Horizontal and vertical communication as determinants of professional and organisational identification
| Date | 09 February 2010 |
| Pages | 210-226 |
| Published date | 09 February 2010 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/00483481011017426 |
| Author | Jos Bartels,Oscar Peters,Menno de Jong,Ad Pruyn,Marjolijn van der Molen |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
Horizontal and vertical
communication as determinants
of professional and organisational
identification
Jos Bartels
Social Science Group, Wageningen University & Research Centre,
Agricultural Economics Research Institute, The Hague, The Netherlands
Oscar Peters, Menno de Jong and Ad Pruyn
Department of Media, Communication and Organisation,
Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, University of Twente, Enschede,
The Netherlands, and
Marjolijn van der Molen
PricewaterhouseCoopers, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to present the results of a study into the relationship between horizontal
and vertical communication and professional and organisational identification.
Design/methodology/approach – An empirical study was carried out at a large hospital in The
Netherlands with multiple locations. Hospital employees (n¼347) completed a written questionnaire.
Findings – The results show that although employees identify more strongly with their profession
than with their organisation, there is a positive connection between professional and organisational
identification. Dimensions of vertical communication are important predictors of organisational
identification, whereas dimensions of horizontal communication are important predictors of
professional identification.
Research limitations/ implications – Identification with the overall organisation does not depend
primarily on the quality of contact with immediate colleagues within a work group or department;
rather, it depends more on appreciation of the communication from and with the organisation’s top
management.
Practical implications – Management should find a balance between communication about
organisational goals and individual needs, which is crucial in influencing professional and
organisational identification.
Originality/value – Previous research has shown a positive link between the communication
climate at a specific organisational level and the employee’s identification with that level. The current
study adds to this concept the influence of horizontal and vertical dimensions of communication on
identification among different types of employees.
Keywords Work identity,Communication, The Netherlands,Hospitals, Employees
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Organisational identification plays a significant role in many organisations (Ashforth
and Mael, 1996; Foreman and Whetten, 2002; Tajfel and Turner, 1985). It can be
defined as “the perception of oneness with or belongingness to an organisation, where
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PR
39,2
210
Received 17 March 2008
Revised May 2008
Accepted 17 February 2009
Personnel Review
Vol. 39 No. 2, 2010
pp. 210-226
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/00483481011017426
the individual defines him or herself in terms of the organisation(s) in which he or she
is a member” (Mael and Ashforth, 1992, p. 104). When employees identify strongly
with their organisation, this can result in greater job satisfaction, a lower absentee rate,
lower staff turnover and greater cooperative behaviour (e.g. Bartel, 2001; Riketta, 2005;
Van Dick et al., 2004).
Although the notion that employees are able to identify with various groups is not
new (Albert and Whetten, 198 5; Brickson, 2000; Pratt and F oreman, 2000),
organisational identificat ion has long been approached as a one-dimen sional
construct. In the majority of studies, the emphasis is on the degree to which
employees identify with the organisation as a whole (Ashforth and Saks, 1996;
Foreman and Whetten, 2002; Mael and Ashforth, 1992). Only more recently has it
become apparent that employees are able to simultaneously identify with different
groups within an organisation. Thus, there are more organisational levels at which
identification can occur, such as the work group, divisional, and overall organisation al
levels (Ashforth et al., 2008; Ashforth and Johnson, 2001). Various studies have shown
that the identification of employees with a specific organisational level positively
correlates with their identification with other organisational levels (Baruch and
Winkelmann-Gleed, 2002; Riketta and Van Dick, 2005; Van Knippenberg and Van
Schie, 2000).
Ashforth and Johnson (2001) proposed a model in which identities can be cross
cutting and/or nested (embedded) (see also Brewer, 1995; Dukerich et al., 1996; Mueller
and Lawler, 1999). The former (cross-cutting) occurs when an identity cuts vertically
through organisational levels; the latter (nested) emphasises the idea that identities
manifest themselves within the various organisational levels. Ashforth and Johnson
(2001) refer to subordinate levels of an organisation as so-called lower-order identities
(e.g. profession, job and work group). Lower-order identities are relatively concrete and
proximate because employees carry out their daily activities in their jobs or workgroup
environments (Riordan and Weatherly, 1999; Van Knippenberg and Van Schie, 2000).
In contrast, more super-ordinate organisational levels, like divisions, business units
and organisations, are called higher-order identities. These higher-order identities are
relatively distal. Previous research has shown that the determinants of identification
with lower-order and higher-order identities may differ (Bartels et al., 2007; Bartels
et al., 2009). Specifically, employees’ evaluation of an organisation’s internal
communication appears to have more of an influence on their identification with
lower-order identities than with higher-order identities. An important limitation of
these studies, however, was that internal communication was studied as one overall
indicator of the organisation’s communication climate; there was no distinction drawn
between various aspects of internal communication. In the current study, we will
further explore the relationship between internal communication and employee
identification with lower-order and higher-order identities.
We focus on organisational identification as a higher-order identity and
professional identification as a lower-order identity (see Ashforth and Johnson,
2001). Professional identification denotes the degree to which employees identify
themselves with the profession that they practice and its typical characteristics. To
date, few studies have been conducted on the antecedents of occupational/professional
identification (Ashforth et al., 2008; Johnson et al., 2006). The focus has primarily been
on the relationship between professional and organisational identification (e.g. Loi et al.,
Horizontal and
vertical
communication
211
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