When Trust Does Not Matter: The Study of Communication Practices Between High-Tech Companies and Their Clients in the Environment of Distrust

Abstract

The chapter focuses on the dynamics of trust and distrust through presenting a qualitative field study of interorganizational collaboration between customers and providers in the Polish IT industry that illustrates practices of communication between parties engaged in collaboration within IT projects. The chapter is intended to merge two perspectives: the academic viewpoint on the theorizing of trust and distrust, and the practitioners’ reflections on the reality of relationships in business. The author hopes that the study may further our understanding of the process of cooperation in project work, provide an interesting insight into the role of trust in cooperation; and offer a reflective account of actual practice of cooperation in a distrustful environment.