Just as the advertising and public relations industries are evolving due to the development of new technology and communication tools, so are the demands of education. Through in-depth interviews with 29 executives working in both advertising and public relations agencies in the U.S., this study identifies the core skills and competencies needed to have successful careers in this new media landscape. While writing and presentation skills remain foundational, employers also are seeking math and data analysis skills associated with new jobs in social media listening and analytics. Meanwhile, some advertising executives lack the skills in issues and crisis management associated with online community management. Professionals in both disciplines also bemoan the lack of business literacy among communication majors and support situated learning opportunities to address these deficiencies.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine why and how an open and participative communication climate matters for employee organizational identification and their change-specific responses, specifically employees’ attitudinal and behavioral reactions.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the hypothesized model, the authors conducted an online survey using a stratified and quota random sample of 1,034 US employees working in diverse industry sectors in June of 2018, with the assistance of a premier global provider of survey services, Survey Sampling International. To test the hypothesized model, structural equation modeling analysis was employed using AMOS 24.0 software.
Findings
An open and participative communication climate directly contributes to employee affective commitment to change and behavioral support. Communication climate featured by openness and participation boosts employee identification with the organization, which leads to positive employee reaction to change. When employees identify with the organization, they tend to believe in the inherent value of the change and are more likely to support the change initiative in action through cooperation and championship.
Originality/value
Theoretically, the study contributes to the change management and communication literature by focusing on the role of communication climate in inducing employee reaction to organizational change. Practically, the study offers insights for change managers, internal communication professionals and organizational leaders. Organizational leaders need to be open, create a trusting atmosphere and actively involve employees in the decision-making process. Organizational leaders and communicators should also strive to boost employee identification with the organization, especially during change.
Native advertising’s effectiveness lies in its ability to look like content produced by journalists. The potential for deceiving readers and proliferation of native advertising threaten journalism’s credibility along with its core boundary: the separation between editorial and advertising. For the press to function in a normative manner, as a watchdog, contributing to the public’s ability to self-govern, it simply cannot participate in deception. Therefore, 56 qualitative interviews were conducted with journalists, advertising, and public relations executives to examine the extent to which native advertising impedes on the social responsibility of the press. Perspectives revealed that all three professions agreed native advertising raises ethical concerns. Native advertising potentially deceives audiences who are unaware that native advertising is paid, persuasive content versus editorial, thus contributing to the diminishing credibility of journalism. Furthermore, if native advertising is done well, it is undetectable from traditional editorial content. Based on these findings, authors discuss how native advertising threatens several tenets of social responsibility theory.
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