Trust and Legitimate Control: Longitudinal Effects in Supervisor-Subordinate Relationships

Although an extensive body of literature already exists, the link between trust and legitimate control deserves further exploration. Is trust an antecedent of effective supervisory monitoring and control or an outcome of high-quality relationships between employees and supervisors? Building on social exchange theory and institutional theory, we use the Behavioral Trust Inventory and the Legitimate Monitoring and Control Questionnaire to illuminate this relationship. A two-wave longitudinal SEM shows that the relationship between both constructs is reciprocal. Identification enhancing control, a dimension of legitimate control, does increase reliance- and disclosure-based trust. At the same time, reliance-based trust, but not disclosure-based trust, has a positive effect on control legitimacy. We contribute to trust and control literature by giving empirical evidence on the effect direction between those constructs and by differentiating between facets of control legitimacy. Moreover, by using a longitudin...