Frequent reports from Edelman and their Trust Barometer in recent years have illustrated the decline in public trust in institutions, with this especially so during the Covid pandemic, where trust fell by around 10%.

Research from Brigham Young University suggests that this decline is caused in part by the failure of organizations to adapt to the changing public expectations and social norms.  The authors argue that when there is a disconnect between the mission of the organization and the expectations of the public, it undermines the very legitimacy of the organization.

“Losing legitimacy has always been a big threat to organizations,” the researchers say. “Once an organization is seen to be operating outside expected societal norms, loses the trust of its stakeholders and stops being responsive to them, there is a good chance that organization won’t be around for very long.”

Losing trust

The study involved an online experiment featuring over 400 volunteers, each of whom was assigned to one of four conditions.  Two of these asked them to read a fictional news story about a local zoo, whilst the other two featured stories about a local amusement park.

Each of the stories covered how the various organizations were dealing with an animal death that was caused by their personal negligence.  In one version of the story, the offending organization was portrayed as unwilling to change their processes to ensure greater animal safety, whereas in the other, they were portrayed as more willing to do so.

Perhaps understandably, the organizations that were portrayed as unwilling to change were viewed as being self-serving with no accountability to the public, and they scored far lower in terms of trust than the organization that was willing to change and engage.  The researchers believe that the findings illustrate the importance of gauging the public mood sensitively.

“When an organization faces questions about its legitimacy because of seismic changes in its business environment, the best-case scenario is for that organization to be open to change and responsive to its stakeholders on issues related to its core business,” the authors say. “The worst-case scenario is for an organization to refuse to change and disregard stakeholder concerns on issues related to its core business.”

Adapting to change

Of course, a major challenge in the modern world is the sheer pace of change, and it can be difficult for organizations to keep up with changing societal norms.  The authors believe this requires a clear and concerted effort from organizations to do so, even while focusing on profitability.

“It’s a principle we all learned while we were in elementary school, but when the stakes are high and there’s lots of money on the line and egos get wrapped up in decision making, people tend to forget the basic norms of human interaction that result in good relationships,” they explain.

At the heart of any such efforts is the ability and willingness to listen, and the authors use an analogy of a submarine’s sonar to constantly scan public sentiment for changes in the social, political, and cultural environment.

“Hear what the public has to say. Understand what they want and expect of your organization,” they conclude. “Care about what the public thinks and be willing to change or accommodate if such issues are directed at your core business. The only way to survive in the long term is to adjust and adapt to changes in the environment in which the organization operates.”