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Repairing trust in public sector agencies

Gillespie, Nicole orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-6101-2123 and Daly, Niamh orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-4908-5178 (2025) Repairing trust in public sector agencies. In: Six, Frédérique, Hamm, Joseph A., Latusek, Dominika, van Zimmeren, Esther and Verhoest, Koen, (eds.) Handbook on Trust in Public Governance. Political Science and Public Policy 2025 . Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, pp. 98-115. ISBN 9781802201390

Abstract
Trust failures in public administration can have devastating impacts, eroding citizen trust and confidence in public institutions. In this chapter, we take stock of the literature on trust repair to draw insight on how public sector leaders can effectively respond to organisational trust failures and support the restoration of trust. We discuss what it means to repair trust and integrate the key mechanisms and strategies for restoring trust in public sector organisations into a framework of five practices: the initial response, investigation and discovery, making amends, organisational reforms, and transparency. We consider unique features of the public sector context that influence trust repair dynamics and conclude with a future research agenda to advance understanding of organisational trust repair in the sector.
Metadata
Item Type:Book Section
Refereed:Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:Trust repair; Distrust; Public sector; Public services; Review
Subjects:Business > Employee attitudes
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > DCU Business School
Publisher:Edward Elgar Publishing
Official URL:https://www.elgaronline.com/edcollchap/book/978180...
Copyright Information:Authors
ID Code:32728
Deposited On:03 Jun 2026 08:44 by Tam Nguyen . Last Modified 03 Jun 2026 08:44
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