Description
This book examines the state of strategic communication as a discipline and how it has emerged as a unique area of scholarship in the beginning of the 21st century. Strategic communication encompasses all communication that is substantial for the survival and sustained success of entities like corporations, governments, non-profits, social movements, and celebrities. A major aspect of the field is the purposeful use of communication by an organization to engage in conversations of strategic significance to its goals. The contributions in this book provide unique insights, make compelling arguments, and highlight promising areas of scholarship in strategic communication. Presented in four parts, the chapters explore the emergence of strategic communication, its conceptual foundations, its expanding body of knowledge, and the foundation for further development and new directions in the field.
Of interest to those studying communication from the perspectives of communication science, management theory, organizational studies, or business administration, this volume will also be useful for readers who are new to strategic communication, and who are interested in the field for its new avenues of research. This book was originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Strategic Communication.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Howard Nothhaft, Kelly Page Werder, Dejan Verčič and Ansgar Zerfass
Part I: The Emergence of a Paradigm
1. Strategic Communication as an Emerging Interdisciplinary Paradigm
Kelly Page Werder, Howard Nothhaft, Dejan Verčič and Ansgar Zerfass
2. Strategic Communication: Reflections on an Elusive Concept
Howard Nothhaft, Kelly Page Werder, Dejan Verčič and Ansgar Zerfass
Part II: The Conceptual Foundations of Strategic Communication
3. Communication Theory: An Underrated Pillar on Which Strategic Communication Rests
Betteke van Ruler
4. Strategic Communication and Emergence: A Dual Narrative Framework
Peter Winkler and Michael Etter
5. A Multidimensional Network Approach to Strategic Communication
Amy O’Connor and Michelle Shumate
6. Evolutionary Psychology: A Framework for Strategic Communication Research
Jens Seiffert-Brockmann
Part III: Expanding the Body of Knowledge
7. Alignment: Explicating a Key Concept in Strategic Communication
Sophia Charlotte Volk and Ansfar Zerfass
8. Expanding the Scope of Strategic Communication: Towards a Holistic Understanding of Organizational Complexity
Mats Heide, Sara von Platen, Charlotte Simonsson and Jesper Falkheimer
9. Expanding Evaluation to Progress Strategic Communication: Beyond Message Tracking to Open Listening
Jim Macnamara and Anne Gregory
Part IV: Future Directions of Strategic Communication
10. Strategic Communication: Defining the Field and its Contribution to Research and Practice
Ansgar Zerfass, Dejan Verčič, Howard Nothhaft and Kelly Page Werder
