THE CONCEPTUALISATION OF STRATEGIC
COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT IN A TRIPLE
CONTEXT ENVIRONMENT
The creation of value in and for organisations and societies has become a
major area of interest in the triple context environment of people, planet and
profit. The role of communication in this process prompted this study, guided by
the following fundamental research question:
How can strategic communication management be conceptualised in a
triple context environment, considering the shared expectations between
top management and communicators about communication excellence,
with specific reference to the business cycle and the communication
cycle of the organisation?
The study followed a grounded theory methodology (Strauss and Corbin) and
was conducted in three phases of triangulation:
Phase 1: Two literature cases were compiled and analysed. The first consisted
of four slices of data, which guided the compilation of the second case (540
academic articles). The data were analysed through the hierarchical process of
The integrative strategic communication management theory developed in this
research, illustrates the core considerations in the communicative ambit of the
organisation as it functions in the triple context environment. In the demanddelivery
linkage of shared expectations between top management and
communicators, the management categories of a sustainability orientation,
inclusive corporate governance approach, and integrative strategic
management and strategy development were identified as causal conditions for
the phenomenon of the conceptualisation of strategic communication
management in a triple context environment. In this context, the communication
management categories of conscious internal and external communication and
mutually beneficial stakeholder relationships serve as intervening conditions for
reflective stewardship when facilitating core competencies and dynamic
capabilities in the co-creation of value. The outcomes of this process are a
good corporate reputation and communicative capacity built through
communicative currency, capital, equity and value.
The increasing need for business transformation to position organisations for
the new economy represents a shift in the relationship of the corporation to
individuals and to society as a whole. Gouillart and Kelly (Verwey, 1998:4)
argue that the communication revolution not only forms the basis of the new
business model, which necessitates the ability to manage the flow of
information, but it is also the facilitator of a fundamental social and business
influence - a trend towards connectivity.
From this perspective, Jones (2011:61) states that relationships with
stakeholders have the potential to generate value for the firm in several areas of
corporate operations. Dyer and Singh (1998) (in Jones, 2011:61) established a
relational view of the process of generating superior performance and point
amongst others, to knowledge-sharing routines and effective governance. As
such, performance advantages span firm boundaries and lie in the relationship
between and among independent firms. Jones (2011:68) futhermore suggests
that researchers must now look at what Freeman (1984) called the transactional
elements of firm-stakeholder relationships, which he regarded as being
important for ‘high stakeholder management capability’.