Coworker voices on internal social media: A case study on IKEA
(2022) SKOM12 20221Department of Strategic Communication
- Abstract
- When coworkers express what they are genuinely thinking, it can have positive implications for an organization, but they do not always feel encouraged to do so.
As internal social media (ISM) is an emerging platform within organizations, it can offer coworkers a space where they can express their voice. The purpose of this research is therefore to explore how coworkers communicate on internal social media. It is to determine why coworkers decide to express or withhold their opinions, ideas, or concerns on ISM. As organizational context is critical on how internal social media is used by coworkers and for expressing voice, this thesis conducts a case study on the global retailer IKEA. Lastly, the purpose is to find out about the role of... (More) - When coworkers express what they are genuinely thinking, it can have positive implications for an organization, but they do not always feel encouraged to do so.
As internal social media (ISM) is an emerging platform within organizations, it can offer coworkers a space where they can express their voice. The purpose of this research is therefore to explore how coworkers communicate on internal social media. It is to determine why coworkers decide to express or withhold their opinions, ideas, or concerns on ISM. As organizational context is critical on how internal social media is used by coworkers and for expressing voice, this thesis conducts a case study on the global retailer IKEA. Lastly, the purpose is to find out about the role of organizational culture and communication climate for communication on internal social media. Postings from IKEA’s internal social media platform Yammer from the period of four months were analyzed and interviews with seven coworkers were conducted to address the purpose. The findings indicate that coworkers communicate on a diverse range of topics on ISM, which is not always work-related. The research on motives for speaking up or remaining silent on internal social media unveiled that for IKEA coworkers’ reasons on both individual level as well as on organizational level determine their communication behavior. The findings also suggest that organizational culture and communication climate play an important role for IKEA coworkers communicating on ISM. However, organizational culture is rather complex and perceived differently by IKEA coworkers. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9084904
- author
- Darscht, Alexandra LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SKOM12 20221
- year
- 2022
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- internal communication, coworker, employee voice, internal social media, organizational culture, global organization
- language
- English
- id
- 9084904
- date added to LUP
- 2022-06-27 14:28:00
- date last changed
- 2022-06-27 14:28:00
@misc{9084904,
abstract = {{When coworkers express what they are genuinely thinking, it can have positive implications for an organization, but they do not always feel encouraged to do so.
As internal social media (ISM) is an emerging platform within organizations, it can offer coworkers a space where they can express their voice. The purpose of this research is therefore to explore how coworkers communicate on internal social media. It is to determine why coworkers decide to express or withhold their opinions, ideas, or concerns on ISM. As organizational context is critical on how internal social media is used by coworkers and for expressing voice, this thesis conducts a case study on the global retailer IKEA. Lastly, the purpose is to find out about the role of organizational culture and communication climate for communication on internal social media. Postings from IKEA’s internal social media platform Yammer from the period of four months were analyzed and interviews with seven coworkers were conducted to address the purpose. The findings indicate that coworkers communicate on a diverse range of topics on ISM, which is not always work-related. The research on motives for speaking up or remaining silent on internal social media unveiled that for IKEA coworkers’ reasons on both individual level as well as on organizational level determine their communication behavior. The findings also suggest that organizational culture and communication climate play an important role for IKEA coworkers communicating on ISM. However, organizational culture is rather complex and perceived differently by IKEA coworkers.}},
author = {{Darscht, Alexandra}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Coworker voices on internal social media: A case study on IKEA}},
year = {{2022}},
}