In this paper, we lay the foundations for a contextualisation of trust, the role it plays, and its different layers within the context of a novel paradigm: Social Cloud Computing. In a Social Cloud, trust plays a vital role as a collaboration enabler. However, trust is not trivial to define, observe, represent and analyse as precursors to understand exactly what role it plays in the enablement of collaboration. We do this through the definition of structure of a Social Cloud as a sequence of social and cognitive processes. We then survey research from the domains of computer science, economics and sociology that consider trust in online communities and exchange scenarios to illustrate the complexity of modelling trust in our scenario. Finally, we define trust within the context of a Social Cloud and identify the core components of trust to facilitate its understanding.

1. Foundations of Trust: Contextualising Trust in a Social Cloud
Simon Caton, Christoph Dukat, Tilo Grenz, Christian Haas, Michaela
Pfadenhauer and Christof Weinhardt
Institut für Soziologie, Medien- und Kulturwissenschaft.
KARLSRUHE SERVICE RESEARCH INSTITUTE (KSRI)
Lehrstuhl für Soziologie des Wissens
http://www.facebook.com/SocialCloudComputing
http://www.ksri.kit.edu/SocialCloud
KIT – University of the State of Baden-Württemberg and
National Research Center of the Helmholtz Association www.kit.edu

2. Challenges of Cloud Computing (Providers):
Ascription of Trustworthiness
Provider ----------------------------------------------------------Customer
Storage
data apply services
Challenge
Anonymity, Transparency, Quality of
Sercvives, Security of data, Flexibility
concerning the demands of potential
customers
Lehrstuhl für Soziologie des Wissens Karlsruhe Service Research Institute
www.ksri.kit.edu

3. Conception of a Social Cloud
1,000,000,000 Users
On average 190 “friends”
Social Cloud: a resource, service and capability sharing
framework utilizing relationships established between
members of a social network
Karlsruhe Service Research Institute
www.ksri.kit.edu

4. Interaction: Social and Cognitive Processes
Social Cloud
Ex-Ante Ex-Post
Evolution of Relationship(s)
Lehrstuhl für Soziologie des Wissens Karlsruhe Service Research Institute
www.ksri.kit.edu

5. Trust – a social dimension
 … an social attribute of a relationship
 … a vehicle to get exchange processes started and keep
volunteer cooperation going (for example in trusting
competence to deliver the promised service)
Lehrstuhl für Soziologie des Wissens Karlsruhe Service Research Institute
www.ksri.kit.edu

6. Modes of Trust - Conceptional destintiction
(Martin Endress 2012)
 Operational Trust: “constitutive mode of trust”
 Habitual Trust: “pragmatically effective fundament of
routine and the product of interaction”
 Reflexive Trust: “cognitive modus and strategic resource”
Lehrstuhl für Soziologie des Wissens Karlsruhe Service Research Institute
www.ksri.kit.edu

7. Contextualising Trust in a Social Cloud
 Connect our understanding of trust with the dynamic
qualities of relationships and roles in multiplex Exchange
and Collaboration Processes within a social cloud
 Taking in account the inherent algorithms and its
components for the constitution of trust
Karlsruhe Service Research Institute
www.ksri.kit.edu

8. Ongoing Work
Using
 Experimental Settings
 Network Analysis
 Interpretative Methods
To analyse collaboration and exchange processes and the
role trust plays within social cloud prototypes.
Goal: getting insights to develop an efficient social cloud
environment in an iterative research setting
Lehrstuhl für Soziologie des Wissens Karlsruhe Service Research Institute
www.ksri.kit.edu

9. Summary
Thanks for your attention!
Lehrstuhl für Soziologie des Wissens Karlsruhe Service Research Institute
www.ksri.kit.edu