تقویت رفتارهای ارتباطی کارکنان برای معنابخشی در شرایط بحرانی
Abstract
1- Literature review
2- Methods
3- Results
4- Discussion
5- Conclusion
6- Notes
References
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the organizational effectiveness of internal crisis communication within the strategic management approach, whether it enhanced voluntary and positive employee communication behaviors (ECBs) for sensemaking and sensegiving. By doing so, this study provides meaningful insight into: new crisis communication theory development that takes a strategic management approach, emphasizing employees’ valuable assets from an organization, and effective crisis communication practice that reduces misalignment with employees and that enhances voluntary and positive ECBs for the organization during a crisis. Design/methodology/approach – This study conducted a nationwide survey in the USA among full-time employees (n¼ 544). After dimensionality check through confirmatory factor analysis, this study tested hypothesis and research question by conducting ordinary least squares multiple regression analyses using STATA 13. Findings – This study found that strategic internal communication factors, including two-way symmetrical communication and transparent communication, were positive and strong antecedents of ECBs for sensemaking and sensegiving in crisis situations, when controlling for other effects. The post hoc analysis confirmed theses positive and strong associations across different industry areas. Originality/value – This study suggests that voluntary and valuable ECBs can be enhanced by listening and responding to employee concerns and interests; encouraging employee participation in crisis communication; and organizational accountability through words, actions and decisions during the crisis. As a theoretical implication, the results of this study indicate the need for crisis communication theories that emphasize employees as valuable assets to an organization. Keywords Internal communication, Public relations, Crisis communication, Strategic communication, Employee communication
Literature review
Effective internal crisis communication through understanding employees Employee as boundary spanner. Internal crisis communication is comprised of situations in which the employees interpret and make sense of the organizational management’s crisis communication (Strandberg and Vigsø, 2016). In the field of crisis communication research, to date, employees have not drawn much attention from crisis communication researchers (Frandsen and Johansen, 2011; Mazzei and Ravazzani, 2015; Strandberg and Vigsø, 2016). However, some scholars have emphasized recognizing employees as a distinct public that is worthy of individualized attention through internal communication[1] (Kang and Sung, 2017; Park et al., 2014). As one of their valuable characteristics, employees engage in boundary-spanning activities[2], frequently interacting with an organization’s environment (e.g. external publics) to gather, select, and relay information from the environment to decision makers or other internal members in the organization (Grunig and Repper, 1992). JCOM Downloaded by INSEAD At 20:41 03 August 2018 (PT) These boundary-spanning activities can be very important to an organization, regardless of whether employees act as negative or positive ambassadors (Frandsen and Johansen, 2016). Employees can become the most effective advocates of the reputation as well as of the internal and external communication strategies of the company (Kim and Rhee, 2011; Mazzei et al., 2012). In addition, employees can be dangerous triggers and can cause negative communication outcomes that negatively affect their company’s reputation via informal networks (Kim et al., 2013). Such boundary-spanning activities are conceptualized as ECBs, which emphasize positive and negative impacts of active information-seeking and -forwarding behaviors (Kang and Sung, 2017; Kim and Rhee, 2011). Accordingly, understanding employees and their communication behaviors is essential for effective crisis communication (González-Herrero and Pratt, 1996; Mazzei et al., 2012).