We examine the relationship between trust and control in four organizations implementing new production methods. Research on the trust-control relationship provides conflicting results. Some empirical studies show that the relationship between trust and control is substitutive, while some show that it is complementary (Kalkman and Waard, 2016).

We identify three moderators of the trust-control relationship that lead to either a substitutive or a complementary result. The variables are: control source, control incidence and control information type. Additionally we find that the concept of trust becomes a matter for reflection by both managers and workers as they navigate new production methods.

This result extends prior research by revealing connections that moderate the relationship between trust and control, and contribute to explaining the contradictory results in the literature.