Mechanisms for forming trust in the economy: specifics and assessment of the functional state

Trust is one of the most significant drivers of economic development, ensuring an increase in the quality of life of the population and its entrepreneurial activity, and a reduction in transaction costs for business entities. The article substantiates the conclusion that trust is formed, on the one hand, under the influence of information, knowledge, and, on the other, by subject’s personal involvement in communication and activity practices. The authors identify the following mechanisms for formation of trust in the transforming economic relations: information-reflexive, communication-interpretive and activity-based. Information-reflexive and value-normative mechanisms ensure accumulation, systematization and personification of knowledge, values, feelings and meanings that determine trusting interactions in economic relations. Communication and interpretation mechanisms ensure reproduction of trust during internalization and application of accumulated knowledge, learned norms, and values in the process of communication interaction between social actors. Activity mechanisms implement a system-forming function in the formation and development of trust, ensuring transformation of assessments and perceptions of the actions of the «other» in the course of joint activities, the effectiveness of which contributes to consolidation of the existing expectations and attitudes towards trust. A survey of experts made it possible to identify the most significant reasons for the lack of trust: geopolitical tensions, structural and systemic imperfections within the spheres of economic relations themselves, impact of sanctions on the functioning of society and the work of various organizations, and uncertainty of the future. The article presents expert assessments of the functional state of trust formation mechanisms: information-reflexive (3.04 points on a scale from 1 to 5), communication-interpretive (2.92), activity-based (2.8). Details of the experts’ answers illustrate a higher role of educational institutions and professional online communities in the formation of trust in information and meanings transmitted through unofficial channels (blogs, social networks, independent media).