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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend the theoretical discussion and empirical evidence on harmonization as well as differences in CSR reporting, and to dismantle inconsistencies owing to the idiosyncratic methods applied in previous studies. While institutional and cultural differences suggest country-of-origin effects, the proliferation of global standards for CSR reporting is expected to promote harmonization. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a literature review hypotheses concerning harmonization and country-of-origin effects were derived. Reports were content analyzed using the software Leximancer. Harmonization effects were examined by comparing reports of companies that adhered to the standards by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and UN Global Compact and those that did not declare to do so. Country-of-origin effects were explored by comparing reports of German and US multinational enterprises (MNEs). Findings – The study reveals that there are comparatively greater similarities between reports issued by MNEs that adhere to global standards, especially GRI. Results also reveal some country-of-origin effects. While German MNEs report more on environmental issues, US MNEs have a stronger focus on society, especially the community. Originality/value – The study contributes to the limited evidence for harmonization in CSR reporting due to the adherence to global reporting standards. Because comparability is important for many stakeholders addressed by the reports the findings are valuable for stakeholder management, but also for the initiatives who aim to enhance transparency and comparability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the findings of an empirical study among communication executives in 11 multinational companies we propose an increasingly integrated approach to corporate branding. Key aspects which support our claim are the growing importance of the financial community, the augmenting skills shortage driving competition for current and future employees, and the enhanced transparency of corporate activities being greatly supported by the particular characteristics of the Internet. In order to achieve greater integration and eventually a favourable reputation we propose an organisational model combining centralisation and team organisation which particularly aims to support integration across the various functions responsible for stakeholder relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This research aims to investigate how critical media coverage of an organisation affects its employees. The authors expect the effects to be similar to the way media coverage about an individual would affect this person, termed "reciprocal effects". Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on a framework for the analysis of reciprocal effects of mass media by Kepplinger and qualitative interviews among employees of 14 different organisations undergoing a crisis, the authors develop an employee-model of reciprocal effects for the context of organisational crises. Findings – This qualitative research shows that employees are affected by media coverage on a critical issue about their employer. Mass media are an important source of information for employees in critical situations. The data indicate interpersonal conversations with colleagues are also important for obtaining information and coping with the situation. Employees show emotional reactions, such as helplessness or shame, and a tendency to defend their employer. The better employees feel informed by their organisation's internal communication, the better they know how to cope with the situation. The data indicate that the effects vary with the employees' level of organisational identification. Practical implications – The findings imply that open and constant internal communication with employees during a crisis fosters reactions that stabilise the organisation in critical situations. Originality/value – The study presented here is the first systematic analysis of the impact of media coverage of an organisation on its employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study aims to explain the communicative basis of conflicts in which actors stand in opposition in defining a negotiated situation and to deepen knowledge of environmental conflict development, in particular on how frames are (re)shaped through discursive choices in interaction. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopts an interactional approach to framing and 1) identifies the frames shaped and reshaped in four environmental debates and 2) analyzes how framing activities affect the course of the debates. Findings: This study contributes to understanding 1) the interactive nature of conflicts; 2) how the reception and interpretation of issue framing depends on the surrounding identity and characterization framing and 3) how framing activities, like identity work, emotional alignment and reframing, can affect the course of environmental debates toward polarizing or bridging. Research limitations/implications: On a methodological level, this study contributes to communication research by applying methodologies for investigating framing processes on a micro-level. This study investigates interactional framing, considering the perspectives of frame strategists engaging in issue arenas. The study provides an in-depth discourse analysis of the debates but lacks an overview on the entire issue arena regarding this conflict. Practical implications: Skilled actors span boundaries by articulating issue frames that accommodate opponents' concerns and values while demonstrating the added value of the new frame, adjusting identity work in favor of relations with opponents. Furthermore, calibrating emotional intensity offers opportunities to mobilize support. Originality/value: This research investigates which communicative competences are essential to act adequately in environmental conflicts, given their intractable nature, and suggests opportunities for cocreation by making discursive choices. This approach helps to uncover the micro-processes that escalate and de-escalate a conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the pressures to publish facing European public relations (PR) and communication management scholars across career stages. Design/methodology/approach: The Delphi method was used with PR and communication management scholars at associate professor level or higher across Europe. An online survey was then shared with the wider academic community to gather insights from scholars at different career stages. Findings: The suitability and status of the journal and the language of the outputs are considered. Academics are caught between the rock of publishing inside the field to support its development and the hard place of being required to publish in high-ranking journals for funding and promotion. Scholars are evaluated regularly, with journal articles being the main unit of assessment. Academics, regardless of career stage, feel under pressure to publish. Research limitations/implications: The wider survey enabled publishing insights to be gathered from academics across the career spectrum, but it was completed by a small sample. Nevertheless, similar concerns emerged from both methods of data gathering, suggesting a clear agenda for discussion and further research. Practical implications: PR and communications management is an academic discipline without an accepted list of high-impact journals. This study provides an annotated journal list to aid institutional evaluations, aid scholarly journal publishing decisions and support early career researchers navigating the publishing process. Originality/value: This adds to the somewhat limited discussion regarding how academics in PR and communication management decide where to publish and provides a resource that can be used by scholars, institutions and funders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Over recent years, public relations (PR) research has diversified in themes and theories. As a result, PR presents itself today as a multi-paradigmatic discipline with competing ideas of progress that mainly circle around questions of ontology and epistemology, i.e. around defining appropriate object and knowledge in PR research. Design/methodology/approach: This conceptual article highlights a third crucial question underlying the debate drawing on a narrative approach: The question of axiology, hence, the normative question how PR research shall develop to contribute to societal progress. Findings: The article presents a model, which describes how normative visions of progress in different PR paradigms – functional, co-creational, social-reflective and critical-cultural – manifest in each distinct combinations of four narrative plots – tragedy, romance, comedy and satire. Originality/value: These findings complement the current debate on disciplinary progress in PR research by fostering reflection and debate on paradigm development and cross-paradigmatic tensions and exchange from an explicit axiological perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Nowadays, communication practitioners are well-equipped with all kinds of skills and competencies. Nevertheless, those capabilities seem not to prevent professionals from stress and burnout. Stress resilience, i.e. the ability to deal with high demands at work, to cope with and recover from stress, seems to be a missing competence. This study sheds light on this important, but barely discussed aspect of communication management. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative approach was applied to understand sources of stress and to identify opportunities to build stress resilience competence. Therefore, 40 in-depth interviews with senior leaders and young professionals in 30 agencies in the largest countries on two continents were conducted (United States vs Germany). Findings: This study revealed common and threat drivers of stress. Overall, the work environment can be summarised as highly demanding and multifaceted, where stress resilience might be a useful competence to have to be successful and to be protected against negative stress outcomes such as burnout. The study identifies several reasons why resilient professionals are more successful in coping with stress. It is further shown that most communication agencies in the sample have already implemented programmes to increase employees' resilience. Originality/value: This study offers an alternative view on the much-debated future of work by using an interdisciplinary approach and large-scale, qualitative insights from the agency environment. A novel concept is introduced that can stimulate further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]