Disentangling the Bright and Dark Sides of Transparency – An Integrated Analysis of Psychological Consequences

45 Pages Posted: 27 Nov 2020

See all articles by Till Remmers

Till Remmers

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Utz Schäffer

WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management

Daniel Schaupp

WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management

Date Written: October 1, 2020

Abstract

The contemporary transparency narrative has recently evolved from a predominantly bright side of positive motivational influence to a more nuanced narrative integrating a potential dark side of transparency of demotivating threats to individual information privacy. Based on this more nuanced narrative, we provide a first empirical picture relying on an integrated model of direct and indirect psychological consequences of individual performance transparency. We propose a ‘bright’ path between transparency and psychological empowerment and a parallel ‘dark’ path through information privacy concerns. Using panel survey data of 401 employees of the finance function and structural equation modeling, our results suggest that transparency has both a direct and indirect link to psychological empowerment. Taking a closer look at the dark path, we find that the link between transparency and information privacy concerns is moderated by core self-evaluation and relative performance information advantage. In contrast, we do not find a moderating effect of individual performance. With this study, we contribute a novel conceptual integration and first empirical examination of this duality of psychological consequences of transparency of individual performance. Additionally, we enrich the debate about potential moderating factors. Overall, we offer a more nuanced perspective on the value of transparency of individual performance in organizations.

Keywords: transparency, privacy, performance information, psychological empowerment

Suggested Citation

Remmers, Till and Schäffer, Utz and Schaupp, Daniel, Disentangling the Bright and Dark Sides of Transparency – An Integrated Analysis of Psychological Consequences (October 1, 2020). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3708074 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3708074

Till Remmers

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Utz Schäffer

WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management ( email )

Burgplatz 2
Vallendar, D-56179
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.whu.edu/controlling

Daniel Schaupp (Contact Author)

WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management ( email )

Burgplatz 2
Vallendar, 56179
Germany

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