printTrust in the Age of Digital Transformations:
a Sociological Study
Veselov Yu.V.
Dr. Sci. (Sociol.), Prof., Head of the Economic Sociology Department, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia. y.veselov@spbu.ru
Skvortsov N.G.
Dr. Sci. (Sociol.), Prof., Dean of the Faculty of Sociology, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia. n.skvortsov@spbu.ru
The article was prepared with the financial support of RFBR, project No. 20-011-00155 А.
Veselov Yu.V., Skvortsov N.G. Trust in the Age of Digital Transformations: a Sociological Study. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2021. No 6. P. 57-68
In the contemporary world, trust is becoming not only a social, moral and political, but also an economic category. Trust is related to and associated with the level of transaction costs in the economy, therefore, a society of low trust (low trust of citizens to each other; low trust of the state to citizens and citizens to the state; low trust in digital systems and technologies) cannot provide the required level of economic growth and social welfare. In a digital society, the problem of trust becomes even more urgent: economic transactions are carried out in mobile applications on smartphones; payment for goods and services is made through the mobile phones; job search is shifting to social networks; information is more and more presented via internet channels. How trust is generated in these digital systems; digital sources of information; digital economy? What is the level of this trust? These are the key research questions for this article. In its first part, the authors examine comparative studies of trust and reveal the nature of the transformation of trust: from personal trust to institutional trust and then digital trust. The second part presents results of an empirical study of digital trust (using the example of St. Petersburg): telephone survey, N = 1032, the sample is representative in terms of the main socio-demographic parameters; a series of in-depth interviews. In the final part of the article, the authors characterize the main social effects of digitalization and identify obstacles to the development of digital trust.
Abdrakhmanova G.I., Vishnevsky K.O., Gokhberg L.M. (2019) Indicators of the Digital Economy, 2019: Statistical Collection. Moscow: VShE. (In Russ.)
Coleman J. (1990) Foundations of Social Theory. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
Elster J. (2011) Explaining Social Behavior: More Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences. Moscow: VShE. (In Russ.)
Fukuyama F. (1995) Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity. London: Hamish Hamilton.
Gambetta D. (1993) The Sicilian Mafia: The Business of Private Protection. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Giddens A. (1990) The Consequences of Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Granovetter M. (1973) The Strength of Weak Ties. The American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 78. No. 6: 1360–1380. DOI: 10.1086/225469.
Granovetter M. (1985) Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness. The American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 91. No. 3: 481–510. DOI: 10.1086/228311.
Gudkov L. (2012) “Trust” in Russia: Meaning, Functions, Structure. Vestnik obschestvennogo mneniya. Dannye. Analiz. Diskussii [The Russian Public Opinion Herald. Data. Analysis. Discussions]. No. 2(112): 8–47. DOI: 10.24411/2070-5107-2012-00011. (In Russ.)
Hosking G. (2013) Trust and Distrust in the USSR: An Overview. The Slavonic and East European Review. Vol. 91. No. 1: 1–25. DOI: 10.5699/slaveasteurorev2.91.1.0001.
Lane R., Radesky J. (2019) Digital Media and Autism Spectrum Disorders: Review of Evidence, Theoretical Concerns, and Opportunities for Intervention. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics. Vol. 40. No. 5: 364–368. DOI: 10.1097/DBP.0664.
Luhmann N. (1996) Familiarity, Confidence, Trust: Problems and Alternatives. In: D. Gambetta (ed.) Trust: Making and Breaking Cooperative Relations. Oxford: Basil Blackwell: 104–107.
Mazzella F., Sundarajan A., D’Espouse V., Möhlmann M. (2016) How Digital Trust Powers the Sharing Economy. IESE Insight. Third Quarter: 24–31. DOI: 10.15581/002.ART-2887.
Putnam R. (1999) Bowling Alone. New York: John Wiley. Rukavishnikov V.O. (2008) Interpersonal Trust: Measurement and Cross-country Comparisons. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. No. 2: 17–25. (In Russ.)
Science and Scientists amid a Pandemic: a Crisis of Public Trust? (2020) WCIOM. July 20. URL: https:// wciom.ru/analytical-reviews/analiticheskii-obzor/nauka-i-uchyonye-na-fone-pandemii-krizisobshhestvennogo-doveriya (accessed 27.01.2021).
Shlapentokh V. (2006) Trust in Public Institutions in Russia: The Lowest in the World. Communist and Post-Communist Studies. Vol. 39. No. 2: 153–174. DOI: 10.1016/j.postcomstud.2006.03.004.
Smith A. (1997) Theory of Moral Sentiments. Moscow: Respublika. Stoyanov K. (2004) Trust and Alienation: Aspects of the Sociological Concept of G. Simmel. In: Economics and Sociology of Trust. St. Petersburg: Sotsiol. ob-vo im. M.M. Kovalevskogo: 32–49. (In Russ.)
Sundarajan A. (2016) Entering a Trust Age. BlaBlaCar. May 24. URL: https://blog.blablacar.com/ newsroom/news-list/entering-trust-age (accessed 27.01.2021).
Sztompka P. (1999) Trust: A Sociological Theory. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
Terin D.F. (2020) Political Trust, Satisfaction and Perceptions of the Causes of Poverty: the Role of the Normative Aspects of Institutions in the Production of Trust. POLIS. Politicheskie issledovaniya [POLIS. Political Studies]. No. 3: 144–157. DOI: 10.17976/jpps/2020.03.1. (In Russ.)
Uslaner E. (2000) Trust, Civic Engagement, and the Internet (Paper Prepared for the Joint Sessions of the European Consortium for Political Research, Workshop on Electronic Democracy: Mobilization, Organization, and Participation via New ICTs, University of Grenoble, April 6–11, 2000). URL: https://ecpr.eu/Filestore/PaperProposal/4dc050ea-4801-4984-acbb-647b8c118608.pdf (accessed 27.01.2021).
Uslaner E. (2002) The Moral Foundations of Trust. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
Veselov Yu.V. (2004) Transformation of Trust in Russian/Soviet Society. In: Economics and Sociology of Trust. St. Petersburg: Sotsiol. ob-vo im. M.M. Kovalevskogo: 62–75. (In Russ.)