Title: The impacts of dissent expressions on the future communication strategies of employees

Authors: Hazel Ulukaya; Alev Torun

Addresses: Faculty of Economics, Marmara University, Goztepe, Istanbul, Turkey ' Faculty of Business Administration, Marmara University, Goztepe, Istanbul, Turkey

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of employees in the information technology (IT) business in terms of organisational dissent process and their outcomes contributing to future strategies. Qualitative methodology with a semi-structured in-depth interview technique was adopted. The study sample consisted of 20 participants and the number of dissent cases collected from this sample was 22. The analysis followed the rules for content analysis. It was found that the employees in IT organisations shared their disagreement directly and openly. It was concluded that employees would exhibit strategic dissent behaviours if they encountered similar situations in future. The examples cover conveying to immediate manager (upward dissent), informing top management (circumvention), using the threat of resignation, displaying silence or neglect, and performing counterproductive work behaviour. This study demonstrates that the participative work environment, managers' responsiveness to dissent expressions, and quick solutions for problems help to generate more effective dissent strategies.

Keywords: employee voice behaviour; organisational dissent; strategy in communication; information technology.

DOI: 10.1504/MEJM.2024.138328

Middle East Journal of Management, 2024 Vol.11 No.3, pp.299 - 321

Received: 22 Oct 2022
Accepted: 27 Dec 2022
Published online: 01 May 2024 *

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