Organizational communication performances in Islamic higher education institutions: a case of Muhammadiyah–Aisyiyah Universities in Indonesia

This dissertation explores organizational communication culture in Muhammadiyah–Aisyiyah Higher Education Institutions (PTMA) in Indonesia and its role in shaping organizational performance. Adopting an interpretive communication perspective, the study views organizational culture as a dynamic process constructed through everyday communicative practices rather than as a fixed structure. The analysis is guided by Pacanowsky’s organizational communication performance framework, which includes ritual, passion, social, political, and enculturation performances. The research employs a qualitative multiple-case study design involving three PTMA institutions representing excellent, intermediate, and developing clusters. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, observation, and document analysis. The findings show that communication cultures vary across institutional clusters. Excellent-cluster institutions display more adaptive and strategic communication practices, while intermediate and developing institutions place greater emphasis on internal cohesion and stability. Across all cases, communication plays a central role in sustaining Muhammadiyah values and organizational identity. The study also highlights limitations in applying Western-based organizational communication theories to value-based Islamic higher education contexts. These findings suggest the importance of developing more context-sensitive approaches to understanding organizational communication in Indonesian higher education.