In the riptide of control and trust: Emergence of control practices, suspicion, and distrust in new technology deployment

Abstract

In this study, we focus on the unintended consequences of new technology deployment for control-trust dynamics. When addressing these dynamics, managers and management researchers often focus on consciously designed and implemented controls and management actions that build, repair, or preserve trust. At the same time, unowned processes—processes that have no single source or purpose—easily go unnoticed. These processes may have effects that are inadvertent and sometimes detrimental. A close-up ethnographic study of a technology deployment provides insight into the emergence of unintended control practices and shifts in trust. Our findings demonstrate how deployment of new technology prompted a shift in the loci and forms of control and how trust, suspicion, and distrust surfaced asymmetrically as organizational members interpreted in different ways how others were using the new technological features. These developments contributed to the emergence of four unintended control practices: incidental monitoring, organizational surveillance, individual concealment, and collective resistance. Our study highlights the role of unowned processes in the control-trust dynamics and emphasizes that whether or not control and trust are consciously addressed, both play interactive and evolving roles in organizations.