Managing the communicative organization : a qualitative analysis of knowledge-intensive companies

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how employees’ work-related communication is managed in knowledge-intensive organizations. Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted by applying an exploratory, qualitative approach. The data were collected from six knowledge-intensive organizations operating in the professional service sector in Finland, and the data set used included altogether 23 interviews. Findings – The interviews confirmed that employees’ work-related communication on social media is regarded as an increasingly important area, and that it has required companies to establish new managerial processes that are aimed to affect employees’ communication behaviors (ECB) either as enablers or motivators. How companies apply these processes depends on contextual factors, and three different managerial approaches were identified, namely, individual-, corporate- and business-oriented approaches. Research limitations/implications – Based on the findings, this article proposes a new field for the communication management literature, management of the communicative organization (MCO), which builds on behavior management knowledge and focuses on managing employee communicators in multivocal organizational communication systems (MOCSs) that are dependent on employee-generated content. Originality/value – The study advances the field of communication management and ECB by empirically proving that organizations manage their employees’ work-related communication and the management processes and practices identified derive from behavioral management tradition. The proposed MCO framework introduces a novel area for academic discussion on how communication management affects ECB and attitudes, such as motivation.