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Integrative communication for organisational sustainability—An integrative communication relationship model as communication management tool
Author(s) -
Taljaard Adriaan,
Beer Estelle
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of public affairs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.221
H-Index - 20
eISSN - 1479-1854
pISSN - 1472-3891
DOI - 10.1002/pa.1957
Subject(s) - sustainability , knowledge management , organizational communication , stakeholder , corporate communication , structural equation modeling , construct (python library) , business , stakeholder engagement , descriptive statistics , models of communication , public relations , psychology , political science , computer science , ecology , communication , biology , statistics , mathematics , machine learning , programming language
Communication units within organisations strive to positively manage their internal and external relationships with stakeholders. The objective of this research was to develop an integrative communication relationship model to assist communication practitioners to understand and manage these relationships. The model allows practitioners to develop communication strategies that promote organisational sustainability. The study investigated the influence of integrative communication on the sustainability of organisations, and it examined the important role of the integrative communication function in organisations, as well as its influence on organisational sustainability. A key outcome of the study was the development of an integrative communication relationship model. A quantitative research method was used to collect the data, with the analysis comprising descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, and structural equation modelling (SEM). The research illustrates that integrative communication has a definitive influence on organisational sustainability and does not play the same role in the various organisations investigated. Furthermore, the results show that within these organisations, integrative communication had a distinct relationship with stakeholder engagement, corporate governance, the financial perspective, and the resource perspective, influencing organisational sustainability. Unique to the study was the SEM analysis that was performed, highlighting the relationships between the integrative communication constructs and sustainability constructs. What also materialised from the analysis was the emergence of a new construct, “strategic inclusion,” which should be further investigated in the academic field of communication management. The managerial implications of the study indicate that there are numerous relationships between integrative communication and organisational sustainability.