Each of the tested variables was represented by a multi-item scale consisting of four to six closed-ended questions asking respondents about personal and professional attitudes and behaviour concerning digital media usage as well as some general attitudes. Respondents were also asked to indicate all social media they have used, both privately and for business purposes, in the past month. The third part presented eight actual communication situations occurring in the company. Respondents were asked to rank the social and traditional media identified previously. Social media analyzed in the study included blogs, microblogging, wikis, social networking, podcasting, video and photo sharing and instant messenger as well as discussion forums. On the other side, traditional internal communication media included employee magazines, intranet news, corporate television, e-mail and the “board-of-directors’ newsletter” as well as face-to-face communication and employee meetings. Finally, demographic questions including age, gender, nationality and line of business ended the questionnaire.

AbstractContemporary generations of employees are living in a completely different environment than previous generations, shaped by easier information gathering and access to knowledge. For employers, it raises an important question: what media preferences do digital natives have regarding internal communication channels? This study revealed that employees still favor traditional internal channels, in spite of a strong preference for social media in their private lives.