Workplace Deviance: The Influence of Perceived Transparency

Abstract

Employees’ deviant behaviors in the workplace have caused organizations worldwide tremendous loss in terms of finance, reputation, continuity and employees’ well-being. The prevalence of workplace deviance and its negative consequences demands a compelling method to deal with this issue. In recent years, transparency has gained rising favor as an organizational principle and managerial goal, yet little was known about the effect of transparency on preventing workplace deviance, especially when it is perceived by employees. Therefore, this research was conducted to explore the potential influence of perceived transparency on four different types of workplace deviance, namely production deviance, property deviance, political deviance, and personal aggression. Ethical decision-making models were employed to understand the potential effect of perceived transparency on the process of an individual’s ethical decisions making and their behavioral outcomes. A survey was conducted on 203 full-time employees in various organizations located in Taiwan. The results showed that perceived transparency can help to reduce production deviance, political deviance, and personal aggression. The effect of perceived transparency on property deviance was, however, not found.