Analysis of Internal IT Communication at Mercedes-Benz : An Empirical Study on Employee Expectations, Preferred Communication Formats, and Optimization Methods
Kittelberger, Katharina Jasmina (2025)
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025060420200
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025060420200
Tiivistelmä
In an increasingly digitalized working environment, effective internal IT communication plays a key role in driving technological change and ensuring user adoption – particularly among end-users who often lack a technical background. As employees are confronted with growing volumes of technical information, communication must be both comprehensible and user-centered to reach its purpose.
This thesis examined how to improve internal IT communication to be more effective and user-centered within the digital workplace context at Mercedes-Benz. The objective was to identify expectations, needs, and usage preferences of employees when interacting with technical content in a corporate environment, and to derive practical recommendations for improving communication processes.
The study combined a literature-based theoretical framework with an empirical quantitative survey. A total of 526 participants completed the online questionnaire, which explored their perceptions of current communication formats, preferred channels, and content expectations. The analysis was guided by four research questions focusing on transparency, relevance, participation, and success factors in international IT communication. The theoretical foundation was based on the Uses and Gratifications Theory (U&G) and the Media Synchronicity Theory (MST).
The results show that employees favor clear, concise, and relevant communication related to their individual work context. They expect early and transparent updates – even if information is still incomplete – as well as communication in simple language that avoids technical terms and abbreviations. Furthermore, there is a notable demand for synchronous communication formats, which enable real-time interaction. A well-structured 'Single Point of Truth' as a central access platform for IT content, supported by multimedia formats and opportunities for feedback and participation, was strongly endorsed. Based on these findings, four actionable recommendations were developed for the ITT/E team and digital workplace communication units.
This thesis examined how to improve internal IT communication to be more effective and user-centered within the digital workplace context at Mercedes-Benz. The objective was to identify expectations, needs, and usage preferences of employees when interacting with technical content in a corporate environment, and to derive practical recommendations for improving communication processes.
The study combined a literature-based theoretical framework with an empirical quantitative survey. A total of 526 participants completed the online questionnaire, which explored their perceptions of current communication formats, preferred channels, and content expectations. The analysis was guided by four research questions focusing on transparency, relevance, participation, and success factors in international IT communication. The theoretical foundation was based on the Uses and Gratifications Theory (U&G) and the Media Synchronicity Theory (MST).
The results show that employees favor clear, concise, and relevant communication related to their individual work context. They expect early and transparent updates – even if information is still incomplete – as well as communication in simple language that avoids technical terms and abbreviations. Furthermore, there is a notable demand for synchronous communication formats, which enable real-time interaction. A well-structured 'Single Point of Truth' as a central access platform for IT content, supported by multimedia formats and opportunities for feedback and participation, was strongly endorsed. Based on these findings, four actionable recommendations were developed for the ITT/E team and digital workplace communication units.