Trust in Network Organizations -- A Literature Review on Emergent and Evolving Behavior in Network Organizations

This systematic literature review examines different forms of evolving and emergent behavior in network organizations (NO) with an emphasis on trust. Because of the difficulties and importance in researching emergent behavior in network organizations, this review summarizes the main aspects of 17 papers and tries to disclose open research points by combining the different perspectives of behavior and forms of NOs. Due to the complexity of those organizations, there are several “soft aspects” that affect the partnership implicitly. In particular, trust is intertwined with other facets (e.g. legal aspects). IT governance and IT systems can have an impact on trust and vice versa. Therefore, maintaining a trustworthy relationship in a network organization is undoubtedly an enormous challenge for all participants. At the end of this literature review, we discuss some open research gaps like the influence of different cultures in NOs or the visualization of emergent behavior.