Organizational Communication Research: An Exploratory Application of a Conceptual Model for an Organized Knowledge Base

• Main Authors: Greenbaum, Howard H, Falcione, Raymond L
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: 01.08.1980
• Subjects: Classification; Communication Research; Employee Attitudes; Group Dynamics; Innovation; Morale; Organizational Change; Organizational Communication; Organizational Effectiveness; Organizational Objectives; Work Attitudes; Work Environment

Organizational communication research needs a conceptual model or taxonomy of variables for developing a knowledge base for past and future findings and information access and retrieval. The proposed Outcome-Determinant-Interface (ODI) model distinguishes three major groups of variables, each divided into classes and subclasses. The outcome variables, representing desirable organizational end results, are morale, institutionalization, performance-effectiveness, and adaptiveness-innovation. Determinant variables account for the level of outcome effectiveness achieved, and include individual-employee, work-situation and work-group, organizational, and environmental determinants. Outcome and determinant variables may be dependent or independent. Moderating between outcome and determinant variables are communication interface variables, grouped into intrapersonal, interpersonal, intragroup, intergroup, organization-wide, and interorganizational communication. A survey of 105 organizational-communication research studies, examining combinations of the outcome variable adaptiveness-innovation with all possible determinant and interface variables, revealed that a majority of possible research categories had not been studied. Further refinement of the proposed ODI taxonomy could produce an inventory of organizational communication propositions, generalizations, and areas for future research. (RW)