Conference article

This article presents a study about a crucial interpersonal quality in relational services: trust. We analyse the trust-building process that enables a sharing service between neighbours called “Tem Açúcar?”. Based on literature review on service design for social innovation and sociological aspects related to trust, we describe the service process three-level segmentation: trust in the enabling platform (product-service system), trust in the neighbour (peer-to-peer) and trust in the local network (neighbourhood). It is concluded that trust-building occurs both top-down and bottom-up among participants and how it turns into confidence throughout the process. This study contributes to investigations not only about collaborative and relational services but also about issues related to social behaviour, dematerialization of consumption and quality of life.

service design, social innovation, relational services, sharing, sustainability