Impact of Digitizing Internal Communication on Formulating Organizational Culture of Media Institutions. A Case Study: Palestinian Official Media Institutions

Abstract

The study examines the relationship between internal communication and organizational culture through measuring the impact of digitization on the internal communication process in the context of the media institution. The study is based on a theoretical framework that links the technological determinism theory and the structural-functional theory, and the concept of interactivity in new media, in addition to the concepts of organizational culture and internal communication which are coming from the field of management as a guiding theoretical framework for study. In achieving its goals, this mixed study is based on a constructivist philosophy methodology, using a case study approach. It relies on sequential mixed research, employing the interview and survey questionnaire tools as data collection tools. The study sought to answer the question: How do internal communication digitization processes affect the form of organizational culture in the Palestinian official media institutions? The study population consists of staff and all departments of the official Palestinian media institutions, which are the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation, Al Hayat Newspaper and the Palestinian News and Info Agency "Wafa" -all based in city of Ramallah, Palestine. The study depends on a stratified random sampling from the study population in each institution. The questionnaire was distributed on the number of samples that fit the size of the study population represented by workers in the departments working in official media institutions, with a percentage of 5% of the error, as follows: the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (371), and the Palestinian News and Info Agency “Wafa” (58), Al-Hayat Al-Jadida Newspaper (32). The study concluded that the overall average of all study aspects came to a high degree, which indicates that there is an impact of digital communication on the form of organizational culture within Palestinian official media institutions. The study found that Palestinian official media institutions strive to employ digital communication tools, and this is reflected on the organizational culture within the institution. They have achieved a qualitative leap in the process of digital transformation in this field, despite the limitations that prevent a full realization of the process of digitizing their internal communication tools. The study recommends the necessity of developing a strategic plan to digitize the internal communication in the media institutions, developing the communication network within the institution, qualifying and developing the human cadres working in them.