Situations: The Use of Vignettes as an Exploratory Method
Keywords:
Vignettes, Inter-Organizational Trust, Repertory, Narratives, DissonanceAbstract
The aim of this paper is to suggest the use of vignettes to explore how individuals interpret situations where there is ambivalence in relational characteristics with partners. Therefore, it was investigated how individuals in a software producer firm interpret concrete transactional situations and elaborate their perceptions of the relationship between trust and control. Respondents were presented vignettes. Upon their reaction to these vignettes, we collected qualitative reports that display how their assumptions led to "closure" of the situation. The analysis of the data suggests that this "closure" occurs through several alternative mechanisms: (1) selective censorship of conflicting signals, (2) inclusion of non-existent assumptions in the original narrative, (3) focused search for additional information, and (4) critical reflection on co-responsibilities. The adoption of a mechanism over the other may have important implications for inter-organizational relations research. From a methodological point of view, the exploratory research approach combined with the use of vignettes might be an interesting qualitative tool, especially in contexts where the researcher is interested in opening the "black box" of a variable of interest. This approach allows a privileged access to individuals’ repertoire of narratives. Each vignette reflects a situation that places the interviewee in a situation where she is led to evoke values, beliefs, attitudes and narratives that would not be collected otherwise. Thus, this paper suggests that the development of vignettes are an important exploratory tool, not only for theoretical, but also for business teaching.
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