On the consequences of electronic performance monitoring in organizations: theory and evidence
Purpose – The potential applications of information and communication technologies in the workplace are wide-ranging and, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, have increasingly found their way into the field of electronic performance monitoring (EPM) of employees. This study aims to examine the i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Emerald Publishing
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Digital Transformation and Society |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/DTS-10-2022-0054/full/pdf |
| _version_ | 1827324810162601984 |
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| author | Thomas Kalischko René Riedl |
| author_facet | Thomas Kalischko René Riedl |
| author_sort | Thomas Kalischko |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Purpose – The potential applications of information and communication technologies in the workplace are wide-ranging and, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, have increasingly found their way into the field of electronic performance monitoring (EPM) of employees. This study aims to examine the influence of EPM on individual performance considering the aspects of privacy invasion, organizational trust and individual stress within an organization. Thus, important insights are generated for academia as well as business. Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical framework was developed which conceptualizes perceived EPM as independent variable and individual performance as dependent variable. Moreover, the framework conceptualizes three mediator variables (privacy invasion, organizational trust and individual stress). Based on a large-scale survey (N = 1,119), nine hypotheses were tested that were derived from the developed framework. Findings – The results indicate that perception of EPM significantly increases privacy invasion, reduces organizational trust, increases individual stress and ultimately reduces individual performance. Moreover, it was found that privacy invasion reduces organizational trust and that this lowered trust increases individual stress. Altogether, these findings suggest that the use of EPM by employers may be associated with significant negative consequences. Originality/value – This research enriches the literature on digital transformation, as well as human–machine interaction, by adopting a multidimensional theoretical and empirical perspective regarding EPM in the workplace context, in which the influence of EPM perceptions on individual performance is examined under the influence of different aspects (privacy invasion, organizational trust and individual stress) not currently considered in this combination in the literature. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:03:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d66f66e5c70f41909a1c03db1d3e37e1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2755-0761 2755-077X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:03:28Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Emerald Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Digital Transformation and Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-d66f66e5c70f41909a1c03db1d3e37e12024-03-07T04:47:21ZengEmerald PublishingDigital Transformation and Society2755-07612755-077X2024-03-0131507910.1108/DTS-10-2022-0054On the consequences of electronic performance monitoring in organizations: theory and evidenceThomas Kalischko0René Riedl1School of Business and Management, Digital Business Institute, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Steyr, AustriaSchool of Business and Management, Digital Business Institute, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Steyr, AustriaPurpose – The potential applications of information and communication technologies in the workplace are wide-ranging and, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, have increasingly found their way into the field of electronic performance monitoring (EPM) of employees. This study aims to examine the influence of EPM on individual performance considering the aspects of privacy invasion, organizational trust and individual stress within an organization. Thus, important insights are generated for academia as well as business. Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical framework was developed which conceptualizes perceived EPM as independent variable and individual performance as dependent variable. Moreover, the framework conceptualizes three mediator variables (privacy invasion, organizational trust and individual stress). Based on a large-scale survey (N = 1,119), nine hypotheses were tested that were derived from the developed framework. Findings – The results indicate that perception of EPM significantly increases privacy invasion, reduces organizational trust, increases individual stress and ultimately reduces individual performance. Moreover, it was found that privacy invasion reduces organizational trust and that this lowered trust increases individual stress. Altogether, these findings suggest that the use of EPM by employers may be associated with significant negative consequences. Originality/value – This research enriches the literature on digital transformation, as well as human–machine interaction, by adopting a multidimensional theoretical and empirical perspective regarding EPM in the workplace context, in which the influence of EPM perceptions on individual performance is examined under the influence of different aspects (privacy invasion, organizational trust and individual stress) not currently considered in this combination in the literature.https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/DTS-10-2022-0054/full/pdfElectronic performance monitoringPrivacy invasionOrganizational trustIndividual stressIndividual performanceSurveillance |
| spellingShingle | Thomas Kalischko René Riedl On the consequences of electronic performance monitoring in organizations: theory and evidence Digital Transformation and Society Electronic performance monitoring Privacy invasion Organizational trust Individual stress Individual performance Surveillance |
| title | On the consequences of electronic performance monitoring in organizations: theory and evidence |
| title_full | On the consequences of electronic performance monitoring in organizations: theory and evidence |
| title_fullStr | On the consequences of electronic performance monitoring in organizations: theory and evidence |
| title_full_unstemmed | On the consequences of electronic performance monitoring in organizations: theory and evidence |
| title_short | On the consequences of electronic performance monitoring in organizations: theory and evidence |
| title_sort | on the consequences of electronic performance monitoring in organizations theory and evidence |
| topic | Electronic performance monitoring Privacy invasion Organizational trust Individual stress Individual performance Surveillance |
| url | https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/DTS-10-2022-0054/full/pdf |
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