Trust and Distrust in Community Sports Work: Tales From the “Shop Floor”

in Sociology of Sport Journal

Click name to view affiliation

Laura A. Gale Manchester Metropolitan University

Search for other papers by Laura A. Gale in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
*
,
Ben A. Ives Manchester Metropolitan University

Search for other papers by Ben A. Ives in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
*
,
Paul A. Potrac Northumbria University
University College Dublin

Search for other papers by Paul A. Potrac in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
*
, and
Lee J. Nelson Edge Hill University

Search for other papers by Lee J. Nelson in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
*
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2018-0156
In Print:
Volume 36: Issue 3
Page Range:
244–253
Restricted access

This study addressed the issue of interpersonal trust and distrust in the (sporting) workplace. Data were generated through cyclical, in-depth interviews with 12 community sports coaches. The interview transcripts were subjected to emic and etic readings, with Hardin and Cook’s theorization of (dis)trust and Goffman’s dramaturgical writings providing the primary heuristic devices. Our analysis produced three interconnected themes. These were a) how the participants’ decision to (dis)trust contextual others was based on their perceptions of encapsulated interests, b) those strategies that the participants employed to judge the trustworthiness of colleagues, and c) how the participants’ workplace bonds with coworkers differed according to their perceived trustworthiness. Importantly, this study revealed how interpersonal (dis)trust for these individuals was informed by the pursuit of various professional interests, uncertainty regarding continued employment and career progression, and was subject to ongoing strategic interaction and reflection. Based on these findings, we believe there is much to gain from the micro-level exploration of “how” and “why” sports workers seek to negotiate and manage workplace relationships.

Gale and Ives are members of Cluster for Research into Coaching (CRiC) within the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom. Potrac is with the Department of Sport, Exercise, and Rehabilitation, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom; and the School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sport Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. Nelson is with the Department of Sport and Physical Activity, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, Lancashire, United Kingdom.

Address author correspondence to Laura A. Gale at l.gale@mmu.ac.uk.
  • Collapse
  • Expand

Sociology of Sport Journal

Cover Sociology of Sport Journal

  • Baert, P., & Silva, D.C. (2010). Social theory in the twentieth century and beyond. Cambridge, UK: Polity press.

  • Ball, S.J., Maguire, M., & Braun, A. (2012). How schools do policy: Policy enactments in secondary schools. London, UK: Routledge.

  • Barbalet, J. (2011). Emotions beyond regulation: Backgrounded emotions in science and trust. Emotion Review, 3(1), 36–43. doi:10.1177/1754073910380968

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Bauman, Z. (2008). Liquid love: On the frailty of human bonds. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

  • Brinkmann, S., & Kvale, S. (2015). InterViews: Learning the craft of qualitative research interviewing (3rd ed.). London, UK: Sage Publications.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Brown, P., & Calnan, M. (2015). Chains for (dis)trust: Exploring the underpinnings of knowledge-sharing and quality care across mental health services. Sociology of Health and Illness, 38(2), 286–305. PubMed ID: 26614364 doi:10.1111/1467-9566.12369

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Burns, T. (1992). Erving Goffman. Oxon, UK: Routledge.

  • Cook, S.K., Hardin, R., & Levi, M. (2005). Cooperation without trust? New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

  • Cook, S.K. Kramer, M.R. Thorn, H.D. Stepanikova, I. Mollbon, B.S., & Cooper, M.R. (2004). Trust and distrust in patient-physician relationships: Perceived determinants of high- and low- trust relationships in managed-care settings. In R.D. Kramer & S.K. Cook (Eds.), Trust and distrust in organizations: Dilemmas and approaches. (pp. 65–98). New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (2008). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Cronin, C., & Armour, K.M. (2013). Lived experience and community sport coaching: A phenomenological investigation. Sport, Education and Society, 20(8), 959–975. doi:10.1080/13573322.2013.858625

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Crossley, N. (2011). Towards relational sociology. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

  • Cui, V., Vertinsky, I., & Robinson, S. (2015). Trust in the workplace: The role of social interaction diversity in the community and in the workplace. Business and Society, 57(2), 378–412. doi:10.1177/0007650315611724

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Denzin, N.K. (2016). Symbolic interactionism’s contribution to the study of culture. In D. Inglis & A. Almila (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of cultural sociology (pp. 105–115). London, UK: SAGE.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Douglass, T., & Calnan, M. (2016). Trust matters for doctors? Towards an agenda for research. Social Theory and Health, 14(4), 393–413. doi:10.1057/s41285-016-0010-5

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Ebert, N. (2016). Individualisation at work: The self between freedom and social pathologies. London, UK: Routledge.

  • Ezzy, D. (2001). A simulacrum of workplace community: Individualism and engineered culture. Sociology, 35(3), 631–650. doi:10.1177/S0038038501000323

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Gale, L., Ives, B., Potrac, P., & Nelson, L. (2017). Exploring trust, distrust and trustworthiness in community sport coaching. Paper presented at UK Coaching: High Performance Coaching Conference, Gloucester, UK.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Gale, L., Potrac, P., Nelson, L., & Ives, B. (2017). “Surviving austerity”: Community sport coaches’ understandings of workplace relations. Paper presented at the Sport Policy and Politics: The Inequality Gap Conference, Manchester, UK.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and self-identity: Self and society in the late modern age. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

  • Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. New York, NY: Anchor.

  • Goffman, E. (1967). Interaction ritual: Essays on face-to-face interaction. Oxford, England: Aldine.

  • Goffman, E. (1969). Strategic interaction: An analysis of doubt and calculation in face-to-face, day-to-day dealings with one another. New York, NY: Ballantine Books.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Goffman, E. (1974). Frame analysis: An essay on the organization of experience. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

  • Gray, E.D. (2018). Doing research in the real world (4th ed.). London, UK: Sage Publications.

  • Groom, R., Nelson, L., Potrac, P., & Smith, B. (2014). Writing and representing research. In L. Nelson, R. Groom, & P. Potrac (Eds.), Research methods in sports coaching (pp. 87–97). London, UK: Routledge.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Guinot, J., Chiva, R., & Puig, R.V. (2014). Interpersonal trust, stress and satisfaction at work: An empirical study. Personnel Review, 43(1), 96–115. doi:10.1108/PR-02-2012-0043

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Hardin, R. (2002). Trust and trustworthiness. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

  • Hardin, R. (2006). Trust: Key concepts. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

  • Huggan, R., Nelson, L., & Potrac, P. (2015). Developing micropolitical literacy in professional soccer: A performance analyst’s tale. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 7(4), 504–520. doi:10.1080/2159676X.2014.949832

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Ives, B., Gale, L., Nelson, L., & Potrac, P. (2016). The micro-political and emotional nature of community sports coaching. In K. Green & A. Smith (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Youth Sport (pp. 559–570). London, UK: Routledge.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Ives, B., Gale, L., Potrac, P., & Nelson, L. (in press). The interplay between emotion, identity and workplace relations in community sport coaching. In C. Crosby & C. Edwards (Eds.), Context and contingency: Research in sport coaching pedagogy. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Jacobsen, H.M., & Kristian, S. (2015). The social thought of Erving Goffman. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.

  • Jones, R.G., & George, M.J. (1998). The experience and evolution of trust: Implications for cooperation and teamwork. The Academy of Management Review, 23(3), 531–546. doi:10.5465/amr.1998.926625

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Jones, R.L., & Wallace, M. (2005). Another bad day at the training ground: Coping with ambiguity in the coaching context. Sport Education and Society, 10(1), 119–134. doi:10.1080/1357332052000308792

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Kaiser, K. (2012). Protecting confidentiality. In J.F. Gubrium, J.A. Holstein, A.B. Marvasti, & K.D. Mckinney (Eds.), Handbook of interview research: The complexity of the craft (2nd ed., pp. 457–464). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Kalleberg, A.L. (2018). Precarious lives: Job insecurity and well-being in rich democracies. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

  • Kalleberg, A.L., & Vallas, S.P. (2018). Probing precarious work: Theory, research, and politics. In A.L. Kalleberg & S.P. Vallas (Eds.), Precarious work: Research in the sociology of work (vol. 31, pp. 1–29). Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing Limited.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Karp, A.D., Yoels, C.W., Vann, H.B., & Borer, I.M. (2016). Sociology in everyday life (4th ed.). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, INC.

  • Kelchtermans, G. (1993). Getting the story, understanding the lives. From career stories to teachers’ professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education, 9(5–6), 443–456. doi:10.1016/0742-051X(93)90029-G

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Kelchtermans, G. (2009). Narratives and biography in teacher education. In E. Baker, B. McGaw, & P. Peterson. (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Education (pp. 610–614). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Kelly, S., & Harris, J. (2010). Managers, directors and trust in professional football. Sport in Society, 13(3), 489–502. doi:10.1080/17430431003588150

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Lee, S.W., & Selart, M. (2011). The influence of emotions on trust in ethical decision making. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 12(4), 573–580.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Lewicki, J.R., Tomlinson, C.E., & Gillespie, N. (2006). Models of interpersonal trust development: Theoretical approaches, empirical evidence, and future directions. Journal of Management, 32(6), 991–1022. doi:10.1177/0149206306294405

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Luhman, N. (2017). Trust and power. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

  • Lyon, F., Möllering, G., & Saunders, M.N.K. (2012). Handbook of research methods on trust. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.

  • Manning, P. (2007). Erving Goffman and modern sociology. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

  • Matzler, K., & Renzl, B. (2006). The relationship between interpersonal trust, employee satisfaction, and employee loyalty. Total Quality Management and Business Excellence, 17(10), 1261–1271. doi:10.1080/14783360600753653

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Maykut, P., & Morehouse, R. (1994). Beginning qualitative research. London, UK: Falmer Press.

  • Merriam, B.S. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide for design and implementation. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.

  • Merriam, B.S. (2014). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation (2nd ed.). US: Jossey-Bass.

  • Mishler, W., & Rose, R. (2001). What are the origins of political trust? Testing institutional and cultural theories in post-communist societies. Comparative Political Studies, 34(1), 30–62. doi:10.1177/0010414001034001002

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Möllering, G. (2001). The nature of trust: From George Simmel to a theory of expectation, interpretation and suspension. Sociology, 35(2), 403–420. doi:10.1177/S0038038501000190

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Möllering, G. (2006). Trust: Reason, routine, reflexivity. Oxford, UK: Elsevier.

  • Nelson, L., Potrac, P., Gilbourne, D., Allanson, A., Gale, L., & Marshall, P. (2013). Thinking, feeling and acting: The case of a semi-professional soccer coach. Sociology of Sport Journal, 30(4), 467–486. doi:10.1123/ssj.30.4.467

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Nelson, L., Potrac, P., & Groom, R. (2014). Receiving video-based feedback in elite ice-hockey: A player’s perspective. Sport, Education and Society, 19(1), 19–40. doi:10.1080/13573322.2011.613925

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Niven, K., Holman, D., & Totterdell, P. (2012). How to win friendship and trust by influencing people’s feelings: An investigation of interpersonal affect regulation and the quality of relationships. Human Relations, 65(6), 777–805. doi:10.1177/0018726712439909

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Patton, M. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

  • Patton, M. (2015). Qualitative research and evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Persson, A. (2019). Framing social interaction: Continuities and cracks in Goffman’s Frame Analysis. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

  • Potrac, P., Jones, R.L., Gilbourne, D., & Nelson, L. (2013). Handshakes, BBQ’s, and bullets: A tale of self-interest and regret in football coaching. Sports Coaching Review, 1(2), 79–92. doi:10.1080/21640629.2013.768418

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Potrac, P., Smith, A., Nelson, L. (2017). Emotions in sports coaching: an introductory essay. Sports Coaching Review, 6(2), 129–141. doi:10.1080/21640629.2017.1375187

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Purdy, L. (2014). Interviews. In L. Nelson, R. Groom, & P. Potrac (Eds.), Research methods in sports coaching (pp. 161–170). London, UK: Routledge.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Purdy, L., Jones, R.L., & Cassidy, T. (2009). Negotiation and capital: Athletes’ use of power in an elite men’s rowing program. Sport, Education and Society, 14(3), 321–338. doi:10.1080/13573320903037796

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Purdy, L., Potrac, P., & Nelson, L. (2013). Trust, distrust and coaching practice. In P. Potrac, W. Gilbert, & J. Denison (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Sports Coaching (pp. 309–320). London, UK: Routledge.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Richards, K. (2005). Introduction. In K. Richards & P. Seedhouse (Eds.), Applying conversational analysis (pp 1–15). New York, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Robbins, G.B. (2016). What is trust? A multidisciplinary review, critique and synthesis. Sociology Compass, 10(10), 972–986. doi:10.1111/soc4.12391

  • Roderick, M. (2006). A very precarious profession: uncertainty in the working lives of professional footballers. Work, Employment and Society, 20(2), 245–265. doi:10.1177/0950017006064113

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Roderick, M. (2013). Domestic moves: An exploration of intra-national labour mobility in the working lives of professional footballers. International review for the sociology of sport, 48(4), 387–404. doi:10.1177/1012690212442497

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Roderick, M., Smith, A., & Potrac, P. (2017). The sociology of sports work, emotions and mental health: Scoping the field and future directions. Sociology of Sport Journal, 34(2), 99–107. doi:10.1123/ssj.2017-0082

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Ronglan, T.L. (2011). Social interaction in coaching. In R.L. Jones, P. Potrac, C. Cushion, & L.T. Ronglan (Eds.), The Sociology of Sports Coaching (pp. 151–165). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Sandstorm, L.K., Lively, J.K., Martin, D.D., & Fine, A.G. (2014). Symbols, selves and social reality: A symbolic interactionist approach to social psychology and sociology (4th ed.). New York, UK: Oxford University Press.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Scott, S. (2015). Negotiating identity: Symbolic interactionist approaches to social identity. Chichester, UK: John Wiley.

  • Seale, C. (2018). Researching society and culture (4th ed.). London, UK: Sage Publications.

  • Shea-Schwartz, P., & Yanow, D. (2012). Interpretive research design: Concepts and processes. London, UK: Routledge.

  • Shulman, D. (2017). The presentation of self in contemporary social life. London, UK: SAGE.

  • Siebert, S., Martin, G., Bozic, B., & Docherty, I. (2015). Looking ‘beyond the factory gates’: Towards more pluralist and radical approaches to intra-organizational trust research. Organization Studies, 36(8), 1033–1062. doi:10.1177/0170840615580010

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Simmel, G. (1978). The Philosophy of Money. London, UK: Routledge.

  • Skinner, D., Dietz, G., & Weibel, A. (2013). The dark side of trust: When trust becomes a ‘poisoned chalice’. Organization, 21(2), 206–224. doi:10.1177/1350508412473866

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Smith, B., & McGannon, K.R. (2017). Developing rigor in qualitative research: Problems and opportunities within sport and exercise psychology. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 11(1), 101–121. doi:10.1080/1750984X.2017.1317357

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Smith, G. (2006). Erving Goffman. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

  • Sparkes, A.C., & Smith, B. (2002). Sport, spinal cord injury, embodied masculinities, and the dilemmas of narrative identity. Men and Masculinities, 4(3), 258–285. doi:10.1177/1097184X02004003003

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Sparkes, A.C., & Smith, B. (2014). Qualitative research methods in sport, exercise and health: From process to product. London, UK: Routledge.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Sport England. (2016). Coaching in an active nation: The coaching plan for England 2017-21. London, UK: Sport England.

  • Srivastava, P., & Hopwood, N. (2009). A practical iterative framework for qualitative data analysis. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 8(1), 76–84. doi:10.1177/160940690900800107

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Stake, R.E. (1995). The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

  • Sztompka, P. (1999). Trust: A sociological theory. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

  • Taylor, W. (2014). Analysis of qualitative data. In. L. Nelson, R. Groom, & P. Potrac (Eds.), Research Methods in Sports Coaching (pp. 181–191). London, UK: Routledge.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Thompson, A., Potrac, P., & Jones, R. (2015). “I found out the hard way”: Micro-political workings in professional football. Sport, Education and Society, 20(8), 976–994. doi:10.1080/13573322.2013.862786.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Tracy, J.S. (2013). Qualitative research methods: Collecting evidence, crafting analysis, communicating impact. London, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Verhaeghe, P. (2014). What about me? The struggle for identity in a market-based society. London, UK: Scribe Publications.

  • Ward, P.R. (2019). Trust, what is it and why do we need it. In. M.H. Jacobsen (Ed.), Emotions, everyday life and sociology (classical and contemporary social theory) (pp. 13–12). London, UK: Routledge.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Williams, M. (2007). Building genuine trust through interpersonal emotion management: A threat regulation model of trust and collaboration across boundaries. The Academy of Management Review, 32(1), 595–621. doi:10.2307/20159317

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 3398 876 66
Full Text Views 416 133 9
PDF Downloads 343 133 4