Otto Lerbinger - Corporate Communication: An International and Management Perspective

This edition first published 2019

2019 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Lerbinger, Otto, author.

Title: Corporate communication : an international and management perspective / Otto Lerbinger.

Description: First Edition. | Hoboken : Wiley, [2019] | Includes bibliographical references and index. |

Identifiers: LCCN 2018019360 (print) | LCCN 2018025338 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119471363 (Adobe PDF) | ISBN 9781119471158 (ePub) | ISBN 9781119471370 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781119471363 (ePDF)

Subjects: LCSH: Business communication. | Communication in management. | ManagementTechnological innovations. | Business enterprisesComputer networks.

Classification: LCC HF5718 (ebook) | LCC HF5718 .L457 2019 (print) | DDC 658.4/5dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018019360

Cover Design: Wiley

Cover Images: (front cover) Norbert Buchholz/Alamy Stock Photo; (back cover) OnstOn/iStockphoto

Corporate communication is a highly recognized professional activity that enables a company to inform and influence its stakeholders, other key constituencies, and the general public. A further purpose is to interact with them in order to inform management with their concerns and insights. Moreover, the intention is to influence corporate decisions and policies to make them more compatible with the public interest and uphold a company's reputation. A steady eye is kept on a company's reputation that valuable intangible asset that affects a company's financial value and social standing as well as being alert to the emergence of a crisis. Should it occur, he or she helps guide management's response and directs crisis communication.

This function is typically headed by a chief communication officer (CCO), who reports to the chief executive officer (CEO). Ideally, the CCO should be a member of top management the so-called dominant coalition. CCOs typically work for a multi-national corporation (MNC), which requires them to take an international perspective. They must be able to relate to a large number and variety of players in the global arena, which includes other MNCs, supranational and international organizations, nation states, and civil society organizations, notably non-governmental organizations (NGOs). These new international players introduce new issues facing management that reflect the understandings and misunderstandings that arise through the interactions among them. These issues are typically more complex than domestic ones.

Corporate communication draws on the entire range of communication disciplines and practices, including not only public relations but public affairs, social media, and several aspects of marketing. Public affairs is particularly important because of actions by government and advocacy groups. Social media has challenged the role of the mass media in publicity efforts. Marketing is often combined with public relations in promotional efforts. Social marketing is required when fundamental changes are sought in the behavior of consumers or citizens. All these options must be considered when developing a communication strategy.

From a management perspective, corporate communication is one of several functional departments, such as human resources and finance. Its unique purpose is to consolidate all formal internal and external communications. A CCO is sensitive to public opinion and social trends and heads an organization's issues management process. He or she identifies the most relevant issues, analyzes them, and contributes to an organization's strategic planning and policy making process.

Other titles besides corporate communication have been used by companies. Historically it was public relations, but as the relevance of neighboring communication practices or disciplines including public affairs, social media, and marketing was recognized, the designation of corporate communication became more appropriate. In companies that are strongly affected by government regulations and social issues, corporate affairs is a prospective title. A company that does a lot of lobbying and uses public relations and public affairs to influence public opinion is more apt to have a corporate affairs officer.

This book is intended for graduate and senior level college students of corporate communications, public relations, public affairs, social media, and marketing who want to extend their competence to the global arena and to combine the various communication practices to design strategic programs and campaigns. This extension is already a part of such courses as international public relations, global corporate communications, and global marketing communication.

I owe my knowledge to dozens of public relations professionals I have met through my professorship at Boston University's College of Communication, contacts as publisher of the weekly pr reporter, work with Ruder & Finn and other consulting firms, and president of the New England Chapter of Public Relations. My former students have been a major source of inspiration and, increasingly, of information.

Among my former students, several are mentioned in this book. Prominent among these is Sabrina Horn, founder and former CEO of Horn Group, a nationally recognized tech public relations agency recently acquired by global communications firm Finn Partners. She was exceptionally helpful in explaining the role of integrating social media campaigns within an overall public relations program and in reviewing the chapter on social media. Flora Hung Baeseake, senior lecturer at Massey University in Wellington, New Zealand, who has explored the importance of relationships in public relations, arranged lectures to students and faculty in Hong Kong, Macau, and Beijing. She also made it possible to address the board of directors of Guangdong Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station on the subject of crisis management.