Functions and dysfunctions of interorganizational trust and distrust in the public sector

his paper explores how interorganizational trust and distrust are considered to play functional and dysfunctional roles in the public sector. We construct a conceptual framework and use it to analyze 59 qualitative interviews with key informants about interorganizational interactions in the Flemish public sector, particularly in the Flemish executive and the judiciary. Results of our analysis indicate that both interorganizational trust and distrust can be functional in the public sector under some circumstances, but that either is bound to have dysfunctional effects when used as a panacea for public sector management and reform. Public managers should therefore focus on maximizing the potential of interorganizational trust and distrust to play their appropriate functional roles, rather than focus on maximizing interorganizational trust in the public sector as such.