Internal communication satisfaction and employee engagement as determinants of the employer brand

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Špoljarić ◽  
Ana Tkalac Verčič

PurposeThis study aims to contribute to the understanding of internal communication and its connections to engagement and employer brands. The authors wanted to test the relationship between the three variables and explore if employees' perception of employer brands is affected by internal communication satisfaction and engagement. Creating a desirable employer brand can have significant benefits for organizations, such as higher employee satisfaction, employee engagement and retention. It is crucial to have a clear grasp of how the determinants of these relationships affect each other.Design/methodology/approachA total of 1,805 employees participated in a large communication survey that measured internal communication satisfaction, employee engagement and perception of employer brand (operationalized as employer attractiveness). To test the relationship between variables, the authors used multiple regression analysis.FindingsThe results show internal communication satisfaction and employee engagement as significant predictors of employer brand. All of the internal communication satisfaction dimensions and two out of three employee engagement dimensions have been identified as determinants of at least two employer attractiveness dimensions.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations include using a cross-sectional dataset, which reduces the possibility of determining causality, using self-reports and a common source bias.Originality/valueThe authors added to the body of knowledge by analyzing the effects of workplace attitudes on attitudes toward the organization. The authors found that both internal communication satisfaction and employee engagement significantly shape the perception of employer brands.

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 799-823 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karnica Tanwar ◽  
Amresh Kumar

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between employer brand dimensions and employer of choice (EOC). The paper also analyses the role of person-organisation fit in transferring employer brand dimensions to EOC status, and the moderating role of social media in the relationship between person-organisation fit and EOC. Design/methodology/approach Factor analysis has been conducted to validate the “employer attractiveness” scale for identifying the dimensions of employer brand. Structural equation modelling has been used to conduct mediation and moderation analysis. The results are based on the perceptions of college students regarding employer brand dimensions and EOC status. Findings The paper provides empirical insights on how the person-organisation fit helps in transferring employer brand dimensions to EOC status. The results indicate that the person-organisation fit acts as a full mediator, indicating that for becoming a EOC, the dimensions of employer brand must be linked to the person-organisation fit. Also, the moderation analysis results highlight the importance of social media towards obtaining EOC status. Originality/value The authors believe that the study is the first of its kind to investigate drivers of EOC, and to identify the role of the person-organisation fit as a mediating variable and social media as a moderating variable.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Tkalac Verčič ◽  
Dubravka Sinčić Ćorić ◽  
Nina Pološki Vokić

PurposeThe study examines the psychometric properties of internal communication satisfaction questionnaire (ICSQ), an instrument originally developed in Croatian. A need for a contemporary instrument validated among a non-English-speaking population of employees who use English as their second language motivated the authors to translate the scale.Design/methodology/approachICSQ was validated on a sample of 507 employees of a large Croatian subsidiary of a multinational bank, where English is the official corporate language.FindingsICSQ displayed satisfactory levels of psychometric properties, retaining the psychometric properties of the original version of the instrument. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed the acceptable model–data fit of the eight-factor model. Additionally, findings supported the reliability and construct validity of the English version of the instrument. Good internal consistencies of all eight internal communication satisfaction (ICS) dimensions and the total ICSQ and an adequate level of scale homogeneity according to the inter-item and inter-total correlations were found.Research limitations/implicationsIn order to generalize the study’s results to other business areas and industries, the study should be replicated in other contexts. Additionally, construct validity was tested by applying cross-sectional design, and therefore, no conclusion can be drawn on the causal direction of the relationship. Finally, the discriminant validity of ICSQ was not tested and should be examined in future studies.Practical implicationsThe resulting 32-item instrument, in English, can be used for empirical and practical purposes in improving internal communication.Originality/valueThe study confirms that internal communication is a multidimensional construct and should be measured as such.


2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 373-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong T.M. Bui ◽  
Yolanda Zeng ◽  
Malcolm Higgs

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between transformational leadership and employees’ work engagement based on fit theory. The paper reports an investigation into the way in which employees’ perceptions of transformational leadership and person-job fit affect their work engagement. Design/methodology/approach To test the authors’ hypotheses, the authors performed structure equation modeling with maximum likelihood estimation on Mplus with bootstrapping proposed by Hayes (2009) with data from 691 full-time employees in China. Findings The results indicate that transformational leadership has as significant influence on employees’ work engagement as person-job fit in China. Moreover, employees’ perception of person-job fit is found to partially mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and employees’ work engagement. Research limitations/implications There is a possible bias arising from the use of cross-sectional data. However, certain methods were implemented to minimize it, including survey design and data analysis. Practical implications The paper proposes a number of practical implications for policy makers, HR managers and transformational leaders relating to issues associated with improving levels of employee engagement. Originality/value The study contributes to developing leadership and engagement theory by examining a previously unexplored mediator – person-job fit – in a neglected cultural setting. This study promises to open new research avenues in this area.


2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 953-972 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Hansen ◽  
Zinta Byrne ◽  
Christa Kiersch

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine organizational identification as an underlying mechanism for how perceptions of interpersonal leadership are related to employee engagement, and its relationship with commitment and job tension. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 451 full-time employees at an international firm completed a web-based survey. Findings – Organizational identification mediated the relationship between perceived interpersonal leadership and engagement, which mediated the relationship between perceived interpersonal leadership and commitment. Engagement mediated the relationship between identification and job tension. Research limitations/implications – Limitations include cross-sectional data. Strengths include a large field sample. Implication is that leaders who encourage employees’ identification with the organization may also encourage their engagement. Practical implications – Interpersonal leadership characteristics can be developed, and are positively related to employees’ identification, commitment, and engagement, which are negatively related to job tension. Social implications – Interpersonal leaders are positively associated with employees’ engagement; high engagement has been related to positive employee health and well-being. A healthy workforce translates into a healthy society. Originality/value – This study is one of the few to examine the underlying mechanisms through which leadership relates to engagement.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Sani Abdullahi ◽  
Kavitha Raman ◽  
Sakiru Adebola Solarin ◽  
Adams Adeiza

PurposeThe aim of this research is to investigate the mediating effect of employee engagement (EE) on the relationship between employee relation practice and employee performance in Malaysian private universities (MPUs).Design/methodology/approachThis paper used a survey research design, and the study unit of the analysis consists of the academic staff of MPU. A sample of 314 teaching staff was used out of the target population (10,473) of the research, while simple random and stratified sampling techniques were used in order to determine the research sample. Data for the research were collected from the target participants via questionnaires, and partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was utilized to evaluate the research hypotheses.FindingsThe outcome of the research revealed that employee relation practice (ERP) has a substantial effect on employee performance (EP), and EE partially mediates the relationship between ERP and EP.Practical implicationsThe outcome of this study has urged the universities' management to focus on building effective and sustainable ERP that will ensure academic engagement that can result to sound academic performance and university growth.Originality/valueThis research has contributed significantly to the body of knowledge by operationalizing EP, ERP and EE literature. In extension, this research contributes to develop the literature of leaders, acknowledging the ERP as an important tool for leadership growth.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yannick Atouba

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to revisit the relationship between employee participation and organizational commitment to determine the mediational mechanisms that underlie it. Specifically, the study examines the role of three heretofore unexamined mediators, namely internal communication quality, burnout and job satisfaction and empirically tests multiple alternative explanations/paths for the relationship between employee participation and organizational commitment.Design/methodology/approachThe data for this study were collected using a cross-sectional online survey of 111 IT professionals (e.g. engineers, technicians, etc.) employed at a public IT company (PITC) in the Midwest of the USA.FindingsOverall, the results of this study provide strong support for an indirect relationship between employee work participation and organizational commitment. More specifically, the results of the study show that that relationship is mediated by internal communication adequacy, job satisfaction, as well as the path Burnout—job satisfaction.Originality/valueThis study makes an important contribution to our understanding of how to make the implementation and evaluation of participative practices more effective. It identifies/clarifies the conditions under which participative approaches are likely to induce employees' organizational commitment.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Afework G. Kassa ◽  
R. Satya Raju

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between corporate entrepreneurship and employee engagement. Corporate entrepreneurship is one of the widely researched areas recently, as is employee engagement. Studies combining the two constructs, on the other hand, are generally scarce. Developing on this gap and based on existing literature, the basic purpose this study pursued was to explore the relationship between corporate entrepreneurship and employee engagement using the corporate entrepreneurship assessment instrument (CEAI) and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). Design/methodology/approach – Within the tenets of the pragmatic approach, this study followed a descriptive survey design in a cross-sectional time. To capture primary data structured questionnaire was constructed based on the CEAI developed by Hornsby et al. (2002) for assessing the corporate entrepreneurial atmosphere and UWES (Schaufeli et al., 2002) to assess employee engagement. The sample constitutes 332 respondents taken from six leather footwear companies in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The social exchange theory (SET) was used to describe the hypothesised relationships. Findings – The findings of the current study reinforced the proposition by Saks (2006) that the SET can provide a meaningful theoretical basis for understanding and studying employee engagement. Accordingly, this study showed that the relationship between the organisation and its employees can be viewed as a mutually beneficial arrangement in a reciprocal exchange. Furthermore, it was shown that the five-factor model of the CEAI can be used to predict employee engagement and that a significant amount of the deviation in the engagement dimensions can be explained by the corporate entrepreneurial variables. Finally, it was indicated that different variables in the CEAI predict different engagement dimensions in the UWES. Research limitations/implications – This study does not group the data based on demographic factors. Likewise, future studies can explore the effect of the CEAI on the dimensions of employee engagement, while considering different demographic groups like salary ranges, age groups, gender, experience, work position. Furthermore, the current study applies cross-sectional data; future studies might consider longitudinal data for better results. Practical implications – The study findings suggest that it is important that practicing managers view the relationship between the organisation and employees as a two-way relationship guided by reciprocal exchange in which case when firm-specific entrepreneurial atmosphere is conducive, employees would respond by engaging themselves innovatively. Also, managers should know which CEAI variables affect which engagement dimensions for better outcomes. Originality/value – Although there are scattered studies in corporate entrepreneurship and employee engagement separately, there is no attempt so far to relate the two concepts. Therefore, this study stood as a first attempt to relate the two constructs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 363-376
Author(s):  
Dubravka Sinčić Ćorić ◽  
Nina Pološki Vokić ◽  
Ana Tkalac Verčič

PurposeThe study explored the relationship between the two concepts—internal communication satisfaction (ICS) and life satisfaction. Additionally, the study analyzed the link between eight internal communication dimensions (satisfaction with feedback, satisfaction with communication with immediate superior, satisfaction with horizontal communication, satisfaction with informal communication, satisfaction with information about the organization, satisfaction with communication climate, satisfaction with the quality of communication media and satisfaction with communication in meetings) and life satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachTo exclude the potential impact of contextual factors, we conducted a quantitative field research on a homogeneous sample of 507 respondents, employed in a multinational organization. For the assessment of ICS, we used the Internal Communication Satisfaction Scale (UPZIK), developed by Tkalac Vercic et al. (2009). For the assessment of life satisfaction, we used the satisfaction with life acale (SWLS) developed by Diener et al. (1985).FindingsResults showed a very high, statistically significant correlation between ICS and life satisfaction. All dimensions of ICS are highly correlated with life satisfaction, but this relationship proved to be the strongest between life satisfaction and two dimensions of ICS (satisfaction with informal communication and satisfaction with communication climate).Research limitations/implicationsOur study has three general limitations: (1) the dataset is of cross-sectional nature, which prevents inferring causality between variables; (2) a common source bias is present (ICS and life satisfaction are measured from the same source) and (3) we used self-reports [given the subjective nature and others’ reports of life satisfaction yield weaker but similar results (Erdogan et al., 2012)].Originality/valueWe identified satisfaction with internal communication, as a work domain that has not yet received attention in the management literature, to have an important role in life satisfaction. Among others, we found satisfaction with informal communication and satisfaction with communication climate to be especially relevant ICS dimensions, implying that organizations should primarily cultivate non-formalized dimensions of internal communication—a positive communication environment.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hemin Ali Hassan ◽  
Xiaodong Zhang ◽  
Ahmad Bayiz Ahmad

PurposeThis paper builds on and extends the theory of planned behavior (TPB) by examining empirically the underlying mechanism through which red tape is associated with employee change-supportive intention (CSI). It investigates red tape as an antecedent of CSI and examines the mediation role of change-related attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control (PBC) in the relationship between red tape and CSI.Design/methodology/approachTo test the study's hypotheses, cross-sectional data were collected from 183 employees working at a public organization in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq that was going through a major change. Regression analyses and the PROCESS macro for SPSS were used.FindingsConsistent with our expectations, the results indicate that red tape negatively predicts CSI. Red tape also predicts change-related attitude, subjective norm and PBC, which consequently predict CSI. The results also reveal that the relationship between red tape and CSI is mediated by change-related attitude and subjective norm.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited in using cross-sectional data at a point in time and in investigating intention only, rather than actual behavior.Originality/valueWhile prior work shows that red tape is a relevant factor that may affect employee responses to change in public sector, the psychological processes on which this relationship is based are still not fully explained. Therefore, this is the first study that aims to shed some light on this relationship.


2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 305-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panagiotis Gkorezis ◽  
Eugenia Petridou ◽  
Panteleimon Xanthiakos

Purpose – Leader-member exchange (LMX) has been proposed as a core mechanism which accounts for the impact of various antecedents on employee outcomes. As such, the purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effect of LMX regarding the relationship between leader positive humor and employees’ perceptions of organizational cynicism. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 114 public employees. In order to examine the authors’ hypotheses hierarchical regression analysis was conducted. Findings – As hypothesized, results demonstrated that LMX mediates the relationship between leader positive humor and organizational cynicism. Research limitations/implications – Data were drawn from public employees and, therefore, this may constrain the generalizability of the results. Also, the cross-sectional analysis of the data cannot directly assess causality. Originality/value – This is the first empirical study to examine the mediating effect of LMX in the relationship between leader humor and employees’ perceptions of organizational cynicism.


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