Kishore Gopalakrishna Pillai, Piyush Sharma, Joep Cornelissen, Yumeng Zhang and Smitha R. Nair
This paper aims to propose mechanisms of the dark side of interorganizational relationships from a social psychological perspective. The purpose is to understand the role of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose mechanisms of the dark side of interorganizational relationships from a social psychological perspective. The purpose is to understand the role of boundary spanners’ social psychological processes that may trigger the dark side effects.
Design/methodology/approach
Multple mechanisms are developed through three social psychological theories, namely, social identity theory, system justification theory and social learning theory.
Findings
Boundary spanners’ social psychological processes can trigger the dark side of interorganizational relationships via mechanisms such as excessive cooperation, reification, system justification and path dependence in learning.
Practical implications
This paper concludes with a discussion that offers a new perspective on research on dark side effects and the managerial implications of the present analysis.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the current literature by extending the interpersonal social psychological processes that could explain the dark side of interorganizational relationships. This paper is a step forward to answer the calls for multilevel considerations of the dark side effects and inspire future research on the role of social psychological processes in dark side effects.
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Considers three propositions that highlight the need for a greater emphasis on the receiver perspective within corporate communication. Consequently, a new conceptual model for…
Abstract
Considers three propositions that highlight the need for a greater emphasis on the receiver perspective within corporate communication. Consequently, a new conceptual model for corporate communication research is advanced and research methodologies are suggested.
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Joep Cornelissen, Lars Thøger Christensen and Kendi Kinuthia
The purpose of this paper is to engage with the issue of construct clarity in corporate communications research giving particular attention to corporate branding and identity…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to engage with the issue of construct clarity in corporate communications research giving particular attention to corporate branding and identity whereby a critique of existing alignment models provides a basis for a shift in the debate geared towards an alternative approach.
Design/methodology/approach
The commentary offers a discussion of a particular challenge to theory development around the clarity and specification of key constructs such as corporate identity and corporate brands. This leads to an elaboration of existing models of corporate branding and identity management and the subsequent suggestion for a shift towards alternative analytical interpretive models that are not premised on ontological assumptions of a conduit model of communication and objectivist assumptions of alignment and consistency. Shifting the debate in this direction has significant implications for research as well as practice.
Findings
There is a need to move away from sender‐dominated conduit models of communication and towards a constitutive model. This emphasizes the constitutive character of communication thus giving credence to the role of language and framing in the processes and products of organizational branding and identity. It also considers the relational or social process in the ascriptions of identity.
Originality/value
The paper proposes a new approach to corporate branding and identity and highlights the need for a more integrated understanding of the role of communication in the creation and promotion of these brands and identities.
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Dennis Schoeneborn, Consuelo Vásquez and Joep P. Cornelissen
This paper adds to the literature on societal grand challenges by shifting the focus away from business firms and other formal organizations as key actors in addressing such…
Abstract
This paper adds to the literature on societal grand challenges by shifting the focus away from business firms and other formal organizations as key actors in addressing such challenges toward the inherent organizing capacity that lies in the use of language itself. More specifically, we focus on the organizing capacities of metaphor-based communication, seeking to ascertain which qualities of metaphors enable them to co-orient collective action toward tackling grand challenges. In addressing this question, we develop an analytical framework based on two qualities of metaphorical communication that can provide such co-orientation: a metaphor’s (a) vividness and (b) responsible actionability. We illustrate the usefulness of this framework by assessing selected metaphors used in the public discourse to make sense of and organize collective responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, including the flu metaphor/analogy, the war metaphor, and the combined metaphor of “the hammer and the dance.” Our paper contributes to extant research by providing a means to assess the co-orienting potential of metaphors in bridging varied interpretations. In so doing, our framework can pave the way toward more responsible use of metaphorical communication in tackling society’s grand challenges.
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Abstract
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Bill Harley and Joep Cornelissen
In this chapter, the authors critique dominant technocratic conceptions of rigor in management research and elaborate an alternative account of rigor that is rooted in methodology…
Abstract
In this chapter, the authors critique dominant technocratic conceptions of rigor in management research and elaborate an alternative account of rigor that is rooted in methodology and involves a concern with the quality of scientific reasoning rather than a narrower focus on methods or measurement issues per se. Based on the proposed redefinition, the authors conceptualize how rigor, as an essential quality of reasoning, may be defined and the authors in turn qualify alternative methodological criteria for how they might assess the rigor of any particular piece of research. In short, with this chapter the authors’ overall aim is to shift the basis of rigor to an altogether more legitimate and commensurable notion that squarely puts the focus on reasoning and scientific inference for quantitative and qualitative research alike. The authors highlight some of the benefits that such an alternative and unified view of rigor may potentially provide toward fostering the quality and progress of management research.
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Joep P. Cornelissen and Wim J.L. Elving
Although there has been an enduring interest in corporate identity and image management, there is relatively little systematic empirical research on the topic. Largely due to the…
Abstract
Although there has been an enduring interest in corporate identity and image management, there is relatively little systematic empirical research on the topic. Largely due to the diffuse interpretations and dubious denotation that have characterized the subject of corporate identity so far, the authors present an integrative conceptual framework of dimensions and determinants of corporate identity management. This framework and its constructs specify the concept of corporate identity and can be used on a predictive basis to guide, frame and model empirical research into this area.
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Abstract
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Lars Thøger Christensen, A. Fuat Fırat and Joep Cornelissen
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how tensions and challenges associated with the implementation of integrated communications in practice have intensified in recent…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how tensions and challenges associated with the implementation of integrated communications in practice have intensified in recent years under the impact of two conflicting trends: new social and organizational “drivers” towards integration; and the appearance of savvy and sophisticated audiences.
Design/methodology/approach
Taking the point of departure in now classical discussions of structural “barriers” to integration, today more fundamental difficulties limit the implementation of integrated communications – difficulties rooted in epistemological issues of organization and communication are argued.
Findings
Integrated communications present a paradox to contemporary communication management. On the one hand, integration seems to be the most logical and sensible way of managing communications in a complex world of multiple and critical audiences. On the other hand, its prescriptions are essentially at odds with what is known today about organization and human communication. While representing a significant communication ideal, integration in communications is simultaneously beyond reach – at least if the full process of communication is taken into proper consideration.
Originality/value
The paper usefully makes the claim that it needs to adapt the ideals of what integrated communications is to what integration can possibly do to an organization and its communications.