Designing and validating a model for analyzing determinants of transcendent trust in Tehran Municipality: A society-centered versus institution-centered approach

Trust has recently become the main tool in achieving collaboration in inter-organizational and inter-individual relations and it has raised the social capital volume. The present study aimed to design a transcendent trust model in Tehran Municipality and develop a descriptive paradigm that reveals the way of forming citizens’ trust in Tehran Municipality. To achieve the research purpose, dimensions and effective factors of transcendent trust were first extracted in Tehran Municipality using desk studies and taking notes. Thereafter, the most important dimensions of transcendent trust and its determinants in Tehran Municipality were identified using the Delphi technique and the views of 29 experts in this field. Furthermore, the random sampling method (snowball) was applied and the sample size was determined based on the Morgan table and simple random sampling, and 385 clients of Tehran Municipality were selected and received a questionnaire containing dimensions and factors. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The model of effective factors in improving transcendent trust was created with 12 latent variables in two aspects, namely dimensions of transcendent trust (instrumental trust and axiological trust) and their determinants (including e-service quality, public affairs administration communication, accountability, cultural adjustment, legitimacy, online social media, civic engagement, Iranian-Islamic lifestyle, transparency, and citizens’ satisfaction). The results indicated that transcendent trust in the municipality was not merely dependent on the functions of municipalities, but other contextual and environmental factors can also play roles in this equation. Therefore, the general authority of Tehran Municipality to the aforementioned background and contextual factors based on the influence of strategic components of the environment where social institutions and other actors operate and interact will generate the best outcome for municipalities to design a relatively comprehensive model in this field.