Distrust, identification and collaboration effectiveness in multiparty systems

Abstract

Multiparty collaborative systems are created to tackle important societal challenges, yet studies that investigate the relational dynamics of such systems remain scant. Our study explores the role of distrust within and between parties, as well as identification with one’s own party, in the collaborative effectiveness of such multiparty systems (MPS). We use a behavioral simulation context in which distrust, identification, and collaboration effectiveness are assessed at three moments in time: namely, at the onset of the MPS (expectations related to within and between group interactions), during the interactions, and at the end of the simulation. The simulation was played 11 times with different groups, as part of an organization development program for a large organization. We show that high initial expectations of distrust between parties decrease collaboration effectiveness over time, while identification with one’s party has a positive influence on collaboration effectiveness. Moreover, our results show that distrust between parties interacts with distrust within parties in such a way that the highest level of collaboration effectiveness is reported by parties with low within-group distrust and low between-party distrust. The lowest collaboration effectiveness is reported by parties with low within-group distrust and high levels of between-party distrust.