Abstract

This study examines the notion of organizational transparency through the lenses of stakeholder theory and focuses on the interaction between management and internal stakeholders. A theory-driven measure of transparency is developed and dened along three dimensions: informative, participative, and accountable. Based on a unique data set consisting of six Italian social enterprises operating in the social service sector, we use a mixed-method approach in order to study both managerial policy and stakeholders' perceptions towards transparency. From qualitative, exploratory, and multi-case analysis, it emerges that the nature of the relationship between the organization and its stakeholders shapes transparency dimensions through organizational structure. There are common patterns in this context that distinguish large enterprises with vertical decision-making from smaller rms with horizontal processes: in the rst group,transparency is developed along its informative dimension and it is structured on a unilateral ow of information that is aimed at controlling internal stakeholders. Whereas in the second group, transparency is mainly participative, designed as a two-way exchange of information with an explicit objective to allow mean- ing co-creation. Using structural equation modelling, we nd that stakeholders' perceptions about transparency are relatively high and positively linked to organizational commitment, where trust plays a signicant mediating role. Tenure in the organization, formal membership, and job security display varying and, in some cases, opposing behaviors. The main contribution of this thesis to the literature in this area is that it highlights the need for understanding the interplay between the transmitter and the receiver of transparency. It further considers the impact of stakeholder relations to enable alternatives for developing dierent typologies of transparency.