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This study aims to conceptualize, rethink and systematize methods used for measurement and evaluation (M&E) corporate communication.

The reflection is based on 462 key English-language books and papers devoted to M&E in the fields of corporate communication and public relations from the 1970th to 2023. Keywords in the titles and abstracts found the necessary materials. A critical analysis of the central concepts, models and methods described in the literature was conducted. As a result, a new model that unifies and structures the M&E toolkit is proposed for discussion.

Despite the significant contribution to developing a wide range of M&E models, they are still not perfect and universal. In addition, this system of approaches is continuously self-evolving and changing under the influence of digital innovations, so it requires steady rethinking and updating. On the other hand, most previous studies focused on communication management processes, losing focus on communication aspects. This led to the need for an alternative view based on proven theories to fill this gap. The proposed model combines quantitative and qualitative M&E methods for the five main components of corporate communication (communicator, audience, content, channels and result), covering a wide range of tools, from statistical and sociological research to big data analysis and neuro research.

This work contributes to developing the M&E theory of corporate communication, systematizing existing methods and opening new research perspectives. From a practical point of view, companies can use the presented approach for a more accurate and objective internal evaluation of the main components of corporate communication.

This study explores the variance in investor responses to the corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance of firms, as influenced by information sources and investor types.

This study applies a short-term event study and cross-sectional analysis with unique CSR datasets obtained from newspaper articles and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.

Investor reactions are significantly shaped by their sources of information. Individual investors are found to predominantly respond to accessible news announcements, whereas institutional investors show heightened sensitivity to adverse news from both scrutinized sources. Foreign investors, mirroring institutional investors' patterns, uniquely react positively to index additions.

Investors’ assessment of CSR activities varies due to the differing sources of information obtained; further, it is affected by the type of investor.

The findings guide public relation managers in strategizing CSR communication toward diverse investor types. This includes recommending targeted approaches for Japanese individual investors through newspapers and TV, exercising caution in disseminating adverse news to Japanese institutions, and promoting and justifying CSR actions to foreign investors. It underscores the need for a strategic investor relations frameworks that considers accessibility, literacy, and investors' interests.

This study examines the relationship between sources of information for CSR activities and investors’ responses, an area under-represented in the literature. The author uses CSR announcement data, collected from newspapers to make the results more accurate and relevant.

This study explored how organizational leaders at different hierarchical levels may communicatively enhance employees' health and well-being. Drawing on interdisciplinary research, it proposed a model that connects health-oriented leadership communication at supervisory and executive levels with remote workers' self-care and stress levels during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Data collected through a survey of 363 full-time United States (US) employees were analyzed to test the model.

Results showed health-oriented communication at the two leadership levels directly influenced employees' self-care, which in turn reduced their stress levels. Further, executive leaders' health-oriented leadership communication indirectly impacted remote workers' self-care through its positive association with supervisors' health-oriented leadership communication.

This study offers much-needed guidelines for executive leaders, supervisors and communication practitioners seeking to meet employees' growing expectations for a healthy work environment in today's post-pandemic era.

Although the literature has established organizational leadership as a vital determinant for a healthy workforce, few studies have explored leaders' health-specific communication to enhance employee health. This study is the first to conceptualize health-oriented leadership communication at dual hierarchical levels and uncover its influence on employees. The results suggested the importance of health-oriented leadership communication across hierarchical levels in building a healthy workplace.

Motivated by the organizational challenge coined the great discontent, employees are dissatisfied with their jobs, see minimal opportunities for growth and are actively searching for new roles. This research aims to take a novel approach to internal communication strategy by introducing employability culture and leadership empowerment as mechanisms for supporting employees' career growth and additional positive workplace outcomes.

An online survey was designed and administered in the United States. The final sample size includes 425 full-time employees working in a variety of roles, industries and work arrangements.

Findings point to the inherent need for revised internal communication strategy that goes beyond managing and disseminating information. Organizations must develop cultures and their leaders in ways that empower employees and help them understand the meaning of their work. Employability culture, or an organization's support for developing employees' adaptive skills as work roles change, positively predicted employees' perceptions of their career growth opportunities at their current place of employment, employee loyalty and engagement, and job satisfaction. Leadership empowerment behaviors also positively predicted all previously listed workplace variables. These perceptions as influenced by work arrangement (onsite, hybrid, fully remote) and younger versus older generations were also analyzed.

Research findings offer new strategies for internal communications. Internal communication teams can partner alongside executive leadership to develop a culture that helps employees envision how their skills and expertise translates to different areas of the organization, empowering them to find meaning in their work, and be driven to support organizational growth.

Personal influence is one of the most powerful strategies to influence publics’ behaviours. Yet, there is scant attention on how personal influence is leveraged for different public relations purposes in different cultural contexts. This study empirically investigates the presence and use of personal influence among Italian public relations professionals.

A survey was conducted through a self-administrated, web-based questionnaire and was developed from earlier studies investigating personal influence in public relations literature. Survey participants included public relations professionals across public, non-profit and private sectors.

The findings empirically show the presence and regular use of personal influence by professionals from all sectors to cultivate interpersonal relationships. Personal influence is considered a personal resource and used to leverage own influencing power. The findings also document four major manifestations of personal influence, which were named: relational closeness strategy, engagement strategy, expertise strategy and added value strategy.

This study enhances our understanding of personal influence in a specific cultural context and offers strategic insights for international professionals seeking to leverage influence in the socio-political environment of Italy. It also offers elements to improve public relations education and training.

The study offers some preliminary understandings of how Italian professionals leverage their personal influence in their daily public relations activities contributing with empirical evidence to the body of knowledge in public relations.

With the growing concern for environmental and sustainability issues, especially in the aftermath of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, organizations feel compelled to pursue green sustainability in their operations. In this regard, the active involvement of employees in pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) is crucial for achieving organizational environmental sustainability goals (Saeed et al., 2019). To shed light on this important issue, this study aims to investigate the impact of interacting/engaging environmental corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication strategy on employees' PEBs through the mediating effects of communal relationship and employee empowerment.

A total of 443 full-time USA employees working across various industries participated in an online survey.

The interacting/engaging environmental CSR communication strategy fosters employees' perceived communal relationship with their organizations and empowers them to support their organization's environmental initiatives, which, in turn, positively influences employees' PEBs at work.

This study advances CSR and internal communication literature through the lens of relationship management and self-determination theories. The findings theoretically suggest the effectiveness of the interacting/engaging environmental CSR communication strategy in nurturing favorable employee–organization relationships (EORs), employee empowerment and PEBs at work. The practical implications of CSR communication are also elaborated.

Purpose: This study examines sustainability communication’s direct and indirect effects on consumer loyalty and brand reputation. It also aims to identify sustainable practices that enhance consumer behaviour and brand reputation.

Methodology: The study used a cross-sectional survey design and collected data from 500 participants through an online survey. The survey included measures of sustainability communication, consumer loyalty, brand reputation, and demographic variables. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesised relationships between the variables.

Findings: The results of the SEM analysis suggest that sustainability communication has a direct and positive effect on consumer loyalty, which in turn positively impacts reputation. Furthermore, the study identifies specific sustainability practices, such as reducing the carbon footprint and promoting ethical sourcing, that can positively influence consumer behaviour and brand reputation.

Implications: The study underscores the significance of adept sustainability communication for fostering consumer loyalty and boosting brand reputation. Focusing on initiatives like loyalty programs and personalised offers can harness this connection. Additionally, the research identifies critical sustainable practices – carbon reduction, ethical sourcing, and renewable energy investment – that foster positive consumer behaviour and brand reputation.

Originality/value: This study provides new insights into the mechanisms by which sustainability communication can influence consumer behaviour and brand reputation. The study identifies the importance of consumer loyalty as a mediator between sustainability communication and brand reputation. It recommends companies seeking to enhance their brand reputation through sustainability practices.

Organizational resilience, defined by a firm’s speed in reaching a dynamic equilibrium after a shock and after the shocks are absorbed, and crisis management are critical in a global crisis. The concept of resilience is increasingly used in the economic press; nevertheless, few studies demonstrate empirically how firms became resilient and the lessons to be learned from it. Traditionally, the concept of resilience is approached as resistance in the face of a crisis. The authors go further by showing three-loop learning, which is part of a logic of innovation and regeneration. This study aims to examine how a business can regenerate itself by effectively managing the external threats and disruptions caused by a crisis. Also, this study deepens knowledge on learning process. The double-loop learning process is known in the literature as enabling firms to learn from unexpected events and react accordingly. The findings point out a third loop implying the co-invention of a new business model and a collective mindfulness of changes made.

Using longitudinal data, the authors investigate how the global crisis affects merger negotiations between two companies. This study analyzes the period of dialogue (negotiation) between the two entities with a view to carrying out a merger and then their withdrawal from the project during the pandemic, reshuffling the cards for each company. The negotiation period is not normally disclosed because of its highly confidential and strategic nature and it is therefore difficult for researchers to access merger operations at the negotiation stage. From this viewpoint, this case study was chosen because of the availability of generally inaccessible documentation.

This in-depth case study provides new insights on organizational resilience and the recovery capacity of a firm. The results underline four main triggers that a firm should develop in facing a major crisis: skills; credits; previous and historical relationships; and corporate culture. Recovery capacity depends on reactivity, flexibility, learning and regeneration. Finally, this study points out a three-loop learning experience that can be understood as a learning process in two steps to generate lasting and adaptive changes.

The limitations are those concerning a single case study.

This study highlights the ability to deal with unexpected events. First, this work identifies concrete items that can be perceived by managers as elements enabling a firm to develop resilience. Second, the results show main elements enabling this capacity as reactivity – both companies react quickly and effectively to disturbances to limit the impact on their performance; or flexibility – firms adapt their business model to deal with disruptions. Third, this work underlines a learning capacity process in three steps to recover capacity. This process stimulates creativity and innovation by the teams and stakeholders by placing them at the heart of the change.

This case provides a vivid illustration of firms’ adaptation to a rapidly evolving context because of a global crisis. Theoretical concepts and empirical findings from the literature are combined to present a single consistent picture.

This paper aims to explore the perspectives of registered nurses towards communication with family members of older people with a tracheostomy.

A qualitative design was used. Ten participants were recruited through purposive sampling. Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were used in collecting data. Data were analysed by thematic analysis.

The four themes identified were as follows: communication by considering time difference; considering factors related to effective communication, either family member–related factors or registered nurse–related factors; strategies of communicating to support family members, such as giving an opportunity to ask for accurate information, communicating to build self-confidence and communicating through cases; and using the art of communication by speaking slowly and clearly, using colloquialisms, being steady and calm, as well as using positive language.

Having strategies and using the art of communication are important to help family members in obtaining accurate information and in building self-confidence in the care of older people.

The paper indicates that registered nurses consider factors related to communication, and they gave more information to family members using effective strategies and the art of communication. Therefore, effective communication training to nursing teams should be performed to promote adherence to treatment and family members’ satisfaction.

This study aims to contribute to the field of computer systems for sustainability research. It proposes a framework for sustainability awareness using online social networks (OSNs) by analyzing major research streams of the current state of knowledge and different bibliometric variables, and identifies a future research agenda in the field.

The preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA) methodology, content analysis and bibliometric tools were employed to identify, select, collect, synthesize, analyze and evaluate all research published on sustainability awareness using OSNs to provide complete insight into this research area.

This study proposed a framework comprising four categories for sustainability awareness using OSNs. These four categories are: the key factors to success, analysis of existing tools, proposal of new methods, approaches and theoretical frameworks, and case examples. In addition, this study synthesized the future research challenges for each category of the proposed framework.

Fostering sustainability awareness and sustainable behavior using OSNs is a growing area of research that seeks cultural change in society to achieve sustainable development. Through OSNs, people can discover and become aware of the consequences of unsustainable practices and habits in society, and learn how to develop sustainable behavior.

The peer review history for this article is available at https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR