Employee Communication in Open Innovation Communities on Internal Social Media The Perspective of Managers Responsible for Internal Open Innovation

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to explore the role of employee communication and internal social media (ISM) in open innovation.
Design/methodology/approach – Explorative study based on 10 semi-structured interviews conducted in autumn 2015 with managers responsible for internal open innovation.
Findings – Employees share ideas and valuable insights on ISM. Employee reactions to ideas (e.g. comments, likes and recombination of initial ideas) as well as accumulation of insights and ideas contribute to innovation.
Research limitations/implications – According to the managers responsible for internal open innovation, employee communication and IMS have important implications for the open innovation process. Further research is needed taking an employee perspective.
Originality/value – In contrast to open innovation communities on external social media, studies within open innovation on ISM are almost non-existent. Thus, this study offers some of the first insights into employee communication in open innovation communities on ISM.
Keywords Internal social media, open innovation communities, employee communication, organizational communication.
Paper type Research paper (work in progress).