How employees learn about corporate strategy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess which communication channels are most frequently used by employees to gain corporate strategic information and the impact of seniority on communication channel chosen.Design/methodology/approach – A Saudi Arabian manufacturing company employing a wide range of both professionals and rank and file workers was used as the source of data. A total of 187 responses (85 per cent response rate) to an empirical questionnaire provided the data for analysis.Findings – There are indications that employees are not satisfied with what they currently know and are eager to learn more about strategic direction. Results also show that rich communication channels such as one‐on‐one dialog and group meetings are preferred to lean ones such as bulletin boards, memos, and newsletters. Finally, more experienced employees utilize a wider variety of communication channels in garnering strategic information.Research limitations/implications – Findings may not be generalizable to ot...

[1]  J. R. Galosy.  The human factor in mergers and acquisitions , 1990 .

[2]  M. Marks,et al.  The merger syndrome , 1986 .

[3]  Julia Balogun,et al.  Exploring Strategic Change , 1998 .

[4]  S. Harris,et al.  Crafting a change message to create transformational readiness , 2002 .

[5]  P. Lok,et al.  The relationship between commitment and organizational culture, subculture, leadership style and job satisfaction in organizational change and development , 1999 .

[6]  M. Beer,et al.  The Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning , 2000 .

[7]  Matthew H. Roy.  Small group communication and performance: do cognitive flexibility and context matter? , 2001 .

[8]  R. Daft,et al.  The Selection of Communication Media as an Executive Skill , 1988 .

[9]  Stuart M. Klein.  A management communication strategy for change , 1996 .

[10]  Richard Whittington,et al.  Exploring Corporate Strategy , 1988 .

[11]  Le Breton,et al.  General administration : planning and implementation , 1965 .

[12]  Matthew H. Roy,et al.  Developing Trust: The Importance of Cognitive Flexibility and Co-Operative Contexts , 1998 .

[13]  Larry D. Alexander,et al.  Successfully implementing strategic decisions , 1985 .

[14]  P. Kitchen,et al.  Internal communication during change management , 2002 .

[15]  Roger M. D'Aprix.  Communicating for Change , 1996 .

[16]  Mike Steckel.  Book review: U.S. government on the Web: Getting the information you need, by Peter Hernon, John A. Shuler, and Robert E. Dugan , 2000 .

[17]  Joanna Goodman,et al.  The medium and the message: communicating effectively during a major change initiative , 2004 .

[18]  R. Daft,et al.  Chief executive scanning, environmental characteristics, and company performance: An empirical study , 1988 .