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Organizational Communication: Development of Internal Strategic Competitive Advantage

Mary L. Tucker, G. Dale Meyer, and James W. WestermanView all authors and affiliations
Volume 33, Issue 1
https://doi.org/10.1177/002194369603300106

Abstract

Many organizations are experimenting with structures (new organization forms) that are designed to facilitate empowered cross-functional communication. The challenge is to become more efficient or competitive by reducing barriers to com munication and to eliminate boundaries which impede the understanding of end-to-end workflows and better performance on strategic goals. Horizontal organization processes such as cross-functional teamwork and empowered decision making at lower organization levels are based on more participative management styles (new management technologies). This paper builds a theo retical model and provides propositions showing how knowledge creation and communication are the foundations of the new organization forms. An organiza tion's capability for creating and communicating knowledge is seen as a resource which can create global strategic competitive advantage. A longitudinal research program is proposed to study the progress of experiments by organiza tions utilizing the new organization forms and management technologies (NFMT).

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1 Throughout the paper the term effective is used as "setting the correct goals" or "doing the right things." Efficient is used as "productive with minimum waste" or "doing things right."
2 The Authors: Professor Mary L. Tucker is an Assistant Professor of Man agement and Business Communication at Colorado State University-Fort Collins. She serves on the Academy of Management's Organization Communication and Information Systems Division Executive Board as Co-Assistant Membership Chair. She researches, presents, and publishes in leadership, communications, cus tomer satisfaction, and statistical methods. She has presented 46 academic papers, has published 28 professional articles, and has completed 9 technical reports for consulting clients.
Professor G. Dale Meyer is the Anderson Professor of Entrepreneurial Devel opment and Executive Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Col lege of Business and Administration, University of Colorado, Boulder. He teaches strategic management, organizational behavior, and entrepreneurship. He has pub lished over 70 articles and 65 technical papers during the past 25 years. His arti cles have appeared in such journals as the Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of Business Venturing, Entrepreneur ship : Theory and Practice, and the Journal of Business Ethics.
Mr. James W. Westerman is a Ph.D. student in organizational behavior and human resource management at the Graduate School of Business at the Univer sity of Colorado, Boulder. He received the Lyman W. Porter Award for Best Paper at the 1994 Industrial-Organizational/Organizational Behavior Doctoral Student Conference and has presented papers at the national meetings of the Academy of Management, the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and the Western Academy of Management. He has an article in press at The Journal of Employee Responsibilities and Rights.

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