Understanding Internal Agenda-Building: The Role of Communication Sources and Channels in Shaping Internal Issues Salience and Employee Issue Engagement

This study applies agenda-building theory to the novel context of internal communication, exploring how an organization’s use of internal media, through various information sources and communication channels, strategically shapes employee agendas. Through an online survey of 996 U.S. employees, results showed that interpersonal communication channels positively influenced perceived issue salience and employee issue engagement. At the same time, print media negatively influenced issue salience. In terms of communication sources, supervisors were found to positively influence employees’ perceptions of organizational issue salience, whereas peers enhanced employee issue engagement. This study contributes to internal communication, agenda-building and employee issue engagement research by showing that peers and supervisors, as internal communicators, can strategically “build” employee agendas in ways analogous to how external media influence the public. Additionally, this study underscores the critical role of personal issue involvement in shaping employees’ internal agenda and driving their engagement with organizational issues.