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Impact and benefits of internal communication
About the research project
Title: Impact and benefits of internal communication
Team: Prof. Dr. Ulrike Röttger, Prof. Dr. Volker Gehrau, Prof. Dr. Helena Stehle (University of Münster)
Project duration: January 2024 – August 2024
Today, employees are no longer just seen as recipients of strategic internal communication, but rather as active communicators in companies. Internal communication has a significant influence on the organizational climate, the level of information, the motivation and the attitude of employees towards the company.
Internal communication refers to a strategic organizational function that is planned and implemented by an organizational unit or by individuals and is aimed at internal stakeholders such as managers or employees.
Interaction of strategic, formal and informal internal communication
The study is based on a broad understanding of internal communication, which takes into account both formal and informal internal communication between employees (peer-to-peer communication) and between employees and managers (management communication).
The University of Münster is investigating the perceptions and experiences of employees and managers regarding formal and informal internal communication in companies. This study focuses in particular on the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on internal communications. Consequences for internal strategic communication are then derived.
Methodology
Research questions
- What forms, channels and topics of internal communication are used by managers and employees in German companies and organizations, especially in the transformative time after the COVID-19 pandemic?
- How is usage related to other factors (e.g. demographic characteristics, attitudes and values of respondents or characteristics of the company)?
- What impact does the use of internal communication have on target variables such as satisfaction with communication and work or the commitment and behavior of managers and employees?
This study extends a representative online survey from 2022. The second wave of the survey will be conducted at a significant time lag from the COVID-19 pandemic. Managers and employees from private and public companies in Germany were surveyed.