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This study aims to contribute to the understanding of internal communication and its connections to engagement and employer brands. The authors wanted to test the relationship between the three variables and explore if employees' perception of employer brands is affected by internal communication satisfaction and engagement. Creating a desirable employer brand can have significant benefits for organizations, such as higher employee satisfaction, employee engagement and retention. It is crucial to have a clear grasp of how the determinants of these relationships affect each other.

A total of 1,805 employees participated in a large communication survey that measured internal communication satisfaction, employee engagement and perception of employer brand (operationalized as employer attractiveness). To test the relationship between variables, the authors used multiple regression analysis.

The results show internal communication satisfaction and employee engagement as significant predictors of employer brand. All of the internal communication satisfaction dimensions and two out of three employee engagement dimensions have been identified as determinants of at least two employer attractiveness dimensions.

Limitations include using a cross-sectional dataset, which reduces the possibility of determining causality, using self-reports and a common source bias.

The authors added to the body of knowledge by analyzing the effects of workplace attitudes on attitudes toward the organization. The authors found that both internal communication satisfaction and employee engagement significantly shape the perception of employer brands.

Although internal communication is perceived as one of the crucial elements for favorable internal evaluation of an employer brand (EB), the importance of internal communication for EB advocacy has been insufficiently theoretically problematized and related empirical evidence is almost non-existent. In this paper, the relationship between employees' satisfaction with internal communication and their perceptions of their employers' attractiveness is explored.

A questionnaire-based field research study was conducted on a sample of 3,457 Croatian employees. The Internal Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire (ICSQ) (Tkalac Verčič et al., 2009) and the Employer Attractiveness (EmpAt) Scale (Berthon et al., 2005) were used for assessing internal communication satisfaction (ICS) and employer attractiveness (EA).

Findings reveal that respondents' overall satisfaction with internal communication in their organizations is significantly positively related with the overall attractiveness they assign to their employers, that all explored ICS dimensions are significant for the overall EA, and that each ICS dimension is significant for at least one EA dimension. The most relevant ICS dimensions for EA are “satisfaction with feedback” and “satisfaction with communication climate”.

A conducted large sample study is among the first quantitative empirical studies that proved that employees who are satisfied with internal communication are likely to see their employers as attractive. Moreover, findings point toward internal communication endeavors which add more value to developing an attractive internal EB.

The study explored the relationship between the two concepts—internal communication satisfaction (ICS) and life satisfaction. Additionally, the study analyzed the link between eight internal communication dimensions (satisfaction with feedback, satisfaction with communication with immediate superior, satisfaction with horizontal communication, satisfaction with informal communication, satisfaction with information about the organization, satisfaction with communication climate, satisfaction with the quality of communication media and satisfaction with communication in meetings) and life satisfaction.

To exclude the potential impact of contextual factors, we conducted a quantitative field research on a homogeneous sample of 507 respondents, employed in a multinational organization. For the assessment of ICS, we used the Internal Communication Satisfaction Scale (UPZIK), developed by Tkalac Vercic et al. (2009). For the assessment of life satisfaction, we used the satisfaction with life acale (SWLS) developed by Diener et al. (1985).

Results showed a very high, statistically significant correlation between ICS and life satisfaction. All dimensions of ICS are highly correlated with life satisfaction, but this relationship proved to be the strongest between life satisfaction and two dimensions of ICS (satisfaction with informal communication and satisfaction with communication climate).

Our study has three general limitations: (1) the dataset is of cross-sectional nature, which prevents inferring causality between variables; (2) a common source bias is present (ICS and life satisfaction are measured from the same source) and (3) we used self-reports [given the subjective nature and others’ reports of life satisfaction yield weaker but similar results (Erdogan et al., 2012)].

We identified satisfaction with internal communication, as a work domain that has not yet received attention in the management literature, to have an important role in life satisfaction. Among others, we found satisfaction with informal communication and satisfaction with communication climate to be especially relevant ICS dimensions, implying that organizations should primarily cultivate non-formalized dimensions of internal communication—a positive communication environment.

The study examines the psychometric properties of internal communication satisfaction questionnaire (ICSQ), an instrument originally developed in Croatian. A need for a contemporary instrument validated among a non-English-speaking population of employees who use English as their second language motivated the authors to translate the scale.

ICSQ was validated on a sample of 507 employees of a large Croatian subsidiary of a multinational bank, where English is the official corporate language.

ICSQ displayed satisfactory levels of psychometric properties, retaining the psychometric properties of the original version of the instrument. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed the acceptable model–data fit of the eight-factor model. Additionally, findings supported the reliability and construct validity of the English version of the instrument. Good internal consistencies of all eight internal communication satisfaction (ICS) dimensions and the total ICSQ and an adequate level of scale homogeneity according to the inter-item and inter-total correlations were found.

In order to generalize the study’s results to other business areas and industries, the study should be replicated in other contexts. Additionally, construct validity was tested by applying cross-sectional design, and therefore, no conclusion can be drawn on the causal direction of the relationship. Finally, the discriminant validity of ICSQ was not tested and should be examined in future studies.

The resulting 32-item instrument, in English, can be used for empirical and practical purposes in improving internal communication.

The study confirms that internal communication is a multidimensional construct and should be measured as such.

This chapter presents a research model aimed to investigate internal communication satisfaction (ICS) and employee engagement as prerequisites of employee happiness. Employee engagement is seen as a dependent variable to ICS and as an independent variable to happiness. The research is based on quantitative data collected from 174 employees working in 12 international firms who specialize in IT and creative industries and have representative office in Serbia. Partial least squares structural equation modelling is used to identify relationships between constructs. The results demonstrate that ICS increases employee engagement, which in turn increases employee happiness. Employee engagement represents complementary mediation of the relationship between ICS and subjective happiness. The outcomes reveal how organizations can employ an internal communications strategy in order to enhance engagement of their employees and their happiness as the ultimate goal. This chapter addresses an understudied topic in the public relations and strategic communication field and its findings are opening new questions which may inspire research community to search for detailed explanation of the effect that ICS has on employee happiness.

This study investigates how sustainability influences employer branding across generational cohorts – Generations Z, Y and X – and between two neighboring countries, Slovenia and Croatia, with different economic development levels.

A comparative cross-generational survey was conducted among respondents from Slovenia and Croatia to assess the impact of sustainability on employer brand perception. The survey explored generational attitudes toward sustainability and its integration into the employer value proposition.

The study found that all the generational cohorts view sustainability as an important factor in their evaluation of employer brands. Generation X showed the most favorable attitude toward sustainability, followed by Generation Z, highlighting the need for organizations to communicate sustainability efforts effectively to attract these groups. However, there were subtle differences between the countries, with Slovenian respondents indicating a slightly higher preference for sustainable practices. Additionally, while Generation Z may not have the same financial leverage as Generation X, their high valuation of sustainability in employer branding demonstrates their future influence as they enter the workforce.

Limitations include the survey’s conceptual framing, which may be inherently biased toward the more affluent Generation X’s capacity to prioritize sustainability and the focus on USA-based generational definitions, which may not be fully applicable across different cultural settings. Future research could address these limitations by refining the conceptual approach and expanding the sample to include more diverse geographical contexts.

By comparing responses from two economically distinct neighboring countries, the study reveals complex inter-generational dynamics and national contexts affecting sustainability’s role in employer attractiveness.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the possible congruence of an academic organization’s reputation among various stakeholder groups. A potential measure of reputation that can be applied across multiple stakeholder groups gives an opportunity to compare their perceptions and therefore work toward a consistent reputation. The authors also tested the model of academic reputation as a multidimensional concept.

The qualitative stage included 25 in-depth interviews with members of key stakeholder groups. In the quantitative stage, the initial questionnaire was based on the reputational quotient of academic institutions, comprised of 26 items representing eight dimensions of reputation. It was administered among three key stakeholder groups, the general public (n=400), employees of the business school that was the focus of the study (n=154), and fourth year students of the school (n=446).

Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that criteria applied by various stakeholder groups were similar, but the model of academic reputations as a multidimensional concept was not confirmed. The theoretical assumption of an eight factor solution for the concept of academic institutions was not supported. It seems that, in this particular case, only one main dimension emerged. Theoretically, that implies a general factor determining overall reputations across stakeholders.

Future research should apply a new, reduced questionnaire in multiple academic organizations and try to avoid some of the limitations such as differing methods of data collection, and ensure complete anonymity for all respondents.

This study offers input for the development of a robust and general questionnaire that could be developed to be used across organizations and their publics.

The study demonstrates that reputation is a unidimensional construct and that it should also be measured as such.