Public Relations Review xxx (xxxx) xxxx

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Public Relations Review

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/pubrev

Full Length Article

Examining the effects of internal social media usage on employee

engagement
Linjuan Rita Mena,*, Julie O’Neilb, Michele Ewingc
a
University of Florida, United States
b
Texas Christian University, United States
c
Kent State University, United States

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This study explores whether and how internal social media influences employee engagement, a top priority for
Internal social media those working in public relations. Specifically, it proposes and tests a conceptual model that links employee use
Employee engagement of internal social media, perceived organizational transparency, and organizational identification, to employee
Organizational transparency engagement. Through an online survey of 1150 employees from various organizations in the United States that
Organizational identification
had adopted internal social media, results show that employees’ use of internal social media contributes to an
enhanced level of perceived transparency of the organization and organizational identification, which in turn,
leads to employee engagement. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

1. Introduction
With social technologies becoming a given for organizations, more
companies have started to integrate various social media platforms to
connect and engage with their digital-savvy publics, both externally
and internally. According to Statista (2018), the number of social media
users around the globe will reach 2.77 billion in 2019. The trend of
digitization in the workplace is becoming inevitable, especially with the
millennial generation, who grew up in the new media era, dominating
the workplace. In a survey conducted by McKinsey Global Institute
(2016), 93 % of respondents reported that their companies used at least
one social technology, and 80 % said their companies used social tools
for internal purposes. Further, over two thirds of the respondents be-
lieved the adoption of social technologies could improve internal
communication.
The digitized workforce provides unprecedented opportunities for
organizations, despite the fact that the use of internal social media does
present some challenges or risks (e.g., privacy issues, criticisms, dis-
tractions). It has been increasingly acknowledged among scholars and
public relations practitioners that internal social media can amplify
employees’ roles as trustworthy corporate ambassadors since employees
can easily share the company’s content to their own networks (Ewing,
Men, & O’Neil, 2019; Ferreira, 2019). Moreover, internal social media
can help build internal communities and connections, thereby pro-
moting collaboration, knowledge sharing, organizational learning, and
innovation (Haddud, Dugger, & Gill, 2016; Leonardi, Huysman, &
Steinfield, 2013; Men & Bowen, 2017), which are essential for enhan-
cing productivity and organizational performance.
This study seeks to contribute to this growing body of knowledge
about internal social media by examining its relationship with em-
ployee engagement, identified as a top priority by those working in
public relations (Mishra, Boynton, & Mishra, 2014). As a growing
specialty in public relations (Verčič, Verčič, & Srirameshc, 2012), in-
ternal communication is the communication between an organization
and employees that can help create trust (Mishra et al., 2014), knowl-
edge and understanding (Verčič et al., 2012), relationship building
(Welch, 2012), and engagement (Ewing et al., 2019).
Defined as “a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is
characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption” (Schaufeli,
Salanova, González-romá, & Baker, 2002, p. 74), employee engagement
and its relationship to internal communication have been extensively
examined in past decades (e.g., Welch, 2011; Jiang & Men, 2015).
However, how the use of internal communication channels, in parti-
cular, internal social media contributes to employee engagement has
remained under explored. Recently, scholars have started to explore the
connection between social media and employee engagement. To date,
much of existing research on internal social media and employee en-
gagement has used qualitative approaches, such as case studies and in-
depth interviewing (e.g., Ewing et al., 2019; Haddud et al., 2016;
Madsen, 2016). While these studies have been valuable in providing

⁎
Corresponding author at: Department of Public Relations, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611-8400, United States.
E-mail addresses: rlmen@jou.ufl.edu (L.R. Men), j.oneil@tcu.edu (J. O’Neil), meewing@kent.edu (M. Ewing).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2020.101880
Received 4 October 2019; Received in revised form 2 December 2019; Accepted 12 January 2020
0363-8111/ © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article as: Linjuan Rita Men, Julie O’Neil and Michele Ewing, Public Relations Review,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2020.101880
L.R. Men, et al.
depth of understanding of how internal social media can engender
engagement in the select organizations examined, this study extends
this work by quantitatively testing the relationship in a larger sample
across multiple industries. Further, drawing from previous literature on
social media and organizational transparency (e.g., Men & Tsai, 2014)
and the social identity perspective, the study proposes two factors, or-
ganizational transparency and organizational identification, as poten-
tial mediators that could underlie the relationship between internal
social media usage and employee engagement. Specifically, this study
posits that employees’ internal social media usage—including passive
message consumption, proactive content contribution, and one-on-one
or group conversations and discussions on internal social media si-
tes—could lead to their increased perception of organizational trans-
parency as the horizontal and vertical information flow across depart-
ments and hierarchies increases. The blurred boundaries, open,
collaborative and participative atmosphere, and ongoing dialogues
promoted by social media, along with the connections created among
coworkers, could also create employees’ sense of belongingness and
identification with the organizational community. Ultimately, such
positive perceptions of and deep bonding with the organization may
boost employees’ level of engagement with the organization. As such, a
conceptual model that links internal social media usage, perceived or-
ganizational transparency, and organizational identification to em-
ployee engagement will be tested.
Results of the study will contribute to the growing body of knowl-
edge in social media, internal communication, and workplace engage-
ment by theoretically delineating whether and how internal social
media usage contributes to employee engagement, uncovering the role
of organizational transparency and employee organizational identifi-
cation as potential mediators. It will also provide the much needed
evidence for social media strategists and public relations practitioners
responsible for internal communication whether and why social media
matters for internal communication and organizational effectiveness.
2. Literature review
2.1. Internal social media
Organizations are increasingly using internal social media as a part
of their internal communication strategy (Cardon & Marshall, 2014;
Haddud et al., 2016; Neill, 2015; Sievert & Scholz, 2017). Weber and
Shi (2016) estimated that companies will invest $2.7 billion in internal
social media by 2017. According to Wang and Kobsa (2009) and Weber
and Shi (2016), two types of social media platforms are used in the
workplace. One such platform includes enterprise social media, defined
as internal communication designed to foster social interactions (e.g.,
content sharing, tagging, collaboration, etc.) within the enterprise
(Leonardi et al., 2013). Most enterprise social networking platforms are
propriety, custom-built proprietary systems (Leonardi et al.), such as
Yammer, Jive, Facebook for Work and Social Chorus. More specifically,
Leonarid et al. define enterprise social media as:
web-based platforms that allow workers to (1) communicate mes-
sages with specific co-workers or broadcast messages to everyone in
the organization; (2) explicitly indicate or implicitly reveal parti-
cular co-workers as communication partners; (3) post, edit, and sort
text and files linked to themselves or others; and (4) view the
messages, connections, text, and files communicated, posted, edited
and sorted by anyone else in the organization at any time of their
choosing. (p. 2)
A second type of social media that is commonly adopted by orga-
nizations for internal communication purposes includes general social
networking sites open to public registration (e.g., Facebook, Twitter,
and LinkedIn) (Ewing et al., 2019). For instance, companies such as
Google and Starbucks use Twitter to inspire employees, and the Mas-
sachusetts Institute of Technology uses Twitter to promote work-life
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content with its employees (Taurasi, 2015). When employers share
content simultaneously with internal and external publics, not only do
they reach and motivate employees, they also provide a peek into the
organizational culture to outsiders. Further, organizations’ organic use
of existing social media platforms facilitates employees’ sharing of or-
ganizational messages, reinforcing their roles as corporate ambassa-
dors.
Recent research has found that internal communication practi-
tioners use both types of social media to communicate and engage with
employees (Ewing et al., 2019). In fact, general social media platforms
are more commonly used for internal communication purpose than
enterprise social media due to the low cost and employees’ familiarity
with the features of these platforms (Ewing et al., 2019). To fully
capture the organizations’ use of social media for internal commu-
nication purposes, both types of social media used in the work-
place—enterprise social media and general social media platforms—-
broadly referred to as internal social media, are examined.
More than a tool or platform, internal social media are the nexus
between employee interpersonal communication behaviors and stra-
tegic communication management. Given recent developments of di-
gitization in internal communication, scholars and practitioners have
prioritized researching how companies can benefit from internal social
media. Internal social media enables both horizontal and vertical
communication across the organization, transcending geographic
boundaries. From that fluid communication process, internal social
media can create social capital among employees, strengthening ex-
isting connections among employees and helping employees to develop
new ties (Fulk & Yuan, 2013; Rob, ertson, & Kee, 2017; Weber & Shi,
2016). Internal social media can also strengthen knowledge sharing,
collaboration and innovation creation among employees, ultimately
helping organizations to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in
work performance (Ali-Hassan, Nevo, & Wade, 2015; Leftheriotis &
Giannakos, 2014; Leonardi et al., 2013). Moreover, organizations can
encourage employees to share internal social media posts with external
audiences, thereby helping to bolster organizational reputation and
assist with employee recruitment (Gibbs, MacDonald, & MacKay, 2015;
Neill, 2015). Last, but not least, a handful of studies have indicated a
connection between internal social media and engagement (Ewing
et al., 2019; Haddud et al., 2016; Sievert & Scholz, 2017), although that
relationship has not been systematically tested with a large sample of
employees.
2.1.1. Employees’ use of internal social media
Previous research that examined internal social media and its ef-
fectiveness has largely taken an organization-centric approach, ex-
ploring the communicative and administrative strategies that organi-
zations adopt internally to capitalize on the advantageous features of
social media (e.g., Ewing et al., 2019; Neill, 2015). Limited efforts have
been undertaken to incorporate employees’ perspective, e.g., how em-
ployees use internal social media, and how their use of internal social
media affects their organizational attitudes and behaviors. Therefore,
this study conceptualizes employees’ use of internal social media and
examines its relationship with employee engagement.
Muntinga, Moorman, and Smit (2011) postulated a social media
usage typology consisting of three types of usage that reflect a gradual
continuum of involvement: consuming, contributing, and creating.
Consuming, the lowest level of involvement, involves user behaviors
such as viewing, listening, and watching content; downloading mate-
rials; and playing games or polls. People who contribute—the mod-
erate-level form of social media activeness—engage in behaviors such
as commenting on material that others have created, engaging in wall
post conversations, or rating material. Creating represents the highest
level of social media involvement, and involves activities such as
writing, producing and uploading content that others consume. Men
and Tsai (2013) and Tsai and Men (2013) later adapted the Muntinga
et al. typology to one that ranges from reactive, passive consumption to
L.R. Men, et al.
one that involves proactive contribution in the form of conversations
and participation. Recently, Ewing et al. (2019) suggested that em-
ployees engage in variety of activities in using internal social media
including using messengers to converse with one another one-on-one
directly or in a group setting. Therefore, built on Muntinga et al.
(2011); Men and Tsai (2013) typologies, and Ewing et al. (2019), the
current study operationally defines employees’ use of internal social
media to include three hierarchical levels of activities: consuming, con-
versing, and contributing. Consuming involves employees’ message con-
sumption activities on organizational internal social media, such as
reading/viewing companies’ or other employees’ posts and comments.
Conversing refers to employees’ participation in one-on-one or group
conversations and discussions on internal social media. Contributing
entails employees sharing knowledge, opinions, and concerns by
posting and commenting on internal social media or liking/sharing
organizational/employees’ posts to their own social networks. In other
words, employees directly “contribute” to content creation or reach of
content on internal social media.
2.2. Employee engagement
As aforementioned, the purpose of the study is to examine how
employees’ use of internal social media is associated with employee
engagement. Employee engagement has long been recognized as a
challenge for business leaders globally. According to Gallup (2017)
State of the Global Workplace 2017 report conducted in 155 countries,
a mere 15 % of workers are engaged. Engagement is slightly higher
among U.S. employees. According to a 2018 Gallup poll (Harter), 34 %
of U.S. workers are engaged, 16.5 % are actively disengaged, and 53 %
of workers are not engaged (Harter, 2018). Scholars from a number of
disciplines—communication, business, psychology, political science—-
define engagement in many ways. Perhaps one of the most seminal
definitions is provided by Kahn (1990), who said that engagement is
how "people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively and
emotionally during role performance” (p. 694). Cognitive expression
relates to how employees think about management and their work-
place. Emotional expression has to do with how employees feel about
their workplace, including their positive and negative attitudes toward
their employer. Finally, physical expression relates to the physical en-
ergy that employees need to expend in order to fulfill their work re-
sponsibilities. Schaufeli et al. (2002) proposed another influential de-
finition and regarded engagement as “a positive, fulfilling, work-related
state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption”
(p. 74). Saks (2006) extended Kahn’s definition of engagement from
organizational role to the organization, noting that engagement “re-
flects the extent to which an individual is psychologically present in a
particular organisational role. The two most dominant roles for most
organisational members are their work role and their role as a member
of an organisation” (p. 604). Macey and Schneider (2008) identified
three levels of engagement that include trait engagement (i.e., dis-
position and cognition), psychological state engagement (i.e., affection
and emotions), and behavioral engagement (i.e., behaviors). Public
relations scholars, such as Kang (2014) and Men (2015), identified
psychological empowerment as an important aspect of employee en-
gagement from a communication perspective. Recently, drawing from
insights from 27 senior-level internal communication managers, Ewing
et al. (2019) defined employee engagement as “employees who are
connected to the values and mission of the company, feel empowered,
bring energy, passion, and discretionary effort to their jobs, and serve as
advocates.” (p. 4). Recurring themes among these definitions include
how employees emotionally, cognitively, and physically connect to
their work roles. While the definitions emphasize different aspects of
employee engagement, a common premise focuses on a sense of con-
nection in the workplace. Taking the perspective of internal commu-
nication, the current study adopts Ewing et al.’s (2019) definition of
employee engagement because this definition clearly supports
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objectives for an internal communication program in terms of moti-
vating and empowering employees to support the company’s mission
through their work roles and as ambassadors.
Numerous industry and academic studies have documented sig-
nificant benefits organizations can gain when employees are engaged.
According to the 2018 Gallup Poll, organizations with highly engaged
employees “realize substantially better customer engagement, higher
productivity, better retention, fewer accidents, and 21 % higher prof-
itability. Engaged workers also report better health outcomes” (Harter,
2018). To help their organizations achieve these important outcomes,
academics have researched how to best use internal communication
strategy to engender engagement. For instance, from a strategic per-
spective, research has shown that two-way internal communication that
encourages employees’ free sharing of ideas and opinions can help
engender employee engagement in both their roles and their organi-
zation (Karanges, Johnston, Beatson, & Lings, 2015; Lemon &
Palenchar, 2018; Truss et al., 2006). In addition, open communication,
effective storytelling, channels and content tailored to employees’ needs
and preferences, and communication that gears toward creating a sense
of belonging and encouraging employees’ voicing behaviors were sug-
gested to contribute to employee engagement (Ewing et al., 2019; Gill,
2015; Ruck, Welch, & Menara, 2017; Welch & Jackson, 2007; Welch,
2012).
2.3. The role of internal social media in driving employee engagement
Researchers have concluded that different communication channels,
such as traditional face-to-face communication, print publications,
electronic media, and social media, may work differently in engaging
employees, as these channels vary in terms of media richness, formality,
and sociability (Gillis, 2006; Men & Bowen, 2017). Friedl and Verčič
(2011) have advocated social media as an informal internal commu-
nication channel, compared to traditional channels, to engage em-
ployees due to its rich, multi-media, interactive, relational, communal,
and social features. Despite the potential of internal social media to
facilitate collaboration and two-way communication and scholars’
clarion call for additional studies into the topic (Friedl & Verčič, 2011),
research on how internal social media builds engagement is relatively
sparse. In Haddud et al. (2016)’s examination of one company, they
found that self-reported usage of internal social media by employees
was associated with higher self-reported employee engagement. Sievert
and Scholz (2017) research with German companies suggested that
social media drives engagement by improving the flow of commu-
nication, accelerating internal processes, and facilitating collaboration.
Ewing et al. (2019) in-depth interviews with thought leaders in internal
communication uncovered best practices for using internal social media
to build engagement, including internal social media training, leader-
ship involvement and endorsement, creating sharable and relevant
content, and empowering employees. However, a comprehensive
survey with a large sample of individuals working for a range of or-
ganizations is needed to systematically test whether and how internal
social media usage actually drives engagement. Based on the review of
the literature, this study posits that employees’ use of internal social
media, such as reading and sharing the company’s and co-workers’
posts and engaging in one-on-one or group conversations with the
company, leaders, or co-workers, could enhance their understanding
and sense-making of the job and organization, strengthen connections
with one another, and offer alternative, convenient venues to voice
their ideas or opinions (Ruck et al., 2017). Such interactive processes
can potentially enhance employees’ attentiveness, absorption, and
sense of purpose at work, which contributes to their increased level of
engagement. Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed:
H1. Employees’ use of internal social media is positively related to
employee engagement.
L.R. Men, et al.
2.4. Exploring how internal social media influences employee engagement
As aforementioned, although recent research has suggested the
positive role of the use of internal social media in driving employee
engagement, there has been a dearth of knowledge with regard to how
exactly. Drawing from existing literature and the authors’ prior quali-
tative work in this area, this study posits that the conversational and
collaborative features of internal social media (Ali-Hassan et al., 2015;
Huang, Baptista, & Galliers, 2013; Leftheriotis & Giannakos, 2014;
Leonardi et al., 2013; Parry & Solidoro, 2013) can potentially impact
employee engagement through fostering perceived organizational
transparency and employee organizational identification.
2.4.1. Organizational transparency
Berggren and Bernshteyn (2007) defined organizational transpar-
ency as openly communicating an organization’s goals, helping em-
ployees understand how to connect their performances to these goals
and promoting active participation of employees in organization com-
munication and decision-making. “With greater transparency, in-
dividual performance and contributions to the organization become
more evident” (Berggren & Bernshteyn, 2007, p. 416). Rawlins (2009)
advocated transparent communication efforts, a process that generates
trust and credibility, focus on information substantiality, organizational
accountability and stakeholder participation, which potentially drives
employee engagement. Transparency requires both access to informa-
tion and “active participation in acquiring, distributing and creating
knowledge” (Cotterrell, 2000, p. 419). Cotterrell argued transparency
involves sharing meaningful and honest accounts of relevant informa-
tion. McCorkindale and DiStaso (2014) noted “Transparency is most
often associated with three tenets: Being open and honest; reporting the
bad with the good; and providing information in a timely manner” (p.
2).
Internal social media provides opportunities to connect relevant
people and information and has the potential to promote transparent
communication (Leonardi et al., 2013). Research has suggested that if
used effectively, social media could promote transparency through
openly sharing information and opportunities for participation
(McCorkindale & DiStaso, 2014; Tierney & Drury, 2013). It can also
provide a convenient venue for organizational and management lis-
tening, which could inspire informed decision-making (DiStaso &
Bortree, 2012).
Literature conveys organizational transparency can lead to various
positive organizational outcomes such as employee trust (DiStaso &
Bortree, 2012; Rawlins, 2009) and employee-organization relationships
(Men & Stacks, 2014). The connection between organization transpar-
ency and employee engagement has also been evidenced in previous
studies. For instance, Jiang and Men (2015) identified several drivers of
employee engagement including work-life enrichment, authentic lea-
dership, and transparent organizational communication.
Jiang and Men (2015) concluded to build an engaged workforce:
Organizations should build a transparent communication culture or
climate that ensures the free flow of truthful, complete, relevant,
and substantial information in a timely manner, facilitates upward
communication and listening, and welcomes employee participation
and comments regardless of whether they are commending, criti-
cizing, or complaining. (p. 16)
Likewise, Linhart (2011) also noted transparency is critical to fos-
tering employee engagement and trust. Therefore, this study outlines
the following hypotheses:
H2. Employees’ use of internal social media is positively related to
perceived organizational transparency.
H3. Perceived organizational transparency is positively related to
employee engagement.
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2.4.2. Organizational identification
While scholars have explored organizational identification for dec-
ades, He and Brown (2013) noted the traditional conceptualization of
organizational identification is derived from the social identity per-
spective. This point of view is based on the social identity theory de-
noting an emotional attachment is developed if an individual perceives
similarities with the group’s values and attributes (Tajfel, 1978). At its
core, organizational identification focuses on a sense of connection
between the organization and the employee's understanding of their
own values and attributes (Albert, Ashforth, & Dutton, 2000; Ashforth &
Mael, 1989; Cheney & Tompkins, 1987; Cheney, 1983; Scott, Corman,
& Cheney, 1998). Ashforth and Mael (1989) noted organizational
identification involves “the perception of oneness with or belonging-
ness to a group, involving direct or vicarious experience of its successes
and failures” (p. 34). Albert et al. (2000) also contended identity and
identification entails an individual feeling of a sense of meaning and
connection.
Since internal social media can create easier ways for employees to
connect and monitor and/or participate in conversations (Leonardi
et al., 2013), it is likely more opportunities are created for employees to
learn about the organization and colleagues and potentially become
emotionally attached to the organization. Through interviews and a
case study analysis among employees at a Danish bank, Madsen (2016)
examined how the use of internal social media influenced the formation
of organizational identity. The study indicated that employees’ con-
versations on internal social media created organizational identity
when the employees “challenged, negotiated, and discussed organiza-
tional issues…” (Madsen, 2016, p. 219). “The stories become narra-
tives, which contribute to the organizational identity, help coworkers
make sense of the organization, and help them identify with the orga-
nization” (p. 20). Further, the use of internal social media could pro-
mote openness in the organization as conversations and discussions are
visible and accessible to its users, and the inviting environment en-
courages employee participation in organizational discourse and in-
teractions with leaders. While a social media policy is recommended to
minimize risks with employees using social media channels, It is vital
that the policy promotes guidelines and not censorship to facilitates
open and authentic communication. According to Smidts, Pruyn, and
van Riel (2001), an open climate in which employee participation is
appreciated can increase employee feelings of identification. Therefore,
the following hypothesis is proposed:
H4. Employees’ use of internal social media is positively related to
employee identification with the organization.
Openness promoted by social media has been recognized as an
important component of organizational transparency (Rawlins, 2009).
In identifying factors that generate employee organizational identifi-
cation, previous scholars (e.g., Mael & Ashforth, 1992; Smidts et al.,
2001) have suggested that favorable perceptions of the organization,
such as prestige and distinctiveness, can positively affect organizational
identification. Simply, members feel proud and are generally more
willing to associate themselves with a well-respected company with
positive characters as it could strengthen their feelings of self-worth
(Smidts et al., 2001). Since organizational transparency has been
widely recognized as an important attribute of organizational reputa-
tion (Stacks, Dodd, & Men, 2013), it is reasonable to predict that per-
ceived organizational transparency contributes to employee identifi-
cation with the organization. Further, one important characteristic of a
transparent organization is to provide substantial, complete, truthful,
timely, and useful information to employees (Men & Stacks, 2014;
Rawlins, 2009). Consequently, employees can be well-informed about
important organizational issues such as goals and objectives, mission,
values, strategies, developments, and activities, which can reveal
salient, unique organization characteristics that employees feel identi-
fied with. Additionally, adequate information about the company and
employees’ job roles resulted from organizational transparency fosters
L.R. Men, et al.
an open, participative, and supportive communication climate, which
largely contributes to employee identification with the organization
(Smidts et al., 2001). Therefore, the following hypothesis is generated:
H5. Perceived organizational transparency is positively related to
employee identification with the organization.
Organizational identification has been recognized as having unique
value in explaining employee attitudes and behaviors (Lee, Park, & Koo,
2015). Numerous studies in management and communication have
demonstrated the positive impact of organizational identification on
employee organizational outcomes, such as cooperation, participation
(Ashforth, Harrison, & Corley, 2008), organizational commitment
(Gupta, 2017; Riketta, 2005), job satisfaction, job performance, and
organizational citizenship behavior (e.g., Olkkonen & Lipponen, 2006).
Scholars have suggested that employees who feel identified with the
organization are more likely to take the organizational goals as their
own, find meaning in their work (Ashforth et al., 2008), feel a sense of
pride (Smidts et al., 2001), and are willing to walk extra-miles
(Ashforth et al., 2008). These outcomes are in fact important defining
components of employee engagement, which entails employees feeling
more connected to the company’s values and mission empowered, en-
ergetic and passionate, and inspired to give more effort and serve as
advocates (Ewing et al., 2019). Therefore, it is reasonable to predict
that employee identification with the organization enhances employee
engagement.
H6. Employee identification with the organization is positively related
to employee engagement.
2.5. Control variable: Employee-Organization Relationship (EOR)
satisfaction
Previous research suggests that quality organization-public re-
lationships can lead to various publics’ perceptual and behavioral out-
comes. In particular, the positive impact of organization-public rela-
tions outcomes on the focal constructs of this study, namely, perceived
organizational transparency, organizational identification, and em-
ployee engagement has been evidenced or suggested in previous stu-
dies. For example, Yang and Grunig (2005) revealed the positive as-
sociations between relational outcomes and enhanced organizational
reputation. Perceived organizational transparency, as an attribute of
corporate reputation (Rawlins, 2009; Stacks et al., 2013), is thus an-
ticipated to be resulted from quality public relationships with the or-
ganization, also known as the halo effect. Through a meta-analysis, Lee
et al. (2015) has demonstrated the connections between job satisfac-
tion, organizational commitment, and organizational identification.
Likewise, studies (e.g., Kang, 2014; Men, 2015) have recently supported
the positive effects of organizational-public relational outcomes on
engagement. In fact, from an internal perspective, Men (2015) revealed
that employees’ satisfying relationships with the organization not only
lead to their increased level of engagement but also employees’ favor-
able cognitive evaluation of the organization (e.g., on perceived
transparency). Moreover, as denoted in recent social media research,
prior organization-public relationships could be a potential factor that
drives public’s interaction and engagement with organizations on social
media in addition to being an outcome of such process (Tsai & Men,
2018). Therefore, although EORs is not a focal interest of the current
study, employee relational satisfaction with the organization, a key
indicator of EOR quality, is included as a control variable in the model,
to reduce the potential confounding effects of prior EORs on the focal
constructs.
Based on the preceding discussion, the conceptual model of the
study is presented in Fig. 1. Overall, the study predicts that with prior
employee relationship satisfaction with the organization controlled,
employees’ use of internal social media contributes to perceived orga-
nizational transparency, employee organizational identification, and
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engagement. Perceived organizational transparency and organizational
identification, as potential mediators of the impact of employees’ use of
internal social media on engagement, also directly contribute to em-
ployee engagement outcome.
3. Method
To test the hypothesized model (Fig. 1), a quantitative online survey
was conducted with employees from various U.S. organizations in April
2018, with the assistance of a global provider of sampling services,
Dynata (formerly known as Survey Sampling International [http://
www.surveysampling.com/]). The population of the study were em-
ployees whose organizations had been using internal social media. A
filter question (“Does your company use internal social media [e.g.,
blogs, social networking sites, and/or social messengers] to commu-
nicate with you?”) was included to screen out the respondents who did
not fit the criteria of the study. The incidence rate of the sample was 70
%. To obtain a representative sample with comparable genders, age
groups, and corporation sizes across various income and education le-
vels, stratified sampling strategy was utilized.
The final sample included 1150 working adults comprised of 52.2 %
males and 47.8 % females, 40.7 % non-management and 59.3 %
management employees from 17 U.S. sectors. The main industry sectors
the study covered included healthcare, retail trade, manufacturing,
educational services, finance and insurance, professional and technical
services, and construction, representing 59.7 % of the sample. Seventy-
two percent of the respondents aged from 26 to 55 and 65.5 % of them
had corporate tenure of over five years; 73.5 % of the respondents had
at least some college education. Among the respondents, 86.9 % had
used social media for over three years. Regarding tools employees used
to access internal social media: 81 % computers, 54 % mobile phones,
and 27 % tablets.
3.1. Measures
The study used a seven-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly
disagree) to 7 (strongly agree) to measure the focal concepts (i.e., em-
ployee use of internal social media, motivations, organizational trans-
parency, organizational identification, and employee engagement) and
control variable (EOR satisfaction). All measurement items used were
adopted from the previous literature and then modified to fit the con-
text of the current study. Before administering the questionnaire to the
respondents, an online pretest was conducted with 100 randomly se-
lected respondents through Dynata. The preliminary analysis of the
reliability and validity of the measures showed satisfactory results.
Therefore, the measurement instrument of focal variables remained the
same in the current study.
Employees’ use of internal social media was measured with 11 items
adapted from Men and Tsai (2014). Employees were asked how often
they engaged in certain activities on the company’s internal social
media sites. Specifically, two items were used to measure consuming,
employees’ message consumption on internal social media (e.g.,
“reading/viewing the company’s or other employees’ posts,” α = .88).
Six items measured employees’ proactive contributing activities on in-
ternal social media (e.g., “sharing the company’s or other employees’
posts,” α = .94). Two items were used to measure employee conversing
activities (e.g., “engaging in one-on-one conversations with the com-
pany, leaders, or other employees,” α = .88).
The measure of perceived organizational transparency was adopted
from Rawlins (2009), which included four items (e.g., “My company
wants people like me to know what it is doing and why it is doing it,” α
= .92). To assess organizational identification, six items adopted from
Mael and Ashforth (1992) and Men and Bowen (2017) were utilized
(e.g., “When someone criticizes my company, it feels like a personal
insult,” α = .92). To measure employee engagement, the study used
nine items adapted from Saks (2006) and Men (2015) (e.g., “I am
L.R. Men, et al. Public Relations Review xxx (xxxx) xxxx

Fig. 1. The conceptual model of the impact of employees’ use of internal social media on employee engagement. CONS = consuming, CONT = contributing, CONS
= conversing. Prior EOR satisfaction was included as a control variable.

attentive to this company’s activities,”α = .95). Finally, the control
variable, EOR satisfaction, was measured with four items adapted from
Hon and Grunig (1999) (e.g., “I am happy with my company.” α =
.94). For data analysis, the study utilized descriptive analysis to address
the research question and structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis
to verify the proposed conceptual model.
4. Results
The proposed model was analyzed by employing two-step structural
equation modeling analysis using the AMOS 24.0 software. In the
structural model, the unidimensional focal variables of perceived or-
ganizational transparency, organizational identification, employee en-
gagement and control variable of EOR satisfaction were treated as ob-
served variables. Employees’ use of internal social media was treated as
a latent variable with three sub-dimensions: consuming, contributing,
and conversing. The test of the initial confirmatory factor analysis
(CFA) model revealed acceptable but not good fit to the data: χ2(8) =
110.41, p < .001, χ2/df = 13.80, RMSEA = .10 (90 % confidence in-
terval: .09–.12), SRMR = .07, TLI = .96, and CFI = .98. Based on the
modification indices, the model was slightly modified by adding one
error covariance between the two sub-dimensions of employees’ use of
internal social media, message consumption, and conversations.1 Byrne
(2010, p. 111) argued that “forcing large error terms to be uncorrelated
is rarely appropriate with real data.” Allowing error covariance within
the same construct can explain content redundancy. The modified CFA
model demonstrated satisfactory fit with the data: χ2(7) = 53.11,
p < .001, χ2/df = 7.59, RMSEA = .07 (90 % confidence interval:.
.06–.09), SRMR = .05, TLI = .98, and CFI = .99, and the standardized
factor loadings ranged from .79 to .92, suggesting a good construct
validity of the measurement model. A second step evaluation of the
structural model also yielded satisfactory fit to the data: χ2(7) = 53.11,
p < .001, χ2/df = 7.59, RMSEA = .07 (90 % confidence interval:.
.06–.09), SRMR = .05, TLI = .98, and CFI = .99, and was thus retained
as the final model. All the six hypothesized structural paths demon-
strated significant results at the p < .001 level (see Fig. 2).
4.1. Hypotheses testing
Hypotheses 1, 2, and 4 proposed the positive effects of employees’
use of internal social media on employee engagement, perceived or-
ganizational transparency, and organizational identification. Results
confirmed all the three hypotheses. Specifically, with EOR satisfaction
controlled, employees’ use of internal social media demonstrated strong
positive effect on perceived organizational transparency (β = .43,
1
The error covariance between message consumption and conversations was
-.42.
p < .001), positive effect on employee identification with the organi-
zation (β = .17, p < .001), and small yet significant positive effect on
employee engagement (β = .10, p < .001). In other words, regardless
of employees’ prior relationships with the organization, the more they
engaged in using internal social media sites, such as reading the com-
pany’s or other employees’ posts, sharing content, commenting, and
engaging in one-on-one or group discussion, the more they tended to
perceive the organization as more transparent; they were more identi-
fied with the organization and felt more engaged.
Hypotheses 3, 5, and 6 proposed the interrelationships between
perceived organizational transparency, organizational identification,
and employee engagement, which were all well supported by the data.
Specifically, after EOR satisfaction controlled, perceived organizational
transparency positively influenced employee identification (β = .26,
p < .001) with the organization and employee engagement (β = .12,
p < .001). Likewise, organizational identification also showed a
medium-sized positive effect on employee engagement (β = .26,
p < .001). Therefore, as a perceptual outcome of employees’ use of
internal social media, employee perception of organizational transpar-
ency helped build employees’ identification with the organization and
promote employee engagement. Further, when employees felt identi-
fied with the organization with a sense of belonging and ownership,
they were more likely to be behaviorally engaged, feel attentive,
emotionally connected, devoted, empowered, and find meaning and
purposes through work.
4.1.1. Indirect (mediation) effects
Apart from hypothesis testing, we conducted a formal test of in-
direct effects using a bootstrap procedure (N = 5000 samples) to fur-
ther examine the mediation role of perceived organizational transpar-
ency and organizational identification in the relationship between
employees’ use of internal social media and employee engagement,
controlling for the effects of EOR satisfaction. Results showed sig-
nificant indirect effects in paths from employees’ internal use of social
media to organizational identification through perceived organizational
transparency (β = .11, p = .001 [95 % CI: .08 to .14]), and to em-
ployee engagement through perceived organizational transparency and
organizational identification (β = .12, p = .001 [95 % CI: .10 to .15]).
Likewise, the indirect effect from organizational transparency to em-
ployee engagement through organizational identification was sig-
nificant (β = .07, p = .001[95 % CI: .05 to .09]). In other words,
perceived organizational transparency and organizational identification
partially mediated the effect of employee use of internal social media
on employee engagement. Perceived organizational transparency also
partially mediated the effect of internal use of social media on orga-
nizational identification and organizational identification partially
mediated the effect of perceived organizational transparency on em-
ployee engagement.

6
L.R. Men, et al.
Fig. 2. Results of the hypothesized model. Coefficients are standardized regression weights. For the sake of brevity, the error terms of indicators and disturbances of
endogenous variables were omitted from the figure. *** p < .001, CONS = consuming, CONT = contributing, CONS = conversing.
5. Discussion and conclusions
The evolvement of social media has transformed the organizational
internal communication landscape. An increasing number of organiza-
tions have incorporated internal social media in communicating and
engaging with their digital-savvy internal publics. The primary purpose
of the study thus was to examine the impact of internal social media
usage on a critical indicator of organizational effectiveness—employee
engagement. Specifically, it tested a conceptual model that links em-
ployees’ use of internal social media, perceived organizational trans-
parency, organizational identification, to employee engagement, con-
trolling for the effect of prior EOR satisfaction. The major findings of
the study are summarized and further discussed below.
5.1. Why does internal social media matter?
5.1.1. The more employees use internal social media, the more they feel
engaged
With social media becoming ubiquitous in business, recent scholarly
efforts have been made to explore how companies can benefit by using
internal social media. Building upon and extending previous research,
the current study took an employee perspective and further delineated
the relationship between employees’ use of internal social media and
employee engagement. Specifically, it explained how this process works
by demonstrating the mediating roles of perceived organizational
transparency and employee identification with the organization. The
results showed that regardless of employees’ level of satisfaction with
their relationships with the organization, the more employees read the
company’s and co-workers’ posts, interact with the content by liking,
sharing, and commenting on the posts, and engage in one-on-one
conversations or group discussions on internal social media, the more
they feel absorbed, attentive, dedicated, connected, and involved in the
organization.
5.1.2. The more employees use internal social media, the more transparent
they perceive their organization
This finding parallels similar previous study findings that have de-
monstrated how external publics’ interaction with organizations’ public
facing SNS sites can engender increased perceptions of organizational
transparency and authenticity (Men & Tsai, 2014). Indeed, internal
social media serves as an synchronous channel for organizations to
share detailed and update-to-date information in a timely manner and
keep employees constantly informed. Naturally, the more information
that employees need is made readily available for them, the more likely
employees perceive the organization as transparent (Rawlins, 2009).
Further, the two-way, interactive, and participatory features of social
media as well as its dialogic potential can create an inviting environ-
ment for employees to voice their opinions and ideas. It also serves as a
convenient environmental scanning tool for communication managers
7
Public Relations Review xxx (xxxx) xxxx
to monitor and listen and an opportunity for organizational leaders to
practice virtual “management by walking around” (Men, Chen, & Ji,
2018). As such, when employees have an opportunity to engage in di-
rect conversations with management and peers, have their voice heard,
and be involved, they tend to perceive the organization as open and
transparent.
5.1.3. Employees’ use of internal social media positively influences
organizational identification
This finding concurs with Madsen (2016) conclusion based on a
qualitative case analysis that organizational stories shared among co-
workers on internal social media become narratives that help em-
ployees make sense of the organization and identify with the organi-
zation. The nature of social media, arguably being communal, colla-
borative, and relational (Men & Tsai, 2014) also helps explain the
result. Essentially, social media was developed to strengthen and
maintain interpersonal connections. In the organizational context, in-
ternal social media can enable linkages among mind-alike coworkers
and foster the creation of communities (Leonardi et al., 2013). Through
constant interactions among multiple parties (employees, co-workers,
leaders, and communication staff), employees can negotiate meanings,
make sense of various issues and topics, construct identity, and develop
a sense of togetherness, which leads to deeper levels of identification
with the organization. This finding thus extends our theoretical un-
derstanding of internal social media usage from a social identity per-
spective.
5.2. Perceived organizational transparency, organizational identification,
and employee engagement
The study shows that when employees perceive that the organiza-
tion shows willingness to disclose truthful, complete, and useful in-
formation, be open, accountable, and demonstrate care for employees’
voice and information needs, they are more likely to identify with the
organization. This finding is not unexpected given that employees tend
to associate themselves with organizations that have positive attributes
because it enhances employees’ self-images (He & Brown, 2013;
Madsen, 2016). Thus, considering their organization as a transparent,
ethical, and accountable entity, employees are more likely to take the
organization as their “own” and feel a sense of belonging. This finding
reflects previous scholars’ notion that positive perceptions of the or-
ganization, such as distinctiveness and prestige (Ashforth et al., 2008;
Smidts et al., 2001), can enhance employees’ feeling of identification
with the organization. Further, with adequate information disclosed
about the organization, such as its fundamental values, vision, pur-
poses, strategies, and activities, employees are more likely to find
commonality with the organization, thus being more identified.
The study also found that perceived organizational transparency
contributes to employee engagement. In discussion of communication
L.R. Men, et al.
attributes that drive employee engagement, Men and associates (Jiang
& Men, 2015; Men & Bowen, 2017) noted that transparent commu-
nication demonstrated at the organizational and leadership levels nur-
tures employee trust, satisfaction, commitment, and a sense of shared
control, which in turn, promote employee engagement. Linhart (2011)
also argued that transparency is the foundation for building engage-
ment. The current study provides empirical evidence for these state-
ments. Further, it advanced existing body of knowledge by showing
that organizational transparency contributes to employee engagement
through fostering employee identification with the organization. As
observed by Gupta (2017), employees who feel more identified with
their employers tend to be more engaged. A stronger sense of be-
longing, ownership, and association with the organization leads to
employees’ attentiveness, absorption, dedication, and involvement with
meanings and purposes found in their job.
In sum, organizations can benefit from encouraging employees to
use internal social media in that it builds a transparent organizational
image and enhances employee identification with the organization;
more importantly, this process leads to employee engagement with the
organization. Organizations’ adoption of internal social media can not
only satisfy employees’ information needs but also employees’ psy-
chological needs for connectedness, relatedness, community, sociali-
zation, and empowerment.
5.3. Implications of the findings
Findings of the study offer important implications for public rela-
tions scholars and practitioners, social media strategists, and organi-
zational leaders. From a theory building perspective, this study con-
tributes to the growing body of knowledge in internal public relations
by demonstrating the value of internal social media in driving employee
engagement. It also delineates how this process works by revealing the
mediating effects of perceived organizational transparency and identi-
fication.
Pragmatically, the findings of this study strongly indicate that
companies should invest in the technology, time and resources to best
design and manage internal social media. Since employees’ active use of
internal social media leads to multiple positive perceptual and attitu-
dinal outcomes, internal communication practitioners should make the
efforts to teach and encourage employees how to use internal social
media, including sharing personal views, knowledge and expertise and
interacting with others.
The findings of this study also reinforce the need for public relations
practitioners to encourage organizational leaders to get involved via
internal social media by responding to employees’ posts and comments
and participating via one-on-one conversations and group discussion.
While the use of internal social media is one of the many tactics that
could enhance perceived organizational transparency, organizations
and leaders should strive to establish the organization as an open and
transparent entity via public relations initiatives. Such positive attri-
butes as perceived by internal stakeholders could promote employees’
feeling of belongingness, attachment with the organization, and en-
gagement, which are important intangible assets for the organization’s
survival and success.
5.4. Limitations and future research directions
This study has limitations that could be addressed with future re-
search. First, this study used a cross-sectional survey and SEM analysis
to test a priori theoretical model; yet, without an experimental or
longitudinal design, it is difficult to establish true causal relationships
between the focal variables. Second, the research relies on self-report
survey data collected from single source-employees. Although a check
of common method variance using Harman’s single factor test did not
imply a major issue, future research can incorporate multiple perspec-
tives from internal communication managers, social media strategists,
8
Public Relations Review xxx (xxxx) xxxx
and organizational leaders to understand how the model works. Future
studies can use a combination of case studies and in-depth interviews or
focus groups to provide a more complete and richer understanding of
how employees’ usage of social media may contribute to perceptions of
transparency, identification, and engagement. A qualitative examina-
tion of employees’ internal social media usage could also unearth other
mediators or outcomes of this important communication process. Last
but not least, the study did not distinguish employees’ use of different
types of internal social media, which could lose sight of some nuances
as the features of different platforms may influence employee percep-
tions and engagement differently. Future research could address this by
comparing the effects of the use of various types and genres of internal
social media (e.g., enterprise social media vs. general social media,
social networking sites vs. mobile messengers) in engaging employees.
Funding
The funding sources had no involvement in the research design,
collection and analysis. This project was supported by a Page Legacy
Scholar Grant #414214 from The Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in
Public Communication at Penn State’s Donald P. Bellisario College of
Communications under Page Legacy Scholar Grant. Any opinions,
findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this mate-
rial are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of
The Pennsylvania State University.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influ-
ence the work reported in this paper.
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