Studying internal communication in a complex world: Towards an emergent co-worker perspective

Internal communication is often regarded as a management tool that can be organized and used to improve organizational results. This traditional, and simplistic view is problematic since organizational reality is becoming more and more complex and fluid. The aim of this article is to propose an emergent co-worker perspective that can increase our understanding of internal communication in times of changes and crises. Although the two fields of change and crisis research have developed quite isolated from each other, it is possible to discern a meta-theoretical convergence and there is a great potential for cross-fertilization. The emergent perspective presented here is linked to an idea of communication as constituting and of changes and crises as dynamic, continuous phenomena. Furthermore local micro-processes, improvisation, sensemaking and co-worker communication is put in the center rather than management plans and top-down communication. In the article, specific attention is given to post-heroic leadership and social media as two aspects especially interesting from an emergent co-worker perspective.