Bridging the trust gap through proactive transparency: evidence from a survey experiment

Proactive transparency — the voluntary release of information by public authorities — is widely promoted to enhance accountability and trust, yet its effects in accountability-deficit contexts are complicated by selective and limited disclosure practices. This study examines how the content and framing of proactive disclosures shape trust judgments, focusing on citizens’ dual vulnerabilities: dependence on institutional performance and on the credibility of disclosed information. A survey experiment at a Turkish university during the COVID-19 pandemic tests how information valence and reference type influence perceived unbiasedness and perceived trustworthiness. Findings show that valence produces countervailing effects: positive disclosures improve trustworthiness directly yet weaken it indirectly by reducing perceived unbiasedness, while negative disclosures display the reverse pattern. Social references amplify valence effects and reduce skepticism more than historical ones. Contrary to expectations of a dominant negativity bias, we observe a partial positivity bias. Overall, proactive transparency can foster trust, but only through nuanced and competing mechanisms.