Internal communication satisfaction as a driver of membership satisfaction and identification in a medical professional sssociation

Mustafai, Ana Marija (author), Golob, Urša (author), Podnar, Klement (author)

While the importance of internal communication in nonprofit settings is well-recognized, its direct effects on members’ satisfaction and identification have been less explored. This study examines the role of internal communication satisfaction in influencing member satisfaction, professional identification, and organizational identification within professional associations, addressing a gap in nonprofit and organizational communication literature. The data were collected from members of the Medical Chamber in one of the central European countries via an online survey and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that satisfaction with internal communication positively impacts both membership satisfaction and identification with the professional association and the broader profession. Furthermore, professional association identification mediates the relationship between internal communication satisfaction and member satisfaction. These findings highlight the central role of internal communication in strengthening membership value, promoting professional identity, and fostering a deeper connection between members and their professional association.

• Language: English
• Keywords: professional associations, internal communication satisfaction, membership satisfaction, professional identification, organizational identification
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FDV - Faculty of Social Sciences
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 511–524
• Numbering: Vol. 36, iss. 4
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-169580
• UDC: 316.77:[61:347.961.8]
• ISSN on article: 0957-8765
• DOI: 10.1007/s11266-025-00742-2
• COBISS.SI-ID: 238355203
• Publication date in RUL: 05.06.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Voluntas
• Shortened title: Voluntas
• Publisher: Springer Nature, Cambridge University Press
• ISSN: 0957-8765
• COBISS.SI-ID: 30607872

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: strokovna združenja, zadovoljstvo z interno komunikacijo, zadovoljstvo s članstvom, poklicna identifikacija, organizacijska identifikacija