Sensemaking on the intranet: The meaning of the global organization from an employee perspective

Abstract: Although successful intranet requires active employees that engage in dia-logues to exchange knowledge, the employee is neglected in the research within the field of internal communication on intranet. This study problema-tizes organizations’ high expectations on intranet and highlights the em-ployee perspective. The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper knowledge and understanding of sensemaking in global organizations by focusing on how employees use the intranet. To address this purpose, I conducted a case study on Business Sweden. The analysis shows that the employees give meaning to the organization based on stories from different perspectives that explain the organizations’ work. Furthermore, this study shows that the em-ployees’ use of the tool is characterized by both a positive and critical atti-tude towards the intranet. This study does also show that the intranet is not mainly used to find information, it is rather used as a social platform that creates sense of belonging that unites the global organization.