An Examination of Organizational Dissent Events and Communication Channels: Perspectives of a Dissenter, Supervisors, and Coworkers

Dissent is a vital process of organizational communication. Prior research has explored the variables that shape dissenters’ choices regarding what they say and to whom they say it. Less is known about the ways in which dissent events are situated in past dissent experiences. Additionally, few studies have examined the extent to which dissent expressed via social media and e-mail differs from face-to-face conversations. This case study examined the points of view of a dissenter, a supervisor, a skip-level supervisor, and two coworkers. Such a multiperspective analysis allowed a detailed exploration of how dissent events chained together and how dissenters’ choices about communication channels shaped the ways in which others responded to the dissent.