If you've got leaving on your mind: Exploring the effects of organizational identification and channel use in internal crisis communication

Abstract

AbstractDespite an abundance of research that examines how organizations can effectively communicate with external stakeholders amid a crisis, few studies examine crisis communication from an employee perspective. Using social identity theory and conducting an online experiment with 424 manufacturing and retail employees, we examine how organizational identification, the communication channel used to disseminate crisis‐related information, and the crisis timing strategy influence employees' cognitive reactions and behavioural intentions amid a preventable crisis. The findings highlight the importance of nurturing employees' identification with the organization before a crisis as highly‐identified employees exhibited higher levels of identification, less turnover intention, and greater trust in the organization while also attributing less crisis responsibility to the organization. Results also suggest that the channel and timing strategy employed to relay crisis information has little impact on employees' cognitive reactions and behavioural intentions, implying how employees receive information is less important than other factors, including the relational context.