How to Create Engaged Transparency Among Employees

Abstract

A core promise of Open Strategy is that strategic transparency translates into superior strategic outcomes. Yet this depends on a fundamental premise: organizational members must actively engage with the information provided. It can be conceptualized as engaged transparency, or the social processes through which transparency is collectively made meaningful. This article shows that engaged transparency rests on four conditions—accessibility, attention, applicability, and authenticity—that can be established through a combination of material and social enablers. Engaged transparency enhances strategic understanding and leads to the formation of informed strategic judgments which should not be confused with strategic alignment.