Transparency matters: The concept of organizational transparency in the academic discourse

Abstract

Although transparency is currently a buzzword in the public discourse, public relations (PR) theory has not yet produced a theory of transparency. Instead, its body of knowledge lacks theoretical depth and critical perspectives. Taking this as a point of departure, the article searches for alternative accounts on transparency, which could stimulate PR discourse and help to overcome the theoretical and normative deficits. Therefore it aims to discern whether or not the discourse in related disciplines such as business studies is more reflective and complex than in the PR domain. To determine this, we analysed 105 articles taken from Business Source Premier, one of the leading databases in the business field. Relying on a combined qualitative and quantitative analysis, our main findings are: (1) more than half of the articles set transparency in a positive frame; (2) a definition of transparency was given in only 13 articles; and (3) like in the public relations discourse, a theory-driven analysis of transparency is a desideratum. Only two articles set transparency within the context of a broader theoretical perspective. Both articles embed transparency in the paradigm of self-organizing systems. This paradigm looks to be a promising way forward for theory-oriented research on transparency in PR. One article provides the reader with a systematization of transparency which may provide a basis for a theory of transparency in PR.