How to communicate and use accounting to ensure buy-in from stakeholders: lessons for organizations from governments' COVID-19 strategies
Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal
ISSN: 0951-3574
Article publication date: 29 April 2021
Issue publication date: 3 January 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand how communication strategies and the use of numbers can ensure the buy-in and cooperation of stakeholders.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on legitimacy theory, this study analysis documents regarding the communication strategies of New Zealand (NZ)'s Prime Minster, Jacinda Ardern, during the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to extract lessons for organizations. The authors contrast Ardern's communications with those of Donald Trump, the President of the United States (US), as evidence that leaders do not necessarily follow these strategies.
Findings
The findings show that clear, consistent and credible communications, backed up by open access to the numerical data that underlie the decisions, ensure that these decisions are seen as legitimate, ensure that citizens/stakeholders feel leaders are accountable and believe in the necessity of measures taken and that they conform to the guidelines and rules. By contrast, the strategy of attempting to withhold information, blaming others, refusing to acknowledge that there are problems and refusing to address problems lead to non-conformance by citizens/stakeholders. Business leaders could apply these lessons to the management of crises in their organizations to ensure buy-in from employees and other stakeholders. Leaders and organizations that follow these communication strategies can emerge in a stronger position than before the crisis.
Research limitations/implications
This paper develops a theoretical framework of strategies aimed at maintaining and disrupting legitimacy among key audiences, which can be used in future research.
Practical implications
This paper highlighting how organizations and organizational leaders can best communicate with stakeholders using accounting, thus coming across as being accountable during crisis times.
Social implications
The legitimacy maintenance strategies outlined in this paper ensures that stakeholders feel leaders and the organizations they represent hold themselves accountable.
Originality/value
This paper outlines the lessons that an organization can learn from communication strategies adopted by governments during the COVID-19 crisis. The paper extends legitimacy theory by explicitly acknowledging the ability to disrupt the legitimacy of others and including this in the authors’ theoretical framework.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The co-authors have dedicated the same effort and enthusiasm in conducting this research. Therefore, the authorship list follows an alphabetical order. The authors appreciate the constructive feedback and comments received on earlier versions of the paper by Sumit Lodhia, (UniSA Business School, Australia). Finally, the authors would like to express their gratitude for the support received from Alessandro Lai, Giulia Leoni and Riccardo Stacchezzini and from the anonymous referees. The authors received no specific funding for this research.
Citation
de Villiers, C. and Molinari, M. (2022), "How to communicate and use accounting to ensure buy-in from stakeholders: lessons for organizations from governments' COVID-19 strategies", Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 35 No. 1, pp. 20-34. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-08-2020-4791
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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