van der Werff, Lisa
ORCID: 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 |
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