Login (DCU Staff Only)
Login (DCU Staff Only)

DORAS | DCU Research Repository

Explore open access research and scholarly works from DCU

Advanced Search

Smart Tech is all Around us – Bridging Employee Vulnerability with Organizational Active Trust-Building

van der Werff, Lisa orcid logoORCID: 0000-0003-4529-4690, Weibel, Antoinette and Schafheitle, Simon (2025) Smart Tech is all Around us – Bridging Employee Vulnerability with Organizational Active Trust-Building. Journal of Management Studies, 62 (5). pp. 1914-1944. ISSN 1467-6486

Abstract
Public and academic opinion remains divided regarding the benefits and pitfalls of datafication technology in organizations, particularly regarding their impact on employees. Taking a dual-process perspective on trust, we propose that datafication technology can create small, erratic surprises in the workplace that highlight employee vulnerability and increase employees’ reliance on the systematic processing of trust. We argue that these surprises precipitate a phase in the employment relationship in which employees more actively weigh trust-related cues, and the employer should therefore engage in active trust management to protect and strengthen the relationship. Our paper develops a framework of symbolic and substantive strategies to guide organizations’ active trust management efforts to (re-)create situational normality, root goodwill intentions, and enable a more balanced interdependence between the organization and its employees. We discuss the implications of our paper for reconciling competing narratives about the future of work and for developing an understanding of trust processes.
Metadata
Item Type:Article (Published)
Refereed:Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:Active trust management, artificial intelligence, datafication, employee vulnerability, future of work, workplace surveillance
Subjects:Business > Employee motivation
Business > Workplace stress
Business > Industrial relations
Business > Family Business
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > DCU Business School
Publisher:Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Official URL:https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j...
Copyright Information:Authors
ID Code:31615
Deposited On:06 Oct 2025 13:33 by Gordon Kennedy . Last Modified 06 Oct 2025 13:33
Documents

Full text available as:

[thumbnail of J Management Studies - 2023 - Weibel - Smart Tech is all Around us   Bridging Employee Vulnerability with Organizational.pdf]
Preview
PDF - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader
Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0
309kB
Metrics

Altmetric Badge

Dimensions Badge

Downloads

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Archive Staff Only: edit this record