Trust in Start-Ups – the Polish Perspective. Understanding the Concept; Role and Factors of Trust

Abstract

Aim: Identification of the role of trust between stakeholders in the functioning of Polish start-ups and of the needs and directions for further research, including formulating hypotheses and research questions for more extensive scale studies.

Methodology: The authors used a literature review and collected empirical material utilising the survey method. The analysis of the results employed descriptive statistics methods and qualitative research methods, such as analysis of answers to open-ended questions.

Results: The research results indicated no uniform way of understanding trust among the surveyed start-up founders, whilst the sources, essence and effects of trust were not distinguished. The respondents declared the key role of trust in the functioning of start-ups: they could see benefits which are not ‘symmetrical’ to the threats resulting from the climate of distrust. Trustworthiness and shared value systems were considered the primary sources of trust.

Implications and recommendations: The conclusions from the research suggested deepening the research on the relations between the concepts of source, essence, and effect of trust. The study also recommended deepening the research on trustworthiness as a source of trust in start-ups, along with empirical research on the issue of estimating and assessing the level of trust and trust management. Another recommendation is extending the research to networks of relationships and values, i.e. to start-ups' social capital.

Originality/value: This research is one of the few studies on trust in start-up activity, especially in the Polish cultural context. As indicated by other authors, it is a very important success factor but poorly recognised. Additionally, in Polish conditions, the climate of low trust is a potential barrier in the start-up ecosystem. This article work attempts to fill this research gap, although it only points to deeper and extended research.