The Business of Trust: A sociological orientation on social enterprise projects with disadvantaged citizens

This conceptual paper explores issues related to trust in working with disadvantaged citizens on social enterprise initiatives. This type of work rests on trust as a core element since these initiatives involve citizens at the sharp end of inequality and deprivation, and who may consequently distrust those considered as outsiders. This paper considers the nature of social enterprises and how they seek to involve and improve the lives of those who live in disadvantaged communities. It draws on literature focused on involving such communities and how the trust process has been conceptualised and researched in organisational studies. An analysis is offered of the traditional psychological approach to trust, critiquing it from a perspective that considers citizen mistrust as being a reflection of past de-identification processes. This leads to applying the sociologist Harold Garfinkel's work on trust conditions as pre-conditions to be met by agencies proposing social enterprise work.