Employee Involvement and Commitment in Internal Communication

Abstract

This research project aims to analyze the importance of internal communication in organizations in Benguela (Angola) and to determine its impact on employee engagement and commitment to the organization. To this end, an exploratory study was conducted using a quantitative methodology. In this scope, a questionnaire was applied to 250 employees of the organizations, seeking to evaluate employees as internal consumers; internal communication in terms of tools, means and communicative effectiveness, as well as internal communication management and employee satisfaction. The results demonstrate the need for internal communication to engage and commit the company’s employees, where organizations are increasingly concerned with the management of their human resources.

1. Introduction

Today’s society is undergoing major political, socio-cultural, economic, natural and technological transformations, translating into opportunities and/or threats for organizations. Therefore, organizations must be aware of their contextual and transactional environment by developing competitive, technological and environmental surveillance and monitoring systems to respond promptly to the registered changes. Today more than ever, any organization (public, private, government, municipality, association, foundation, etc.) must communicate to give life to its public activity, ideas, products, causes, etc. In many organizations’ development plans and strategies, restrictions and problems of a financial, material and technological nature often arise, which seem to condition the implementation of the strategy and sustainable growth. However, these companies forget to mention one of their main resources and assets: the employees and their need to communicate within a space/place where they spend most of their working hours.

Traditionally, the main goal of organizations was to produce faster and cheaper and consequently increase their results. Today, the context of mobility and organizational interdependence, largely due to globalization and business growth, has forced a rethink of organizational strategies with clear implications for mobilizing human capabilities and the equation of new and innovative strategies. The company is faced with an increasingly organized, competitive, unpredictable and turbulent environment. Company workers are now seen as assets that must be mobilized and require continuous investment in their training. Over the years, organizational theories have changed their focus of attention, which no longer concentrates solely on productive and technological factors, and have begun to consider and value human factors. In this valorization of human and intellectual capital, as a strategic resource of modern organizations, internal communication is determinant so that everyone understands the organizational strategy and knows what is expected of them to pursue the business mission and objectives. Involved and motivated employees strengthen their bond and commitment to the organization, with visible gains in their satisfaction and relationship with customers. Although complex and multidisciplinary, internal communication and its integration within an internal marketing approach, as a holistic vision, is increasingly a key piece in the management of modern companies. Therefore, it is a challenge to learn about this issue from the perspective of Angolan organizations.

Given the current organizational environment, the result of constant changes in the ecosystem, it is important to reflect on how Angolan organizations view the management of human resources and how they integrate communication to motivate, engage and commit their employees. Thus, the starting question that guided this research was the following: What is the perception of managers and employees regarding the organization’s orientation towards the internal market and what are the internal communication management strategies used? Thus, the general objective of the research is to evaluate the perception of managers and employees of companies operating in the province of Benguela regarding the orientation of the organization towards the internal market and what internal communication management strategies are used. To this end, an exploratory study of a quantitative nature was developed and a questionnaire was administered to 250 managers and employees, seeking to assess the importance of the internal market, the formalism, tools and media of internal communication, as well as the organization’s management of internal communication.

The results show that organizations are aware of the importance of their employees and the need for internal communication to engage and commit employees to the company. Moreover, organizations show great concern in managing their human resources, although they do not use their full capacity of marketing and communication. The quantitative data obtained through the questionnaires were analyzed in SPSS, using statistical techniques with analysis of frequencies, averages, standard deviation, correlations and linear regression, having obtained Cronbach’s alpha values of high satisfaction (alpha = 0.965). It was possible to verify through the questionnaire data that internal communication is very formal, not using many of the modern means of internal communication, which are seen as having low effectiveness. On the other hand, the managers value communication with their superiors and consider that their suggestions are considered within the company. They also reveal that they are satisfied with their jobs and express intentions to remain with the company.

2. Literature Background

Internal communication is a key vector and a strategic value for the organization (ADECEC 2019). It should not be forgotten that relational and communicational fluidity within the organization helps to manage the organization in a normal situation or in any process of change (Men 2014), and allows for the installation of a positive organizational climate (Charry-Condor 2018). The strategic value of internal communication is the result of the efficient and effective functioning of a series of communicative artefacts capable of spreading values and messages within the organization. Therefore, it is essential to diagnose and evaluate their communicative effects in order to ascertain whether these values allow the achievement of the objectives proposed and accepted by all in the organization. Unfortunately, few organizations measure and evaluate internal communication practices, let alone measure these effects according to the objectives set by the organization. (Gatehouse 2019; Cuenca and Verazzi 2018; Castillo-Esparcia and Villabona-Beltrán 2018). This subject is gaining its space within the company, and by similitude measurement models, such as the balanced scorecard, are beginning to be applied to allow systematic, standardized assessments that are able to ascertain the contribution of internal communication to business results (Miquel-Segarra and Aced-Toledano 2019).

Any organization must have involved, committed and motivated employees; however, this is not possible if they are not properly informed and if all similar hierarchical levels do not communicate properly, and for this reason, it will not be possible to enhance the human force of the organization (Ruggiero 2002). Internal communication helps to develop the participation and involvement of all employees in all of the processes of the institution. It encompasses all of the acts of communication that take place within an organization, and that vary in the modalities in which they are used, in the instruments and in the functions they perform (Westphalen 1992) and have as the main objectives: to make all of the employees influential, informed and integrated ; to enable the employees of a company to be aware of the transformations occurring in the internal environment; to facilitate organizational communication, making it clear and objective for the employees. In any company, internal communication contributes strongly to building and maintaining group spirit (Sanchis and Bonavía 2017). Unfortunately, internal communication is sometimes forgotten or undervalued. Sometimes it is even replaced by external communication in which the investment is almost always greater. According to Lindon et al. (2000), internal communication should be enhanced because it is through the employees that the image of the company is also disseminated outwards; because it should be coherent with external communication; and finally, because it enables the motivation and commitment of the employees by improving their performance, and it is this function that is most important in this research work.

The year 2020 was the year in which the world realized in a flash the value and importance of communication in all of its forms in the different contexts of personal and professional life. People, employees, managers and leaders had in a very short time to profoundly alter their daily tasks and routines (Sanders et al. 2020). Business dynamics were deeply affected where the different hierarchical levels were subjected to pressures such as we had never seen in the past, requiring critical decisions to be made in minimal time (Van Der Meer et al. 2017; Van Zoonen and Van Der Meer 2015). In a few weeks, it was necessary to build a new model of interaction based on technology, where different tools were used for contact, interaction and mediation, namely email; the intranet; videoconferences, among other tools for remote and cooperative work (Sanders et al. 2020). This global deregulation has created a great opportunity for, and interest in, organizational communication, in this case computer-mediated organizational communication. We are facing an important scenario of individual, collective and global involvement and commitment, in order to re-establish the previous order in a similar form, from the point of view of relationships and the functioning of institutions. In this context, the model by María-Carmen De-la-Calle-Durán and José-Luis Rodríguez-Sánchez makes it possible to strengthen the involvement and increase the well-being of employees, managers and leaders. They must be available in these times of global pandemic to be able to reconcile, cultivate, trust, compensate and communicate (De-la-Calle-Durán and Rodríguez-Sánchez 2021). In the last two years we have witnessed true moments of global democratic access to communication and information technologies, where the planet globally has begun to communicate using technology as a true mediator in the times of COVID-19, creating new work environments with new rules, instruments for socialization and personal interaction, among other new telematic ecosystems. In this context, transformational leadership has become one of the main approaches used to understand the behaviors of leaders who are oriented towards transforming organizations (Sahu et al. 2018). Transformational leadership is a shared process of stakeholder orientations, outcomes and benefits, in which each stakeholder, at different decision levels, applies their individual effort for the collective benefit, thereby reducing the ambiguity of the roles of leaders and employees (Charoensukmongkol and Puyod 2021).

The need to ensure that employees are committed, with a sense of organizational belonging, integrated and informed of what happens in the organization, made internal communication a very important mechanism in the management of organizations (Sanchis and Bonavía 2017). In this sense, it is important to understand the importance of internal communication to make employees committed, with a sense of organizational belonging, integrated and informed of what happens in the organization (Karanges et al. 2015).

Understanding the importance of internal communication at all hierarchical levels as an instrument of strategic administration is a requirement to achieve organizational efficiency. The involvement of employees in the whole organizational process, developing the capacity for good interpersonal communication, is an unavoidable condition for the good performance of the organization. Through communication, we must be able to communicate the culture of the company, that is, its values, mission and vision, so that employees feel truly integrated and committed to the organization. Internal communication management processes should not be limited to issuing directives from top management to employees, nor should they diminish the importance of their opinion on the functioning of the organization. Among the most important communication factors, we selected four factors: information flows; levels of complexity; communication channels; and communication formalities.

Internal marketing concerns ensure that all employees are prepared and motivated to act in a service-oriented manner and ensure that they understand and accept the business and all other activities of the organization (Grönroos 1995). To think of internal marketing as a human resource management strategy is to view employees as internal customers, to view jobs as internal products, and then to make an effort to offer internal products that satisfy the needs and wants of these internal customers while communicating to them the goals of the company (Baron and Harris 1995, p. 127). Marketing practices used internally can address the needs of employees and move them toward the company’s goals and mission (Joseph 1996). Similarly, the results obtained by Abzari et al. (2011) reveal that internal marketing, directly and indirectly, affects organizational commitment through market orientation. This means that internal marketing factors influence market orientation and, in turn, market orientation affects organizational commitment.

Organizations need to prepare their employees to perform the service efficiently. They should provide them with training in the technical skills and knowledge needed to perform their tasks. In addition to training in the technical skills and knowledge, employees need to train their interactive skills to learn interpersonal skills, learn how to solve problems, communicate and listen, and, consequently, to provide courteous, responsible, caring and empathetic service. Training should teach how employees should make decisions for themselves and develop a constant concern for customer problems. Many jobs, especially those where employees deal with many customers, can become very tiring physically and psychologically. This leads to employees becoming less caring and sensitive in the performance of their duties and less willing to please customers. One way to make staff more motivated to serve is to promote teamwork.

The organization develops an interactive community of workers who help each other, sympathize with each other, carry out tasks and achieve organizational goals together. An organization that wants its customers to be satisfied with its service needs to give freedom of action to the employees who deal with the customers, i.e., the contact personnel. Although these employees have to respect certain rules of the organization, they have to have the authority and responsibility to satisfy the customers’ needs and be able to solve unexpected problems that may arise. Measuring and rewarding employee performance is essential for the organization. Employees need to know that they will be evaluated and rewarded for good performance. However, many organizations’ employee performance measurement systems focus exclusively on output measures (e.g., sales quantity) but ignore behavioral measures (e.g., employees’ willingness to help customers and provide prompt service or the empathy of the service provided). For the authors, the willingness of employees to help customers and to offer a quick service is one of the most important factors that customers take into account when evaluating the quality of service.

3. Methodology

The determination of the methodological and operational framework of the research also resulted from the main objective of this study which was to know more deeply and concretely some of the characteristics of internal communication in Angolan organizations, especially with regard to aspects related to human resource management, in order to reveal the nature of the phenomenon at the level of internal communication (in its different formats and levels) and its impact on employee satisfaction. The concern with understanding the processes of construction and development of internal communication and relationship strategies among the different hierarchical levels, taking into consideration the social representations in an organizational context, guided the overall methodological strategy. This concern also conceived a holistic and systemic approach, duly contextualized in the specificities of Angolan culture that was reflected in the process of global apprehension of the contextual, organizational and professional characteristics of Angolan public and private organizations.

Data collection occurred between May and August 2020 through the application of a questionnaire to a sample of managers and employees of various small and medium-sized companies, public and private, in the province of Benguela in Angola, to collect and analyze the managers’ perception of the value of human resources as an asset of the organization (internal market orientation), the internal communication practices developed and how this reflects on the satisfaction and intention to remain in the organization.

3.1. Research Problem and Hypotheses

The research question that motivated our entire research effort is the following: What is the perception of managers and employees regarding the organization’s orientation towards the internal market and what are the internal communication management strategies used? Following the definition of this problem, other related research questions emerged:

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Do organizations value employees as an internal market?

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What is the degree of formalism in communication?

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What means of internal communication are used, and how effective are they?

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Are employees’ suggestions and requests considered and responded to by the institution, superiors and colleagues?

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What is the perception of employees with regard to institutional communication, superiors and different departments?

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How is internal communication managed with regard to the management of official written and informal information and its dissemination within the organization?

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Do internal market orientation and internal communication strategies have an impact on employee satisfaction, on their intention to stay in the organization and on external communication (recommendation)?

Taking into account the previously mentioned initial questions, we now present the research hypotheses:

H1. 

Angolan organizations stimulate and consider their workers as clients, as they are an important asset in the development of companies.

H2. 

Employees of Angolan organizations consider internal communication to be too formal, based on face-to-face contact in the form of meetings, being the most effective form of interaction in the internal dynamics and purposes of the organization.

H3. 

Employees of Angolan organizations consider that their suggestions and opinions are considered within the company.

H4. 

The perception of organizational information by employees is positive with regard to its usefulness, clarity and abundance.

H5. 

The management of internal communication is considered positive by employees, where the company attends and meets with its employees to determine expectations, improvements to be implemented and evaluate the quality of employment.

H6. 

The dissemination of information within the company is carried out because employees consider themselves to be informed about issues that affect their work context. Nevertheless, and within the work context, working conditions and relationships are unchanged and there is no room for improvement or change.

H7. 

Employees are satisfied with the functions performed in Angolan companies, which they recommend and intend to remain in the company.

This list of hypotheses are hypothetical statements in the form of answers to the above research questions, which will be verified by applying the different statistical instruments to the data collected from the research sample.

3.2. Sample

The managers and employees of organizations that operate in Angola constitute the population of this study, however we restricted the investigation to the province of Benguela where we developed an exploratory study of a quantitative nature, whose sample considered was 209 individuals who responded to the questionnaire, although 250 questionnaires were distributed. The essential criterion was the opportunity and availability to participate in the production of information over a period of time limited to five months, through the completion of a questionnaire distributed and validated to various companies in Benguela province.

3.3. Data Collection Tools

For data collection, we chose to apply a structured and self-administered questionnaire (Pestana and Gageiro 2005). In the questionnaire, gender, age, academic qualifications, nationality, type of company, length of service in the post and in the company and number of employees were independent variables, while the dependent variables referred to the dimensions that were the object of measurement, namely: employees as internal customers, the degree of formalism of internal communication, the instruments and means of internal communication, the effectiveness of the means of internal communication, the consideration of employees’ suggestions, the response to employees’ requests, the evaluation of organizational communication (institutional, hierarchical superior and interdepartmental), the management of internal communication (management of informal information, management of formal face-to-face information, management of formal written information, dissemination of information, institutional response) (cf.

Table 1. Dimensions, categories and items used in the questionnaire.

Dimensions	Sub-Dimension	Nº of Items
Employees as internal customers		5 items
Degree of the formalism of internal communication		1 item
Tools and means of internal communication		9 items
Effectiveness of the means of internal communication		9 items
Consideration of employees’ suggestions		3 items
Response to employees’ requests		3 items
Evaluation of the organizational communication	Institutional	4 items
	Hierarchical superiors	4 items
	Interdepartmental	5 items
Management of the internal communication	Informal information management	2 items
	Face-to-face formal information management	2 items
	Formal information management in writing
	Dissemination of information	2 items
	Institutional response	2 items
Satisfaction with function		1 item
Recommendation of the organization		1 item
Intention to stay		1 item

).

To measure the “consideration of employees as internal customers”, the scales proposed by Grönroos (1995) and Berry and Parasuraman (1991) were considered. Regarding internal communication, the Questionnaire on Internal Communication—QUESCI developed by Rosmaninho et al. (2008) was used as the basis, supported by five dimensions: (a) Degree of the formalism of communication; (b) Tools and means of internal communication; (c) Effectiveness of internal communication means; (d) Consideration of employees’ suggestions; (e) Response to employees’ requests; (f) Evaluation of organizational communication (institutional; organic superiors; interdepartmental), as well as the works of Madureira (1990) and Westphalen (1992). To evaluate the management of internal communication, the work of Jaworski and Kohli (1993) was used as a basis, adopting the internal market scale supported by five dimensions: (1) generation of informal information; (2) generation of formal face-to-face information; (3) generation of formal written information; (4) communication and diffusion of information; (5) response to internal market information. The respondents, in relation to the propositions presented, expressed their agreement on a 5-point Likert-type scale (Pestana and Gageiro 2005), ranging from “I totally disagree” to “I totally agree”. Concerning the frequency of use of the means of internal communication, a 5-point Likert-type scale was used (Pestana and Gageiro 2005), ranging from “Never” to “Very often”. In turn, in order to assess the effectiveness of the means of internal communication, a 5-point Likert-type scale was used (Pestana and Gageiro 2005), ranging from “Ineffective” to “Very effective”. After developing the questionnaire, a pre-test (Pestana and Gageiro 2005) was conducted with 12 potential respondents. No problems were identified in terms of its understanding, structure and form of completion, so it was then administered to the selected sample consisting of 250 managers or employees.

The process of analysis and interpretation of the collected data involved several procedures: (1) Establishment of categories; (2) Coding; (3) Tabulation; (4) Statistical analysis of the data; (5) Evaluation of the generalizations obtained with the data; (6) Causal error relationships; (7) Data interpretation. First, we performed a univariate analysis of the data through descriptive statistics (frequency, mean and standard deviation) and, subsequently, in order to analyze the differences in the results of the VRs (dependent variables) according to the changes in the VIs (independent variables), we used the differential method (Pinto 1990), performing crossings and correlations between variables in order to identify the differences between groups (chi-square analysis and t-test)—(Hill and Hill 2002; Pestana and Gageiro 2005). The SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) was used for descriptive and inferential statistical treatment—version 20.

4. Results

4.1. Descriptive Analysis

We first performed a univariate data analysis using descriptive statistics (absolute and relative frequencies, mean and standard deviation) in data analysis. Then, we assessed the internal consistency of the research instrument through Cronbach’s alphas and a factorial analysis through the principal components method (PCA). Subsequently, we resorted to a bivariate data analysis to identify whether there are differences between variables (t-test and ANOVA). Finally, a multivariate analysis of the data was performed by making correlations between the variables.

Research hypothesis H1 was supported. Angolan organizations stimulate and consider their workers as clients, as they are an important asset in the development of companies. Taking into consideration the reliability and validity ascertained for the different scales, and with regard to the perception that the respondents have of the internal market in the company, we found that workers considered that “The company puts them first” (M = 2.96; SD = 1.124). The same was valid for the item “The company encourages worker participation” (M = 2.88; SD = 1.011), with the majority of respondents showing general agreement with this proposition. Furthermore, the item “The company tries to promote the satisfaction of workers” registered the third highest average (M = 2.82; SD = 1.081), which shows a willingness of the organizations to consider their workers as also being a reason for their activity.

Research hypothesis H2 was supported. Employees of Angolan organizations consider internal communication to be too formal, based on face-to-face contact in the form of meetings, being the most effective form of interaction in the internal dynamics and purposes of the organization. The respondents considered internal communication to be too formal (M = 3.50; SD = 1.092). In fact, 113 respondents (65.6%) agreed or totally agreed that internal communication is too formal. As for the means of internal communication used by organizations, it can be concluded that they have little application (M = 2.19; SD = 1.11), where 40.7% stated that they are never used, and 22.3% stated that they are rarely used. Still, the most used means were classic face-to-face meetings (M = 2.87; SD = 1.066), written information (M = 2.67; SD = 1.513) and informal conversations (M = 2.61; SD = 1.216). On the other hand, the least used means were the in-house newspaper (M = 1.42; SD = 0.781) and the wall newspaper (M = 1.44; SD = 0.733). In spite of everything, and globally, the respondents considered that the means of internal communication were effective (M = 2.67; SD = 1.226). In terms of effectiveness, they considered meetings as the most effective means (M = 3.42; SD = 1.453), with 126 respondents (60.3%) considering them effective or very effective, then E-mails (M = 3.13; SD = 1.352), with 51.6% of respondents considering them effective or very effective. The means considered less effective were the wall newspaper (M = 2.09; SD = 0.798), information posters (M = 2.25; SD = 1.107) and informal conversations (M = 2.28; SD = 1.177).

Research hypothesis H3 was supported. Employees of Angolan organizations consider that their suggestions and opinions are considered within the company. Overall, respondents agreed that their suggestions and opinions were considered in the company (M = 2.65; SD = 0.986). However, these suggestions were more considered by colleagues (M = 3.33; SD = 0.975), as 122 respondents (58.4%) agreed or totally agreed with the item “My colleagues usually take my suggestions and opinions into consideration”. The remaining items showed higher disagreement values, with the item “The company management usually takes my suggestions and opinions into consideration” (M = 2.19; SD = 1.029), with 147 respondents (70.3%) disagreeing and totally disagreeing. Therefore, it seems that the closer the relationship between the parties the more suggestions are considered (colleagues, superiors, management). Similar evidence was obtained in the responses given to the requests made by the respondents to the different interlocutors, which were presented as positive (M = 3.06; SD = 1.234). Thus, 123 respondents (58.9%) agreed and totally agreed with the statement “I always receive a response to the requests I make to my colleagues” (M = 3.41; SD = 1.335), followed, in this order, by the responses given by superiors (M = 3.08; SD = 1.192) and the responses given by management (2.70; SD = 1.177).

Research hypothesis H4 was supported. The perception of organizational information by employees is positive with regard to its usefulness, clarity and abundance. In terms of evaluating organizational communication, and with regard to institutional information, it can be seen that all of the respondents agreed with the propositions presented (M = 3.09; SD = 1.201). This manifestation is most evident in the item “The information has a practical application in the exercise of my functions” (M = 3.63; SD = 1.436), with 129 respondents agreeing or totally agreeing (71.7%), and in the item “The information is clear” (M = 3.39; SD = 1.326) with 62.7% agreeing. However, the values were lower in the item “The information is timely” (M = 2.55; SD= 0.893), with 96 respondents disagreeing or totally disagreeing with this proposition. With regard to information coming from superiors, respondents gave a positive assessment (M = 3.20; SD = 1.039), with 93 respondents (44%) agreeing or totally agreeing with the propositions presented. Again, the items “The information has a practical application in the exercise of my duties” (M = 3.78; SD = 1.256) and the item “The information is clear” (M = 3.41; SD = 1.071) stood out positively, and the item “The information is timely” (M = 2.59; SD = 0.774) less favorably. Interdepartmental information and communication were also rated favorably (M = 3.14; SD = 1.049), with 91 respondents (43.3%) agreeing with the statements made. The item “The information has a practical application in the exercise of my functions” also obtained the highest values here (M = 3.45; SD = 1.358), with 59.8% of respondents agreeing or totally agreeing with this proposition, considering that the information is coherent (M = 3.44; SD = 0.999) and clear (M = 3.19; SD = 0.941). We found that the three levels under evaluation in terms of information—institutional information, information coming from hierarchical superiors and information coming from other departments—were considered useful, clear and abundant.

Research hypothesis H5 was supported. The management of internal communication is considered positive by employees, where the company attends and meets with its employees to determine expectations, improvements to be implemented and evaluate the quality of employment. In terms of internal communication management, informal information management in organizations was considered positive by respondents (M = 2.96; SD = 1.15), with the most evident contribution being the item “I regularly talk to employees to find out something more about their work” (M = 3.01; SD = 1.150) where 97 respondents (46.4%) agreed and totally agreed with the statement. The management of formal face-to-face information is also positively evaluated (M = 3.05; SD = 1.116), being most evident in the item “The company meets with employees at least once a year to find out their expectations for the future” (M = 3.38; SD = 1.227) where 107 respondents (51.2%) agreed or totally agreed with the statement. The respondents favorably evaluated the management of formal written information (M = 2.84; SD = 1.091), where 73 respondents (34.8%) agreed or totally agreed with the statements “In this organization, we do a lot of research on the internal market” and “We survey employees at least once a year to assess the quality of employment”.

Research hypothesis H6 was not supported. In a general sense, the dissemination of information was seen as favorable among the respondents (M = 2.65; SD = 1.131). The most evident result was found in the item “Staff are periodically informed about issues affecting their working environment” (M = 2.84; SD = 1.128), with 55 respondents agreeing or fully agreeing with the statement. However, respondents evaluated negatively when they were asked about the existence of regular meetings with employees at all hierarchical levels (M = 2.46; SD = 1.135). On the other hand, and in relation to the item “When employees are considered dissatisfied with supervision or management, corrective action is taken” (M = 2.43; SD = 1.191), where there were 112 respondents who considered that corrective action was not taken to alleviate this dissatisfaction with the management (48.8%). The item “When it is found that employees would like to change their working conditions, the company tries to find solutions” went in the same direction (M = 2.42; SD = 1.107), where employees considered that the company did not look for solutions to improve working conditions, where there were 113 respondents who disagree or totally disagree with the statement.

Research hypothesis H7 was not supported. Regarding satisfaction, we found that most of the respondents were satisfied with the function performed in the company, where 111 respondents (53.1%) agreed or totally agreed with the statement (M = 3.06; SD = 1.264). Regarding recommendations, it was found that 103 respondents (49.3%) did not recommend the company to friends and family. In this sense, there were also 77 respondents (36.9%) expressing an interest in staying with the company in the coming years (M = 2.71; SD = 1.258), against 90 respondents (42%) saying they felt like leaving the company.

4.2. Reliability and Validity Analysis of the Scale

In order to assess the reliability of the various dimensions under analysis, Cronbach’s alpha value was calculated, in which the index under analysis estimates the uniformity of the various items that contribute to the unweighted sum of the instrument, which is known in the literature as “analysis of the internal consistency of the scale”. For the authors, an instrument has appropriate reliability when Cronbach’s alpha assumes a value of 0.7, although a value of 0.6 in exploratory studies is also acceptable (Pestana and Gageiro 2005).

In this study, the analysis was based on the set of statements/propositions that defined the theoretical constructs, particularly the latent and multidimensional concepts: internal market, perception of communication (management, superiors, colleagues), internal information management (formal information management, face-to-face formal information management, written formal information management, information dissemination, response). The Cronbach’s alpha analysis applied to all of the dimensions and the items (56 in total) that make up the scale were 0.965, therefore considered very good (Pestana and Gageiro 2005). In order to assess the convergent validity of the scale (concerning the dimensions previously presented), we used the factorial analysis through the PCA (Principal Component Analysis) method.

4.3. Internal Market

The reliability analysis for all of the items that comprised the scale on the internal market obtained a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.675, which can therefore be considered satisfactory and acceptable. In fact, with the deletion of the items “The company views its employees as internal customers” and “Any commercial initiative of the company is communicated to employees promptly”, Cronbach’s alpha value increased to 0.722, so that, given the impact on the final result, it was decided to delete these items.

The correlations of each item with the total correlation vary between 0.138 (The company sees its employees as internal customers) and 0.638 (The company puts people first), presenting positive values in general. From the factorial analysis, one component is retained through the principal components extraction method (PCA), which explains 65.1% of the total variance. Nevertheless, values lower than 0.5 in the correlation matrix do not cause problems in interpreting the data since there is a correlation between the variables (Bartlett with sig = 0.000), and the results obtained mirror a very good factorial analysis (KMO = 0.636).

4.4. Evaluation of Organizational Communication

The evaluation of organizational communication contemplated institutional information, information from hierarchical superiors and inter-departmental information. Thus, the institutional communication dimension contemplated four items and, therefore, is amenable to performing reliability and factorial analyzes. The internal consistency obtained was α—0.858 (good), with the exclusion or deletion of any item not contributing to the improvement of this value (

Table 2. Reliability of the dimension—Institutional Communication.

Alpha = 0.858	Correlation of the Item with the Total	Cronbach’s Alpha If the Item Is Deleted
Information is sufficient	0.689	0.818
Information is timely	0.612	0.855
The information is clear	0.754	0.790
The information has a practical application in the exercise of my functions	0.786	0.778

). Furthermore, the correlations of each item with the total correlation are high and range between 0.612 (item 2) and 0.786 (item 4).

From the factorial analysis, one component is retained through the principal components extraction method (PCA), which explains 70.3% of the total variance (

Table 3. Factorial Analysis—Institutional Communication.

Components	Initial Eigenvalues Sums of Squared Loadings Extraction			Initial Eigenvalues Sums of Squared Loadings Extraction
	Total	% of Variance	% Cumulative	Total	% of Variance
1	2.812	70,302	70,302	2812	70,302
2	0.609	15,230	85,532
3	0.330	8257	93,789
4	0.248	6211	100,000
Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy.					0.777
			Approx. chi-square		403,861
Bartlett’s test of sphericity			df		6
			Sig.		0.000

).

The correlation matrix is high and therefore does not cause problems in data interpretation since there is a correlation between the variables (Bartlett with sig = 0.000), and the results obtained reflect a satisfactory factorial analysis (KMO = 0.777).

The dimension “communication superiors” contained four items, whose internal consistency obtained was α—0.789, being considered good (

Table 4. Reliability of the “Communication with superiors” dimension.

Alpha = 0.789	Correlation of the Item with the Total	Cronbach’s Alpha if the Item is Deleted
Information is sufficient	0.596	0.725
Information is timely	0.493	0.779
The information is clear	0.755	0.638
The information has a practical application in the exercise of my functions	0.561	0.757

). The correlations of each item with the total correlation ranged between 0.493 (item 2) and 0.755 (item 3).

From the factorial (PCA), one component is retained, which explains 61.59% of the total variance (

Table 5. Factorial Analysis of the “Communication among hierarchical superiors”.

Components	Initial Eigenvalues Sums of Squared Loadings Extraction			Initial Eigenvalues Sums of Squared Loadings Extraction
	Total	% of Variance	% Cumulative	Total	% of Variance
1	2.464	61,598	61,598	2464	61,598
2	0.749	18,734	80,332
3	0.498	12,443	92,775
4	0.289	7225	100,000
Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy.					0.708
			Approx. chi-square		272,901
Bartlett’s test of sphericity			df		6
			Sig.		0.000

). The correlation matrix presents positive and significant values greater than 0.5 and, therefore, does not cause problems in data interpretation since there is a correlation between the variables (Bartlett with sig = 0.000), and the results obtained mirror a satisfactory factorial analysis (KMO = 0.708).

The dimension “interdepartmental communication” contained five items, whose internal consistency obtained was α—0.721, being considered good (

Table 6. Reliability of the “Interdepartmental communication” dimension.

Alpha = 0.721 Enhanced Alpha = 0.743	Correlation of the Item with the Total	Cronbach’s Alpha if the Item Is Deleted
Information is sufficient	0.581	0.634
Information is timely	0.275	0.743
The information is clear	0.631	0.621
The information has a practical application in the exercise of my duties	0.429	0.713
The information is consistent	0.550	0.647

). The elimination of item 2 contributes to improving the alpha (0.743), a procedure that was considered. The correlations of each item with the total correlation range between 0.275 (item 2) and 0.631 (item 3).

From the factorial analysis (PCA) with four factors (resulting from the elimination of item 2), we retained one component, which explains 57.31% of the total variance (

Table 7. Factorial Analysis of the “Interdepartmental communication”.

Components	Correlation of the Item with the Total			Cronbach’s Alpha if the Item Is Deleted
	Total	% of Variance	% Cumulative	Total	% of Variance
1	2.293	57,319	57,319	2293	57,319
2	0.812	20,294	77,612
3	0.540	13,512	91,125
4	0.355	8875	100,000
Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy.					0.692
			Approx. chi-square		211,945
Bartlett’s test of sphericity			df		6
			Sig.		0.000

). The correlation matrix presents positive and significant values greater than 0.5 and, therefore, does not cause problems in data interpretation since there is a correlation between the variables (Bartlett’s with sig = 0.000), and the results obtained mirror a satisfactory factorial analysis (KMO = 0.692).

4.5. Response to Requests

The Response to Requests comprised three items, whose internal consistency obtained was α—0.811. The exclusion of item 1 (I always receive a response to the requests I make to the administration) would have improved the internal consistency to α—0.846 (

Table 8. Reliability of the dimension “Response to requests”.

Alpha = 0.811 Enhanced Alpha = 0.846	Correlation of the Item with the Total	Cronbach’s Alpha if the Item Is Deleted
I always receive a response to the requests I make to the administration	0.549	0.846
I always receive a response to my Supervisor’s enquiries	0.683	0.719
I always receive a response to requests I make to my colleagues	0.765	0.623

). However, given that it was a slight increase, we decided to keep it. As a result, the correlations of each item with the total are high and range between 0.549 (item 1) and 0.765 (item 3).

From the factorial analysis (FCA), one component is retained (

Table 9. Factorial Analysis “Response to requests”.

Components	Correlation of the Item with the Total			Cronbach’s Alpha if the Item Is Deleted
	Total	% of Variance	% Cumulative	Total	% of Variance
1	2.179	72,618	72,618	2179	72,618
2	0.575	19,155	91,773
3	0.247	8227	100,000
Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy.					0.648
			Approx. chi-square		242,137
Bartlett’s test of sphericity			df		3
			Sig.		0.000

), which explains 72.61% of the total variance (Bartlett with sig = 0.000; KMO = 0.648).

4.6. Internal Market Orientation and Internal Communication Management

Based on the adaptation of the Jaworski and Kohli (1993) scale, the internal consistency was evaluated, and an alpha of 0.889 was obtained (

Table 10. Internal market orientation and internal communication management.

Alpha = 0.889	Correlation of the Item with the Total	Cronbach’s Alpha if the Item Is Deleted
I try to find out how employees feel about their jobs	0.757	0.868
I regularly talk to employees to find out more about their work	0.825	0.863
The company meets with employees at least once a year to find out their expectations for the future	0.609	0.879
We interact with our employees to find out how we can make them more satisfied	0.662	0.876
In this organization, we do a lot of internal market research	0.566	0.882
We survey employees at least once a year to evaluate the quality of employment	0.672	0.875
Staff are regularly informed about issues that affect their working environment	0.482	0.888
There are regular meetings with staff at all levels of the hierarchy	0.505	0.886
Where staff are found to be dissatisfied with supervision or management, corrective action is taken	0.606	0.880
When it is found that employees would like to change their working conditions, the company tries to find solutions	0.587	0.881

). In addition, the correlations between the items are positive, ranging from 0.482 (Staff are periodically informed about issues that affect their work environment) to 0.825 (I regularly talk to employees to find out more about their work).

From the factorial analysis (FCA), we retained two components (

Table 11. Factorial Analysis “Response to Requests”.

Components	Correlation of the Item with the Total			Cronbach’s Alpha if the Item Is Deleted
	Total	% of Variance	% Cumulative	Total	% of Variance
1	5.092	50,919	50,919	5092	50,919
2	1561	15,609	66,528	1561	15,609
3	0.979	9794	76,322
4	0.638	6380	82,702
5	0.445	4449	87,151
6	0.421	4211	91,362
7	0.316	3160	94,522
8	0.220	2200	96,722
9	0.210	2103	98,825
10	0.117	1175	100,000
Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy.					0.805
			Approx. chi-square		1,299,595
Bartlett’s test of sphericity			df		45
			Sig.		0.000

), which explain 66.52% of the total variance (Bartlett with sig = 0.000; KMO = 0.805), with the first explaining 50.91% and the second 15.6%.

The communalities (proportion of the variance of each variable explained by the principal components) show a strong relationship with the factors retained (

Table 12. Communalities.

	Initial	Extraction
I try to find out how employees feel about their jobs	1000	0.751
I regularly talk to employees to find out more about their work	1.000	0.780
The company meets with employees at least once a year to find out their expectations for the future	1.000	0.705
We interact with our employees to find out how we can make them more satisfied	1.000	0.592
In this organization, we do a lot of internal market research	1.000	0.805
We survey employees at least once a year to evaluate the quality of employment	1.000	0.580
Staff are regularly informed about issues that affect their working environment	1.000	0.406
There are regular meetings with staff at all levels of the hierarchy	1.000	0.793
Where staff are found to be dissatisfied with supervision or management, corrective action is taken	1.000	0.647
When it is found that employees would like to change their working conditions, the company tries to find solutions	1.000	0.594

), with the lowest value being that of the item “Staff are periodically informed about issues affecting their working environment” (0.406). The remaining items all have values above 50%.

The components matrix reveals that the loadings that relate the variables to the factors before rotation show that the first six variables are assigned to factor 1 (0.883; 0.836; 0.760; 0.747; 0.707; 0.689), with doubts (close values) in the remaining variables (

Table 13. Component matrix before rotation.

	Components
	1	2
I regularly talk to employees to find out more about their work	0.883	−0.037
I try to find out how employees feel about their jobs	0.836	−0.225
We interview employees at least once a year to assess job quality	0.760	−0.056
We interact with our employees to find out how we can make them more satisfied	0.747	−0.183
The company meets with employees at least once a year to find out their expectations for the future	0.707	−0.453
When employees are found to be dissatisfied with supervision or management, corrective action is taken	0.689	0.416
In this organization, we do a lot of internal market research	0.669	−0.598
When it is discovered that staff would like to change their working conditions, the company tries to find solutions	0.654	0.408
Staff are periodically informed about issues that affect their working environment	0.549	0.324
There are regular meetings with employees at all levels of the hierarchy	0.573	0.682
I regularly talk to employees to find out more about their work	0.883	−0.037

).

Given that there is no high loading in both factors in the items (When it is found that employees would like to change their working conditions, the company tries to find solutions; There are regular meetings with employees at all hierarchical levels; I regularly talk to employees to find out more about their work), the variable allocation to a given factor is unclear, requiring the use of rotation. Thus, given this difficulty and the existence of two factors, we used varimax rotation (Pestana and Gageiro 2005) to clarify this situation, and the factors were thus arranged (

Table 14. Component matrix after varimax rotation.

	Components
	Internal Information Management	Dissemination and Response
In this organization, we do a lot of internal market research	0.897
The company meets with employees at least once a year to find out their expectations for the future	0.833
I try to find out how employees feel about their jobs	0.787
I regularly talk to employees to find out more about their work	0.701
We interact with our employees to find out how we can make them more satisfied	0.691
We interview employees at least once a year to evaluate the quality of employment	0.620
There are regular meetings with employees at all levels of the hierarchy		0.890
When employees are found to be dissatisfied with supervision or management, corrective action is taken		0.760
When it is found that employees would like to change their working conditions, the company tries to find solutions		0.732
Staff are periodically informed about issues that affect their working environment		0.600
In this organization, we do a lot of internal market research	0.897

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.

):

-

Component 1 includes seven variables, which as they group the three initial dimensions of Jaworski and Kohli’s (1993) scale, we renamed Internal Information Management (In this organization, we do a lot of internal market research; The company meets with employees at least once a year to find out their expectations for the future; I try to find out the real feelings of employees towards their jobs; I talk to employees regularly to find out more about their work; We interact with our employees to find out how to make them more satisfied; We listen to employees at least once a year to evaluate the quality of the job; In this organization, we do a lot of internal market research);

-

Component 2 includes four variables that include the items referring to “Information dissemination” and “Response of the organization” from Jaworski and Kohli’s (1993) initial scale, renamed Dissemination and Response (There are regular meetings with employees at all hierarchical levels; When it is found that employees are dissatisfied with supervision or management, corrective action is taken; When it is found that employees would like to change their working conditions, the company tries to find solutions; Staff are periodically informed about issues affecting their working environment).

4.7. Variables Correlation

The correlations between the variables, as can be seen in

Table 15. Correlations between variables.

	FOR	OMI	CI	CS	CINT	CSU	RS	GCI	DER
Internal communication within the company is too formal (FOR)	1
Internal market orientation (IMO)	0.211 ** 0.002	1
Institutional communication (CI)	0.464 ** 0.000	0.576 ** 0.000	1
Superior communication (CS)	0.425 ** 0.000	0.541 ** 0.000	0.824 ** 0.000	1
Interdepartmental Communication (CINT)	0.466 ** 0.000	0.441 ** 0.000	0.759 ** 0.000	0.813 ** 0.000	1
Consideration of Suggestions (CSU)	0.515 ** 0.000	0.365 ** 0.000	0.793 ** 0.000	0.739 ** 0.000	0.742 ** 0.000	1
Answering Requests (SR)	0.553 ** 0.000	0.369 ** 0.000	0.753 ** 0.000	0.721 ** 0.000	0.668 ** 0.000	0.778 ** 0.000	1
Internal Communication Management (ICM)	0.554 ** 0.000	0.384 ** 0.000	0.646 ** 0.000	0.582 ** 0.000	0.556 ** 0.000	0.521 ** 0.000	0.728 ** 0.000	1
Dissemination of Information—Organizational Response (DER)	0.326 ** 0.000	0.165 * 0.018	0.421 ** 0.000	0.352 ** 0.000	0.411 ** 0.000	0.607 ** 0.000	0.345 ** 0.000	0.000 10.000	1

**. Correlation is significant at 0.01 level (2 ends). *. The correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2 extremities).

, are positive and significant (p = 0.000), being more expressive between the dimension “Institutional Communication” and “Communication from Superiors” (0.824); and between “Communication from Superiors” and “Interdepartmental Communication”. The correlations of the dimension “Internal communication management” with “Institutional communication” (0.646) and “Consideration of suggestions” (0.728) also stand out.

In turn, job satisfaction shows positive and significant correlations (p = 0.000) with the different dimensions (

Table 16. Correlations between satisfaction and different dimensions.

	FOR	OMI	CI	CS	CINT	CSU	RS	GCI	DER
Job satisfaction	0.447 **	0.374 **	0.745 **	0.625 **	0.590 **	0.707 **	0.790 **	0.713 **	0.320 **

**. Correlation is significant at 0.01 level (2 ends).

), being more expressive with the dimensions Response to Requests (0.790), Institutional Communication (0.745), Internal Communication Management (0.713) and with the dimension Consideration of Suggestions (0.707).

In the same way, considering the data presented in

Table 17. Correlations between Satisfaction, Recommendation and Intention to stay.

	Recommendation	Intention to Stay
Satisfaction	0.633 **	0.704 **
Recommendation		0.814 **

**. The correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2 extremities).

, it can be seen that satisfaction is positively and significantly correlated with recommendation (0.633) and intention to stay in the organization (0.704). It also highlighted a strong correlation between the variable intention to stay and recommendation (0.814).

4.8. Measuring Impact through Linear Regression

The multiple regression model (MTLM) was used to analyze the relationship between the dependent variable (satisfaction) and the set of independent variables (Information Dissemination—Organizational Response, Internal Information Management, Internal Market Orientation, Interdepartmental Communication, Responses to Requests, Superior Communication, Consideration of Suggestions, Institutional Communication). It can be seen that the independent variables explain 69.9% of the average variance in satisfaction (

Table 18. Method Resume.

Model	R	R Square	R Square Adjust	Standard Error of the Estimate
1	0.843 a	0.711	0.699	0.687

^a Predictors: (Constant), Information Disclosure—Organizational Response, Internal Information Management, Internal Market Orientation, Interdepartmental Communication, Responses to Requests, Superior Communication, Consideration of Suggestions, Institutional Communication.

). The “R” values indicate the good quality of the adjustment made (R = 0.843; R2 = 0.711).

Taking into account the MRLM, through the use of the Stepwise model, and as a result of the correlations, the variables that emerged are “Response to Requests” (0.784), “Institutional Communication” (0.737), “Internal Information Management” (0.713), “Consideration of Suggestions” (0.700) and “Communication from superiors” (0.617). The variables with low correlations, “Internal market orientation” (0.36), “Dissemination of information” (0.320) and “Interdepartmental communication” (0.579), were removed from the model, and the summary is presented in the following

Table 19. Model Resume.

Model	R	R Square	R s	Standard Error	Change Statistics
					Change of R Square	Amendment F	df1	df2	df2 Sig. Change F
1	0.784 a	0.615	0.614	0.779	0.615	328,072	1	205	0.000
2	0.817 b	0.668	0.665	0.726	0.052	32,211	1	204	0.000
3	0.833 c	0.693	0.689	0.699	0.025	16,654	1	203	0.000
4	0.836 d	0.699	0.693	0.694	0.006	4283	1	202	0.040
5	0.841 e	0.707	0.700	0.687	0.008	5342	1	201	0.022

^a Predictors: (Constant), Responses to requests; ^b Predictors: (Constant), Responses to requests, Institutional Communication; ^c Predictors: (Constant), Responses to requests, Institutional Communication, Internal Information Management; ^d Predictors: (Constant), Responses to requests, Institutional Communication, Internal Information Management, Consideration of Suggestions; ^e Predictors: (Constant), Responses to requests, Institutional Communication, Internal Information Management, Consideration of Suggestions, Superior Communication.

:

As can be seen in

Table 20. ANOVA.

Model		Sum of Squares	df	Mean Square	Z	Sig.
1	Model	199,158	1	199,158	328,072	0.000 a
	Regression	124,446	205	0.607
	Residual	323,604	206
2	Total	216,128	2	108,064	205,116	0.000 b
	Regression	107,476	204	0.527
	Residual	323,604	206
3	Total	224,276	3	74,759	152,788	0.000 c
	Regression	99,327	203	0.489
	Residual	323,604	206
4	Total	226,339	4	56,585	117,515	0.000 d
	Regression	97,265	202	0.482
	Residual	323,604	206
5	Total	228,857	5	45,771	97,101	0.000 e
	Regression	94,747	201	0.471
	Residual	323,604	206

Dependent Variable: Overall I am satisfied with my job; ^a Predictors: (Constant), Responses to requests; ^b Predictors: (Constant), Responses to requests, Institutional Communication; ^c Predictors: (Constant), Responses to requests, Corporate Communication, Internal Information Management; ^d Predictors: (Constant), Responses to requests, Corporate Communication, Internal Information Management, Consideration of Suggestions; ^e Predictors: (Constant), Responses to requests, Corporate Communication, Internal Information Management, Consideration of Suggestions, Superior Communication.

, the change in the coefficient of determination (adjusted R square) with the entry of the variable “response to requests” is equal to the multiple coefficients of determination (R2 = 0.615) because, before its inclusion, it was null. Likewise, the change in the value of the F test (F change) used in the ANOVA (Table 20) when this variable was introduced is equal to the F test (328.072). The ANOVA test for the model shows that the contribution of this variable, above the others, is significant (p = 0.000).

5. Discussion

The discussion of the results is intended to follow a global and inter-relational methodology, seeking to confront the conclusions obtained in the present research with the works and studies identified in the literature review.

This objective of comparison and confrontation with the literature constitutes an investigation dynamic which is challenging to define in the methodology. Thus, some results were considered less important for the object of study, as defined in the research problem and objectives. Therefore, the work was focused on those considered indispensable for a better clarification of the discussion of the problems identified.

In general terms, the respondents considered that the organizations where they work view them as internal customers, indicating that the companies “put them first” and encouraged their participation, as advocated by Jaworski and Kohli (1993). However, most respondents considered internal communication to be too formal. Therefore, it is not surprising that organizations do not much use the means of internal communication. However, those that stand out the most are meetings and written reports that precisely attest to the degree of formalism in communication. Previous studies pointed to different results (Rosmaninho et al. 2008). In terms of effectiveness, respondents highlighted meetings, e-mails and written newsletters.

The institutional information is considered satisfactory (M = 3.09), being evaluated as clear and practical in the exercise of the workers’ functions. The same applies to information from hierarchical superiors and inter-departmental communication, with average values above the arithmetic mean (M = 3.20 and 3.14, respectively).

Although the respondents agree that globally their suggestions are considered by the organization (M = 2.65), it was only highlighted. It was a positive sign concerning colleagues (M = 3.33), as the values referring to management and hierarchical superiors were below the arithmetic mean (M = 2.19 and 2.45, respectively). However, this does not prevent employees from considering that they obtained a response to the requests they make (M = 3.06), whether these were addressed to management (M = 2.70), superiors (M = 3.08) or colleagues (M = 3.41). Furthermore, although the study revealed that there is a practice of informal information management in the organization (M = 2.96), as well as formal face-to-face information management (M = 3.05) and formal written information management (M = 2.84), the respondents scored low on information dissemination (M = 2.65) and responses or solutions given to identified organizational problems (M = 2.42). Even so, globally, the respondents were satisfied with their functions in the organizations (M = 3.06). Therefore, they recommended the organization (M = 2.71) and had the intention to remain there in the coming years (M = 2.71).

Contrary to the results of Jaworski and Kohli (1993), the study revealed that at the level of internal market orientation, only two factors stood out: internal information management and concealment/responsiveness. Furthermore, the results showed that commitment and emotional involvement with the organization differs among respondents (managers who answered the interviews and employees who answered the questionnaire), and as Meyer and Herscovitch (2001) and Meyer et al. (1993) conclude, affective commitment is the most desired form of commitment from the point of view of the organization, and a positive relationship is found between satisfaction and intention to stay in the organization.

6. Conclusions

The strategic management of human resources considers employees as assets, and the way that the workforce is managed is crucial for organizations’ growth and sustainable development. People management is an adjustment process that seeks integration with the company’s strategic objectives and an alignment of people with themselves and with the organization, where they feel good, integrated, motivated and committed. More and more, communication is essential for creating bonds and involving and committing all of the elements of the organization. As a management tool, it will be decisive for everyone to know the organization’s strategy and what each employee expects for its implementation. Given its content and relational nature, communication is always partial and biased depending on technical and human limitations. The difficulties of the communication process, the number of parameters and determinism (institutional, departmental, leadership, colleagues) have to be taken into consideration for the analysis of internal communication. Any organization, public or private, small or medium, industrial or commercial, that seeks to increase its performance needs the management tool that is internal communication. Its functions are varied (transmit and receive information, share knowledge, explain the project; involve, motivate and persuade, maintain ties and social cohesion; help prevent, analyze and regulate internal problems) and can take on a more formal or informal character.

The qualitative study made it possible to verify that internal marketing is not yet strongly embedded in the interviewed companies. The answers obtained in the interviews on the marketing tools and internal communication showed that some of the companies recognize that they do not use many marketing tools, and some do not give great relevance to the subject. As the practice of marketing and internal communication is the practice of the seven elements, we have to mention that the companies of the same intensity do not practice all of the elements. For example, in teamwork and the authority and responsibility of contact personnel, it is noted that something more could be done. Most companies do not make much effort to encourage teamwork and do not give much relevance to information about the company as a resource to empower employees to make decisions. However, they are all aware of the importance of their employees and make great efforts to motivate, develop and retain their employees and attract new ones. Most of them use various techniques to recruit their employees, train employees on an ongoing basis in technical skills and knowledge and interactive skills and identify their training needs. They also have systems to evaluate and reward their employees, where most of them are rewarded according to their performance, thus contributing to higher motivation.

All companies are also aware of communicating the vision, and most of them also have concerns about the needs of their employees. Companies use marketing tools, such as market research, to detect the needs of employees. This may not be very elaborate market research, but we also have to be aware that most of the companies have less than a hundred employees. We can say that most companies show great concern in managing their human resources, although they do not use the full capacity of marketing and internal communication tools. It should be noted that most of these companies have a small number of employees, and practicing internal marketing in an ideal way may entail enormous costs that not all of the companies can afford. The information gathered through the questionnaire allowed us to ascertain that the respondents consider that the organizations where they work see them as internal customers, indicating that the companies “put them first”, encouraging their participation. The majority of respondents consider internal communication to be too formal and do not use many of the means of internal communication that were sought to be evaluated. However, those which stand out most are the meetings and the written newsletters, which, precisely, attest to the degree of formality in communication. These are the means considered to be most effective (meetings and written reports) and communication via e-mail. The institutional, interdepartmental and hierarchical superiors’ information is considered satisfactory, being evaluated as clear and practical in the exercise of the workers’ functions. The respondents agreed that the organization considers their suggestions. It only stands out concerning colleagues, presenting below average values in the case of management and hierarchical superiors. This does not prevent employees from considering that they get a response to the requests they make, whether these are addressed to management, superiors or colleagues. The study reveals that there is a practice of informal information management in the organization and formal face-to-face information management and formal written information management. However, the respondents score low on information dissemination and the responses or solutions are given to identified organizational problems. Overall, the respondents are satisfied with the functions they perform, recommend the organization and are interested in remaining with the organization in the coming years. Thus, based on the two studies (qualitative and quantitative), we consider that we have responded to the objectives identified at the beginning of this research.

The results of this research may be of interest not only to academia but also to the organizations involved in this study and the managers and senior staff involved, especially in the universe of Angola, and particularly in Benguela province. Angolan organizations, faced with the market economy principles, are confronted with increasingly strong competition and global competitiveness that bring them new challenges. In addition to strategic issues and the professionalization of management, the strategic importance that these organizations attribute to “human capital” stands out, where management capacity, leadership, marketing, design, innovation and communication will be decisive for the competitiveness of organizations. In academic terms, this research is pioneering in the Angolan market, particularly in Benguela province. It combines crossed methodologies (interviews and questionnaires) and explores a reality that is still little studied in scientific terms. Thus, the results of this study may constitute a starting point for further research and the provision of answers to the new questions that may arise from the results found.

On the other hand, and for the companies, the conclusions are important since the study allowed us to identify the degree of orientation towards the internal market (valuing the employees as internal customers), the means of internal communication used and their effectiveness, the level of the formalism of communication, the autonomy and accountability given to the employees, the perception of communication management (institutional, interdepartmental, superiors) and its impact on employee satisfaction. Furthermore, the programs of recruitment, training and reward plans function as motivators and encourage the participation of employees in the pursuit of the organization’s objectives. Above all, when the employees feel that they are listened to and that their requests are responded to, this promotes greater involvement and participation in the organization’s strategy, which translates into an increase in satisfaction, the intention to remain in the company and recommendations made to the exterior.

7. Limitations and Future Research

The conclusion of any research study, regardless of its merit and qualities, always leaves numerous questions for the future. This study has some limitations which are recognized by the researchers, since certain methodological options were taken, previously justified and assumed in this research, and thus excluded paths and may result in constraints and limitations.

One of the biggest setbacks felt has to do with the inexistence of previous studies on the problems of internal communication and orientation for the internal market in Angolan organizations, which are in fact incipient or even non-existent. Something that we also felt is the lack of sensitivity of Angolan organizations to collaborate with this type of study; despite the guarantees of confidentiality and anonymity, the managers and employees viewed this type of initiative with great suspicion, fearing some negative consequence or even penalization for their involvement. This, in some way, may have conditioned the veracity, spontaneity and thoughtfulness of the answers given within the scope of the questionnaire. Even so, we consider that the study presents and represents a portrait of the phenomenon, being necessary to repeat it over time to increase its internal consistency. Nevertheless, the study presents practical implications for the area of human resource management as a way to optimize organizational performance through internal communication. Aware of these limitations, but above all of the contributions and implications of the study in various domains, it is possible to suggest some clues or recommendations for future research. Something to recommend for future research is to expand the sample, diversify the type of organizations in size and the provinces of Angola, as well as compare the results of Angolan organizations with organizations with the same characteristics but from other African and European countries. It would also be interesting to set up panels or barometers that enable a longitudinal study of this phenomenon in Angola.