Secrecy and communication: towards a research agenda

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify possible lines of research relating to communication and secrecy.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a conceptual essay drawing on recent research on secrecy.

Findings

The findings suggest that secrecy entails the communication of rules about communication, and that secrecy can play a role in the communicative constitution of organizations.

Originality/value

The paper is innovative in configuring secrecy as a form of communication rather than being the opposite of communication, and in showing the linkages between what are normally two separate domains of research.

Citation

Fan, Z., Costas, J. and Grey, C. (2017), "Secrecy and communication: towards a research agenda", Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. 22 No. 4, pp. 562-566. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-08-2017-0076