Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Morality of Transparency: Clarity versus Emptiness

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Der Transparenz-Imperativ

Abstract

With transparency being either a state of clarity or the exposure of emptiness, this paper focuses on the practices of transparency, termed ‘transparenting’. Focus on transparenting practices can provide a better tool for understanding the ‘rise of transparency’, and its moral, practical and political aspects. Three types of transparenting are defined: the voluntary transparenting conducted by organizations, the “flashlight” transparenting of suspicious outsiders, and renegade transparenting by the whistleblower. Examples are given from the field of anti-corruption programs and business ethics and compliance. Through a focus on transparenting, we can better understand both the risks and dark sides of transparency.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 34.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 44.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    www.transparency.org. Accessed: 20 May 2019.

  2. 2.

    https://www.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx. Accessed: 20 May 2019.

  3. 3.

    www.transparency.org. Accessed: 20 May 2019.

  4. 4.

    https://qcmconsulting.com/. Accessed: 20 May 2019.

  5. 5.

    https://www.ethics.org; https://www.corporatecompliance.org/. Both accessed: 20 May 2019.

  6. 6.

    https://www.complianceweek.com/. Accessed: 20 May 2019.

  7. 7.

    http://report-bribery.com/. Accessed: 20 May 2019.

References

  • Alvesson, M. (2014). The triumph of emptiness: Consumption, higher education, and work organization. London: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arvidsson, S. (2018). Challenges in managing sustainable business reporting, taxation, ethics and governance. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Associated Press. (2019). EU slams Romanian govt for diluting anti-corruption fight. https://www.apnews.com/777cb6ece098441cb86d596bf63ccd4a. Accessed 20 Febr 2019.

  • Bernstein, E. (2017). Making transparency transparent: The evolution of observation in management theory. Academy of Management Annals, 11(1), 217–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Birchall, C. (2011). Introduction to ‘secrecy and transparency’: The politics of opacity and openness. Theory, Culture and Society, 28(7–8), 7–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buchan, B., & Hill, L. (2014). An intellectual history of political corruption. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Comaroff, J., & Comaroff, J. (2003). Transparent fictions; or the conspiracies of a liberal imagination: An afterword. In H. G. West & T. Sanders (Eds.), Transparency and conspiracy: Ethnographies of suspicion in the new world order (S. 287–300). Durham: Duke University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Danida [Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs]. (2019). Transparency/anti-corruption. http://um.dk/en/danida-en/about-danida/danida-transparency/anti-corruption/. Accessed 10 Apr 2019.

  • DeMaria, W. (2008). Measurements and markets: Deconstructing the corruption perception index. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 21(7), 777–797.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drucker, S. J. K., & Gumpert, G. (2007). Through the looking glass: illusions of transparency and the cult of information. Journal of Management Development, 26(5), 493–499.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eigen, P. (2003). Das Netz der Korruption. Frankfurt a. M.: Campus.

    Google Scholar 

  • Etzioni, A. (2010). Is transparency the best disinfectant? Journal of Political Philosophy, 18(4), 389–404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • European Commission. (2019). Organised crime & human trafficking: Corruption. https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/organized-crime-and-human-trafficking/corruption_en. Accessed 20 May 2019.

  • Flyverbom, M. (2016). Disclosing and concealing: Internet governance, information control and the management of visibility. Internet Policy Review, 5(3), 1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flyverbom, M., & Albu, O. B. (2017). Transparency. In C. R. Scott, L. Lewis, J. R. Barker, J. Keyton, T. Kuhn, & P. K. Turner (Eds.), The international encyclopedia of organizational communication (pp. 2427–2436). West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flyverbom, M., Leonardi, P. M., Stohl, C., & Stohl, M. (2016). The management of visibilities in the digital age. International Journal of Communication, 10, 98–109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galtung, F. (2006). Measuring the immeasurable: Boundaries and functions of (macro) corruption indices. In C. Sampford, A. Shacklock, C. Connors, & F. Galtung (Eds.), Measuring corruption (pp. 101–130). Aldershot: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garsten, C., & Lindh de Montoya, M. (Eds.). (2008). Transparency in a new global order: Unveiling organizational visions. Cheltenham: Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Han, B.-C. (2015). The transparency society. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hellman, J, & Kaufmann, D. (2001). Confronting the challenge of state capture in transition economies. Finance and Development, 38(3). https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2001/09/hellman.htm. Accessed 20 May 2019.

  • Hellman, J., Jones, G., & Kaufmann, D. (2003). Seize the state, seize the day: State capture and influence in transition economies. Journal of Comparative Economics, 31(4), 751–773.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hilhorst, D. (2003). The real world of NGOs: Discourses, diversity, and development. London: Zed Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ivanov, K. S. (2007). The limits of a global campaign against corruption. In S. Bracking (Ed.), Corruption and development: The anti-corruption campaigns (pp. 28–45). Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, A. (2011). For whistleblower fans, a grim proposal. Wall Street Journal. https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2011/05/05/for-whistleblower-fans-a-grimm-proposal/. Accessed 5 May 2011.

  • Jörgens, H. (2004). Governance by diffusion: Implementing global norms through cross-national imitation and learning. In W. M. Lafferty (Ed.), Governance for sustainable development. The challenge of adapting form to function (pp. 246–283). Cheltenham: Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katzarova, E. (2018). From global problems to international norms: What does the social construction of a global corruption problem tell us about the emergence of an international anti-corruption norm. Crime Law and Social Change, 70(3), 299–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katzarova, E. (2019). The social construction of global corruption: From utopia to neoliberalism. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Knack, S. F. (2006). Measuring corruption in Eastern Europe and Central Asia: A critique of the cross-country indicators. Policy Research Working Paper, 3968. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/8377. Accessed 10 Apr 2019.

  • Koivisto, I. (2016). The anatomy of transparency: The concept and its multifarious implications. European University Institute Working Paper, MWP. September 2016.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lambsdorf, J. G. (2006). Measuring corruption—The validity and precision of subjective indicators (CPI). In C. Sampford, A. Shacklock, C. Connors, & F. Galtung (Eds.), Measuring corruption (pp. 81–100). Aldershot: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Larmour, P. (2006). Civilizing techniques: Transparency International and the spread of anti-corruption. In B. Bowden & L. Seabrooke (Eds.), Global standards of market civilization (pp. 95–106). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinsson, J. (2011). Global norms: Creation, diffusion, and limits. Washington: World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/26891. Accessed 20 Apr 2019.

  • Mendelski, M. (2019). 15 years of anti-corruption in Romania: Augmentation. Aberration and Acceleration. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.17590.14405.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michael, B., & Bowser, D. (2010). The evolution of the anti-corruption industry in the third wave of anti-corruption work. In D. Schmidt-Pfister & S. Wolf (Eds.), International anti-corruption regimes in Europe—Between corruption, integration, and culture (pp. 159–179). Baden-Baden: Nomos.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mungiu-Pippidi, A. (2018). Explaining Eastern Europe: Romania’s Italian-Style anticorruption populism. Journal of Democracy, 29(3), 104–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, N. (2017). EU Commission drops anticorruption report. EU observer. https://euobserver.com/institutional/136775. Accessed 19 Apr 2019.

  • Osrecki, F. (2015). Fighting corruption with transparent organizations: Anti-corruption and functional deviance in organizational behavior. Ephemera: Theory & Politics in Organization, 15(2), 337–364.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peters, A. (2015). The transparency turn of international law. The Chinese Journal of Global Governance, 1(1). https://cyberleninka.org/article/n/1326074.pdf. Accessed 8 Apr 2019.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peters, A. (2016). The transparency of global governanance. In F. Pazartzis, M. Gavouneli, A., Gourgourinis, & M. Papadaki. (Eds.), Reconceptualising the rule of law in global governance, resources, investment & trade. Oxford: Hart. https://ssrn.com/abstract=2419019. Accessed 8 Apr 2019.

  • Power, M. (1997). The audit society: Rituals of verification. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richards, L. (23. April 2003). “The culture of compliance”. Spring Compliance Conference. Tucson: National Regulatory Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, S. (1996). The social life of projects: Importing civil society to Albania. In E. Dunn & C. Hann (Eds.), Civil society: Challenging Western models (pp. 121–142). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, S. (2005). Integrity warriors: Global morality and the anti-corruption movement in the Balkans. In D. Haller & C. Shore (Eds.), Corruption: Anthropological perspectives (pp. 103–130). London: Pluto Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, S. (2009). Corruption and anti-corruption in Southeast Europe: Landscapes and sites. In L. de Sousa, P. Lamour, & B. Hindess (Eds.), Governments, NGOs and anti-corruption: The new integrity warriors (pp. 168–185). Abingdon: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, S. (2010a). The anti-corruption industry: From movement to institution. Glob Crime, 11(2), 261–278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, S. (2010b). Diagnostics: Indicators and transparency in the anti-corruption industry. In S. A. Jansen, E. Schröter, & N. Stehr (Eds.), Transparenz: Multidisziplinäre Durchsichten durch Phänomene und Theorien des Undurchsichtigen (pp. 97–111). Wiesbaden: VS Verlag.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, S. (2015a). The audit juggernaut. Social Anthropology, 23(1), 80–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, S. (2015b). The anti-corruption package. Ephemera: Theory & Politics in Organization, 15(2), 115–123.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, S. (2016). The ‘Right Way’: Moral capitalism and the emergence of the corporate ethics and compliance officer. Journal of Business Anthropology, 10(5), 65–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, S. (2017). Engagements and entanglements in the anthropology of NGOs. In A. Lashaw, C. Vannier, & S. Sampson (Eds.), Cultures of doing good: Anthropologists and NGOs (pp. 1–19). Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, S. (2018). Anti-corruption: Who cares. In S. Arvidsson (Ed.), Challenges in managing sustainable business reporting, taxation, ethics and governance (pp. 277–294). London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sida [Swedish International Development Agency]. (2015). How we work. https://www.sida.se/English/how-we-work/approaches-and-methods/our-work-against-corruption/. Accessed 19 Apr 2019.

  • Snyder, B. (9. September 2014). “Compliance is a Culture, Not Just a Policy”. International Chamber of Commerce/United States Council of International Business Joint Antitrust Compliance Workshop. New York: U.S. Department of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strathern, M. (2000). The tyranny of transparency. British Educational Research Journal, 26(3), 309–321.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strathern, M. (2005). Audit cultures: Anthropological studies in accountability, ethics, and the academy. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Transparency International. (2010). Adequate procedures—Guidance to the UK Bribery Act 2010. https://www.transparency.org.uk/publications/adequate-procedures-guidance-to-the-uk-bribery-act-2010/. Accessed 20 May 2019.

  • Transparency International. (2012). Adequate procedures checklist. https://www.transparency.org.uk/publications/adequate-procedures-checklist-excel/. Accessed 20 May 2019.

  • Tsing, A. (2005). Friction. An ethnography of global connections. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Tsoukas, H. (1997). The tyranny of light. The temptations and the paradoxes of the information society. Futures, 29(9), 827–843.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United States Sentencing Commission. (2014). Guidelines. chapter 8. Sentencing of organizations. https://www.ussc.gov/guidelines/2018-guidelines-manual/2018-chapter-8. Accessed 20 May 2019.

  • U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (2018). Whistleblower Program. 2018 Annual Report to Congress. https://www.sec.gov/files/sec-2018-annual-report-whistleblower-program.pdf. Accessed 10 October 2019.

  • U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (2019). Office of the Whistleblower. https://www.sec.gov/whistleblower. Accessed 20 May 2019.

  • Vattimo, G. (2007). The transparent society. Cambridge: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • West, H. G., & Sanders, T. (2003). Transparency and conspiracy: Ethnographies of suspicion in the new world order. Durham: Duke University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wiley. (2019). Promoting your research with impact—Understanding Journal Metrics and SEO. https://www.wiley.com/network/researchers/promoting-your-article/promoting-your-research-with-impact-understanding-journal-metrics-and-seo-2. Accessed 20 May 2019.

  • World Bank. (2019). The Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI). https://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi/#home. Accessed 20 May 2019.

  • Wright, S. (1994). Culture in anthropology and organizational studies. In S. Wright (Ed.), The anthropology of organizations (pp. 1–31). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Steven Sampson

Authors
  1. Steven Sampson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Steven Sampson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Vincent August

  2. Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Fran Osrecki

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Sampson, S. (2019). The Morality of Transparency: Clarity versus Emptiness. In: August, V., Osrecki, F. (eds) Der Transparenz-Imperativ. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-22294-9_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-22294-9_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer VS, Wiesbaden

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-658-22293-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-658-22294-9

  • eBook Packages: Social Science and Law (German Language)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation