Lecture 1: What is Corporate Communication?
Definition (Cornelissen, 2017)
A management function that offers a framework for the effective coordination of all internal
and external communication with the overall purpose of establishing and maintaining favorable
reputations with stakeholder groups upon which the organization is dependent.
Corporate communication
- Aim is to oversee & coordinate all communication of employees and departments of the
organization
- Integrated around one mission/ vision/corporate identity (describes where you want
the organization to be and where you want the organization to go)
- Corporate communication is strategic (communication is established so that it
contributes to organizational goal)
- From public relations (PR) to ‘new function’: Focus on organization as a whole & all key
stakeholders
- Builds on business school knowledge but also from the field of communication science,
psychology, and the humanities
Corporate reputation: The collective evaluation of an organization (induced through either
communication or experiences) established over time
Traditional Approach
Organizational communication: communication within organizations (internal communication)
(ex: communication between employees)
Organization: A group of people working together to reach a certain goal, extremely flexible
(ex: group project, sports team , etc.)
Container analogy (without communication there wouldn’t be an organization)
Organizations as communication (alternative approach)
- Communicative constitution of organizations (CCO)
- Organizations consist of communication
, - People give meaning to certain messages, whenever people communicate they give
meaning to things (ex: form images & symbols)
- Interpretations and messages make up an organization, more flexible way of looking at
organizations
Five Approaches (Van Ruler)
Informative approach
- Communication as information transition from sender to receiver
- Who says what? to whom? through what channel?
- Which channels do you need to reach your target audience? What message?
- Ex: governmental agencies starting public information campaigns to make people aware
of some policy change
- Assumption: receivers will interpret the message in the intended way
Persuasive approach
- Communication is used to have some effect on people’s cognitions or behavior
- You don’t just want to reach people but also have some effect on people (ex: marketing)
- Research shows that people are not always strongly affected by communication
(marketing) because they have strong beliefs, thus usually small effects
Relational approach
- Each actor is both sender and receiver (communication can help build relationships
between actors)
- Both parties communicate to build trust
, - Both parties must be willing to keep the others interests in mind
- Systems Theory: Systems have to collaborate, communication/ dialogue is essential
Interpretive approach
- Based on social constructionism
- Social reality (what people know and see) is a construction of the mind, derived from
communication (ex: what we read in the media)
- When we communicate we construct realities
- Not just one truth (objective reality) but multiple images of reality
- We all have different ideas about different organizations
- We construct realities/ build meanings together (vs persuasive where it’s just the
sender)
- No distinction between sender and receiver
- Sense making theory: people apply certain rules or procedures to assign meaning to the
messages that they receive
Critical approach
- Rooted in Normative Theory
- What should communication in organizations look like?
- Look at power relations, Each specific way of communicating leads to a specific kind of
society
- Aim = to create a society free of power inequalities
Historical development of corporate communication
First: large emphasis on public relations, how to reach your target audience
(informational approach)
Increasingly, move towards stakeholder engagement rather than image (relational
approach), we don’t want to just be seen as favorable company but also engage people
in what we do
, The Environment of Organizations: Stakeholders & Issues
Stakeholder: Each group or individual that can influence or is influenced by the behavior of the
organization
Stake: An interest (something you want or need) in a cooperation which can vary from personal
interest to ownership of the organization
Two dominant perspectives on the management of organizations:
Input-Output Model: Neoclassical economic theory
Power lies with the organization, relationship with other parties and the organization is
purely financial (Economic perspective)
Organization buys goods from suppliers, transforms them into a product that has value
and then sells them to customers. To do this you need manpower (employees) and
money (from investors).
Stakeholder Theory : Neoclassical socio-economic theory
- Importance of legitimacy (accountability for financial, social and environmental
performance)
- Focus on welfare of society not just stakeholders
- Mutually dependent relationships between organizations and various stakeholders
- Organizations engage with stakeholders for instrumental & normative reasons
Instrumental reasons: stakeholder management = better corporate performance (ex:
more sales or more investments)
Normative reasons: underlying concepts such as individual or groups rights (morality)
Definition (Cornelissen, 2017)
A management function that offers a framework for the effective coordination of all internal
and external communication with the overall purpose of establishing and maintaining favorable
reputations with stakeholder groups upon which the organization is dependent.
Corporate communication
- Aim is to oversee & coordinate all communication of employees and departments of the
organization
- Integrated around one mission/ vision/corporate identity (describes where you want
the organization to be and where you want the organization to go)
- Corporate communication is strategic (communication is established so that it
contributes to organizational goal)
- From public relations (PR) to ‘new function’: Focus on organization as a whole & all key
stakeholders
- Builds on business school knowledge but also from the field of communication science,
psychology, and the humanities
Corporate reputation: The collective evaluation of an organization (induced through either
communication or experiences) established over time
Traditional Approach
Organizational communication: communication within organizations (internal communication)
(ex: communication between employees)
Organization: A group of people working together to reach a certain goal, extremely flexible
(ex: group project, sports team , etc.)
Container analogy (without communication there wouldn’t be an organization)
Organizations as communication (alternative approach)
- Communicative constitution of organizations (CCO)
- Organizations consist of communication
, - People give meaning to certain messages, whenever people communicate they give
meaning to things (ex: form images & symbols)
- Interpretations and messages make up an organization, more flexible way of looking at
organizations
Five Approaches (Van Ruler)
Informative approach
- Communication as information transition from sender to receiver
- Who says what? to whom? through what channel?
- Which channels do you need to reach your target audience? What message?
- Ex: governmental agencies starting public information campaigns to make people aware
of some policy change
- Assumption: receivers will interpret the message in the intended way
Persuasive approach
- Communication is used to have some effect on people’s cognitions or behavior
- You don’t just want to reach people but also have some effect on people (ex: marketing)
- Research shows that people are not always strongly affected by communication
(marketing) because they have strong beliefs, thus usually small effects
Relational approach
- Each actor is both sender and receiver (communication can help build relationships
between actors)
- Both parties communicate to build trust
, - Both parties must be willing to keep the others interests in mind
- Systems Theory: Systems have to collaborate, communication/ dialogue is essential
Interpretive approach
- Based on social constructionism
- Social reality (what people know and see) is a construction of the mind, derived from
communication (ex: what we read in the media)
- When we communicate we construct realities
- Not just one truth (objective reality) but multiple images of reality
- We all have different ideas about different organizations
- We construct realities/ build meanings together (vs persuasive where it’s just the
sender)
- No distinction between sender and receiver
- Sense making theory: people apply certain rules or procedures to assign meaning to the
messages that they receive
Critical approach
- Rooted in Normative Theory
- What should communication in organizations look like?
- Look at power relations, Each specific way of communicating leads to a specific kind of
society
- Aim = to create a society free of power inequalities
Historical development of corporate communication
First: large emphasis on public relations, how to reach your target audience
(informational approach)
Increasingly, move towards stakeholder engagement rather than image (relational
approach), we don’t want to just be seen as favorable company but also engage people
in what we do
, The Environment of Organizations: Stakeholders & Issues
Stakeholder: Each group or individual that can influence or is influenced by the behavior of the
organization
Stake: An interest (something you want or need) in a cooperation which can vary from personal
interest to ownership of the organization
Two dominant perspectives on the management of organizations:
Input-Output Model: Neoclassical economic theory
Power lies with the organization, relationship with other parties and the organization is
purely financial (Economic perspective)
Organization buys goods from suppliers, transforms them into a product that has value
and then sells them to customers. To do this you need manpower (employees) and
money (from investors).
Stakeholder Theory : Neoclassical socio-economic theory
- Importance of legitimacy (accountability for financial, social and environmental
performance)
- Focus on welfare of society not just stakeholders
- Mutually dependent relationships between organizations and various stakeholders
- Organizations engage with stakeholders for instrumental & normative reasons
Instrumental reasons: stakeholder management = better corporate performance (ex:
more sales or more investments)
Normative reasons: underlying concepts such as individual or groups rights (morality)
