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This paper examines an important, albeit neglected aspect of communication in the workplace, namely, rumour and gossip in organisations. Drawing on literature from multiple disciplines the paper provides an analysis of the role played by rumour and gossip within organisations, including, but not limited to, its meaning, hidden reasons and its management. The paper discusses both antecedent and outcome variables that are associated with organisational rumour and gossip. It is contended that the different types of rumour and gossip serve different purposes which, in turn, result in a range of outcomes. Moreover, and in spite of the tendency to ascribe rumour and gossip as morally reprehensible, not all of these outcomes are shown to be harmful within organisations. The authors use this finding to argue that scholars and managers alike should avoid making negative judgements about rumour and gossip in all such cases.

The purpose of this paper is to study the privatisation process and its impact on organisational change in the electricity industry in the Gambia.

A qualitative methodology was used for the study as qualitative techniques make use of a holistic approach, which allows for the assembling of a comprehensive and complete picture of the process under investigation.

The findings from the research suggest that change processes that are endogenous are more likely to achieve their desired objectives when compared to exogenous changes.

The study suggests that there is a relationship between the locus of change and the level of trust associated with the drivers of change. Future research on privatisation could make a significant contribution if focussed on the social processes of privatisation.

The study shows that privatisation will only occur if all interests become associated with a reformative pattern of value commitment. A normative vision made up of ideas, beliefs, and values that shape prevailing conceptions must be present to support the process.

Research has shown that most changes carried out in less developed countries (LDCs) under the auspices of the WB/IMF, have not achieved the desired outcomes. This study has shown that the initiation and control of reform from outside affects the outcomes of the change programme. It is therefore imperative for funding agencies to concentrate on providing assistance to enable LDCs design control and implement their own changes rather than the funding agencies taking control of this aspect of reform.

Using a qualitative methodology, the present research attempts to understand members’ perceptions of empowerment in two New Zealand organizations that have undergone various reforms in the workplace. In a departure from the literature, our study reveals the context‐specific nature of empowerment and offers probable reasons for the lack of a unified (or universal) definition. From our case data, we also identify several factors that either facilitate or inhibit the empowerment process, and that have significant implications for organizations seeking to empower their employees.

This paper reflects on antecedents that may cause academic fields to decline or stagnate. It uses a hermeneutic review to consolidate and critique the Internal Marketing (IM) field. Seminal studies of IM and its related construct Internal Marketing orientation (IMO) are identified. IMO is then juxtaposed with contemporary studies from a communications journal identified as core as part of the hermeneutic process.

This study critiques the IMO literature in a hermeneutic review. It draws on the auto-ethnographic tradition to compare IMO with contemporary, related communications articles.

Two antecedents are addressed. There is interest in IM but less so in IMO. Aspects from the IMO literature align with two broad areas, namely customer-centric and company-centric communications. Some IMO aspects have been developed further therein.

This paper recognizes further research opportunities for IMO and communications scholars with a greater focus on boundary spanning employees in national, sectoral and organizational settings. Being conceptual means it lacks empirical testing; being hermeneutic means it contributes to methodological plurality.

Despite having potentially profound organizational effects, IMO lacks awareness and adoption. Recommendations are made throughout to facilitate the adoption of improved communications apropos improving IMO.

The paper identifies employee/employer benefits of adopting good internal communications (IC). IM(O) provides a rationale for sound IC practices.

This paper partially addresses the paucity of research into IMO including BSEs. It improves conceptualization by consolidating the key IMO research on the development and measurement of the construct, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses within the literature.

The concept of empowerment has received a great deal of attention in recent years. However, the empowerment knowledge base is predominantly large company‐oriented with little evidence of understanding what empowerment means in a small business context. It is inappropriate to treat the small firm as a microcosm of a large organisation. The small business is qualitatively as well as quantitatively different and this article propounds that it is questionable whether the concept of empowerment and its various dimensions as portrayed in the literature are readily transferable to small businesses. It is suggested that empowering management approaches are key features of successful growth‐oriented small firms but the current body of empowerment literature fails to encapsulate the idiosyncrasies and informalities of the small business operation, and thus convey understanding of the unique and novel forms of empowerment which facilitate sustainable development. Case study insight is used to support these propositions.

In a country that has experienced over 15 years of politically driven change, the New Zealand Police Service (NZP) is now in the midst of an ambitious change programme called Policing 2000 (P2). Challenging traditional policing assumptions, P2 is a total quality management (TQM) approach that seeks alignment with an increasingly service orientated public by utilising state‐of‐the‐art technology and strategic management practices more akin to the private sector. Reports on an exploratory case study that investigated individual anticipatory reactions to organisational change. The findings provide insights into the factors necessary for the implementation of a discontinuous change programme; namely alignment of vision, culture and implementation.

The focus of this paper is on the recognition and resolution by managers of “disturbances”, which have been defined as “involuntary situations that threaten the smooth running of the organisation but are partially beyond managerial control”. We have employed a case‐study methodology that involved semi‐structured interviews, and both within‐ and cross‐case analysis of interview data. Our primary finding is that disturbances are either people‐oriented or systems‐related, and that both recognition and resolution are contingent upon the nature of the disturbance.