Business Communication Lessons in Agility: Introduction to the Special Issue on the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This introduction explains our vision, inclusion criteria, and mission for a curated issue about business communication and COVID-19. We focus on the big picture of communication agility lessons from a VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) environment. We also present a definition and a typology of agile business communication, largely drawn from the papers in this collection. These manuscripts investigate COVID-19 organizational communication measures and related strategies plus their outcomes across diverse stakeholders in multiple countries. Drawing from these contributions and other research, we conclude by outlining an agile business communication research agenda. Finally we inaugurate a new IJBC column, Spotlight on a Thought Leader in Business Communication.

Bibliometric Analysis of Trends in Theory-related VUCA Publications

“…The methodological approach in the systematic review used inclusion and exclusion criteria assessment, to filter the number of irrelevant document articles in the CUVA study based on subject area, open access, type of article document and English language. Based on the results of the publication, articles that were appropriate and oriented to VUCA research in the focus sectors of study were Business, Management and Accounting (122), Social Sciences (65) and Economics, Econometrics, and Finance (27). Furthermore, prior to extraction, duplicate records were removed before the design of the data extraction template to extract relevant data capable of significantly informing the synthesis process [32].…”

“…Organizational culture informs its ability to change and its agility to respond quickly. A compelling story that makes the case for change internally and externally contributes to the success of change management and is critical for leaders to thrive and communicate effectively [24], [25], [26], [27].…”