Strategic Communication as an Emerging Interdisciplinary Paradigm

Werder, Kelly Page; Nothhaft, Howard; Verčič, Dejan; Zerfaß, Ansgar

doi:10.1080/1553118x.2018.1494181

Cited by 70 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 40 publications

(40 reference statements)

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“…The content analysis by Werder et al (2018) reveals that surveys, content analysis, and case studies are the most common methods. It is noticeable that observation is not included among categories of used methods.…”

Section: Methods and Empirical Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the beginning of this article, we refer to the review of articles in IJSC presented by Werder, Nothhaft, Verčič, and Zerfass (2018) and a similar review done by ourselves. These reviews demonstrate the problems with the early development of strategic communication and we highlight some aspects which we find troublesome.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We point out some weaknesses and consequent potentials for the development of the field. Our argumentation is based on a content analysis of articles published in International Journal of Strategic Communication 2007-2017 by Werder et al (2018). We will also refer to a similar content analysis that we presented at the International Communication Association preconference "Future Directions of Strategic Communication" (Heide, Simonsson, von Platen, & Falkheimer, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Expanding the Scope of Strategic Communication: Towards a Holistic Understanding of Organizational Complexity

Heide

Platen

Simonsson

et al. 2018

International Journal of Strategic Communication

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The purpose of this article is to contribute to the discussion concerning the present position and future directions of strategic communication by looking into the past and offering some proposals and a vision of how to develop and advance the field further. Research in strategic communication has mostly focused on communication professionals working in communication departments or agencies as primary agents of communication. However, this reflects a limited comprehension of organizations. The article addresses the need to focus not only on communicators, but also on managers and coworkers as key actors when trying to understand and theorize the practice of strategic communication.Theoretical approach-broadening the understanding of strategic communicationIn this section, we present a theoretical framework that broadens the understanding of strategic communication. First, there is a need to challenge the traditional understanding of communication and its relation to organizations. It is quite astonishing that our research community sometimes takes communication for granted. One could expect that researchers who have expertise in communication theory, should frequently try to understand and explain different phenomena from a communication perspective and also reflect on communication per se. For the purpose of reflecting on communication and its vital importance for the existence of organizations, we proclaim the use of the CCO perspective. Second, there is also a need to challenge the often taken-for-granted understanding of strategy. For that purpose we use the strategy as practice tradition that is related to the practice turn in strategic communication (cf. Aggerholm & Asmuß, 2016). Finally, to reach a more realistic understanding of the complex organizational realities, we have consulted literature within the organizational paradox and contradiction movement.The CCO perspective has its roots and primary advocators within the discipline of organizational communication. However, we believe that the CCO approach goes hand-in-hand with the basic tenets of strategic communication and that it could enrich our field. It should be noted that CCO is how research could go beyond a more traditional way of approaching and studying strategic communication. We believe that it is difficult to embrace all aspects of strategic communication within a single research project, such as multiple perspectives and theories, but we would like to see more perspectives, also critical, on an aggregated level. In the research that is presented below, we have primarily included communication professionals, managers and coworkers, and we have used both quantitative and qualitative empirical material. Method and materialThe empirical material in this part of the article comes from a three-year-research project, "The Communicative Organization" (2014)(2015)(2016)(2017). The purpose of the project is to increase knowledge about how communication creates value and contributes to organizational goal attainment. A distinguishing characteristic o...

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Section: Methods and Empirical Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Expanding the Scope of Strategic Communication: Towards a Holistic Understanding of Organizational Complexity

Heide

Platen

Simonsson

et al. 2018

International Journal of Strategic Communication

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“…Apart from the model sketched in Werder et al (2018), and Kuhn's famous theory of scientific revolution (Kuhn, 1996(Kuhn, , 1st edition, 1962, another promising perspective of disciplinary emergence is the four-stage model proposed by Alexander M. Shneider (2009). Complementary to Kuhn's theory, Shneider's model traces how scientific disciplines progress through four evolutionary stages that are not only fundamentally different but require different types of contributors.…”

Section: Shneider's Four-stage Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As Werder, Nothhaft, Verčič, and Zerfass (2018) argue earlier in this volume, there can be little doubt that strategic communication research fulfills the standard requirements of a discipline: a) a particular object of research; b) a body of accumulated specialist knowledge; c) theories and concepts that organize the accumulated knowledge; d) specific terminologies; e) specific research methods; and, f) some institutional manifestation. The preconference's Call for Papers not only took for granted that strategic communication had "emerged as a global field of communication research" (Nothhaft et al, 2017, p. 1), it also suggested that this global field was going strong.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Strategic Communication: Reflections on an Elusive Concept

Nothhaft

Werder

Verčič

et al. 2018

International Journal of Strategic Communication

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The article explores how strategic communication successfully established itself as an academic discipline despite (or perhaps because of) being centered on an elusive concept. Drawing on ideas about the evolution of academic disciplines proposed by Alexander M. Shneider, we argue that strategic communication is currently caught in a cycle of constant reinvention obscured by a discourse of emergence. Although the discipline is undoubtedly becoming more sophisticated, it is doubtful whether there is genuine progress. The authors examine facets of strategic communication that contribute to the current state of affairs. Although clearer conceptualization and a more realistic understanding of the discipline are identified as a prerequisite for maturation, progress-as opposed to sophistication-ultimately depends on the development of discipline-specific, unique, and robust methods.

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Public Sector Communication and Strategic Communication Campaigns

Werder¹

2020

The Handbook of Public Sector Communication

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Strategic Communication as an Emerging Interdisciplinary Paradigm

Cited by 70 publications

References 40 publications

Expanding the Scope of Strategic Communication: Towards a Holistic Understanding of Organizational Complexity

Expanding the Scope of Strategic Communication: Towards a Holistic Understanding of Organizational Complexity

Strategic Communication: Reflections on an Elusive Concept

Public Sector Communication and Strategic Communication Campaigns

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