A Study of Stakeholders’ Conceptualizations of Organizational Listening (2020)

When individuals fail to listen, misunderstanding occurs, frustration ensues, and relationships can end, but when organizations fail to listen, the consequences are often more sweeping. Organizational listening failures have contributed to catastrophes such as the Challenger explosion as well as more minor events that ultimately result in a hit to an organization’s bottom line. Organizations, like people, make choices about whether or not to listen, and they are driven by habits and biases that often cloud the information available when making decisions. This study begins the process of conceptually clarifying what organizational listening is for in its use in organizational communication and public relations scholarship and practice. Findings from this study may have positive implications for relationship maintenance online and through traditional communication channels, as well as organization-public relationships at large.