From words to connections: Word use similarity as an honest signal conducive to employees' digital communication

TL;DR

This study investigates how word use similarity and social network positions influence employee digital interactions, revealing that language similarity is a key driver of engagement in corporate online communication.

Contribution

It demonstrates that word use similarity significantly impacts digital interaction levels, offering practical insights for enhancing organizational communication strategies.

Findings

Word use similarity is the primary factor driving interaction.

Language choice influences employee engagement and collaboration.

Social network position has less impact than language similarity.

Abstract

Bringing together considerations from three research trends (honest signals of collaboration, socio-semantic networks and homophily theory), we hypothesise that word use similarity and having similar social network positions are linked with the level of employees' digital interaction. To verify our hypothesis, we analyse the communication of close to 1600 employees, interacting on the intranet communication forum of a large company. We study their social dynamics and the 'honest signals' that, in past research, proved to be conducive to employees' engagement and collaboration. We find that word use similarity is the main driver of interaction, much more than other language characteristics or similarity in network position. Our results suggest carefully choosing the language according to the target audience and have practical implications for both company managers and online community administrators. Understanding how to better use language could, for example, support the development of knowledge sharing practices or internal communication campaigns.