Reconceptualizing trust: A non-linear Boolean model

•We develop a formal and testable model of trust and its determinants.•We use a multi-method approach (two laboratory experiments and a case study).•Ability, benevolence and integrity are non-linearly related to trusting behaviors.•For initial trust, benevolence and integrity might provide redundant information.

Although ability, benevolence, and integrity are generally recognized to be three key characteristics of trustworthiness that explain much of the within-truster variation in trustworthiness, some researchers have noted conceptual issues regarding how these characteristics are related to trust and have detected empirical inconsistencies in past research. The present paper suggests that in many contexts, the three characteristics of trustworthiness are non-linearly related to trusting behaviors and tests this idea via a multi-method approach (two laboratory experiments and a qualitative organizational study). The results of the three studies strongly support the validity and usefulness of the non-linear relationship hypothesized between ability, benevolence, and integrity.