Social Information during Organizational Change

Organizational change has received growing attention
due to the constantly shifting economy and the fast-
moving global business environment, yet the
significant role of communication for successful
change was overlooked in the past. Building on
social information processing theory (Salancik &
Pfeffer, 1978), the new integrated model was
developed and field tested. The results from the
employees of a public library system that was facing
budget cuts showed the significant effect of social
information and job positions on individual need for
information. In addition, when seeking information
during the change, the perceived level of social
costs influenced the use of different types of
communication networks and communication channels.
Further, the results identified the type and source
of social information that positively affect
employee attitudes about organizational change.

Autorentext

Kumi Ishii (Ph.D., Kent State University) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Western Kentucky University. She has also worked as an external communication specialist for a global information company in Tokyo. With her corporate background, her research focuses on communication in the workpalce.

Klappentext

Organizational change has received growing attention due to the constantly shifting economy and the fast-moving global business environment, yet the significant role of communication for successful change was overlooked in the past. Building on social information processing theory (Salancik & Pfeffer, 1978), the new integrated model was developed and field tested. The results from the employees of a public library system that was facing budget cuts showed the significant effect of social information and job positions on individual need for information. In addition, when seeking information during the change, the perceived level of social costs influenced the use of different types of communication networks and communication channels. Further, the results identified the type and source of social information that positively affect employee attitudes about organizational change.