In the context of talent shortages, remote work, and increasing occupational burnout, organizations face growing challenges in attracting and retaining qualified employees. In this setting, internal corporate reputation has become a strategic asset shaped by leadership, internal communication, organizational climate, and employee motivation. This study develops and validates an analytical instrument to measure internal corporate reputation from a strategic communication and employer branding perspective, using data from Spain and Costa Rica. The model was built on prior systematic reviews and benchmarking analyses of major employer branding rankings, including Merco Talento, Great Place to Work, and Inc.'s Best Workplaces, and integrates three core dimensions: Leadership, Organizational Climate, and Motivation. A panel of 12 academic and industry experts validated the instrument, showing high content validity (CVI > 0.83). It was then applied to 345 employees from public and private organizations. Results showed generally positive perceptions of leadership integrity, interpersonal relationships, and motivation, but also identified concerns related to micromanagement, communication gaps, emotional fatigue, and limited structural support. Findings indicate that employees place greater value on intangible and relational factors, such as ethical leadership, recognition, and transparent communication, than on tangible incentives, reinforcing their importance for a competitive employer brand.
Over the past two decades, the Nordic countries have attracted attention, for instance, due to their high rankings in surveys of happiness and a range of other economic and social indicators. This special issue investigates how strategic communication is theorized and practiced within this regional context, focusing on the distinctive conditions that shape both conceptual frameworks and professional approaches. In this introduction, we first ask whether there is such a thing as a Nordic approach to strategic communication. We then consider how communication practices may be influenced by what is commonly referred to as the "Nordic model" - a concept associated with social-democratic welfare states characterized by extensive public services, high labor participation, and substantial taxation. While frequently cited as a blueprint for effective welfare governance, the Nordic model is also increasingly used as a lens for interpreting regional communication norms. We outline the main features typically attributed to the Nordic model and critically assess its usefulness as an analytical framework, a myth, and as both a strategic resource and a constraint for strategic communication within and beyond the region. In doing so, we highlight the potential 'Nordicness' that may underpin strategic communication and prepare the ground for the contributions presented in this special issue.
This study examines transparency and engagement as cornerstone features of sustainable strategic communication practice, drawing insights from a multi-year ethnographic study involving the Swedish fashion organization, Nudie Jeans. Positioning sustainability at the heart of good strategic communication practice, particularly within the Nordic context, which is recognized for its emphasis on sustainability, we explore how Nudie Jeans enacts these features and the challenges they produce. The analysis reveals a circular and recursive relationship between transparency and engagement: transparency is both an ideal that drives relationship building and a practice that serves as a precursor to sustained engagement. The study highlights Nudie Jeans' emphasis on relational rather than technological transparency, built through long-term relationships with suppliers and customers, thereby circumventing sole reliance on technological solutions such as Blockchain. We identify key global challenges to both transparency and engagement that reveal strains in the Nordic model in global supply chain contexts. These include issues of relational reciprocity with suppliers, institutional constraints related to the omnipresent fast fashion industry, and the political specificity of cornerstone values. These findings underscore the need to analyze transparency and engagement as politically and institutionally bounded concepts in global supply chains.
Stakeholder relationship management and effective communication strategies are essential for the long-term sustainability of civil society nonprofit organizations. While existing research offers a range of frameworks to analyze nonprofits' communication strategies, such work often relies on single frameworks, highlighting the need for more interdisciplinary approaches. This study draws on stakeholder management theory, the communication ecology framework, and literature on ICT4D and digital transformation to examine nonprofit communication strategies within broader contextual and environmental conditions relevant to strategic communication. Based on a qualitative case study - including in-depth interviews with six practitioners across entry-level, senior, and managerial roles, as well as document analysis - of a nonprofit organization in West Africa, the research illustrates how nonprofit communication strategies are shaped by the interdependence of digital tools, traditional media platforms, organizational resources, and local sociocultural conditions. Rather than viewing communication strategy as a set of isolated tactics, this study emphasizes its embeddedness within a broader ecological framework that evolves in response to shifting contextual constraints and opportunities. By adapting and applying a communication ecology perspective, this study contributes to a more integrative and context-sensitive understanding of nonprofit communication. It offers empirically grounded insights into how nonprofits adapt their strategies to engage diverse stakeholders in resource-constrained contexts, thereby contributing to interdisciplinary discourse in strategic nonprofit communication.
This study examines the growing phenomenon of virtual influencers (VIs), digitally constructed personas with human-like attributes, and their role in shaping brand - consumer engagement on social media. Grounded in the Computers Are Social Actors paradigm, the research investigates how users perceive and respond to VIs in comparison with traditional human influencers (HIs). Using a randomized between-subjects experimental design (n = 251), participants evaluated influencer characteristics using the Persona Perception Scale. The findings reveal that influencer type does not significantly affect users' intention to follow an influencer. However, HIs were perceived as significantly more credible, likeable, and relatable than their virtual counterparts. By integrating insights from the Computers Are Social Actors paradigm, Source Credibility Theory, and Social Identity Theory, this study advances understanding of how heuristic cues and perceived identification shape consumer engagement with digital personas. The findings offer both theoretical and managerial insights into the evolving role of artificial influencers in contemporary influencer marketing.
Trust in the health sector has been declining, leading the public and organizations to turn to health influencers in their marketing strategies. As such, this study aims to investigate how patient and physician influencers, who are either generalists or specialists in chronic migraine, influence source credibility, trust in message, and purchase and sharing intentions. Guided by the social media influencer value model, we conducted a 2 (Influencer type: patient/physician) & times; 2 (Area of expertise: generalist/specialist) + 1 control between-subjects factorial experiment with a sample of 485 U.S. residents living with chronic or episodic migraine. We found that participants rated physician influencers as having higher levels of source expertise and rated both physician and patient influencers higher than the control on source authenticity. Specialist influencers were also rated as having higher source expertise compared to generalists and the control, but both specialist and generalist influencers were rated higher on source authenticity compared to the control. Expertise, similarity, and trustworthiness positively impacted sharing and purchase intentions. Trust in the message fully mediated the relationship between credibility components and both sharing and purchase intentions.
Mis- and disinformation are increasingly recognized in academia as threats to democracy and societal well-being. There is also a growing interest in mis- and disinformation in strategic communication research, as these are also pressing issues for major organizations. However, sociopolitical perspectives on the topic are underrepresented in the field. Moreover, many areas of disinformation research and its application in strategic communication lack an integrative concept for capturing the complexity of online disinformation and related phenomena, as well as the interplay of relevant dimensions. To close this gap in the literature, the present conceptual paper introduces the concept of information manipulation as a form of strategic political communication from the field of international relations into strategic communication research. Based on this, the paper offers an innovative perspective on how domestic and foreign information manipulation interlink. The paper endorses a whole-of-society approach to information resilience and discusses the role of strategic communication research and practice in the analysis and mitigation of information manipulation.
Strategic communication is increasingly conceptualized as an integrative governance function through which organizations coordinate communication processes, align stakeholder relationships, and sustain legitimacy. Despite this development, strategic communication scholarship remains theoretically fragmented across public relations (PR), organizational communication (OC), and corporate communication (CC), which have evolved as distinct yet interrelated research traditions. This study addresses this fragmentation by theorizing strategic communication as an organizational-level governance system grounded in the integration of PR, OC, and CC. Drawing on a bibliometric review of 316 articles indexed in the Web of Science between 2000 and 2025, the study maps the intellectual structure and thematic evolution of these domains and examines their convergence within strategic communication research. The findings reveal a clear shift toward integrated perspectives that combine relational management, internal meaning-making, and corporate-level identity and reputation concerns. Building on these insights, the study proposes an Integrated PR-OC-CC Model that conceptualizes strategic communication as a multi-level, constitutive, and relational governance function. The model advances strategic communication theory by offering a coherent framework that integrates disciplinary perspectives and supports cumulative theory-building.
The purpose of this study was to identify social issues that stakeholders expect corporations to address through corporate social advocacy (CSA) initiatives and the primary motivators of CSA initiatives perceived across three markets - Chile, South Korea, and the United States - thereby providing strategic guidance for companies seeking to expand their CSA efforts beyond the U.S. market. An online survey was conducted with 1,422 participants from Chile (n = 451), South Korea (n = 519), and the United States (n = 452), recruited through a survey panel firm with demographic characteristics approximating each country's population. Results showed that stakeholder expectations for CSA were highest for issues directly related to business operations and less controversial (e.g. work environment, unemployment, income inequality), while being relatively low for broader and more controversial issues (e.g. immigration, international conflicts, abortion). Additionally, individuals across all three countries perceived self-serving motives for CSA more strongly than other-serving motives. This study extends CSA communication research to international contexts as well as provides practical implications for multinational companies by identifying CSA issues and how expectations vary across these three markets, while also highlighting the importance of demonstrating sincere motives when expanding CSA initiatives in international markets.
In U.S. politics, super PACs play a crucial role in shaping electoral outcomes through their campaign communication and advocacy. Typically, they consist of political strategists that support candidates with shared partisanship and/or political ideology. However, the 2020 U.S. presidential election witnessed the rise of super PACs consisting of republican strategists that used social media to campaign against the incumbent and party candidate, Donald Trump. This study examined how two of the most prominent of these super PACs, the Lincoln Project and the Republican Accountability Project, used Twitter/X messaging to campaign against Trump and engage with audiences on the platform. Findings reveal variations in appeals and valence of messaging by both groups, as well as patterns of messaging that elicit different levels of audience engagement.
Most military organizations require a steady flow of volunteers to remain operationally effective. These volunteers are enticed to serve with advertising in newspapers and magazines, commercials on radio and television, and a plethora of online content. Considerable sums of money are spent on such promotion, but little is known about how it is developed or who develops it, with most existing studies devoted to the recruiting drives of the two world wars or Cold War. In this article, I shift focus to more recent times to show how recruiters use digital media to promote service, how the media industries are implicated in, and in many cases driving forces behind, such promotion, and why their work can be considered a form of strategic communications. The premise, spelled out at the outset, is that recruiters require varying forms of private expertise to operate. The evidence, which takes the form of a comparative case-study analysis of recent recruiting work in Germany, Japan, and Russia, suggests recruiters are "strategic actors" whose role in promoting and justifying service warrants close attention.
This study aims to explore how CEO and supervisory leadership communication can act as a catalyst for fostering passion at work. Utilizing a qualitative approach through 23 interviews with internal communication leaders across various sectors, this study revealed the vital roles of CEO visionary, transparent, authentic, empathetic, and positive communication as well as supervisors' intermediary and lever effect in promoting employee passion at work. Furthermore, the study delves into the changing expectations in the workplace, emphasizing the need for leadership to adapt communication strategies to inspire a passionate workforce. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Informed by the Narrative Paradigm, this study investigates COVID-19 narrative gaps in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) messages and their impact on public trust and perceptions. Through a four-condition experiment (N = 1,610), this research examined the consequences of the CDC's confusing and contradictory messages about COVID-19 testing protocols. Participants were randomly assigned to three versions of messages and the results revealed major differences in participants' perceptions across conditions. Specifically, those exposed to the CDC's verbatim contradictory messages exhibited significantly lower perceptions of message reliability, effectiveness, and credibility compared to recipients of updated or modified messages. Overall, this study emphasizes the detrimental effects of narrative gaps and inconsistencies on trust and credibility in health communication. By examining these effects, this research informs the development of strategic communication recommendations aimed at building trust and mitigating the spread of conspiratorial ideations during health-related crises, contributing to more effective crisis communication practices.
The spread of social media has made influencers key intermediaries between brands and consumers, positioning influencer marketing within the broader field of strategic communication. Despite growing academic interest, ambiguity remains in their classification and terminology. A systematic literature review, conducted through the integration of the TCM and 5W1H frameworks, has led to the definition of the OEPEA model, which consists of first-level classification criteria (Origin of fame) and second-level criteria (Engagement, Persuasive power, Expertise, Authenticity). The multidimensional model allows for the distinction of three influencer categories: offline-born celebrities, digital-native expert creators, and digital-native influencer. It offers a significant theoretical contribution and represents a useful tool for influencer marketing strategies.
This article examines user engagement and interaction during an online brand crisis, focusing on the polarized reactions to Scandinavian Airlines' (SAS) controversial 2020 advertisement "What is Truly Scandinavian?" Drawing on online brand crisis research and customer brand engagement theory, the study analyses the deductively derived categories of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses of Facebook users to the advertisement and its revised versions. A quantitative content analysis of 2,160 user comments identifies four distinct user response group - fans, friends, opponents, and hate-holders - revealing not only stark divisions but also varying levels of engagement and response dynamics. The findings challenge the conventional "love-hate" framework by highlighting middle-ground user groups and the fluid nature of engagement, where disappointment can escalate into hostility or transition into continued brand support. These insights provide a deeper understanding of online brand crisis engagement and offer implications for organizations seeking to navigate polarized brand discussions and sustain long-term consumer relationships.
Maintaining organizational legitimacy is particularly important for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who bind their constituency by their morally good mission. Yet, what and how do NGOs communicate if they fail their mission? This study investigates international environmental NGOs' responses to the heavily criticized 29th United Nations climate conference in Baku. Borrowing from storytelling theory, it analyses the textual and visual narratives that the leading NGOs World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace put forward on owned and shared digital media to communicate the negative conference outcomes. A thematic analysis of 278 official website entries, Instagram and Facebook posts revealed which villains and victims the NGOs emphasize, how they construct their own roles during climate negotiations, and how coherent their narratives are across their national offices. The results show that both NGOs told failure stories criticizing the climate agreements and allocated the responsibility mainly to political leadership of the Global North, not acknowledging their own role and influence on the outcomes. Differences in the narratives of Global North and South offices emerged that, in the case of Greenpeace, showed a divide within the organization. The study provides a novel approach to narrative analysis and zooms into a particularly insightful case of transnational NGO communication.
