Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

A dual lens approach to exploring informal communication's influence on learning in a political party

A dual lens approach to exploring informal communication's influence on learning in a political... The study aims to explore and discuss the extent of influence of informal communication on learning in a European social democracy political party through a dual lens approach combining information behaviour and organisational learning perspectives.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents results from an in depth qualitative study, whereby data were collected through semi-structured and episodic narrative interviews. Template analysis was used.FindingsInformal conversations were identified as intrinsic to the work of the political party. They did influence learning at individual and group levels, and there was a degree of diffusion within the organisation, although the latter was found to depend on opportunity, individual self-efficacy, level of involvement in the party and perceptions of who has influence. The dual lens approach facilitated greater levels of granularity of analysis at individual and group levels of learning.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper highlights the benefits of using a dual lens approach to add depth to the interpretation of the research findings. Due to the small number of participants further research is needed to verify and extend the results and support a greater degree of transferability.Originality/valueThe information behaviour and organisational research theory that underpin the research have not been used together in this way before, and the context for the phenomenon being researched, a traditional political party struggling against the rise of populism in the 21st century, is both contemporary and understudied in each of the theory areas. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Documentation Emerald Publishing

A dual lens approach to exploring informal communication's influence on learning in a political party

Hanlon, Susannah Micaela
Journal of Documentation , Volume 77 (4): 25 – Jun 24, 2021
Download PDF
25 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/a-dual-lens-approach-to-exploring-informal-communication-s-influence-WOJRJzm6Qm
Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
0022-0418
DOI
10.1108/jd-08-2020-0128
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The study aims to explore and discuss the extent of influence of informal communication on learning in a European social democracy political party through a dual lens approach combining information behaviour and organisational learning perspectives.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents results from an in depth qualitative study, whereby data were collected through semi-structured and episodic narrative interviews. Template analysis was used.FindingsInformal conversations were identified as intrinsic to the work of the political party. They did influence learning at individual and group levels, and there was a degree of diffusion within the organisation, although the latter was found to depend on opportunity, individual self-efficacy, level of involvement in the party and perceptions of who has influence. The dual lens approach facilitated greater levels of granularity of analysis at individual and group levels of learning.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper highlights the benefits of using a dual lens approach to add depth to the interpretation of the research findings. Due to the small number of participants further research is needed to verify and extend the results and support a greater degree of transferability.Originality/valueThe information behaviour and organisational research theory that underpin the research have not been used together in this way before, and the context for the phenomenon being researched, a traditional political party struggling against the rise of populism in the 21st century, is both contemporary and understudied in each of the theory areas.

Journal

Journal of Documentation – Emerald Publishing

Published: Jun 24, 2021

Keywords: Informal communication; Information behaviour; Organisational learning; Information seeking; Knowledge sharing; Political parties

References

  • Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive learning objectives
    Adams, N.E.
  • From the editors: honouring the legacy of Chris Argyris by devoting attention to how managers learn
    Bartunek, J.M.
  • Informal political communication cultures: characteristics, causes, effects
    Baugut, P.; Reinemann, C.
  • Voters' online information behaviours and response to campaign content during the Scottish referendum on independence
    Baxter, G.; Marcella, R.
  • Members of the Scottish Parliament on Twitter: good constituency med (or women)?
    Baxter, G.; Marcella, R.; O'Shea, M.
  • Organizational ecology and knowledge networks
    Becker, F.
  • Leadership and learning: a critical re-examination of Senge's learning organization
    Caldwell, R.
  • Beyond formality: informal communication in health practice
    Chen, Y.; Tang, C.; Zhou, X.; Sarcevic, A.; Lee, S.
  • Social networking analysis: its application to facilitate knowledge transfer
    Cheuk, B.
  • Absorptive capacity: a new perspective on learning and innovation
    Cohen, W.M.; Levinthal, D.A.
  • When conversation is better than computation
    Coiera, E.
  • The logic of small samples in interview-based qualitative research
    Crouch, M.; McKenzie, H.
  • Chapter 10: learning and development in a knowledge setting
    Debowski, S.
  • Human studies and user studies: a call for methodological inter-disciplinarity
    Dervin, B.
  • Informal communication of co-workers: a thematic on analysis of messages
    Fay, M.J.
  • Becoming a learning organization: the espoused values of police managers from two Norwegian districts
    Filstad, C.; Gottschalk, P.
  • Serendipity and information seeking: an empirical study
    Foster, A.E.; Ford, N.
  • Information-rich, but time-poor: exploring Members of Parliament approaches to information in relations to Chatman's ‘small world’ conception
    Galtrud, Á.G.; Byström, K.
  • Human information behaviour in conversation: understanding the influence of informal conversation on learning in a political party
    Hanlon, S.; McLeod, J.
  • A framework for understanding user requirements for an information service: defining the needs of informal carers
    Hepworth, M.
  • Individual variables with an impact on knowledge sharing: the critical role of employees' ignorance
    Israilidis, J.; Siachou, E.; Cooke, L.; Lock, R.
  • The emerging discourse of knowledge management: a new dawn for information science research?
    Jashapara, A.
  • Differences between formal and informal communication channels
    Johnson, J.D.; Donohue, W.A.; Atkin, C.K.; Johnson, S.
  • Understanding shifting power relations within and across organizations: a critical genre analysis
    Levina, N.; Orlikowski, W.J.
  • Chic, mystique and misconception: Argyris and Schön and the rhetoric of organizational learning
    Lipshitz, R.
  • Transforming public organizations into learning organizations: a conceptual model
    Maden, C.
  • The information needs of United Kingdom Members of the European Parliament (MEPs)
    Marcella, R.; Carcary, I.; Baxter, G.
  • The information needs and information-seeking behaviour of the users of the European Parliamentary Documentation Centre: a customer knowledge study
    Marcella, R.; Baxter, G.; Davies, S.; Toornstra, D.
  • Informal communication, sustainability, and the public writing work of organizations
    McNely, B.J.
  • Information needs and information seeking behavior of parliamentarians in South Africa
    Mostert, B.J.; Ocholla, D.N.
  • An observational study of the information seeking behaviour of Members of Parliament in the United Kingdom
    Orton, R.; Marcella, R.; Baxter, G.
  • Qualitative research methodologies: ethnography
    Reeves, S.
  • Building on models of information behaviour: linking information seeking and communication
    Robson, A.; Robinson, L.
  • Everyday life information seeking: approaching information seeking in the context of ‘way of life’
    Savolainen, R.
  • Approaching the motivators for information seeking: the viewpoint of attribution theories
    Savolainen, R.
  • Emotions as motivators for information seeking: a conceptual analysis
    Savolainen, R.
  • The role of emotions in online information seeking and sharing: a case study of consumer awareness
    Savolainen, R.
  • Factors influencing disintegration of informal networks in organizations
    Subramanian, R.B.; Mehta, S.
  • Surviving information overload: how elite politicians selection information
    Walgrave, S.; Dejaeghere, Y.
  • A longitudinal study of changes in learners' cognitive states during and following an information literacy teaching intervention
    Walton, G.; Hepworth, M.
  • ‘Water cooler’ learning: knowledge sharing at the clinical ‘backstage’ and its contribution to patient safety
    Waring, J.J.; Bishop, S.
  • On user studies and information needs
    Wilson, T.D.
  • Information behaviour: an interdisciplinary perspective
    Wilson, T.D.
  • Models in information behaviour research
    Wilson, T.D.