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sinergie n. 87/12 ISNN 0393-5108
Entrepreneurial communication and
the strategic role of internal communication
EMANUELE INVERNIZZI* SILVIA BIRAGHI** STEFANIA ROMENTI***
Abstract
Obiettivo del paper: Il dibattito nella letteratura di Corporate Communication,
Organizational Communication e Relazioni Pubbliche sostiene che la comunicazione interna
è di vitale importanza per il management e il successo delle organizzazioni. Benché gli
studiosi di comunicazione sottolineino il ruolo strategico della comunicazione interna, ad ora
non è stato sviluppato un quadro esaustivo capace di ricomprendere le componenti di tale
contributo strategico. L’obiettivo del paper è quello di discutere il contributo strategico della
comunicazione interna a supporto della gestione e dello sviluppo delle organizzazioni
facendo riferimento alle teorie imprenditoriali dell’impresa.
Metodologia: A questo scopo verrà condotta un’analisi estensiva della letteratura di
comunicazione interna volta a sistematizzare tale letteratura sulla base dell’Entrepreneurial
Communication Paradigm (ECP), un framework che interpreta il ruolo strategico della
comunicazione alla luce delle Entrepreneurial Organization Theories.
Risultati: Adottando la prospettiva promossa dall’ECP, proponiamo che le attività di
comunicazione interna giochino un ruolo centrale, arricchendo il contributo strategico della
comunicazione a diversi livelli, in particolare supportando lo sviluppo dell’organizzazione e
attivando lo slancio imprenditoriale dei soggetti organizzativi.
Limiti della ricerca: Lo studio rappresenta un’analisi della letteratura che in futuro sarà
opportuno consolidare attraverso studi di caso.
Implicazioni pratiche: Lo studio contribuisce a sistematizzare la conoscenza sul ruolo
strategico della comunicazione interna e restituisce uno sguardo più completo sugli obiettivi
che posso essere affidati a questa per contribuire al successo dell’organizzazione.
Originalità del lavoro: Il paper propone come chiave di lettura del contributo strategico
della comunicazione interna gli studi imprenditoriali, ancorando così il tema della
comunicazione interna nelle teorie sull’impresa.
Parole chiave: comunicazione interna, comunicazione strategica, Entrepreneurial
Organization Theories
* Professor of Public Relations - IULM University
e-mail: emanuele.invernizzi@iulm.it
** PhD candidate in Corporate Communication - IULM University
e-mail: silvia.biraghi@iulm.it
*** Assistant Professor in Public Relations - IULM University
e-mail: stefania.romenti@iulm.it
ENTREPRENEURIAL COMMUNICATION AND INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
150
Purpose of the paper: Current debate in Corporate Communication, Organizational
Communication, and Public Relations literature states that internal communication is vital
for organizational management and success. While advocating its strategic role,
communication scholars have not provided a unifying frame of the strategic contribution of
internal communication to the organization. The aim of the paper is to discuss the strategic
role of internal communication in the management and development of organizations with
reference to recent studies on Entrepreneurial Organization.
Methodology: For this purpose, an extensive review of internal communication literature
will be carried out with the aim of systematizing it according to the Entrepreneurial
Communication Paradigm (ECP). ECP is a framework that interprets the strategic role of
communication in light of the Entrepreneurial Organization Theories.
Findings: Adopting the perspective advanced by the ECP, we posit that internal
communication activities play a central role in enhancing the strategic role of communication
at various levels, in particular in supporting organizational development and activating the
entrepreneurial élan of the organizational members.
Research limitations: The paper is based on a literature review which will need to be
consolidated through case studies in future research developments .
Practical implications: The study offers a systematization of the knowledge on the
strategic role of internal communication. It also provides a more complete outlook on the
objectives which might be assigned to internal communication in order to support
organizational success.
Originality: The paper advances entrepreneurial studies as an interpretative framework
of the strategic role of internal communication. Hence it grounds the debate on internal
communication in the theories of the firm.
Key words: internal communication, strategic communication, Entrepreneurial Organization
Theories
1. Introduction
Current debate in corporate communication, organizational communication, and
public relations literature states that internal communication is vital for
organizational management and success (Argenti, 2009; Dolphin, 2005; Invernizzi,
2002; Kalla, 2005; Rapert et al., 2002; Robson & Tourish, 2005; Ruck & Wech,
2012; Verčič et al., 2012; Welch & Jackson, 2007; Yates, 2006). While advocating
its strategic role (Argenti, 1998; Argenti et al., 2005; Dolphin, 2005; Forman &
Argenti, 2005; Tucker et al., 1996), communication scholars do not provide a
unifying frame of the strategic contribution of internal communication to the
organization. Indeed, despite its widely recognized importance, internal
communication is still striving to be recognized as an independent domain of
academic studies and research (Verčič, Verčič & Sriramesh, 2012). For this reason
we believe it would valuable to extensively explore what the debate on internal
communication has produced so far, systematizing the different issues in the debate
around some common dimensions. In particular, we argue that the Entrepreneurial
Communication Paradigm (ECP), a framework used to interpret the strategic role of
communication in light of the Entrepreneurial Organization Theories (EOT)
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(Invernizzi & Romenti, 2011; forthcoming), could be used to build a more complete
outlook of the strategic contribution of internal communication to support
organizational management processes and drive organizational success.
This paper aims at presenting and discussing the central role of internal
communication and, in doing so, at further developing the ECP.
First, we briefly recall the major features of the ECP; secondly, we present the
main contribution of internal communication and we discuss it in relation to each
dimension of the ECP. Finally, we discuss to what extent internal communication is
strategic and plays a central role within the Entrepreneurial Communication
activities in supporting organizational management and contributing to
organizational success.
2. Adopting the Entrepreneurial Communication Paradigm
A growing number of communication and management scholars have been
theorizing on the institutionalisation of the strategic role of communication within
organizations (Gregory et al., 2010; Hallahan et al., 2007; Holtzhausen & Zerfass,
2011; Mahoney, 2011; Tench et al., 2009; Verhoeven et al., 2011). Today the field
of inquiry of strategic communication appears rich, broad, and multidisciplinary,
albeit highly fragmented due to the diversity of management and organizational
perspectives to which authors refer. Strategic communication deals with concerns
essential to the success of organizations; in other words with generating their
competitive advantage. For this reason, strategic communication’s long-term aims
and outcomes might be defined as referring to those managerial perspectives which
are concerned with organizational survival.
In this paper, we have chosen the Entrepreneurial Organization Theories of the
firm (Alvarez & Barney, 2004; Burns, 2005; Busenitz et al., 2003; Bygrave, 1989;
Dew et al., 2004; Foss & Klein, 2005; Ireland et al., 2003), which combine
endogenous and exogenous perspectives for the generation of organizational
competitive advantage (Dagnino, 2005). In the meantime, Entrepreneurial Theories
of the firm offer significant insights into the role of communication for the
management of organization, as well as enhances both the enabling and the
constituting components of communication activities (Gregory et al., 2010). The
Entrepreneurial Communication Paradigm attempts to integrate suggestions from
Entrepreneurial Organisation Theories in a unifying framework which identifies the
components of strategic communication, or in other words the leverage that
communication officers can manage to support the attainment of organizational
objectives.
According to the ECP, the strategic contribution of communication to the
organization comprises four roles/dimensions that can be defined as its Aligning,
Energizing, Visioning, and Constituting activities.
The Aligning dimension of strategic communication includes environmental
scanning and boundary spanning activities, as well as bridging and engaging ones.
ENTREPRENEURIAL COMMUNICATION AND INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
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Entrepreneurial studies say that strategic decisions are modelled by continuous gate-
keeping activity (McFadzean et al., 2005). Thanks to its boundary spanning
function, corporate communication holds a privileged position for observing and
interpreting the context in which an organization operates (White & Verčič, 2001).
The monitoring and interpretation of on-going dynamics in environmental scanning
stimulates management to formulate strategies and processes aligned with the same
on-going dynamics in the company’s social context and with the most relevant
expectations of stakeholders. This facilitates the progressive legitimisation of the
company in its environment, which is a necessary condition for maintaining its long-
term licence to operate (Steyn, 2007) and developing supportive networks of
stakeholders, who are one of the major drivers of entrepreneurial activity (Butler et
al., 2003). Entrepreneurship needs social interaction in order to generate support
from others and to shape and develop new ideas (Sadler-Smith et al., 2003).
Assuming an approach of this type means building bridges between the organization
and its most vital stakeholders, as well as activating and facilitating their
participation and involvement. So beyond boundary spanning and environmental
scanning, the Aligning dimension includes bridging and engaging with the most
important stakeholders, developing solid symmetric relations and long-lasting
partnerships with them (Grunig, 2001; Ledingham, & Bruning, 2000; Ni, 2006).
The Energising component deals with the role of communication in stimulating
organizational partners’ orientation to innovation and creating collaborative
networks to drive innovation through the combination of existing resources, the
development of capabilities and the spread of knowledge. Strategic communication
supports management in reassuring stakeholders about changes due to innovation by
supplying adequate information, and listening to what happens in the organisational
context (Zerfass & Huck, 2007). Successful organizations should be innovation-
driven and entrepreneurial studies stress how orientation toward innovation is
important in using resources, competences and capabilities in innovative ways and
in promoting individual entrepreneurial behaviours (Echols & Neck, 1998). The
Energizing dimension of communication transmits an innovative spirit to all
organizational partners, stimulating them and giving them room for expression. As
the efficacy of decision making increases proportionately to the number of
participating members (Knight, 1997) strategic decisions should be grounded in the
interchange between the organization and its most important interlocutors, rather
than being defined only autonomously by the dominant coalition (Stroh, 2007).
Successful implementation of strategies is a result of involving people all throughout
the organization (Morris & Kuratko, 2002; Morris et al., 2001). Communication
therefore has the aim of rendering organizational partners responsible by virtue of
their being of key importance in implementing innovative processes (Dougherty,
1996); professional communication practitioners should concentrate more on
facilitating rather than on managing communication.
The Visioning dimension of communication concerns the definition and diffusion
of corporate mission, strategies and guiding values in order to envision and share a
common vision of the future, as well as to deliver coherent messages.
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Entrepreneurial organization studies highlight the transformative and visionary role
of management in modelling corporate strategies and creating a meaningful vision
around organizational projects (Gupta et al., 2004). In this regard, communication
activity focuses on what to communicate in order to obtain the desired effect (Stroh,
2007). Thus Visioning means communicating decisions regarding strategic company
choices in order to channel collective energy towards common goals consistent with
the company’s mission and guiding values. Strategic communication activities are
essential in shaping a single, clear company position in the minds of its stakeholders,
as well as in developing a solid long-term reputation (Cornelissen, 2008). The
Visioning dimension corresponds to the enabling role of communication (Zerfass,
2008), which means that communication facilitates the implementation of company
decisions. In order to do so, the CCO follows the actual decisional momentum and
exercises influence on the ways in which decisions are communicated and carried
out. This implies knowing how to reveal innovative potential in an organisation,
overcome critical obstacles, and resolve any opposition through a constant search for
commitment on the part of key stakeholders (Howell & Higgins, 1990).
The Constituting dimension of strategic communication refers to the enactment
of both a competitive environment and organizational settings through
communicative activities and the sense-making processes of organizational
stakeholders. As opportunities become real in the creative mind of the entrepreneur
(Zander, 2007), the entrepreneurial attitude of the organization is closely tied to the
ability to activate, build, and re-invent the organizational competitive scenario
(Gupta et al., 2004) on the basis of individual interpretations of the reality (Daft &
Weick, 1984; Weick, 1995). The role of communication in sense-making processes
consists of pin-pointing the communicative aspects of decisions, the strategic
options the organization has at its disposal, and specific strategic objectives in
advance. As a result, thanks to the inclusion of communication in the dominant
coalition, the process of sense-making gains a more complete and articulated
outlook. Communication becomes something more than an infrastructural
component of the business. It feeds the decisional process, influencing its contents
through the reflective activity of the analysis and interpretation of the competitive
and organizational context. The constitutive component plays a crucial role in the
definition of the communicative aspects of decisions, completing the different ways
in which communication contributes significantly to the corporate decision making
process.
In figure 1 the ECP is represented. The model synthesizes the roles of strategic
communication activities in supporting organizational decision making processes.
Each dimension of strategic communication is related to its corresponding
dimension of the EOT. The comparison between communication and EOT
dimensions allows us to show the role that each component of strategic
communication exercises in creating competitive advantage and contributing to the
success of the firm.
The four dimensions are obviously related to each other, even if there is no clear
starting point where the support of strategic communication to organizational
ENTREPRENEURIAL COMMUNICATION AND INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
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decision making begins. As entrepreneurial organization theory and practice
suggest, an entrepreneurial idea and activity can start from any phase or dimension
of strategic communication and continue, following different paths.
Fig. 1: The Entrepreneurial Communication Paradigm and its underlying dimensions
from the Entrepreneurial Organization Theory
Source: adapted from Invernizzi & Romenti, 2011
3. The Strategic Role of Internal Communication in Entrepreneurial
Perspective
In order to grasp the complexity of internal communication as a multifaceted
phenomenon happening inside the organization, we adopt a broad definition of
internal communication, positing it as a structural and constitutive component of the
organization (Cooren et al., 2011; Putnam & Nicotera, 2010). More specifically, we
define internal communication as both the set of communication initiatives planned
and carried out inside an organization, and the set of all interactions which occur
among organizational members. These initiatives and interactions are meant to
orient the organization as well as its members toward their development and success
(Invernizzi & Biraghi, 2012).
On the basis of an extensive literature review of the recent debate on internal
communication, in the following sections we will analyze and discuss the strategic
role of internal communication in light of the four dimensions of the Entrepreneurial
Communication Paradigm.
Building on the ECP, we argue that internal communication enriches and
strengthens the strategic role of communication at several levels. In the Aligning
dimension, internal communication concerns the internal scanning of individual
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decisions and actions, and the engagement of employees as co-decisional partners.
Within the Energizing dimension, internal communication holds a crucial role in
stimulating innovation, mobilizing intrapreneurialism and empowering employees.
The Visioning dimension of internal communication deals with the fine-tuning of
employees with the organizational mission, especially through leadership
communication, and the coordination of discretionary initiatives of the
organizational members. Finally, the Constituting dimension relates to the role of
internal communication in the co-construction of the organizational reality and in
the cast enactment of supportive employee work teams.
In figure 2 the strategic contribution of internal communication to each
dimension of the ECP is presented.
Fig. 2: Internal communication activities in the
Entrepreneurial Communication Paradigm
Source: from the authors
3.1 Aligning through scanning and engagement
The creation of frequent internal communication flows enables middle and top
managers to make more informed decisions thanks to the internal scanning of
individual decisions and actions and the reflective role of communication. Internal
symmetrical information flows and feedback allow the exchange of more accurate
information genuinely linked to local situations between managers and employees
(Shockley-Zalaback, 2009). While the diffusion of internal messages ensures that
everybody in the organization knows company goals, the establishment of
symmetrical internal communication networks provides everybody with the
opportunity to speak out and to be listened to (Cornelissen, 2008; van Riel et al.,
ENTREPRENEURIAL COMMUNICATION AND INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
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2009). Internal communication is not just the broadcaster of top management
strategic directions; rather it gives voice (Miles & Muuka, 2011) to the micro-
decisions and actions actually undertaken by organizational members. Thus, internal
scanning allows top managers to get in touch with the actual dynamics in the
organizational context at the three levels. Inside the organization, internal scanning
activity (for instance through climate analysis and organizational audits) draws an
accurate picture of the evolution of the internal context. It also informs managers
about the proper functioning of productive processes by asking and listening to
people actually involved in them. This in turn allows managers to prevent and, if
necessary, correct inefficiencies and avoid bottle necks which may impair
organizational activities. Finally, with regard to the external environment, internal
scanning makes it possible to observe and interpret the context outside the
organization on the basis of the perceptions held by organizational members. This
means strengthening and enriching the organizational understanding of its
competitive environment by including the perspectives of people who are actually in
touch with organizational key stakeholders, such as clients and suppliers. Hence,
Aligning involves a two-way process: it is not just about shaping employees’
behaviors according to management prescriptions and rationale; rather it urges
management to take employee opinions seriously (van Riel et al., 2009) and to
include them in the formulation of strategy through a continuous listening activity.
Decision making processes do not happen in isolation from those who are
ultimately affected. Strategy can be effectively carried out only with the engagement
of organizational members at large, integrating human capital considerations into
strategic management processes (Boswell et al., 2006). This means engaging and
involving people in strategic dialogue from the beginning before strategic decisions
are taken. In this way, people feel they are actually participating in decision making.
As the outcomes of strategic decisions arise from collective actions, internal
communication guarantees the consistency of those actions over time, supporting the
mutual adjustment among actors through continuous conjoint evaluation of the
strategic options and actions. Alignment does not happen in retrospect, it is rather an
iterative process, since engaged employees tend to spontaneously perform
convergent behaviours. Due to the critical role of human agency, employees become
co-decisional partners of paramount importance for the organization to engage and
motivate (Argenti, 1998). Internal communication supports the establishment and
maintenance of internal networks of mutual trust, in which people are spontaneously
willing to cooperate, express their opinion (Cheney, 2006), and negotiate priorities.
In Aligning, the key role of internal communication is therefore the creation of
symmetrical frequent interactions (Dolphin, 2005; Welch & Jackson, 2007) and of
positive exchange relationships (Boswell, 2006; Welch, 2012), upon which a
trustworthy partnership between the organization and its members can be built.
Strong interpersonal relationships among managers and employees (Jo & Shim,
2005; Röttger, & Voss, 2008) are the key to transforming employees into
ambassadors of commitment to organizational goals (Argenti & Forman, 2004)
becoming themselves a source of competitive advantage (Colvin & Boswell, 2007).
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Anecdotal evidence from StoraEnso, a paper mill manufacturer company based
in Finland, underline the benefits of Aligning internal communication in improving
company performance. StoraEnso holds some productive sites in Wisconsin, which
were reporting bad results in the production process. Although the paper mill
manager was aware of the inefficiency, he was not able to identify the pitfalls in the
production process. It so happened that the paper mill manager, due to a personal
health problem, was obliged to walk all through the mill every day. As soon the
manager established a direct contact with the employees, he realized where the
inefficiencies came from: the paper machines were not working at their best and this
impaired employees from meeting production requests. The internal scanning
process, the listening activity and the engagement of employees in the co-definition
of problems and solutions allowed the manager to identify, correct, and prevent
malfunctioning in the production. The cooperation between the mill paper manager
and the machine managers enabled them to develop a more effective way to carry
out their job and improve the functioning of the paper machines. This story has
become part of the StoraEnso legend as it reminds everybody of the crucial
importance of internal scanning and engagement for the success of the firm.
3.2 Energizing internal stakeholders
Given that competitive advantage should stem from “the hearts and minds of
employees” (Quirke, 1996, p. 71), the creative and intellectual potential (Maglione,
2008) held by people in the organization are the core assets on which an
organization can build its competitive differential and success. Unlocking the
knowledge capital and the innovation potential encapsulated in employees have thus
become a critical factor for the success in the competitive arena. According to
communication scholars, internal communication through its specialized services of
knowledge, learning and innovation communication (Damascelli & Bosotti, 2003;
Dolphin, 2005; Kalla, 2005; Linke & Zerfass, 2011; Lurati & Eppler, 2006; Zerfass,
2005; Zerfass & Huck, 2007) is meant to support people in disclosing their potential.
Internal communication can no longer be a mere information carrier since the
transfer of objective information is simply a taken-for-granted premise to the
strategic processes of learning and knowledge creation. Indeed, knowledge
communication is a “deliberate activity of interactively conveying and co-
constructing insights, assessments, experiences, or skills” (Lurati & Eppler, 2006, p.
85), which aims at creating new insights, embedding them into actions, and,
therefore, developing new capabilities to compete successfully (van Riel et al.,
2009). Orientation to learning is more than a trial and error activity which happens
coincidentally; rather it is a precise attitude which is distinctive of “organizations
where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire;
where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured; where collective
aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole
together” (Senge, 1990, p. 3). Internal communication takes on a crucial role as an
incentive to renew mechanisms, promoting learning activities and high performance.
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Organizational learning is about interacting with others, both by cooperating and
competing with them “to get one’s own learning heard” (Weick & Ashford, 2001, p.
727).
Internal communication plays a strategic role in mobilizing intrapreneurialism
and empowering people to act proactively (Mazzei, 2010), share their tacit
knowledge, work in teams, and change the way they get things done. New
knowledge crops up from interactions among individuals and the interplay between
tacit and explicit knowledge. Hence, the spider web of internal communication
flows should continuously redesign and enhance new connections among cross-
functional and self-organizing creative teams, fostering social processes, which are
the locus of learning and knowledge combination. Since individuals differ in their
ability to create and sense opportunities for innovation, internal communication
should support innovative team leaders in developing and strengthening their
charismatic authority to coordinate people’s efforts by disrupting entrenched
routines, recognizing the value of innovation, and assimilating it into their day-to-
day activities. In order to do so internal communication should support the creation
of an organizational climate and context which actually enables people to interact,
enrich their expertise, and embrace open innovation (Zerfass, 2005; Zerfass & Huck,
2007). As people are at the heart of innovation processes, the challenge for internal
communication is to find a balance between transferring previously codified
knowledge and empowering people to become truly responsible and in charge for
their work (Cheney & Cloud, 2006), stimulating them to accomplish their tasks at
their best and to learn how to face changes without remaining stuck in inefficient
routines.
When Ferrari, the famous Italian sports car manufacturer, appeared to undergo a
period of downturn in its success, CEO Luca Cordero di Montezemolo decided to
launch an extensive project of corporate renewal inside the organization. Many
aspects of this project called “Formula Uomo” dealt with the Energizing role of
internal communication. Formula Uomo highlights the firm conviction that “people
of excellence and working places of excellence are needed to make excellent cars”.
Ferrari needed to look towards the future, starting with the product and the people.
Formula Uomo consisted of a series of managerial, administrative, and
organizational initiatives aiming at putting the “focus on people”, which means
placing value on the individual, listening to needs and rewarding good ideas, as well
as encouraging the sense of belonging to a team with shared objectives. The slogan
“putting People in centre stage”, which from the very beginning of Formula Uomo
personified the spirit of the project, was meant to involve company personnel in the
company’s plan for change and to create the best conditions that would allow them
to work in a quality environment, where organizational members could perform at
the maximum of their potential, both individually and collectively. Thanks to
Formula Uomo, employees were encouraged to expand their expertise, experiment,
and work out new ideas in an organizational environment which fosters and
facilitates interaction and cooperation, as well as the expression of the taste for
innovation and creativity.
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3.3 Visioning and leadership
Inside the organization, effective internal communication feeds the fine tuning
among employees and the organization, connecting them to a company’s strategy
and vision (Argenti & Forman, 2004, p. 46), diffusing the organizational mission
statement (Cheney & Christensen, 2001), and supplying employees with information
about the company’s evolving aims (Welch & Jackson, 2007). Internal
communication is the carrier of corporate mission, history, culture and values, which
are embodied in the ongoing narration of corporate stories (van Riel, 2000; van Riel
& Fombrun, 2007). These stories encompass the fundamental values, beliefs and
competences that originated in the organization and provide a reliable framework to
guide organizational actions and behaviours (Larsen, 2000). Internal narratives
shape the employees’ mindset, providing them with a common line of sight on
organization objectives (Boswell, 2006; Fenton & Langley, 2011) and creating a
positive sense of belonging (Welch & Jackson, 2007) and identification in the
organization (Smidts et al., 2001) as a unified body. In this regard, internal
communication forges the mental programming of the mind (Hofstede, 1991) of
organizational members, thus helping them reconcile the potential conflict among
personal and corporate goals (Christensen et al., 2008). The frequent and constant
broadcast of the content of strategy to everybody in the organization supports
managers in getting employees on their side (Dolphin, 2005) and disseminating the
seeds of consensus and cooperation required to implement strategy (Rapert et al.,
2002).
Managers retain a crucial role in motivating employees through leadership
communication, which creates a voice for management decisions (Huebner et al.,
2008) and explains the rationale behind strategy (van Riel et al., 2009) to
organizational members at large. The style of leadership communication can deeply
affect the nature of the relationships between managers and their collaborators,
representing a key driver of employees’ willingness to contribute to organizational
objectives and get involved in decision making processes (Robson & Tourish,
2005). CEOs and senior leaders are the primary visionaries of corporate strategy, so
the communication of corporate mission and vision should necessarily start from
them (Argenti & Forman, 2004). Becoming a transformational leader requires
managers’ commitment to engage in a relational process aimed at raising the
aspirations of followers according to the leader’s own visions (Zerfass & Huck,
2007: 114). Leadership communication works as an orientation mechanism (Mast &
Huck, 2008); more specifically, internal messages from leaders communicate a
special perspective on the future of the organization, which instils higher ideals,
trust, admiration, loyalty, and the willingness to make exceptional efforts into
organizational members (Campbell, 2000; p. 54). In this way, internal
communication not only disseminates the corporate vision, but also promotes a
process of internal transformation committing individuals to act in a way that fulfils
leaders’ visionary aspirations.
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Furthermore, Visioning is not just about shaping employee mindset according to
the company mission; it is also about taking advantage of employees’ initiatives,
coordinating individual discretionary behaviours in a way that fosters strategic
decision attainment. Nowadays, the added value of employee contributions to the
organization resides in their capacity to spontaneously take initiatives that contribute
to the implementation of strategy (van Riel et al., 2009). Organizations that impose
strict and narrow prescriptions of tasks (Colvin & Boswell, 2007) on their
employees are likely to dismiss the potential value of their actions. In order to take
advantage of autonomous employee behaviours from which competitive advantage
may stem (Argenti, 1998; Argenti & Forman, 2004), organizations should find the
proper balance between the organizational coordination-control stance and the
individual call for autonomy and creativity (Cornelissen, 2008). This is essential for
coordinating and driving organizational members toward the goals of the
organization, leaving them free to express their potential (Cornelissen, 2008).
Zappos.com, Inc.’s approach to employee relations encapsulates the Visioning
role of internal communication. It is an on-line company originally specialized in the
offer of the best selection of shoes in terms of brands, styles, colours, sizes, and
widths. Since its creation, the company has diversified its business, offering the best
customer service in any product category. In 2009, due to the effectiveness of its
business model, Zappos.com was acquired by Amazon.com. Why did Amazon have
their eye on Zappos? This happened because of the unique corporate culture of
Zappos; the company works hard to align the entire organization around its mission.
Inside the organization, people not only live the corporate culture on a daily basis,
but they also represent the embodiment of this culture. Zappos culture encourages
employees to differentiate themselves, which means doing something
unconventional and innovative. Since people are required to achieve something
beyond expectations, their initiatives are fundamental in bringing the corporate
culture to life and making it evolve. Starting with the hiring process, people
areselected according to their spontaneous fine-tuning with the organizational
culture. Prospective candidates usually undergo a week of training with corporate
managers in order to be able to directly experience the Zappos way of getting work
done. At the end of the week, people are free to decide if they want to go on with
training and become Zappos employees or, , giving up the training and even leaving
with a small reward if the company does not suit them. Once hired in the Zappos
Family, employee are encouraged to offer their contribution to the refinement of the
culture: everybody in the company can participate in the update of Zappos’ culture
book, an open publication in which Zappos values are reviewed without any
censorship by management.
3.4 Constituting internal context
The Constituting dimension reminds us that organizations are not an a priori
objective structure, where communication simply occurs (Rapert et al., 2002); rather
they are intersubjectively co-constructed through communication exchanges.
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161
Communication scholars (Fairhurst & Putnam, 2004; Kuhn, 2008; Putnam &
Nicotera, 2010; Taylor, 2009) posit that communication is synonym of organizing.
In this way, they recognize the constitutive power of communication. In other
words, organizations are complex symbolic interpretive systems (Hatch & Schultz,
2000) made up of interpersonal networks of sensemaking (Jo & Shim, 2005) and of
sequences of communication acts linked to actions (Putnam & Nicotera, 2010).
Inside the organization a multitude of communication flows participates in the
enactment of the internal environment through the boiled down construction of the
internal context, the negotiation of membership rights, the structuring and the
coordination of actors’ roles inside the organization (McPhee & Zaug, 2009; Taylor,
2009). The organization does not exist until its members intersubjectively co-
construct a shared framework of meaning about the organization itself and their
roles (Putnam & Pacanowsky, 1983).
The management of meaning, therefore, becomes a critical activity for
organization leaders (Zerfass & Huck, 2007). The Constituting dimension
emphasizes that internal communication exchanges are the locus and means by
which impression management efforts are carried out to influence and guide actions
inside the organization (Ginzel et al., 1993). Internal communication networks assist
managers in the cast enactment of supportive work teams, which means gathering
and mobilizing “a supporting cast of participants who become committed by the
vision to the discovery and exploitation of strategic value creation’’ (Gupta et al.,
2004, p. 242). Since the creation of a cast of supporters is vital for the enactment of
the managers’ vision, building a supportive workforce has become critical for the
organization to attain success (Colvin & Boswell 2007; De Ridder, 2004) and
achieve the goals envisioned by its leaders. Internal communication flows support
the co-orientation of meanings generated through interactions among individuals
(Taylor, 2009). In this way, communication exchanges produce a collective identity
for the “cast” of employees and a common “organizational plot”, in which people
can perform their activities on the basis of a shared interpretation of the
organizational vision. As organizational actors rely on their interpretation of reality
to coordinate and control their own and others’ activities (Kuhn, 2008), these
interpretations have the capacity to turn communication statements into real actions
(Huebner et al., 2008) and therefore to mobilize supporters’ commitment toward
organizational strategic goals.
In its plan for corporate renewal, FiatAuto needed to win its employees’ support
in order to successfully carry out its change process. In order to face the harsh period
brought about by the global economic crisis, the company engaged in a project of
co-construction of the “Future FiatAuto” vision with its employees. The project
“Avanti e Veloci” was launched with the aim of providing Fiat people with a
credible “organizational plot” capable of supporting them in envisioning the future
directions of the company and in managing the meaning-making process related to
the necessary changes to regain the competitive position of the company. The
project encompassed a series of communication initiatives based on the involvement
of organizational members at large in creating and sharing a corporate narrative able
ENTREPRENEURIAL COMMUNICATION AND INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
162
to gather a cast of employees committed to the new organizational vision. “Avanti e
Veloci” started with the engagement of corporate executives, who in turn were
expected to contact its collaborators in a process which was meant to involve all
people in the organization directly.
4. Discussion and managerial implications
The paper contributes to the theoretical debate on the strategic role of internal
communication for organizational survival. In particular it further develops the
Entrepreneurial Communication Paradigm in order to draw a more comprehensive
outlook on the contribution of internal communication in organizations. The study
builds on Entrepreneurial Organization Theories in order to identify what should be
considered strategic in an organization and how communication, and internal
communication in particular, is meant to support the identified strategic dimensions.
According to our extensive literature review, internal communication emerges as
a core dimension in organizational management and development. Specifically,
internal communication appears to support the organization at three main levels:
First, internal communication helps the organization develop a stronger link with
the organizational context. Indeed, the Aligning role of internal communication
sustains the organization by genuinely staying in touch with its organizational base.
This means that internal communication, intended as the creation and management
of continuous symmetrical communication flows, allows corporate executives to
grasp the knowledge encapsulated in situated contexts. Accordingly, internal
communication represents the gateway and the channel to get closer to employees’
expectations and opinions by listening to and intercepting them in their working
context, thus taking them into account in decision making processes. This allows
managers to make more informed and feasible decisions, leveraging on the
knowledge that employees possess. In this way, internal communication is led to
encourage the adoption of a participative mode (Cheney, 2006; Shockley-Zalaback,
2009) of organizational management and decision making. The inclusion of
organizational members at large in corporate decision making enhances
organizational legitimacy and employees’ consensus, which in turn nurture the
achievement of the strategic goals of the firm;
Second, through a participative approach to organizational management, internal
communication expands the ability of the organization to get employees on board.
This means that internal communication supports the organization in building a
network among its members, who are strongly committed to the organizational
vision and goals, turning into corporate ambassadors. Since human capital represents
one of the most valuable resources of sustainable competitive advantage (Argenti,
1998; Argenti & Forman, 2004; Colvin & Boswell, 2007; Welch, 2011), gathering a
community of corporate advocates (FitzPatrick, 2012; Yeomans, 2009) inside the
organization has become one of the critical factors of corporate success. In this
regard, the Energizing role of internal communication promotes the creation of the
structural and psychological conditions for employees to feel empowered in carrying
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out their role in the organization, acting themselves as “entrepreneurs” in their daily
job. In other words, thanks to the climate and contextual conditions created by
internal communication, employees feel free to experiment and enhance their
expertise by exchanging knowledge and ideas among cross-functional teams. At the
same time, the Visioning role of internal communication helps these teams of
proactive “employee-entrepreneurs” to be focused on the organizational vision,
mission, and objectives. This prevents the misalignment between the organizational
goals and employees’ behaviours and actions (Eisenberg et al., 2009). The Visioning
role of internal communication then guarantees the consistency and fine-tuning
between the organization and its members.
Finally, internal communication supports managers in developing and carrying
their leading role out more effectively. In particular, the Visioning role of internal
communication gives voice to leaders’ decisions, helping them spread their vision
across the organization with the aim of sharing their aspirations with the employees
and eventually gaining their approval. In addition, the Constituting role of internal
communication assists leaders in managing an ongoing meaning-making process
inside the organization. This means that internal communication exchanges hold the
performative power (Cooren et al., 2011; Putnam & Nicotera, 2010;) to turn leaders’
decisions into actions by constructing a shared interpretation and a common line of
sight (Boswell, 2006) on future organizational directions, hence orienting
employees’ efforts toward them.
Based on our analysis, internal communication also emerges as a driving force
within the Entrepreneurial Communication Paradigm, acting as the starting point for
all communication exchanges initiated by an organization.
More precisely, within the Aligning dimension of ECP, internal communication
mainly participates in bridging and engaging activities, addressing, in particular, the
relationship with internal stakeholders (Welch, 2012). Although environmental
scanning and boundary spanning typically address the analysis of the environment
outside the organization, internal communication helps corporate communication
include specialized and localized information and knowledge held by organizational
members in its monitoring and interpretation of the environment. In this way
internal communication helps the organization act successfully as a cohesive whole
(Fiocca, 2002).
In the Energizing dimension of the ECP, internal communication is the core
element around which the strategic role of Entrepreneurial Communication revolves.
In this case internal communication does not just feed some specific ECP activities;
rather it covers all functions of strategic communication within the Energizing
dimension. Energizing thus means using internal communication to mobilize people
to initiate change rather than to adapt to it; encourage employees to become
ambassadors of innovation processes (O’Brien & Aud, 2010) rather than simply
accept innovation; channel people’s efforts to create and combine new knowledge
rather than merely transfer what has been already codified. Internal communication
is the key process by which employees are empowered to expand their role in that
way (Zerfass & Huck, 2007) and become “proactive individuals, highly involved
ENTREPRENEURIAL COMMUNICATION AND INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
164
and committed as independent contributors with initiative and a well developed
sense of responsibility” (Campbell, 2000, p. 52).
In the Visioning dimension, internal communication starts from leadership
communication to shape the collective frame of mind and the attitude of
organizational members, trying both to make them know the content of the mission
statement and instil in them the necessary visionary frame of mind to carry it out
successfully. In relation to the ECP, internal communication makes a crucial
contribution, tuning into the minds of internal stakeholders with company objectives
and coordinating their initiatives in order to guarantee consistency with the
organizational mission. This represents a critical prerequisite for entrepreneurial
communication to play its strategic role in shaping company position and reputation,
and enabling the implementation of company decisions.
Finally in the Constituting dimension of the ECP, communication plays an
important role in highlighting the communicative implications of decisions, giving
voice to communication at the decision table and leading the enactment process of
competitive context. Internal communication feeds these activities, sustaining
enactment processes at lower levels in the organizations and driving organizational
members’ interpretive efforts towards a shared understanding of the organization, its
objectives, and its decisions.
From a managerial standpoint, although our study needs to be supported by
empirical evidence, the paper urges corporate executives to adopt a complex
perspective (Brioschi, 2008) on internal communication. This is necessary in order
to encourage executives to move away from a conception of internal communication
as the mere broadcaster of management decisions (Argenti, 2009) and take on a
more well-rounded approach to internal communication which considers it a genuine
management function (Morelli, 2003).
5. Limits of the study and further developments
Considering the limits, our study represents a preliminary systematization of an
extensive analysis of internal communication literature. In particular the framework
we have drafted so far needs to be consolidated through an empirical investigation in
order to better appreciate the distinct features of the strategic contribution within an
organization.
Therefore, future steps of our research will encompass a multiple case study-
based investigation on a small sample of companies. In particular, this study will be
aimed at analyzing in greater depth 1) how internal communicators conceive their
role within the organization, what kind of activities they usually carry out to
accomplish their role, and how they relate with other organizational members; 2)
how the role of internal communication is shaped within the organizational
structure, and how internal communication is meant to play a strategic role in
organizations; 3) the expectations and needs of organizational members related to
the role of internal communication, and the major evolutions envisioned in regards
to the function of internal communication.
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165
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