Signalling Trust: A Qualitative Analysis of Lithuania’s Strategic Governance Documents

Abstract

The article examines how trust is reflected in Lithuania’s national strategic documents. Adapting a signalling theory approach, the documents were analysed as instruments for expressing institutional intentions and governance value commitments. While most research on public-sector trust focuses on citizens’ perceptions, this study shifts the perspective toward the signals governments themselves transmit. A qualitative content analysis identified 37 trust-related signals, grouped under the dimensions of competence, benevolence, and integrity. The documents show a clear aspiration to strengthen trust-based governance through commitments to collaboration, professional capacity, and value-driven decision-making. At the same time, signals related to control, centralisation, and monitoring introduce a different perspective, creating a mixed signalling environment. This coexistence suggests that trust-oriented rhetoric is moderated by established administrative practices. The findings highlight the need to examine how such signals are interpreted and implemented in practice, and how they shape broader trust dynamics in governance.