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This paper gives an overview of major issues in trust research, identifying common foundations and multiple constellations of organizational trust. In doing so, the paper also addresses important implications of theory development and empirical research. First, it provides a historical sketch of different approaches to understanding the phenomenon of trust, drawing upon various social science disciplines. Second, it discusses different levels of analysing trust in organizational settings. Third, it deals with important issues of operationalisation and measurement of organizational trust. Finally, it briefly summarises the contents of the five papers that follow this introductory paper in the special issue of JMP on “The micro‐foundations of organizational trust”.

This paper explores the phenomenon of trust in the context of managerial relationships, particularly examining the extent to which trust, or lack of it, drives those relationships. The results of an exploratory study that highlights the significance of trust in this context are reported. The initial part of the paper sets out a relational continuum, extending between different relational types, drawing on theory already established in social psychology. The later sections report the results of the study that supports and extends the practical application of the proposed relationship continuum. Implications regarding the extent to which trust drives the framing and dynamics of different types of relationships, and broader factors that appear to characterise the relational domain of senior management, are discussed.

The success of contemporary structures relies on the personal competence of managers. This can imply a significant change in the attitudes and behaviour of individual managers. Personal development, a process that aims to help individuals learn about and change their style and approach, has consequently become an important feature of management development for many organisations. But personal development does not always achieve lasting and significant change. Development with ambitious objectives demands a particular process incorporating four essential prerequisites: a focus on the development of meta‐abilities; a period of discomfort, where inappropriate behaviours can be examined and “unlearned”; a focused “transition” which moves the individual towards the most pertinent of objectives; an understanding of how these abilities are used in the context of an organisational agenda. A process used on programmes at a leading European business school based on these components is described.

There is a high degree of uncertainty as to how well organisations are using management development to enhance their strategic performance. This article reports a survey which indicates that most managers believe there is, in reality, considerable scope for improvement in the way their organisations use management development. There appear to be a few organisations which create management development strategies or which lock management development activities into the strategic needs of the business. One solution would be for management development professionals to take a more proactive role than is currently the case in promoting its value.

Whilst language is recognised as playing a key role in the shaping of organisational phenomena, the importance of managing language actively in the context of change has received less attention. The particular relevance of the active management of language in changing the mindsets that underpin models of organisational change is discussed, leading to the conclusion that language has a key role in making apparent and legitimising emerging models that challenge the conventional “top‐down” paradigm.

Despite significant theoretical work over the past decade, the phenomenon of trust and the process of its development in managerial relationships remain elusive in theory and practice. This paper revisits theories that frame trust development in order to explore the development of trust in the specific social context of managerial relationships. Managerial relationships are often characterised by politics and the pursuit of hidden agendas and self‐interest. Competing perspectives and personal motivations can conspire to render even the most innocent of acts subject to scrutiny and suspicion. In these senses, high levels of trust are not commensurate with ideal conditions for managerial effectiveness. Examines the realistic possibilities for trust development set in the context of managerial relationships, and in the process of this analysis, creates a set of propositions that could inform further theory development and empirical investigation of the area.

Implementation is widely recognised as one of the greatest Achilles’ Heels for all strategy initiatives. Many organisations have tried to overcome this problem through building the management competencies of their managers. What tends to be absent from the development programmes designed to do this is attention to any higher order or enabling competencies, sometimes referred to as meta‐abilities. Without greater attention to these more fundamental managerial attributes, most management development programmes will lose their strategic impact. A case study is used to illustrate the sort of pitfalls involved and some implications for using management development in this way are suggested. Finally, it is noted that using management development to improve strategy implementation demands a more sophisticated approach than tends to be used currently. However, this will also require organisations to break out of the vicious circle of unsophisticated usage and to challenge their current practices.

Sport participation is not exclusively determined by individual socio‐demographic factors (micro level) since infrastructure factors such as the availability of sport facilities and sport programmes (macro level) can also play a role in this regard. The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence for these determinants of sport participation using multi‐level analyses.

A survey among the resident population in the city of Munich was carried out in 2008 (n=11,715). Furthermore, secondary data on the available sport infrastructure in every urban district of Munich (n=25) were collected. Multi‐level analyses were conducted to find the micro and macro level determinants of sport participation.

The results show that aside from micro level factors, the availability of swimming pools and parks is especially important for residents’ sport activity. Moreover, sport activity in non‐profit sport clubs can be enhanced by both a good supply of sport programmes offered by sport clubs as well as a poor supply of programmes from commercial sport providers and the municipality.

Multi‐level analyses can be recommended for future research on sport participation. The use of GIS data would be fruitful in this regard.

It can be recommended that municipalities invest in the construction of swimming pools and parks.

The paper shows that multi‐level analyses are a relatively new method of analysis for research on sport participation and that they represent the most suitable approach for analysing multi‐level data.

Outlines a model for the development of quality systems in New South Wales schools. Also considers quality assurance as a means of auditing such a system and the role of leadership in the development of such systems. Looks into the nature of quality systems and international quality standards. Notes the problems and challenges inherent in the introduction of a quality system concept into schools and suggests further research to look into leadership factors and training required to support such an introduction.