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Description

In contemporary organizations characterized by hybrid work arrangements, digital mediation, and heightened uncertainty, internal communication has emerged as a strategic infrastructure central to organizational cohesion, trust, and employee well-being. Far from being a purely instrumental function, internal communication operates as a constitutive system through which leadership practices, organizational culture, relational dynamics, and emotional experiences at work are continuously constructed and negotiated. Despite this centrality, organizational communication research has frequently addressed internal communication through fragmented approaches, focusing on isolated variables (such as job satisfaction, engagement, or trust) without articulating an integrated theoretical architecture capable of capturing its multidimensional and systemic nature. Happiness Management is conceptualized here as a transversal organizational orientation rather than a collection of isolated well-being initiatives. It emphasizes the strategic design of communicative, relational, and cultural conditions that enable the active construction of healthy work environments, the development of positive psychological resources, and meaningful emotional experiences during the working day (Ravina-Ripoll et al., 2022). From an organizational communication perspective, this orientation foregrounds communication as a relational, symbolic, and ethical infrastructure that shapes inclusion, perceived organizational support, and organizational legitimacy (Romero-Rodríguez & Castillo-Abdul, 2024).

The framework presented in this study originates from an extensive theoretical engagement with contemporary research on internal communication, leadership communication, organizational trust, job satisfaction, employee engagement, and well-being. Prior research has consistently demonstrated that symmetrical, transparent, and participative internal communication practices significantly shape employee–organization relationships, organizational trust, and engagement (Men & Sung, 2022; Pološki Vokić et al., 2021; Lee et al., 2022). Moreover, organizational trust has been identified as a key mediating mechanism linking internal communication with psychological well-being, particularly in contexts marked by uncertainty and post-pandemic organizational change (Qin & Men, 2023; Santoso et al., 2023). However, these relationships have often been examined in isolation, limiting their explanatory and integrative potential. To overcome this fragmentation, the study followed a two-stage process of theoretical integration and expert-based validation. First, a broad theoretical mapping of the literature identified a large number of heterogeneous constructs, indicators, and dimensions reflecting the increasing complexity of internal communication research. Second, these emergent dimensions were systematically refined, prioritized, and consolidated through the evaluation of a panel of academic and professional experts in organizational communication, management, human resources, and organizational psychology. Experts assessed the clarity, relevance, and centrality of each dimension and indicator, contributing to the development of a parsimonious yet comprehensive framework. As a result, the study identifies nine interrelated dimensions of internal communication: (1) attitudes of the leader, employer, or supervisor; (2) climate and communication policies; (3) feedback and recognition; (4) organizational environment and structures; (5) peer and informal communication; (6) organizational culture and business perspective; (7) employee–organization relationship; (8) communication media and platforms; and (9) employee attitudes. These dimensions encompass 103 theoretically grounded indicators and integrate formal and informal, strategic and relational, structural and emotional aspects of organizational communication. At the leadership and structural level, internal communication is theorized as a relational practice shaped by communicative symmetry, empathy, responsiveness, transparency, and participative leadership styles. These communicative orientations constitute foundational mechanisms for building trust, psychological safety, and perceived organizational support, conditions closely associated with job satisfaction, engagement, and affective commitment (Men & Bowen, 2017; Meng & Berger, 2022). Climate and communication policies further extend this logic by highlighting how transparency, crisis preparedness, and intercultural sensitivity function as communicative conditions that enable resilient and inclusive organizational environments. The framework also integrates dimensions operating at the intersection of structure and culture. Organizational environment and structures (such as role clarity, empowerment mechanisms, workload management, and internal crisis communication) are conceptualized as communicative infrastructures through which power, responsibility, and legitimacy circulate. Organizational culture and business perspective are understood as communicatively enacted through shared values, internal narratives, innovation discourses, and internal branding processes that align employees with organizational purpose while fostering a sense of community and belonging. Crucially, the study foregrounds relational and emotional dimensions that are frequently marginalized in strategic models of internal communication. Peer and informal communication, horizontal interactions, and everyday relational dynamics are conceptualized as key mechanisms of sensemaking, emotional regulation, and social integration, particularly in digitally mediated and hybrid work contexts (Koch & Denner, 2022; Qin & Men, 2023). These dimensions connect organizational centers (such as leadership, formal structures, and strategic narratives) with relational and emotional peripheries that substantially influence organizational cohesion and employee experience. To provide higher-order coherence, the nine dimensions are organized into three macro-dimensions aligned with Happiness Management principles: (1) the active construction of a healthy work environment and well-being; (2) the formation of employees’ positive personality; and (3) the active emotional experience during the working day. This structuring highlights how internal communication simultaneously operates at environmental, relational, and experiential levels, reinforcing its role as a strategic organizational system rather than a set of discrete practices (Romero-Rodríguez & Castillo-Abdul, 2024). This study contributes to organizational communication theory by moving from conceptual abundance to theoretical integration because it offers a robust, prioritized, and operationalizable framework that reflects current transformations in work, leadership, and mediated interaction. The framework positions internal communication as a strategic and relational system in which power, inclusion, trust, and well-being are continuously negotiated.

Publication Date

28-6-2026

City

Galway, Irlanda

Keywords

Organisational Communication, Internal Communication, Trust, Happiness Management

Comments

Ponencia presentada en IAMCR 2026 – International Association for Media and Communication Research, celebrado en Galway, Irlanda, del 28 de junio al 2 de julio de 2026. Submission ID 1497. El abstract oficial identifica a Bárbara Castillo Abdul como autora y afiliada a la University of Design, Innovation and Technology (UDIT), Spain.

Internal Communication as a Happiness Management–Oriented Organizational System: An Emergent Dimensions en [Ponencia] IAMCR 2026

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