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Article
| Administrative Science Quarterly
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June 2012
The Transparency Paradox: A Role for Privacy in Organizational Learning and Operational Control
by
Ethan S Bernstein
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Abstract
Using data from embedded participant-observers and a field experiment at the second largest mobile phone factory in the world, located in China, I theorize and test the implications of transparent organizational design on workers' productivity and organizational performance. Drawing from theory and research on learning and control, I introduce the notion of a transparency paradox, whereby maintaining observability of workers may counterintuitively reduce their performance by inducing those being observed to conceal their activities through codes and other costly means; conversely, creating zones of privacy may, under certain conditions, increase performance. Empirical evidence from the field shows that even a modest increase in group-level privacy sustainably and significantly improves line performance, while qualitative evidence suggests that privacy is important in supporting productive deviance, localized experimentation, distraction avoidance, and continuous improvement. I discuss implications of these results for theory on learning and control and suggest directions for future research.
Keywords: transparency;
privacy;
organizational learning;
Operational Control;
organizational performance;
Chinese Manufacturing;
field experiment;
Performance Productivity;
Theory;
Boundaries;
Interpersonal Communication;
Collaborative Innovation and Invention;
Innovation and Management;
Job Design and Levels;
Working Conditions;
Leadership Style;
Business or Company Management;
Management Practices and Processes;
Production;
Organizational Design;
Groups and Teams;
Networks;
Labor and Management Relations;
Social and Collaborative Networks;
Power and Influence;
Adaptation;
Manufacturing Industry;
China;