IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/iburev/v28y2019i4p796-801.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Informal information flows in organizations: The role of the Italian coffee break

Author

Listed:
  • Barmeyer, Christoph
  • Mayrhofer, Ulrike
  • Würfl, Konstantin

Abstract

Research on information flows within companies has focused on codified formalized information management tools. In practice, it is questionable whether IT-based management systems for storing and disseminating internal information in organizations are sufficiently used by the staff. As an alternative to centralized forms and instruments of information management, there are also informal and dialogic forms, such as the “coffee break” well known in Latin companies: employees come together spontaneously and thus contribute to “natural” internal fluid information circulation. Based on an empirical study conducted in Italian companies, this paper describes essential functions of the coffee break – as a dynamic inter-divisional and heterarchic organizational practice: these include coordination of work processes, confidence building, networking, problem solving, and extension of the meta-knowledge on organizational processes and structures. The paper contributes to the literature on information management by taking into account contextual elements.

Suggested Citation

  • Barmeyer, Christoph & Mayrhofer, Ulrike & Würfl, Konstantin, 2019. "Informal information flows in organizations: The role of the Italian coffee break," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 796-801.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:28:y:2019:i:4:p:796-801
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2019.04.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969593118303032
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2019.04.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lythreatis, Sophie & Mostafa, Ahmed Mohammed Sayed & Pereira, Vijay & Wang, Xiaojun & Giudice, Manlio Del, 2021. "Servant leadership, CSR perceptions, moral meaningfulness and organizational identification- evidence from the Middle East," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(5).
    2. Tran, Yen & Truong, Anh Tran Tram, 2022. "Knowledge recontextualization by returnee entrepreneurs: The dynamic learning perspective," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(3).
    3. Garg, Garima & Sewak, Mayank & Sharma, Anurag, 2022. "Learning from Older Siblings: Impact On Subsidiary Performance," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(3).
    4. Hazem S. Kassem & Hamed Ismail & Yomna A. Ghoneim, 2022. "Assessment of Institutional Linkages and Information Flow within the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation: Case of Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-26, May.
    5. Chollet, Barthélemy & Revet, Karine, 2023. "Digging deep or scratching the surface? Contingent innovation outcomes of seeking advice from geographically distant ties," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    6. Xia Jiang & Jing Du & Jinfan Zhou & Yumeng Cui, 2020. "The Impact of Negative Informal Information Before a Change on Performance: A Within-Person Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-13, January.
    7. Sewak, Mayank & Sharma, Anurag, 2020. "Performance implications of MNE subsidiary federation: Evidence from India," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 26(1).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:28:y:2019:i:4:p:796-801. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/133/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.