Strategic Communication and the Stakeholder Concept: Merging Marketing Communication and PR

Corporate communication is a strategic endeavour of two major directions; market and non-market communication. Within this differentiation, marketing and communication/Public Relations usually operate separately with a major focus on stakeholder communication since scholars’ research provides evidence for its sustainable advantage. But with regard to different stakeholders’ requirements, the differentiation between market and non-market-related communication has diminished and a number of objectives have become both disciplines’ targets. This paper suggests an extension for the notion communication and introduces a strategic model merging both disciplines under the new function of Strategic Communication. Key Words: Corporate communication, strategic communication, stakeholder concept, unitary perception

Non-profit organisations and stakeholder relationships : assessing digital communication through public relations theory : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Communication in Public Relations at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand

This research examines New Zealand non-profit organisations’ (NPOs) use of digital communication channels to assess if digital channels are being used effectively for stakeholder engagement. Qualitative interviews with 20 communication practitioners examined whether/how the NPOs are using multiple digital channels and identified the five most popular digital channels. The interview data was analysed using HyperRESEARCH and the five most popular channels identified overall were websites, e-newsletters, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Although the participating NPOs are all using multiple digital channels, the communication practitioners could not confidently say the channels achieve the organisation’s goals, or assist with stakeholder engagement and participation. To help assess if the channels are being used strategically and are achieving the organisations’ purposes, a quantitative content analysis of the most popular digital channels of five NPOs was undertaken. The channels’ content was also assessed to identify if the communication practitioners are using public relations theories for dialogic communication, relationship management and stakeholder engagement. Results of the interviews and the content analysis reveal that NPOs are not using their channels strategically, and are not always achieving their desired purpose. The communication approach by the NPOs is scattershot and ad hoc, and evaluation of the communication is limited. To assist NPOs to improve their use of digital channels to build effective stakeholder relationships, recommendations include using public relations theories, building a digital communication strategy, making differentiated use of individual channels – rather than using a one-size-fits all approach – and ensuring evaluation of the digital communication to maintain best practice. This should provide NPOs with evidence of improved stakeholder engagement and relationships

Introduction to the special issue: Social construct within an information society

Managing Information Systems (IS) is increasingly complex, as multiple stakeholders try to communicate, act, and interact for social and business gain. Understanding and managing these complex stakeholder relations and the contingencies of successful communication among culturally diverse stakeholder groups are some of the major challenges for professional communicators in the third millennium. Such challenges have important implications for communication between user and developer groups as training and education of the users becomes more complex. In an effort to connect information system practice with communication theory, this special issue of IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication looks at information systems as social constructs of an information societ

Stakeholder collaboration and heritage management

This article examines a collaborative approach to the relationship between heritage management and tourism development in Luang Prabang, Laos. The purpose is to examine stakeholder collaboration and management roles, heritage tourism development, as well as the interdependence of the heritage conservation and tourism relationship. The research examines a UNESCO/Norwegian government project, which aiming to promote collaboration between heritage conservation and tourism through stakeholder involvement. Five aspects are explored: channels of communication between the heritage and the tourism groups, generating income for heritage conservation and management, involving the local community in decisionmaking, involving the local community in tourism activities, and an assessment of the extent and success of stakeholder collaboration

Implementing Education Policy: Getting From What Now? to What Works

Outlines key lessons from the 2011 Education Grantmakers Institute about funding the implementation of policy change as well as advocacy and building public will. Offers framework for planning, stakeholder engagement, capacity building, and communication

A balancing act: Stakeholder enablement and empowerment towards multiple stakeholder engagement

The increasing pluralistic business environment, where stakeholders continually challenge the treatise of organisational primacy, places more pressure on organisations to address and prioritise diverse stakeholder expectations. Stakeholders are central to the success of organisations, which necessitates engagement, transparency and responses to stakeholder concerns. Despite consensus in existing literature on the significance of stakeholder engagement, no common understanding on what it entails exists. Another gap is to approach stakeholder engagement from multiple stakeholder vantage points and to explore the role of the strategic communication professional in facilitating stakeholder engagement. The digital network revolution, among others, has brought about a “collaborative turn” that allows innovative and engaging opportunities to obtain valuable information from stakeholders through interactive conversations. These forces resulted in a paradigmatic shift in strategic communication where emergent processes and the rejection of linearity become prevalent. The role of the strategic communication professional is to facilitate a stakeholder engagement strategy that elicits dialogue, consultation and reciprocal relationships that are evolutionary and mutually defined. Based on this contextualisation, this paper proposes a theoretical, conceptual framework for multiple stakeholder engagement by drawing from the principles of polyphonic strategic communication. Depending on the controllability of voices, a polyphonic communication perspective for multiple stakeholder engagement allows interplay between a centralised strategic communication approach through stakeholder enablement and a more decentralised communication approach to elicit stakeholder empowerment. This paper serves as foundation for further empirical validation of the proposed multiple stakeholder engagement framework and emergent, multi-voiced approaches in strategic communication.Communication Scienc

Evaluation Factors for Multi-Stakeholder Broadband Visual Communication Projects

This paper presents a summary of multifaceted evaluation factors that we have identified through our research with Broadband Visual Communication (BVC) projects involving multiple stakeholders. The main benefit of these evaluation factors is that they provide a general evaluation framework for multiple stakeholder projects. The factors are social infrastructure, technical infrastructure, physical space, interaction style and content

Defining Communication Problems in Stakeholder Relations Based on Stakeholder Theory

Relationship with stakeholders has been widely seen as a communication phenomenon. Indeed, communication has long played an essential role in stakeholder theory. This study analyzed stakeholder relations in the communication discipline, which still left a room for review, based on stakeholder theory in the context of company management. Specifically, this study focused on both concepts in stakeholder relations, which was studied in communication science, and stakeholder theory, which was grounded on business ethics and strategic management. The concepts were analyzed using a social-oriented framework, and the aim was to disentangle and make evident the communication problems in this issue. The study used a literature review, to map the body of knowledge, and a qualitative approach based on a multi-disciplinary perspective. This study recommended that stakeholder relations be a communication discipline, and it should examine stakeholders based on two interrelated analyses, namely normative and strategic. Stakeholder relations should focus on normative-ethical studies, which were rooted in idealism. The strategic-operative aspects, which originated from realism, by contrast, could be delegated to other disciplines, such as public relations, organizational communication, corporate communication, strategic communication, to communication management

Using stakeholder dialogue as a source for new ideas. A dynamic capability underlying sustainable innovation

This paper attempts to gain a deeper understanding of the firm's ability for integrating stakeholder insights into the process of organisational innovation within the context of sustainable development. Given the early stage of empirical research on the topic, we used an exploratory case study method of two Spanish companies that have successfully learned from stakeholder dialogue and have generated innovations that are both beneficial for the company and for sustainable development in general. The evidence from the two case studies suggests the existence of two simple capabilities - stakeholder dialogue and stakeholder knowledge integration - for generating innovations in accordance with stakeholder needs. Whereas stakeholder dialogue leverages organisational resources that promote two-way communication, transparency and appropriate feedback to stakeholders, stakeholder knowledge integration relies on non-hierarchical structures, flexibility and openness to change. The paper sheds some light on the under-researched issue of linking stakeholder dialogue and sustainable innovation, and contributes to opening the 'black box' of dynamic capabilities and advancing in the understanding of this fundamental organisational concept.sustainable development; stakeholders; innovation; capabilities;

Selecting an IMC Career: Influences, Choices and Destinations

Integrated marketing communication incorporates both customer and non-customer stakeholder groups. While the literature commonly refers to this distinction as marketing communication and corporate communication, respectively, and practitioners accept the need for these roles, this study aims to explore the student perspective. US-based research suggests that students are more interested in marketing communication activities such as promotion that target customer stakeholders, and less interested in corporate communication activities that target non-customer stakeholders including employees, investors, and government (Bowen, 2003). The findings of this study match its US counterpart, and present implications for both the education and practice of marketing communicatio