Guest editorial: Digitalization of Corporate Communications: a multi-stakeholder approach

Abstract

Forced digitization and organizational changesThe forced confinement caused by the COVID-19 health crisis has required companies to change their production dynamics, digitalizing workplaces, abandoning physical spaces and infrastructures, focusing on promoting remote work, as well as mechanics and dynamics of organizational communication exchanges with their different stakeholders through digital channels, in order to maintain their production processes and improve efficiency in this new and changing scenario.However, given the situation's urgency, the digitalization process has not been gradual. From one day to the next, organizations have had to opt for these mechanisms to give continuity to their productive activities and business plans (Brockhaus et al., 2023). This has meant, among other things, that internal stakeholders of the organizations have had to bear, in many cases, labor costs while getting used to the dynamics of remote work and sharing physical space with family members.Other collateral phenomena, such as fatigue and burnout due to excessive video conferencing, extended working hours, information and e-mail overload, and stress due to confinement itself, are some of the effects of this «new» and changing ecosystem (Ravina-Ripoll et al., 2021.Furthermore, this digitization process, which in many cases was a product of improvisation, highlighted the need for organizations to have continuing education plans and programs in place to deal with the changing platforms and interfaces (Romero-Rodr ıguez et al., 2020) because within the «skill economy», formal trainingcollege, universities . . .are excellent spaces for teaching enduring abilities, such as critical thinking and problem solving, but what tends to be more challenging for them is to understand and keep up with the rapidly changing skills that companies are looking for in entry-level jobs (Beltr an Hern andez de Galindo et al., 2019).Relationships with external stakeholders have also undergone significant changes as conventional media and means are losing relevance in the emergence of digital narratives that achieve greater visibility and engagement (Borau-Boira et al., 2023;Castillo-Abdul et al., 2022b;Li et al., 2022). It is not in vain that social networks such as Instagram, YouTube and Tik Tok, have become channels of enriched commercial communication, spaces for emotional bonding, attention to external audiences and customer relationship management channels (Castillo-Abdul et al., 2022a; N uñez-Barriopedro et al., 2023).Also, although prior to the pandemic, new actors were already appearing in the digital ecosystem, the inevitable mediamorphosis led to a proliferation of influencers and microinfluencers, from the conventional content creators, YouTubers and streamersand their proliferation in paid channels such as Twitch or Patreonto the newest and most popular podcasts (Leoz-Aizpuru and Pedrero-Esteban, 2022), have meant a new challenge for CCIJ 28,2 176The guest editors would like to thank the entire Corporate Communications: An Internat...

Understanding the enduring shifts in sales strategy and processes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Some interesting results also emerge. First, the results suggest that digitalization enhances better internal communications, a new finding, although proponents of digitalization do suggest this advantage (Romero-Rodríguez and Castillo-Abdul, 2023). The fact that business-to-business customers were beginning to buy more online products supports anecdotal evidence.…”

Transforming informal communication in the urgent shift to teleworking: a case study in Japan

“…While on-site informal communication is mediated by physical proximity (Kraut et al, 1990;Whittaker et al, 1994), the advancement of ICT has driven research into promoting informal communication in remote settings (Fish et al, 1992;Zhao and Rosson, 2009). ICT tools have been investigated for their contribution to internal communication, and workers utilize different types of ICTs depending on their purposes and characteristics (Charoensuk et al, 2014;Romero-Rodríguez and Castillo-Abdul, 2023). According to the media richness theory, one of the most influential theories of media use for communication (Daft and Lengel, 1986;Dennis et al, 2008), rich communication channels contribute to "overcome(ing) different frames of reference or clarify(ing) ambiguous issues to change understanding in a timely manner" (Daft and Lengel, 1986, p. 560), which is generally suitable for informal communication (Kraut et al, 1990).…”

Identidad visual corporativa de las entidades financieras en España: análisis de contenido iconográfico-simbólico en web

“…La imagen corporativa es la construcción mental-perceptiva de una organización por parte de los públicos que condiciona la forma en la que estos se relacionan y actúan con ella (Capriotti, 2013;Romero-Rodríguez & Castillo-Abdul, 2023). La formación de la imagen corporativa está estrechamente relacionada con la identidad corporativa, que se concibe como la proyección de la marca a través de tres fases: primero, la imagen deseada de la organización, segundo, la imagen construida por esta, y, por último, la imagen real, que es la proyección perceptiva que tienen los públicos (Romero Rodríguez, 2020).…”