The Transparency Paradox In Digital Employee
Keywords:
Digital employee experience, informational justice, perceived organizational support, transparency, administrative burden, frugal innovation
Abstract
This study examines the paradoxical finding that transparency in digital HR systems may be more important than processing efficiency for employee satisfaction, challenging the dominant efficiency paradigm in digital transformation literature. Drawing on organizational justice theory and administrative burden theory, we investigate how transparency features in a frugal digital innovation enhance employee satisfaction through informational justice and perceived organizational support in a bureaucracy-heavy university context. We employed a mixed-methods research design to evaluate a Google Workspace-based international travel approval system at a major Indonesian research university. Quantitative data were collected from 100 faculty members and administrators, and qualitative data were gathered through open-ended responses. Results reveal a striking transparency paradox: despite moderate processing efficiency, the system achieved high overall satisfaction (87%). Transparency emerged as the highest-rated dimension (M=4.084), while process efficiency remains a moderately important factor (r=0.524, p<0.01), correlation analysis demonstrated that transparency emerges as the dominant driver of satisfaction (r=0.687, p<0.01), with this difference being statistically significant. Qualitative findings revealed that transparency acts as a psychological buffer, transforming anxiogenic uncertainty into manageable wait time, thereby reducing psychological costs of administrative burden. For HR practitioners and organizational leaders, particularly in resource-constrained settings, this research provides evidence-based guidance to prioritize transparency features over expensive automation in digital transformation initiatives.References
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Stofberg, R., Bussin, M., & Mabaso, C. M. (2023). Pay transparency, job turnover intentions and the mediating role of perceived organizational support and organizational justice. Employee Relations, 44(7), 162-182. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-02-2022-0077
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Cadena-Povea, H., Hernández-Martínez, M., Bastidas-Amador, G., & Torres-Andrade, H. (2025). What pushes university professors to burnout? A systematic review of sociodemographic and psychosocial determinants. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22, 1214. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22011214
Colquitt, J. A. (2001). On the dimensionality of organizational justice: A construct validation of a measure. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 386-400. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.86.3.386
Colquitt, J. A., Scott, B. A., Rodell, J. B., Long, D. M., Zapata, C. P., Conlon, D. E., & Wesson, M. J. (2013). Justice at the millennium, a decade later: A meta-analytic test of social exchange and affect-based perspectives. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98(2), 199-236. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031757
Davis, F. D. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly, 13(3), 319-340. https://doi.org/10.2307/249008
Eisenberger, R., Huntington, R., Hutchison, S., & Sowa, D. (1986). Perceived organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71(3), 500-507. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.71.3.500
El Saeed, M., Elgohary, E., & Elbaz, A. M. (2025). The role of HRM-service quality in the relationship between E-HRM and organizational performance. Future Business Journal, 11, 5. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43093-024-00402-x
Klimchak, M., Ward Bartlett, A. K., & MacKenzie, W. (2020). Building trust and commitment through transparency and HR competence: A signaling perspective. Personnel Review, 49(8), 1619-1641. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-11-2019-0619
Menant, L., Gilibert, D., & Sauvezon, C. (2021). The application of acceptance models to human resource information systems: A literature review. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 659421. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.659421
Moganadas, S. R., & Goh, G. G. G. (2022). Digital employee experience constructs and measurement framework: A review and synthesis. International Journal of Technology, 13(5), 1007-1018. https://doi.org/10.14716/ijtech.v13i5.5547
Moore, M. H. (1995). Creating public value: Strategic management in government. Harvard University Press.
Panneerselvam, S., & Balaraman, K. (2022). Employee experience: The new employee value proposition. Strategic HR Review, 21(6), 201-207. https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-08-2022-0047
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1988). SERVQUAL: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing, 64(1), 12-40.
Prabhu, J. (2017). Frugal innovation: Doing more with less for more. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, 375(2095), 20160372. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2016.0372
Rawlins, B. R. (2008). Measuring the relationship between organizational transparency and employee trust. Public Relations Journal, 2(2), 1-21.
Rhoades, L., & Eisenberger, R. (2002). Perceived organizational support: A review of the literature. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(4), 698-714. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.87.4.698
Stofberg, R., Bussin, M., & Mabaso, C. M. (2023). Pay transparency, job turnover intentions and the mediating role of perceived organizational support and organizational justice. Employee Relations, 44(7), 162-182. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-02-2022-0077
Ulrich, D. (1997). Human resource champions: The next agenda for adding value and delivering results. Harvard Business School Press.
Venkatesh, V., Morris, M. G., Davis, G. B., & Davis, F. D. (2003). User acceptance of information technology: Toward a unified view. MIS Quarterly, 27(3), 425-478. https://doi.org/10.2307/30036540
Woelert, P. (2023). Administrative burden in higher education institutions: A conceptualisation and a research agenda. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 45(3), 290-306. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2022.2095773
Published
2025-12-25
How to Cite
Sholikin, A. N., & Ismaeni, F. (2025). The Transparency Paradox In Digital Employee. Kontigensi : Jurnal Ilmiah Manajemen, 13(2), 1174-1202. https://doi.org/10.56457/jimk.v13i2.876
Section
Articles
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