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Employees are often considered one of the most important strategic constituencies for organizations (Grunig, 1992; Grunig et al., 2002; Kim and Rhee, 2011). They are one of the most critical stakeholders because they are the strongest supporters and possibly the most vocal critics of the organization if internal policies do not meet their expectations (Waters et al., 2013).
Despite its significance to organizational effectiveness and success, employee relations has been relatively understudied in public relations research (McCown, 2007; Ni, 2007; Seltzer et al., 2012), and there exist only a handful of studies that have directly examined employee-organization relationships (EORs) (e.g. Kim, 2007; Kim and Rhee, 2011; Men, 2014; Men and Stacks, 2014; Shen, 2011; Waters et al., 2013). However, a steady stream of researchers recently began examining links between internal communications and organizational performance (e.g. Broom and Dozier, 1983; Dozier, 1990; Grunig et al., 2002; Meng and Berger, 2012; Stacks and Michaelson, 2010; Yates, 2006), and the values of excellent internal communications have been noted in fostering better relationships with employees and espousing employee engagement (e.g. Kress, 2005; Lockwood, 2007). This study attempts to expand upon these existing scholarly endeavors to examine EORs in the broader context of organization-public relationships (OPRs) and employee engagement, a key employee outcome that produces success in organizations by examining how a company’s symmetrical internal communication efforts could influence its employees’ perception of relationship outcomes and the subsequent employee communication behaviors (ECBs) and their loyalty intention. Subsequently, the study also proposes to explore the link between symmetrical internal communication and employee engagement. More central focus of the study was to test these links with the introduction of mediation of EOR quality between symmetrical internal communication and employee engagement. Further, the study examines how these intricate connections lead to employee external communication behaviors.
EORs
EORs have been the subject of many scholarly inquiries and have been viewed as an important driver that connects human resources management practices and strategies to tangible business outcomes such as customer service quality, employee loyalty, and job performance. An EOR is “an overarching term to describe the relationship between the employee and the organization” (Shore et al., 2004, p. 292). The term typically includes concepts such as the psychological contract...