Social relations are sufficient but not necessary conditions for trust in economic life.

Evidence

Granovetter argues that social relations and the obligations inherent in them, rather than generalized morality (the oversocialized conception) or institutional arrangements like contracts or authority structures (the undersocialized conception), “are mainly responsible” for the production of trust in economic life (p. 491). — Shapiro, Susan P., The Social Control of Impersonal Trust, 8 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

This article explores the flip side of Granovetter’s thesis. It examines the proposition that “networks of social relations penetrate irregularly and in differing degrees in different sectors of economic life. ” But it views variability in embeddedness not merely as the exception that proves the rule but rather as exposing significant and intriguing patterns of social organization that create unique problems for social order. Neither does it assume that social relations are a necessary condition for trust. It considers them sufficient conditions, at best, and investigates the sources of trust, if any, when economic transactions are not embedded in social relations. — Shapiro, Susan P., The Social Control of Impersonal Trust, 12 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Indeed, some amount of trust must be present in any complex economic system, and it is far from inconceivable that systems with a higher level of general trust could come about. It would be risky, however, to make higher levels of trust into a cornerstone of economic reform. We may hope that trust will come about as the by-product of a good economic system (and thus make the system even better), but one would be putting the cart before the horse were one to bank on trust, solidarity and altruism as the preconditions for reform. — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2773 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Trust in economic life arises from social relations rather than morality or institutions alone. — Shapiro, Susan P., The Social Control of Impersonal Trust, 8; Trust can arise even when transactions are not embedded in social relations. — Shapiro, Susan P., The Social Control of Impersonal Trust, 12; Trust should be a by-product of good institutions, not their precondition — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2773

Related

• Trust in economic life arises from social relations rather than morality or institutions alone. (similarity 0.95)
• Trust can arise even when transactions are not embedded in social relations. (similarity 0.92)
• Social relations enable malfeasance on a larger scale than their absence does. (similarity 0.85)
• Trust flourishes most where neither kinship nor contract obligations apply (similarity 0.85)
• Economic institutions depend on personal networks that generate trust and enforce norms (similarity 0.84)
• Trust should be a by-product of good institutions, not their precondition (similarity 0.84)
• Economic transactions are governed by their embeddedness in social networks (similarity 0.84)
• Trust should not be economized even without supportive feelings and networks (similarity 0.82)
• Trust was the necessary condition of all political association (similarity 0.82)
• Defining trust requires grounding it in mutual dependency relations (similarity 0.81)
• Institutions substitute for trust by securing trustworthiness coercively. (similarity 0.81)
• Trust alone cannot explain modern social order. (similarity 0.81)
• Trust is conceived both as one societal element and as social order itself (similarity 0.81)
• Dense social relations sustain many non-fungible outstanding obligations. (similarity 0.81)
• Trust is a small-scale phenomenon that institutions must replace to enable large-scale cooperation (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• Trust in economic life arises from social relations rather than morality or institutions alone. #qualifies (0.85) — Shapiro, Susan P., The Social Control of Impersonal Trust, 8
• Trust can arise even when transactions are not embedded in social relations. #corroborates (0.80) — Shapiro, Susan P., The Social Control of Impersonal Trust, 12
• Trust should be a by-product of good institutions, not their precondition #complicates (0.72) — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2773