Exploring secrecy in pay communication: a conceptual matrix

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework that clarifies the construct of pay secrecy.

Design/methodology/approach

Paralleling organizational justice research, two continua of pay information – a distributive continuum about pay raise outcomes and a procedural continuum of pay raise processes – are crossed to produce a 3 × 3 matrix with nine distinct forms of pay communication.

Findings

Drawing on the substitutability effect from the organizational justice literature, the matrix highlights the importance of considering how the communication of different types of pay information interact with one another as individuals form pay perceptions.

Research limitations/implications

The matrix framework illustrates that not only information content shapes pay perceptions, but also the extent to which different types of pay information are communicated, and how these different types of information interact. As with any conceptual framework, the current manuscript is limited by a lack of empirical testing.

Practical implications

Managers should be cognizant of the many different ways in which pay information can be communicated. A call is made to reconsider the use of traditionally binary terminology (secret or not) in favor of more accurate descriptions of the nuanced ways in which organizations communicate pay information.

Originality/value

The value of the pay communication matrix lies in the nine unique forms of pay communication arising from the interaction of two different forms of pay information – distributive (outcomes) and procedural (process).

Citation

Holtzen, S. (2022), "Exploring secrecy in pay communication: a conceptual matrix", Employee Relations, Vol. 44 No. 6, pp. 1448-1466. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-04-2021-0164