Am Anfang war die Macht. Zum Wechselverhältnis von Macht und Vertrauen in interpersonalen Beziehungen eines Bildungsverbunds

The formation of an educational network is accompanied by a shift in institutionalized power relations. Collaboration in the network and its success is based on trusting relationships that transcend organizational boundaries and attract contributors. Both phenomena are crucial, relational factors for collaboration and yet their interaction has hardly been studied. To address this research desideratum, semi-standardized interviews were conducted with 21 actors of an exemplary educational network and analyzed using grounded theory and MAXQDA analysis software. The narratives of trust relationships were examined and the means of the actor’s power were identified in order to relate them to the trust relationship. Each form of dependency was defined as power. The analysis resulted in an overview of mutual dependencies (material and immaterial). Trust has a mediating effect in some cases, and trust is itself the object of dependency in others. Conversely, different informal power has a facilitating and formal power a more hindering effect on the development of trust. The results led to theoretical schemes on the interaction of power and trust.