International Journal of Business Communication

This study develops and tests a structural equation model of the effects of persuasive ness, salience, and uncertainty on participation in innovations. It focuses on a com munication process crucial to the eventual innovativeness of large companies: the process by which an innovative manager secures support in the early stages of an in novation from other managers. The model was tested on data gathered from a large financial institution (N = 210). In general, the results were supportive of the model with an acceptable overall goodness of fit and measurement model. The results suggest that the classic communicative variable of persuasion had a paramount impact on par ticipation, reinforcing the notion that communication is central to innovative processes within organizations.

This study examined the most frequently encountered barriers that may affect listen ing effectiveness among business college students. A factor analysis indicated the presence of six listening barrier factors that concern students. In addition, the barrier "listen primarily for details or facts" was perceived to be the most frequently en countered barrier identifded by the students. The students' major or age had no bear ing on the level of frequency given to the barrier factors. However, two out of the six factors were significantly different based on the students'sex.