THE TRUSTED ENTERPRISE
Why Trust Matters
Increasingly data- and tech-intensive environments have amplified the significance of trust across all sectors of our economy for three reasons
- Customers struggle to comprehend advanced technologies such as video analytics, robotics or AI and the resulting uncertainty compromises their trust assessments;
- The requirement to provide sensitive, personal data as part of interactions leads to growing trust concerns, in particular in light of widely published data breaches;
- The move towards an online economy reduces tactile, trust-building personal touchpoints.
The rapid speed of these changes means that in many cases customers do not have the time to build experiences in these new environments fast enough and as a result develop trust concerns.
Consequently, the trust-intensity of our economy, i.e. the role that trust plays, is on the rise. Previous research has shown that organisations providing ‘trusted convenience and experience’ using digital technologies have a competitive trust advantage in the form of
- Advocacy – Customers who trust an organisation tend to recommend it within their networks and with this encourage others to buy
- Retention – Trusting customers continue to buy due to their reinforcing positive experiences and as such remain loyal as there is a lower information asymmetry
- Engagement – Customers who trust an organisation will buy new products and services earlier leading to accelerated adoption curves
- Contribution – Customers are willing to contribute more data, dedicate more time and ultimately pay more to those organisations they trust.
This is why QUT’s Centre for Future Enterprise commits significant capacity to its research theme ‘The Trusted Enterprise’.
Our purpose is to empower organisations to develop, manage and benefit from trust.
Out of Scope
Trust is a rich concept with many facets occurring between various stakeholders. As focused researchers we have to be equally aware of what we do not research, not because it does not matter, but simply because we are mindful of our capability and capacity. Trust-related topics out of scope for us are internal trust (e.g., trust in workforce, trust in supervisor), macro-economic trust topics (e.g., trust in media or government in general), trust repair and sociological or psychological research on inter-personal trust.
Contact Us
If you would like to discuss any of our research topics further or would like to engage as a scholar or (research) student, please contact Prof Michael Rosemann, Head of the research theme ‘The Trusted Enterprise”.
For any enquiries regarding the Cisco Chair in Trusted Retail, please contact Dr Nadine Ostern.
If you interested in collaborating with our trust team as an external organisation, private or public sector, local, regional or international, please contact Mrs Gemma Alker, Director, Innovation Central Brisbane.