Third one’s the Charm? How Emotions impact the Role of Third Parties in Trust Repair

Trust violations rarely are contained to the transgressor-victim dyad; instead, they frequently spill over to affect another (third) party team member, which affects their perception of the dyad and behaviors towards each person. Our research studies a third party’s involvement in the trust repair process by examining their emotional and perceptual response to the emotions expressed by the transgressor and victim. We theorize and find that the third party themselves will experience emotions in response to the emotions expressed by the victim and transgressor separately and together. Our paper has implications for this third party’s role in the trust repair process due to resulting perceptions including trust. We contribute to extant literature on trust repair by considering emotion in the trust repair process, the victim and the transgressor simultaneously, and including the role of third party in the trust repair process.