Trust: A Sceptical View

Abstract

This chapter takes a more sceptical view of the utility of the concept of trust in relation to EU business associations than the previous chapter in this section of the book. Since the conference on which this book was based was held, events such as the Enron scandal would seem to have underwritten the importance of trust as a component of a successful market economy. The argument made in this chapter is not that the concept of trust is of no value when an examination is made of the way in which business associations work. There is certainly value in the concept, but there is also a danger of it becoming a ‘warm word’ which offers a blanket panacea for the challenges that business associations face. The idea of ‘trust’ has to be weighed against other organising ideas with emphasis given in this chapter to the notion of effectiveness.