infonet-economy

In this article, a framework is provided for analyzing conditions that lead to
positive or negative relations between trustworthiness and formal control in
the context of manager-subordinate relationships, a domain often discussed
controversially in the literature. In analyzing the relationship between man-
agerial formal control and subordinates' trustworthiness, the author draws on
self-determination theory. Self-determination theory is useful in showing how
to link characteristics of organizational regulation (i.e., managerial formal
control) with individual intentions (i.e., subordinates' intentions to behave in
a trustworthy fashion). Subsequently, empirical findings related to formal con-
trol and trustworthiness are integrated into this framework to deduce a set of
propositions that can be tested in the future.