Author Description

This implies that ‘old’ trust relationships that were related to ‘old’ centralised or neo-corporatist governance arrangements also need to be adjusted to the new modes of steering that are characterised by participation, negotiation, interaction, and adaptation. Several shifts in trust are therefore taking place. Firstly, thin trust, which is in favour of variety, becomes more essential than the previously important thick trust relationships. This thin trust especially plays a role in situations of change, i.e. the shift from the old arrangement to the new arrangement. When after a while new governance arrangements become more stable, and trust is built among the stakeholders, trust can become thick again, as actors cease to be strangers, and have built up a shared framework. These new thick trust relationships are no longer rooted in family relationships, but in personal, frequent relationships between people that share a similar vision on for example sustainability, market, product, policy etc., and are dependent or committed to the other person. Secondly, trust is increasingly an active process that requires continuous interaction in order to be sustained, especially during times of change (from one governance arrangements to the other). When a new governance arrangement is installed, and a more stable situation arrives, a new form of passive trust can then characterise relationships.