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Book part
Publication date: 24 September 2018

The Power of Listening in Corporate Communications: Theoretical Foundations of Corporate Listening as a Strategic Mode of Communication

Maria Borner and Ansgar Zerfass

This chapter attempts to broaden corporate communications and public relations research by introducing a theoretical foundation for the inbound (in contrast to the…

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Abstract

This chapter attempts to broaden corporate communications and public relations research by introducing a theoretical foundation for the inbound (in contrast to the outbound) perspective of communication. The idea of organisational listening has recently been introduced by a small number of researchers. However, current concepts are mostly based on the relational paradigm of public relations. Listening is positively connoted in those concepts because it might help to foster mutual understanding, advance favourable relationships with stakeholders and support normative ideals of deliberation in democratic societies. This is not convincing from the point of view of communication managers who align their strategies and budgets to overarching organisational goals. The chapter aims to develop a new approach beyond the relational approach by linking corporate listening to corporate value. In a first step, current definitions and concepts of organisational listening are discussed in order to underline the need for a new approach. Secondly, the need for an inbound perspective of communication is explained by referring to Giddens’ structuration theory and its consequences for managing communications. Thirdly, corporate listening is conceptualised as a strategic mode of communication by referring to the overarching concept of strategic communication. Last but not least, the chapter elaborates on the value of listening for corporations and concludes with a broadened understanding of strategic communication.

Details

Public Relations and the Power of Creativity
Type: Book
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/S2398-391420180000003001
ISBN: 978-1-78769-291-6

Keywords

  • Corporate communications
  • strategic communication
  • listening
  • messaging
  • inbound dimension
  • outbound dimension

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Article
Publication date: 8 April 2020

Strategic communication practices by consultants in Colombia

Angela Preciado-Hoyos

The purpose of this study is to determine the perception of communication and PR agency directors in Colombia regarding strategic communication and its relationship with…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to determine the perception of communication and PR agency directors in Colombia regarding strategic communication and its relationship with consultancy when involved with three types of activities: bringing the context close to the organization, providing new knowledge and facilitating change.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper provides an exploratory study based on semi-structured interviews of a sample of 55 communication and PR agency directors.

Findings

Among the directors interviewed, there are different criteria concerning strategic communication and the services this entails. Although the literature mentions that consultancy should focus on counseling, accompanying, advising and orienting without making decisions for the client or performing any operative activities, many Colombian agencies offer these services, in addition to other technical ones. This is because these are the most requested ones by their clients and so are important in acquiring contracts in the country's communication sector.

Research limitations/implications

The limitation of this study is the absence of a regularly and systematically updated directory and database with the current size of the communications sector and its yearly revenue in Colombia.

Practical implications

Lack of consensus regarding strategic communication consultancy may lead to unfair competition on prices and confounding strategic and nonstrategic services in the market.

Social implications

New academic knowledge for the communication practices in communication agencies in Colombia and Latin America.

Originality/value

This article arises from initial research done in Colombia on the perceptions of the communication sector's directors regarding the meaning of strategic communication and key capacities in the provision of services under that remit.

Details

Corporate Communications: An International Journal, vol. 25 no. 2
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-06-2019-0066
ISSN: 1356-3289

Keywords

  • Communication consultancy
  • Strategic communication
  • Communication agencies
  • Public relations
  • PR agencies

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Article
Publication date: 23 May 2020

Science communication, strategic communication and rhetoric: the case of health authorities, vaccine hesitancy, trust and credibility

Øyvind Ihlen

There is a great potential in pulling together science communication and strategic communication, especially given how the former has gained importance in organizational…

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Abstract

Purpose

There is a great potential in pulling together science communication and strategic communication, especially given how the former has gained importance in organizational contexts. Strategic communication, including rhetorical theory, can offer insights that are invaluable to understand the contests over what “truth” is and how different political perspectives influence such debates. The case of vaccine hesitancy is used as an illustration of the challenges posed to organizations and organizational communication around science-related issues today. There is a need to understand the audience in order to build credibility, or ethos, while at the same time recognizing the contingent and situational character of this endeavor.

Findings

Rhetoric and strategic communication can offer science communication the essential knowledge to strengthen credibility. While much attention has been geared toward understanding the audience, strategic communication and rhetoric in particular go further and also spell out the strategic implications for communication that is intended to strengthen credibility. Additionally, rhetoric alerts us to how credibility, or ethos, is not a fixed quality in a sender or a text but is situational and constantly negotiated. While the case of vaccine hesitancy and health authorities is used as an illustration, all organizations share the need to somehow have others believe in what they are saying. The toolboxes of strategic communication and rhetoric hold a number of insights and approaches that could benefit science communication.

Originality/value

The study pulls together insights from rhetoric and strategic communication that can inform science communication.

Details

Journal of Communication Management, vol. 24 no. 3
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JCOM-03-2020-0017
ISSN: 1363-254X

Keywords

  • Risk communication
  • Rhetoric
  • Public relations
  • Strategic communication

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Article
Publication date: 1 April 2006

Constant change and the strategic role of communication: A selective annotated bibliography

Triveni Kuchi

Purpose – Libraries have been experiencing relentless change and uncertainty in their environment. The literature on corporate communications, strategic management and…

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Abstract

Purpose – Libraries have been experiencing relentless change and uncertainty in their environment. The literature on corporate communications, strategic management and planning, marketing and public relations more recently, has been recommending using communications as a strategy to coherently and proactively handle and foresee change. Planning and using an overall communications strategy will bring integrity and adherence to the library's goals and direction while reducing the discomfort of change. This selected bibliography is a quick starting point for understanding the significance of an overall communication strategy and its use for managing conflicts and changes in the library's environment strategically. Design/methodology/approach – This article covers books and articles from mid‐1980s to 2004, published around the world. The sources are listed alphabetically by author and then chronologically for different sources by the same author, providing brief but useful information about the content covered for each source. Findings – This bibliography illustrates a variety of research from corporate communications, strategic planning, communications management, marketing and public relations literature that emphasize the role of communication in strategic management. Research limitations/implications – It records a comprehensive list of publications covering international perspectives as well as publications about communication strategy. Practical implications – This selected bibliography is primarily intended for librarians, library planners, managers or administrators, but is also relevant to corporate and business professionals, planners and administrators. Further, it would also be a useful resource for students, faculty and researchers of communication. Originality/value – This bibliography presents a much needed resource list for gathering insights into the strategic role of communication for organizations such as the library that are in a state of constant change.

Details

Library Management, vol. 27 no. 4/5
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120610668160
ISSN: 0143-5124

Keywords

  • Change management
  • Organizational change
  • Communication
  • Strategic management

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Article
Publication date: 10 June 2014

The power of strategic communication in organizational development

Jesper Falkheimer

– The purpose of this study is to describe and reflect on strategic communication and its relevance for organizational development and the service sciences.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to describe and reflect on strategic communication and its relevance for organizational development and the service sciences.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach is conceptual and based on an analysis of relevant earlier research. In the first part of the paper, contemporary organizational challenges are discussed, using a communication perspective. Then, a discussion about communication foundations follows. Finally, four arguments why strategic communication is valuable for organizational development is discussed, raising questions for further empirical research.

Findings

The main driving force behind the increased interest in strategic communication is the organizational need of legitimacy to operate in the late modern society. The analysis concludes that there are possible synergies to be made between strategic communication (following a holistic and ritual approach to communication) and the service sciences. The four arguments for focusing strategic communication for organizational development are its relevance for organizational efficiency, image, identity and transparency. There is need of further empirical research.

Originality/value

Communication has for many years mainly been viewed as a transmission system and organizational function for production and distribution. In this paper, strategic communication is viewed as a critical organizational management process.

Details

International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, vol. 6 no. 2/3
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQSS-01-2014-0007
ISSN: 1756-669X

Keywords

  • Public relations
  • Strategic communication
  • Organizational communication
  • Communication theory

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Article
Publication date: 1 August 2016

A practice perspective on strategic communication: The discursive legitimization of managerial decisions

Helle Kryger Aggerholm and Birte Asmuß

The purpose of this paper is to link the authentic, communicative activities, e.g. organization-wide meetings at the micro-level, to the institutionalized practices at the…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to link the authentic, communicative activities, e.g. organization-wide meetings at the micro-level, to the institutionalized practices at the macro-level within an organization, e.g. change management decisions and communication strategy (Steyn, 2003). Thus, the concern is with the relationship between institutionalized strategic management and the real-life strategic communication processes, thus advancing the understanding of the role of texts and discourses in the actual practice of strategic communication in an organizational context of strategic change processes.

Design/methodology/approach

The data are based on a large corpus of video-taped management meetings and organization-wide meetings in a large Danish public, knowledge-based organization. The method applied for studying the management discourse is a conversation-analytical approach (Sacks et al., 1974; Sidnell, 2010). This method has been chosen as it enables the authors to focus on micro-aspects of organizational practices (Nicolini, 2013) by investigating the interactional patterns that serve as resources for doing legitimation as an institutionalized practice.

Findings

The common denominator for the entire analysis is legitimation accomplished through the discursive use of distanciation and the analysis identifies three different discursive elements or micro-level strategies directly related to the concrete doing of strategic communication. First, legitimation is created by reference to the socio-economic context of the organization. Second, legitimation is generated by means of pointing to the abnormality of the strategic situation. And third legitimation is fostered by the use of idiomatic expressions. These different ways of accomplishing legitimacy are in a strategy-as-practice perspective related to the specific, in-situ communicative praxis and accomplished by the concrete actions of the strategic communicators, and thus the authors can position the instances of strategic communication at the organizational micro-level.

Originality/value

This paper studies at a micro-level how strategic actors use various discursive resources to legitimize strategic decisions and how these resources constitute the discursive basis of strategic communication as a managerial practice. The authors focus on the role of discourse in the legitimization processes of strategic managerial decisions analyzing micro-level instances of organizational communication. The paper thereby links the actor process activities (Langley, 2007), e.g. organization-wide meetings at the micro-level, to the institutional field practices at the macro-level within an organization, e.g. strategy and planning (Johnson et al., 2007).

Details

Journal of Communication Management, vol. 20 no. 3
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JCOM-07-2015-0052
ISSN: 1363-254X

Keywords

  • Discourse
  • Legitimation
  • Strategic communication
  • Strategic change
  • Micro-level analysis

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Article
Publication date: 23 March 2020

Key challenges in strategic start-up communication: A systematic literature review and an explorative study

Markus Wiesenberg, Alexander Godulla, Katharina Tengler, Inga-Marit Noelle, Julia Kloss, Natalie Klein and David Eeckhout

The paper represents a starting point of a broader research project in strategic start-up communication. The main purpose of this study is to demonstrate the current state…

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Abstract

Purpose

The paper represents a starting point of a broader research project in strategic start-up communication. The main purpose of this study is to demonstrate the current state of research in this area and to compare those insights with an explorative study on the start-up ecosystem.

Design/methodology/approach

A neo-institutional framework is combined with the dual narrative framework of strategic communication and emergence to explain the emergence of strategic communication in this organizational field (start-up ecosystems). Research questions are derived from a systematic literature review and subjected to exploratory testing in two different qualitative surveys, with experts and investors, reflecting an external perspective, and with start-ups themselves.

Findings

Results from the literature review and the explorative interviews with expert external actors indicate eight areas in which start-ups face strategic communication challenges: the basic orientation of strategic communication, branding, external image, stakeholder relations, allocation of financial resources, owner centricity, human resources and internal communication. External consultants and funders recommend highly planned approaches like target group-oriented communication, well thought-out positioning with uniform messages and precisely applied communication channels. However, the internal perspective of start-ups presents a contrary picture based on emergent products of strategic communication.

Research limitations/implications

The study indicates the importance of both the emergence in strategic start-up communication and the demonstration of planned strategic communication. Investigating a whole start-up ecosystem in a country regarding the emergence of strategic communication forms, practices and products offers potential for cross-country comparative research.

Practical implications

The findings indicate key challenges of strategic communication of start-ups. Bearing in mind these key challenges when founding a start-up can make a difference in the success of the start-up.

Originality/value

The article presents the first systematic literature review in the area of strategic start-up communication and a theoretical framework for further investigation. Moreover, the results of the explorative study demonstrate the importance of the different forms of planning and emergence in strategic start-up communication. Hence, this paper provides practical implications for practitioners working and investing in the start-up ecosystem.

Details

Journal of Communication Management, vol. 24 no. 1
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JCOM-10-2019-0129
ISSN: 1363-254X

Keywords

  • Strategic start-up communication
  • Start-up ecosystem
  • Start-up communication
  • Emergence
  • New institutionalism

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Article
Publication date: 8 May 2018

The art of strategic improvisation: A professional concept for contemporary communication managers

Jesper Falkheimer and Katarina Gentzel Sandberg

The purpose of this paper is to describe strategic improvisation, a contemporary concept and approach based on the creative arts and organizational crisis theory, as a…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe strategic improvisation, a contemporary concept and approach based on the creative arts and organizational crisis theory, as a valuable approach for communication professionals. Strategic improvisation combines the need for planning and structure with creative action, and is a normative idea of how to work in an efficient way.

Design/methodology/approach

The concept is developed in a collaborative project between a major Swedish communications agency and a university scholar. The empirical foundation consists of 25 qualitative interviews with a strategic selection of successful communication professionals, identified as typical strategic improvisers.

Findings

An analysis of the interviews led to 11 defining patterns or themes typical for strategic improvisation and strategic improvisers. The interviews and the theoretical framework is the foundation of a communication model. Strategic improvisation is defined as a situational interpretation within a given framework. The model has three interconnected parts: a clear framework (composition), a professional interpretation (interpretation) and a situational adaptation based on given possibilities and conditions (improvisation).

Research limitations/implications

This is not a peer reviewed paper, but a paper in the section “In Practice,” directed toward communication professionals.

Originality/value

The ideas and model are connected to theories of improvisation, especially in music, which is rare in the field of communication management, and developed in a collaborative project between practice and research.

Details

Journal of Communication Management, vol. 22 no. 2
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JCOM-03-2018-0020
ISSN: 1363-254X

Keywords

  • Best practice
  • Communication strategy
  • Communication management
  • Communication practitioner

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Article
Publication date: 6 August 2018

Dialogics of strategic communication: Embracing conflicting logics in an emerging field

Emma Christensen and Lars Thøger Christensen

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the field of strategic communication is shaped and driven by several different logics that not only simply underpin each other…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the field of strategic communication is shaped and driven by several different logics that not only simply underpin each other, but also and simultaneously oppose each other and point in many different directions.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors address the multiple logics in strategic communication and their interplay by drawing on Edgar Morin’s theory of “dialogics.” According to Morin, complex systems are characterized by multiple logics that are at once complementary, competitive and antagonistic with respect to one another.

Findings

The authors present and discuss five dialogics that challenge conventional notions of managerial control: deliberate vs emergent perspectives on communication strategy; top-down vs participatory approaches; bounded vs unbounded notions of communication; consistency vs inconsistency in organizational messages; and transparency vs opacity in organizational practices.

Originality/value

While the dialogical perspective defies the ideal of strategic communication as a unitary discipline, the authors argue that the field can only develop by acknowledging, embracing and bringing to the fore of analysis principles that are at once complementary, competitive and antagonistic.

Details

Corporate Communications: An International Journal, vol. 23 no. 3
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-08-2017-0073
ISSN: 1356-3289

Keywords

  • Strategic management
  • Communication management
  • Corporate communications

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Article
Publication date: 5 November 2018

How communication departments contribute to corporate success: The communications contributions framework

Ansgar Zerfass and Sophia Charlotte Volk

The purpose of this paper is to clarify and demonstrate the core contributions of communication departments to organizational success beyond traditional ideas of messaging…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to clarify and demonstrate the core contributions of communication departments to organizational success beyond traditional ideas of messaging or information distribution. The main aim is to develop a better understanding of the different facets of value that the communication function delivers by introducing a distinction between strategic and operational contributions, following established management models.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is based on an extensive literature review at the nexus of communication management and strategic management research and ten qualitative case studies in large, internationally operating German organizations from different industries, combining in-depth interviews and document analyses.

Findings

The newly developed Communications Contributions Framework demonstrates that communications serve the corporation in four strategic and operational dimensions and emphasizes the critical role of communications in reflecting and adjusting organizational strategies, i.e. through identifying opportunities to innovate or securing intangible assets.

Practical implications

The paper outlines different application scenarios for how the new framework can be used in practice, i.e. as a multi-faceted rationale for explaining the impact of communication departments in the language of top management and reporting communication success in the logic of business.

Originality/value

The framework provides the first theoretically and empirically based “big picture” of communications’ contributions to corporate success, designed to lay ground for further discussions both in academia and in practice.

Details

Journal of Communication Management, vol. 22 no. 4
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JCOM-12-2017-0146
ISSN: 1363-254X

Keywords

  • Strategy
  • Corporate strategy
  • Corporate communication
  • Communication strategy
  • Communication management
  • Communication goals
  • Communication department

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