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Recently, ethical leadership has become a widely studied research topic. Simultaneously, many studies have begun to emphasise the role of interpersonal communication competence (ICC) in successful leadership. However, there has been little discussion on the links between ethical leadership and leaders’ ICC. To address this research gap, this study aims to compare and combine the research traditions of ethical leadership and leaders’ ICC. The study is based on two literature reviews examining (a) ethical leadership (substudy 1; N = 27) and (b) leaders’ ICC (substudy 2; N = 18). The research questions are as follows: (a) How are the requirements of leaders’ ICC noticed in the literature of ethical leadership? (substudy 1) (b) How are the requirements of ethical leadership noticed in the literature of leaders’ ICC? (substudy 2) The findings reveal that (a) studies in ethical leadership rarely pay attention to leaders’ ICC and (b) studies in leaders’ ICC do not often discuss ethical aspects of ICC, at least explicitly. While a larger sample would have been preferred, the study contributes to previous research by addressing a research gap between ethical leadership and leaders’ ICC and suggests integrating these research traditions to better understand the nature of ethics and ICC in leadership. By promoting novel interdisciplinary research perspectives, the study provides a foundation for further research and development of (a) a competence-based approach to ethical leadership and (b) an ethics-focused approach to competent leadership communication.

The aim of this chapter is to shed light on a growing phenomenon in communication practice: employees speaking voluntarily for, about or on behalf of their organization, hereafter labelled as corporate ambassadors. The goal of this qualitative study is to analyze the role of corporate ambassadors within an organization and explore the perceived benefits and risks from three perspectives: the communication department, other departments such as marketing or human resources, and corporate ambassadors themselves. The research is based on an interdisciplinary literature review and 25 qualitative in-depth interviews with employees in one large, internationally operating German organization. By combining the theoretical and empirical insights, a conceptual framework that depicts the benefits (e.g., joy, increased trust, positive impact on reputation) and risks (e.g., work stress, lack of integration, loss of quality) of integrating corporate ambassadors into the overall communication of the organization was developed. In addition, this chapter suggests two typologies that help to distinguish between different roles of communication professionals and of corporate ambassadors. The contribution of this study is to lay a groundwork for further discussions about corporate ambassadors in the field of corporate communications. The chapter outlines directions for future research and implications for practice on how the framework can be applied in organizations.

The chapter develops a typology of eight different expected employee communication roles based on literature in public relations (PR), corporate communication and related fields. As PR professionals are increasingly taking on a coaching and training role, and communication technology has made employees more visible and approachable, employees more and more take on active roles in the communication with external publics. While PR professionals’ roles are conceptualized fairly well, no framework exists that describes the many communication roles that employees play in contemporary organizations. In the chapter, it is found that employees externally (1) embody, (2) promote, and (3) defend the organization. In addition, employees use communication to (4) scout for information and insights about environmental changes, and (5) build and maintain relationships with stakeholders. Internally, employees use communication to (6) make sense of information, (7) initiate and stimulate innovation, and (8) criticize organizational behaviour and decisions. The typology highlights that employees increasingly fulfil the tactic communication roles as producers and executers of corporate communication as social media have made them more visible and approachable. The communication roles require considerable tactical skills and resources on the part of employees, which they may not always possess sufficiently. PR professionals can play a coaching role in terms of helping employees frame content and communicate in a manner appropriate for the organization, the context and the media. The chapter can help PR professionals and scholars understand the changed role of PR professionals, as well as the changed relationships between organizations and their environment, in the context of dissolving organizational boundaries.

Purpose: Although there has been increasing scholarly attention regarding the unethical concerns of prosocial behavior at work, scarce research has been done to conceptualize this type of compassionate behavior. To address this research gap, we identify the unethical concerns of a supervisor's compassion and address how this compassion, when combined with unethical implications, impacts subordinates' unethical behavior. Study Design/Methodology/Approach: We drew on sensemaking theory to develop a theoretical model and a four-quadrant taxonomy explaining how subordinate's interpretation of the context and supervisors' actions affected their unethical behavior through emotional responses and shared moral identity with supervisors. Findings: Our propositions suggest that subordinates' different roles in supervisors' compassionate process – the sufferer (receiver) or bystander (witness), and supervisors' unethical behavior at the domain of private or public activities impact their interpretations of meaning and shape their corresponding emotional responses, moral identity, and unethical behavior. Originality/Value: Our theoretical model contributes to a wholistic understanding of compassion at work by identifying the unethical implications of compassion appraisal. It depicts the complex process of how leaders' contradictory information shapes employees' unethical behavior. Research Limitations: The theoretical model and propositions lack the support of empirical data.

The study of humor has a long tradition in philosophy, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and communications. Evidence from these fields suggests that humor can have effects on creativity, cohesiveness, and performance, but organizational scholars have paid it relatively little attention. We hope to “jump-start” such a research program. To do this, we first outline the theoretical rationale underlying the production and appreciation of humor, namely, its motivational, cognitive, and emotional mechanisms. Next, we review the literature linking humor to creativity, cohesiveness, and other performance-relevant outcomes. In particular, we note how this literature is theoretically well-grounded, but that the empirical findings are largely correlational and/or based on qualitative research designs. Finally, we go beyond the current humor literature by developing specific predictions about how culture might interact with humor in organizational contexts. Throughout the paper, we discuss possible research directions and methodological issues relevant to the study of humor in organizations.

This chapter explores what academic librarians and their supervisors must consider when looking to a remote or telework arrangement as a staffing solution. The popular and scholarly literature on remote work is surveyed and contextualized for information professionals. Research is clear that with proper planning, remote work arrangements can succeed, benefitting organizations and individuals. Even so, liaison librarians are unlikely to have central support for remote work arrangements due to communication and cultural hurdles unique to the profession. While these have been mitigated by technology to varying degrees in other sectors and industries, adoption in libraries has been slow. When librarians do pursue remote work, they are often unsure how to gauge fit, negotiate an arrangement, overcome technical obstacles and cultural misconceptions, and balance work and life. Authors Hickey and Tang: (1) summarize and apply research on remote work for library science professionals; (2) propose a theoretical framework for understanding the future of remote work for practitioner librarians in higher education; (3) present a case study of a successful remote work arrangement at Cornell University; (4) provide thought-provoking coaching questions for librarians and supervisors considering remote arrangements; (5) and identify next-steps for advancing the discussion and study of remote work in libraries. The practical implication of this information, aimed at service providers and managers, is to help them create a better workplace where flexible remote work arrangements are an opportunity for both the individual and organization that facilitate the achievement of personal, library unit, and institutional goals.

Global virtual teams (GVTs), also known as transnational or distributed teams, are increasingly common as organizations strive to maintain a global presence, find top and diverse talent, and cope with economic constraints. Despite increasing adoption of GVTs, there is a dearth of research addressing whether GVTs are an effective coping strategy for dealing with the world economic crisis and if there are unintended negative consequences on employee well-being as a result of their use. Thus, a focal question guiding the development of this chapter is whether or not GVTs are a sustainable solution for organizations? In this chapter we present a generic framework depicting the cycle by which macroeconomic demands impose changes on organization's structures, which trickle down to the level of the individual who has to cope with the demands the new structure has imposed. We discuss GVTs as an intervention (or cure) for organizations’ dealing with the current world economic crisis and how this organizational intervention inevitably becomes the context (or cause) for the kinds of stressors or demands employees face.