Shared values build a foundation for organizational trust by establishing a bond of perceived similarity in intentions and morality that shapes how an organization's actions are interpreted.

1. The Definition of Trust as Value Similarity Fundamentally, trust is defined in these texts as the willingness to make oneself vulnerable to another based on a judgment of value similarity,,.

• Morality over Performance: Trust is rooted in "morality-relevant information" (values, intentions, benevolence, integrity) rather than "performance-relevant information" (skills, competence, track record),.
• Agency: Shared values indicate that the other party is an "agent" who thinks and intends as you do, whereas performance data simply treats the other party as an "object" or machine.

2. Organizational Alignment and Demonstration For an organization to build this trust, shared values must be structural and behavioral, not just rhetorical. The "Nuclear Safety Excellence Framework" (TEPCO) illustrates this through specific requirements for the "Trust" pillar:

• Top-to-Bottom Alignment: Shared values must permeate the entire organization, extending from the highest levels of leadership down to every individual contributor,.
• Continual Demonstration: Values cannot simply be stated; they must be expressed and demonstrated continually in daily actions to maintain the pillar of trust,.
• Interaction: Trust is built by sharing values during every interaction.

3. The "Resilience" Factor Shared values create a resilient form of cooperation that acts as a buffer against failure.

• Forgiving Malperformance: If trust (based on shared values) is strong, instances of "malperformance" (errors or failures) will often be forgiven.
• Interpretation of Events: Morality information (values) "dominates" performance information,. This means shared values condition how people interpret an organization's history; if values are shared, a negative performance history is judged much less harshly than if values are not shared,.
• Uncertainty Reduction: In times of uncertainty or crisis, when performance guarantees are impossible, people rely heavily on social trust (shared values) rather than confidence (competence),.

4. Distinction from Confidence It is important to distinguish this foundation from "confidence." While confidence is built on past performance and competence (the "Safe & Reliable" bridge deck), the underlying pillar of Trust relies strictly on the shared values that support that bridge,. Without the connection of shared values, even high performance may fail to generate cooperation, particularly in unfamiliar or high-risk situations.