Boost and Burden: How Multiplex Relationships Shape Third Parties’ Trust
Prof. Oliver Schilke
Professor of Management and Organizations
Professor of Sociology (by courtesy)
Eller College of Management
The University of Arizona
Trust decisions often depend on what a trustee’s relationships signal to observers, yet prior work rarely considers how relationship type shapes third-party trust. We theorize that multiplex relationships—ties spanning multiple domains—can signal either opportunity or obligation. Across five preregistered experiments with working professionals (N = 1,875), multiplex VC–founder ties reduced perceived trustworthiness when they suggested conflicts of interest, nondisclosure, or owed favors, but increased trust when they implied privileged access or superior information. Mediation analyses reveal competing pathways through perceived access and information versus bias and conflict, showing when multiplex ties become reputational assets or liabilities.
