Title

Expressions Of Dissent In Email: Qualitative Insights Into Uses And Meanings Of Organizational Dissent

Keywords

CMC; communication rules; computer-mediated communication; dissent; email; organizational communication

Abstract

This study explores the role of email in organizational dissent expression and employees' perceptions of the rules for using this medium. Twenty-one interviews were conducted with employees who commonly used email in their job to learn about some of the ways email was seen as playing a role in organizational dissent by those who commonly use the technology. Thematic analysis of data produced two rules employees cited for email usage: be careful what is committed to writing (because of loss of message control and fear of being monitored) and maintain an appropriate, professional communication style (free of emotion, sent only to the appropriate people, and used for topics not needing face-to-face interaction). Three additional strategic roles of email in organizational dissent include emails as a means of promoting strategic self-presentation; email as a means of inviting dissent; and email as a means of documenting/archiving potentially problematic interactions. The implications of this study for existing and future studies of dissent are explored. © 2013 by the Association for Business Communication.

Publication Date

7-1-2013

Publication Title

Journal of Business Communication

Volume

50

Issue

3

Number of Pages

309-331

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1177/0021943613487071

Socpus ID

84878755460 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84878755460

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