How do employees really feel about team building? An exploratory netnographic investigation

Abstract

This study explored employees’ attitudes towards team-building events. Anonymous qualitative data were obtained using netnography and analysed through an interpretive content analysis approach. The data analysis yielded sixteen codes and five main themes, on the basis of which employees’ attitudes were modelled into eight categories, represented on a two-dimensional coordinate system along two axes (attitudinal and behavioural): true believers, go with the flow, rational thinkers, pragmatists, saboteurs, political dropouts, honest opt-outs, and absentees with genuine reasons. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed both in general terms and for hospitality enterprises.

Keywords: behavioural tendency, employee attitude, management, netnography, team-building activiti