Foundations' Civic Engagement With Stakeholders

Nonprofit organizations often adopt social media such as Facebook to encourage stakeholders to engage in the organizational mission. Calls to action via social media tend to reach subscribers who “like” or follow the organization via one-way communication. Researching effective approaches to dialogic communication, which asks followers to engage rather than observe, the authors focus on relationship management theory (RMT). RMT stresses organizational-stakeholder dynamic interactions. Using a quantitative modeling approach, the authors examine Facebook posts made by three different types of foundations (community, corporate, and independent) to determine how foundations call for stakeholder engagement. To date, few studies focus directly on types of posts and the response, or lack of response, to organizational messages via social media. Civic engagement requires action on the part of the stakeholder to address social problems. Defining participation and engagement varies by field and types of interaction. This research contributes to literature examining the “digital citizen.”

Conversational agents in online organization–stakeholder interactions: a state-of-the-art analysis and implications for further research

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to review the extant literature on chatbots and stakeholder interactions to identify major trends and shed light on knowledge gaps.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review was conducted combining qualitative and quantitative approaches. A code book based on early systematic literature reviews was developed and used to extract information from 62 discrete peer-reviewed English articles. An inductive approach was used to analyse definitions of chatbots, topics, metrics, perspectives and implications.FindingsChatbots have been studied by many different disciplines, but not much from organizational, stakeholder and corporate communication perspectives. Existing studies focus on the technical developments of chatbots and chatbot language and conversations skills. Research has remained anchored at the micro-level understanding of the phenomenon, that is, the nature of chatbots, but has not yet taken into consideration the meso (organizational) or macro (societal) levels.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focused only on academic peer-reviewed papers in English and excluded conference proceeding, books, book chapters and editorials that may have offered other important and relevant reflections. The limited number of studies in communication-related disciplines shows that corporate communication scholars could contribute more to the discussion of chatbot–stakeholder interactions.Originality/valueThis is the first research in the field of corporate communication that examines organizational chatbot–stakeholder interactions. Results of this review offer important information on chatbots' organizational capabilities and affordances, which, arguably, must be taken into consideration when stakeholder engagement strategies are set.

Internal communications and goal achievement: The CEO’s perspective

By effectively utilizing internal communications, CEOs are able to influence organizational culture and communications, inspire employee loyalty and engagement, and build brand image at both company and personal levels. In fact, some scholars believe that the CEO is more responsible for fostering forthright, transparent internal communications than the organization’s actual communications function. CEOs who are successful in promoting internal communications can positively influence organizational stakeholder relationships and better achieve their strategic goals. Through interviews with five CEOs, this paper determined that two-way internal communications was regarded by senior leadership as being necessary for organizational cohesiveness, strategy development, strategic reputation management, boundary spanning, and preemptive problem prevention. The CEOs interviewed also considered it their responsibility to model and nurture internal communications and regarded the function as contributing to the achievement of their organization’s strategic goals. Keywords: internal communications, IABC Excellence Theory, CEO, senior leadership, goal achievement

Foundations' Civic Engagement With Stakeholders

Nonprofit organizations often adopt social media such as Facebook to encourage stakeholders to engage in the organizational mission. Calls to action via social media tend to reach subscribers who “like” or follow the organization via one-way communication. Researching effective approaches to dialogic communication, which asks followers to engage rather than observe, the authors focus on relationship management theory (RMT). RMT stresses organizational-stakeholder dynamic interactions. Using a quantitative modeling approach, the authors examine Facebook posts made by three different types of foundations (community, corporate, and independent) to determine how foundations call for stakeholder engagement. To date, few studies focus directly on types of posts and the response, or lack of response, to organizational messages via social media. Civic engagement requires action on the part of the stakeholder to address social problems. Defining participation and engagement varies by field and types of interaction. This research contributes to literature examining the “digital citizen.”

Analyzing Analyst Research: A Review of Past Coverage and Recommendations for Future Research

As visible and knowledgeable experts who constantly collect, analyze, and disseminate information about the future prospects of publicly listed firms, financial analysts fulfill an important information brokerage and monitoring function for investors. By providing investment advice, financial analysts also influence the demand for a firm’s stock and thus its price. Executives pay close attention to financial analysts’ earnings forecasts and recommendations, so much so that they are frequently criticized for excessive focus on their forecasts at the expense of the long-term interests of the firm. But while research on analysts in strategic management is steadily growing, we lack a coherent understanding of the extent and nature of analysts’ diverse influences on executives’ and investors’ decision making and the context in which analysts operate. This is largely due to the fragmentation of the literature and the absence of prior reviews or meta-analyses of the topic. By organizing, synthesizing, and analyzing extant research efforts on analysts in the various domains of strategic management research, we aim to advance our knowledge on the influence of analysts on firms and investors. Further, we hope that our analyses and recommendations help further increase research coverage on this important organizational stakeholder.