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The purpose of this paper is to systematically explore the basic ideas of what organizations should do to get “in tune” with the environment they depend on.

Literature was selected and studied in the domain of corporate communication, interactive modalities, and negotiation, and related to communication‐management of organizations.

The paper offers a well‐considered and structural overview of different communication tasks, how they are related, and how they can be managed coherently using the state‐of‐the‐art perspectives on effective communication.

The paper provides a model that gives a better insight into the range of activities a communications manager has to deal with in the strategic planning phase and in the execution phase. Therefore, the model can be used to get a more balanced distribution of consts and efforts. In addition, the paper reveals the kinds of competences that are at issue, and therefore criteria can be derived to evaluate existing competence profiles. These criteria are useful in the recruitment of communication specialists, as well as in the training and supervision of staff members.

Although numerous models can be found for depicting and categorizing the environment of organizations, little attention has been given to the way such continuous reflection can be achieved. This paper offers a global and systematic overview of the communication activities required. The model, developed in the paper, can be applied in comparative studies of corporate communication practices and how these relate to performances.

The aim of this paper is to study the way in which Dutch organizations in the food sector try to cope with their reputations regarding food safety.

In‐depth interviews with eight representatives of Dutch agro‐food companies were organized, representing a variety of products with different positions in the agro‐food chain.

The results show that, although reputation management is not a special branch in the organization of communication, the subject is seen as crucial for these organizations. Their strategies, however, differ considerably, depending on whether they position food safety as more or less central in their mission and brand strategy.

The article makes recommendations and gives insight into the agro‐food industry and will be of interest to those in the field.

The purpose of this paper is to examine major marketing developments in the Polish food‐processing sector following the EU accession. The aim is to discern the impact of EU integration on several variables characterising the marketing and business strategies; to determine the sources of competitive advantage on the domestic market and abroad; and to distinguish the most popular development directions.

The paper is based on the author's research study. A postal questionnaire survey was conducted among 780 food‐processing companies located in Poland and 30 interviews were conducted with representatives of the industry participating in the International Trade Fair Polagra in Poznan.

There was a systematic growth of export orientation in the study sample after joining the EU. The representatives of the industry usually pointed out either a positive or neutral country‐of‐origin effect. The crucial sources of competitive advantage differed according to the target market. The importance of quality guarantees and successful branding was much higher in exports, whereas taste and price played a relatively greater role on the domestic market. A growing prevalence of the strategy of backward contractual market channel integration was observed. The findings confirmed the growing attractiveness of internationalisation strategies among Polish food processors after EU accession.

The paper provides original insights on the evolution of marketing and business development strategies in Poland after joining the EU. The topic has not been widely discussed at the level of food‐processing industry. The results may be useful to managers from Central and Eastern European food companies.