Designing as if trust mattered

Historically, builders of CSCW tools have not focused on the creation of trust among users as a critical design goal. Yet, high levels of trust produce a number of benefits, including reduced coordination and communication costs. These benefits are particularly salient and desirable for geographically distributed workers. Therefore, to the extent that support for geographically distributed work is a key CSCW goal, CSCW tools should include features that enhance trust. This paper draws on the experience of a geographically distributed organization to identify aspects of long distance relationships associated with increased trust. Survey data collected within the organization showed that non-work interaction was positively correlated with trust to the same degree as more predictable factors, such as personal familiarity with distant sites and level of overarching shared group identity. In addition, interactive communication media had an unexpectedly positive relationship to non-work interaction, compared to less interactive media, which were negatively related. We conclude with a discussion of how CSCW tools can use these findings to improve production and maintenance of trust in geographically distributed organizations.