Driving Success in Digital Employee Advocacy: The Role of Organizational Experts and Institutional Logics
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Published
26-12-2025
Pablo Matus
Ignacio Ovalle Valenzuela
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0307-7586
Ignacio Ovalle Valenzuela
Abstract
This article examines the successful relationship between a digital employee advocacy program utilizing LinkedIn and the organizational components of agency and institutional logic, as observed in a case study of a globalized international company. Using a mixed-methods approach, two research questions were answered: what online content that workers posted from the organization studied came from, and how did institutional logic emerge in workers’ messages. Studying employees’ messages after they gained expertise from a digital employee advocacy program was key to answering these questions. Moreover, based on the findings of this work, academic and managerial implications are explored for future research.
How to Cite
Matus, P., & Ovalle Valenzuela, I. (2025). Driving Success in Digital Employee Advocacy:: The Role of Organizational Experts and Institutional Logics. ZER - Journal of Communication Studies, 30(59). https://doi.org/10.1387/zer.27724
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Keywords
Organizational communication, Social media, Employee advocacy, Institutional Theory, LinkedIn
References
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ambassadors-andrew-seel
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10.1111/joms.12625
Stampnitzky, L. (2023). Rethinking the «Crisis of Expertise»: A Relational Approach. Theory and Society, 52(6),
1097-1124. doi: 10.1007/s11186-023-09510-x
Thelen, P. (2020). Internal Communicators’ Understanding of the Definition and Importance of Employee Advocacy.
Public Relations Review, 46(4), 101946. doi: 10.1016/j.pubrev.2020.101946
Thelen, P., & Formanchuk, A. (2022). Culture and Internal Communication in Chile: Linking Ethical Organizational
Culture, Transparent Communication, and Employee Advocacy. Public Relations Review, 48(1),
102137. doi: 10.1016/j.pubrev.2021.102137
Thelen, P., & Men, L. (2023). Commentary. The Role of Internal Communication in Fostering Employee
Advocacy: An Exploratory Study. International Journal of Business Communication, 60(4), 1441-1454. doi:
10.1177/2329488420975832
Thomas, T. (2020). Employee Advocacy as a Marketing Strategy to Power Brand Promotion: An Employee Perspective.
Marketing and Management of Innovations, 2, 167-181. doi: 10.21272/mmi.2020.2-12
Thornton, P., & Ocasio, W. (1999). Institutional Logics and the Historical Contingency of Power in Organizations:
Executive Succession in the Higher Education Publishing Industry, 1958-1990. The American Journal
of Sociology, 105(3), 801-843. doi: 10.1086/210361
Yin, R. K. (2018). Case Study Research and Applications (6th ed.). Los Angeles: Sage.
Relevant. Journal of Expert Systems, 7(1), 65-88. doi: 10.5555/181439.181445
Akgunduz, Y., Turksoy, S., & Nisari, M. (2023). How Leader-Member Exchange Affects Job Embeddedness and
Job Dedication Through Employee Advocacy. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, 6(2), 492–508. doi:
10.1108/JHTI-08-2021-0230
Allen, R. (2020). Sources of Expertise in Social Enterprises. Strategic Change, 29(4), 447-458. doi: 10.1002/
jsc.2356
Arauco (2023). Reporte Integrado 2023 [Arauco Institutional Report]. Recuperado de https://arauco.com/chile/wpcontent/
uploads/sites/14/2017/07/Reporte-Integrado-2023-ARAUCO.pdf
Arauco (n.d.). Arauco. Productos forestales sostenibles para la industria. Recuperado de https://arauco.com/chile/
Alvesson, M., & Skoldberg, K. (2009). Reflexive Methodology: New Vistas for Qualitative Research. London: Sage.
Chatterjee, I., Kunwar, J., & Den Hond, F. (2019). Anthony Giddens and Structuration Theory. In S. Clegg, & M.
P. E. Cunha (Eds.), Management, Organizations and Contemporary Social Theory (pp. 60-79). Routledge. doi:
10.4324/9780429279591-4
Creswell, J., & Clark, V. (2011). Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research (2nd ed). Los Angeles: Sage.
De Kerpel, L., & Van Kerckhove, A. (2023). Advocating Beyond Call of Duty: A Review of Employee Advocacy
and a Call for Research. Management Review Quarterly, 1-40. doi: 10.1007/s11301-023-00381-1
Dell. (n.d.). How Dell Empowers Its Workforce on Social Media. Recuperado de https://everyonesocial.com/wp-content/
uploads/2022/11/DELL-1.pdf
Ericsson, K., & Pool, R. (2016). Peak: Secrets From the New Science of Expertise. New York: Mariner.
Fincham, R. (2012). Expert Labour as a Differentiated Category: Power, Knowledge and Organisation. New Technology,
Work and Employment, 27(3), 208-223. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-005X.2012.00288.x
Frank, J. (2015). From Engagement to Empowerment–Employee Advocacy in the Social Economy. Strategic HR
Review, 14(4), 144-145. doi: 10.1108/SHR-06-2015-0047
Giddens, A. (1984). The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration. Los Angeles: University of California.
Giddens, A. (1986). Sociology: A Brief but Critical Introduction. London: Bloomsbury.
Greenwood, R., Raynard, M., Kodeih, F., Micelotta, E., & Lounsbury, M. (2011). Institutional Complexity and Organizational
Responses. The Academy of Management Annals, 5(1), 317-371. doi: 10.1080/19416520.2011.590299
Halpern, D., & Castro, C. (2018). Online Employee Advocacy. Cómo se pasa de colaborador a embajador de marca. Santiago:
TrenDigital.
Hancock, D., & Algozzine, B. (2006). A Practical Guide for Beginning Researchers Doing Case Study Research.
Recuperado de http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/72900/1/23PDF.pdf
Ilic, J., & Tranell, M. (2018). What Influences Employees to Become Digital Advocates? A Quantitative Study of the Relationship
Between Employer Branding and Digital Employee Advocacy in Industrial Organisations. (MA Thesis,
KTH Royal Institute of Technology). Recuperado de https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=
diva2%3A1217739&dswid=7336
Ilyas, M. A., Shaari, H., & Alshuaibi, A. S. I. (2018). Transformation of the Employees Into Brand Advocates
Through Employer Branding. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(6),
361-370. doi: 10.6007/IJARBSS/v8-i6/4224
Katila, S. (2016). Personal Branding and Employee Advocacy in Finnish Companies: Is Personal Branding and Employee Advocacy
Beneficial? (BA Thesis, Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences). Recuperado de https://
www.theseus.fi/handle/10024/110686
Kim, J.-N., & Rhee, Y. (2011). Strategic Thinking About Employee Communication Behavior (ECB) in Public
Relations: Testing the Models of Megaphoning and Scouting Effects in Korea. Journal of Public Relations Research,
23(3), 243-268. doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2011.582204
Lammers, J. C. (2011). How Institutions Communicate: Institutional Messages, Institutional Logics, and Organizational
Communication. Management Communication Quarterly, 25(1), 154-182. doi: 10.1177/0893318910389280
Löhndorf, B., & Diamantopoulos, A. (2014). Internal Branding: Social Identity and Social Exchange Perspectives
on Turning Employees Into Brand Champions. Journal of Service Research, 17(3), 310-325. doi:
10.1177/1094670514522098
Lounsbury, M., Steele, C., Wang, M., & Toubiana, M. (2021). New Directions in the Study of Institutional Logics:
From Tools to Phenomena. Annual Review of Sociology, 47(1), 261-280. doi: 10.1146/annurevsoc-
090320-111734
Mazzucato, M., & Collington, R. (2023). The Big Con: How the Consulting Industry Weakens Our Businesses, Infantilizes
Our Governments, and Warps Our Economies. New York: Penguin.
Miles, S., & Mangold, G. (2004). A Conceptualization of the Employee Branding Process. Journal of Relationship
Marketing, 3(2-3), 65-87. doi: 10.1300/J366v03n02_05
Natarajan, T., Balasubramanian, S. A., & Kasilingam, D. L. (2017). Understanding the Intention to Use Mobile
Shopping Applications and Its Influence on Price Sensitivity. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 37,
8-22. doi: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2017.02.010
Reed, C., & Reed, M. (2022). Expert Authority in Crisis: Making Authority Real Through Struggle. Organization
Theory, 3(4), 1-21. doi: 10.1177/26317877221131587
Seel, A. (2017, October 18). How General Electric Empowers Their Employee Brand Ambassadors to Build a Global Employer
Brand. Recuperado de https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-general-electric-empowers-employeebrand-
ambassadors-andrew-seel
Spicer, A. (2020). Organizational Culture and COVID-19. Journal of Management Studies, 57(8), 1737-1740. doi:
10.1111/joms.12625
Stampnitzky, L. (2023). Rethinking the «Crisis of Expertise»: A Relational Approach. Theory and Society, 52(6),
1097-1124. doi: 10.1007/s11186-023-09510-x
Thelen, P. (2020). Internal Communicators’ Understanding of the Definition and Importance of Employee Advocacy.
Public Relations Review, 46(4), 101946. doi: 10.1016/j.pubrev.2020.101946
Thelen, P., & Formanchuk, A. (2022). Culture and Internal Communication in Chile: Linking Ethical Organizational
Culture, Transparent Communication, and Employee Advocacy. Public Relations Review, 48(1),
102137. doi: 10.1016/j.pubrev.2021.102137
Thelen, P., & Men, L. (2023). Commentary. The Role of Internal Communication in Fostering Employee
Advocacy: An Exploratory Study. International Journal of Business Communication, 60(4), 1441-1454. doi:
10.1177/2329488420975832
Thomas, T. (2020). Employee Advocacy as a Marketing Strategy to Power Brand Promotion: An Employee Perspective.
Marketing and Management of Innovations, 2, 167-181. doi: 10.21272/mmi.2020.2-12
Thornton, P., & Ocasio, W. (1999). Institutional Logics and the Historical Contingency of Power in Organizations:
Executive Succession in the Higher Education Publishing Industry, 1958-1990. The American Journal
of Sociology, 105(3), 801-843. doi: 10.1086/210361
Yin, R. K. (2018). Case Study Research and Applications (6th ed.). Los Angeles: Sage.
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