This summary is provided by the IPR Organizational Communication Research Center.
Summary
This study examined employees’ communication behaviors at the workplace. Specifically, the authors proposed and validated allegiant communication behavior (ACB) as a unique employee communication phenomenon and articulated the value of allegiant communication behavior in improving organizational effectiveness. The authors defined allegiant communication behavior as loyal, faithful, and commitment-based communication efforts that contribute to team performance. Allegiant communication behavior consists of three types of behaviors:
1.) Allegiant Voice: embodies employees’ proactive communication for the betterment of their organization, such as expressing work-related ideas and opinions constructively and cooperatively.
2.) Allegiant Reticence: refers to withholding work-related information and opinions to benefit the organization, especially regarding security issues.
3.) Allegiant Amity: describes employees who listen well and keep quiet to help the organization.
— For instance, in East Asian countries, silence often indicates agreement, harmony, and authentic communication.
Researchers further examined transformational leadership as a facilitator of employee allegiant communication behavior. In the past, transformational leadership has been associated with organizational innovation, symmetrical internal communication, and other positive outcomes. Furthermore, this study attempted to answer which types of organizational culture are more likely to foster employee allegiant communication behavior.
Method
The researchers conducted two online surveys targeting employees working in corporations in South Korea and the US. The authors recruited 314 participants from Korea and 314 from the US. For the Korean sample, their average age was 40. Among the Korean participants, 46.2% were males, and 53.8% were females. The US sample consisted of half males and half females, with an average age of 37 years.
Key Findings
1.) The study confirmed the three dimensions of allegiant communication behavior: Allegiant Voice, Allegiant Reticence, and Allegiant Amity.
2.) Transformational leadership positively influenced employees’ allegiant communication behavior in both countries.
3.) Marketing culture, which focuses on efficiency, success, and achievement, was positively associated with employees’ allegiant communication behavior in both countries.
4.) Adhocracy culture, which emphasizes innovation and risk-taking, was only positively related to allegiant communication behavior in the Korean sample.
Implications for Practice
Organizations are recommended to 1.) use the proposed model (i.e., three-dimensional ACB) to evaluate their internal communication quality, 2.) cultivate a marketing culture to foster ACB, 3.) focus on creating an innovative organizational climate in Korean organizations to elicit ACB, and 4.) leverage the transformational power of leaders to generate ACB in both countries.
Reference
Chon, M. G., Kim, J. N., & Kim, C. S. (2021). Conceptualizing allegiant communication behavior: A cross-national study of employees’ self-orchestration of voice and silence. Public Relations Review, 47(4), 102093.
Location of Article
This article is available online.
(abstract free, purchase full article).
