This study discusses conditions for efficient communication in decentralised and risk exposed organisations. The prevailing view of such organisations is that formal and vertical relationships between leaders and subordinates are sufficient to provide all members of the organisation with the information they need to perform their work. However, this study speculated on whether informal horizontal relationships between colleagues at all levels of the organisation would satisfy their communication needs better than formal and loyal relationships with their immediate leaders. Hierarchical regression analyses based on data from a maritime organisation supported this assumption. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.
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