Journal of Communication Management: Volume 28 Issue 1

Guest editorial: Communication research advancing sustainable development

Catrin Johansson, Jody Jahn, Wim Elving

Sustainability communication: how to communicate an inconvenient truth in the era of scientific mistrust

Denise Voci, Matthias Karmasin

This conceptual paper aims to explore the current state of sustainability communication research, focusing on the challenges of communicating inconvenient truths in an era of…

Overcoming the “blame game” in strategic climate communication: from decoupling accusations toward an arena-spanning agenda

Alexandra Krämer, Peter Winkler

The climate crisis presents a global threat. Research shows the necessity of joint communication efforts across different arenas—media, politics, business, academia and protest—to…

Strategic communication in contexts of high sustainability pressure: balancing purposefulness, transparency and participation in pursuit of organizational legitimacy

Helle Kryger Aggerholm, Christa Thomsen

The purpose of this paper is to: (1) identify strategies to (re)establish organizational legitimacy which dominates the literature; (2) propose and empirically illustrate an…

Symbolic and substantive legitimation: examining corporate commitments to sustainable development goal 12

Nicholas Eng, Cassandra L.C. Troy, Denise S. Bortree

The purpose of this paper is to assess online corporate communication around commitments to sustainable development goal (SDG) 12, sustainable production and consumption.

Sustainability data distortions: the use of visual impression management techniques in corporate sustainability reporting

Denis Šimunović, Grazia Murtarelli, Stefania Romenti

The purpose of this study is to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the utilization of visual impression management techniques within sustainability reporting…

Envisioning sustainability through (un)shared professional visions of the “visual” materials of a design situation: a CCO approach

Marie Reumont, François Cooren, Claudia Déméné

Communicating a clear, precise, interpretable and unambiguous visual message usually relies on a cross-disciplinary team of professionals. Their complementary visions can uncover…

Ego-depletion is in the way: the challenges of controlled communication and the role of the regulatory focus theory in sustainable goals pursuit

Tatiana Anisimova, Soniya Billore, Philip J. Kitchen

Via the lens of the ego-depletion phenomenon (Baumeister et al., 1998) and Higgins' (1998) regulatory focus theory, this paper seeks to explain why current controlled…

Climate change literacy and commitment in Spanish university students

Ana Almansa-Martínez, Sara López-Gómez, Antonio Castillo-Esparcia

This paper aims to find out if there is a relationship between access to climate change information and student activism.

Purpose wins? A study of purpose-profit orientations, stakeholder perceptions and trust in firms

Suzanne Peters

The research seeks to evaluate stakeholder perceptions of firms, the extent these assessments impact trust in firms and possible implications for sustainability communications.