Catrin Johansson

ABSTRACT Purpose – The purpose of this research is to study how communication executives perceive their internal and external legitimacy, how they reflect on recent developments in their work, and which future challenges they perceive as being important. Design/methodology/approach – The approach takes the form of in-depth interviews with communication executives. Findings – Communication executives have a distinct strategic managerial role within their organizations. The executive role involves three different performances: the organizational leader; the communication leader; and the communication manager. Executives perceived high external legitimacy, whereas internal legitimacy varied between organizations, and status and formal position were both dynamic and subject to negotiation. The communication technology development, termed as a “revolution”, has considerably affected executives' work. Future communication challenges such as globalization and organizational change were discussed. Research limitations/implications – Recent changes have strengthened the roles of the communication executives. Internal status and legitimacy appear to be dependent on the attitudes of the other executives. These relationships and the emerging executive roles will be an important basis for study in future research. Practical implications – Internal legitimacy was clearly an issue of negotiation, which is important for practitioners to consider. Acting out the educational role, working with communication support and the coaching of managers, and initiating and pursuing strategic organizational issues may be means by which communication executives are further able to enhance their internal legitimacy. Originality/value – New insights with regard to the legitimacy, practice and self-perceptions of communication executives are provided. This is the first study of Swedish communication executives, adding to the knowledge base derived from studies from The Netherlands, UK and USA.

Detta är den fjärde rapporten i forskningsprojektet Kommunikativt ledarskap: Analys och utveck- ling av kärnkompetens vid Mittuniversitetet. Projektet, som pågår under 2011-2013, leds av docent Catrin Johansson och genomförs av fors- kargrupperna CORE och Kvalitetsteknik vid Mittuniversitetet. Det finansieras av KK-stiftelsen och de deltagande företagen: Norrmejerier, Saab, Sandvik, Spendrups, Volvo och Nordisk Kommu- nikation. Projektet stöds även av Sveriges Kommunikatörer och Per Zetterquist. De frågor som forskarna studerar är hur Kommunikativt ledarskap kan definieras och utvärderas, hur chefer och medarbetare uppfattar det, och hur organisationer mäter kommunikation, ledar- skap och medarbetarhälsa. Målet är att ta fram en definition på vad kommunikativt ledarskap är, samt undersöka och ta fram rekommendationer för hur det kan analyseras och utvecklas. Inom projektet genomförs intervjuer med chefer och medarbetare och studier av de årliga medarbetarundersökningar som görs inom...

In 21st century organizations, the need for empowering approaches to leadership, such as coach and facilitator of dialogue has been advocated and the traditional command- and control-management challenged. A concept characterized by dialogue and inclusive and responsive forms of communication as well as involvement in decision-making is “communicative leadership”, used since a decade in Swedish private and public organizations. This study analysed how leaders perceive the contribution of communicative leadership to employee empowerment in a multinational business organization. Findings illustrate that leaders’ communication strategies in relation to employee participation, engagement and empowerment diverge in important ways. A communicative leadership strategy including an informal bottom-up approach involving dialogue and responsive communication behaviours invited employees to make their voices heard and participate in decision-making, and thus contributed to a higher level of employee empowerment. The findings of this study contribute to extend and modulate previous research on the outcomes of leaders’ communication, particularly transformational leadership communication behaviours. A communication-based conceptualization of employee empowerment is contributed, including employees’ abilities to voice concerns, influence work in dialogue and take individual action.

Keywords: Communicative leadership, employee empowerment, employee engagement

This study explores a corporate campaign to pass a referendum to enable the development of a hydropower plant in a small Swedish community. In the changing institutional context that grounds this case, the organization needed to develop communicative practices that embodied “cultural competence,” a set of processes identified as critical for the legitimacy and success of business organizations in the emerging global/intersectoral environment. Findings suggest that the MNC's communication strategy captured important components of cultural competence. However, institutional contradictions impeded enactment of the strategy and resulted in delegitimizing paradoxical communication. The results indicate that organizational awareness of institutional change and culturally competent strategy are insufficient without special attention to contradictions and resultant communicative paradoxes embodied within a particular institutional context. The importance of a reflective communication approach that engages contradictions and tensions in the surrounding micro–macro institutional contexts is underscored.

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Public relations is developing rapidly as an academic discipline and as a profession. Recent publications have contributed to depict evolving perspectives in the growing body of literature (Botan & Taylor, 2004; Heath, 2001; L'Etang & Pieczka, 2006; van Ruler & Vercic, 2004). ...