Prelims

Half Title

Strategic Corporate Communication in the Digital Age

Endorsements

Digital communications are increasingly central to the process of building trust, reputation and support. It’s as true for companies selling products as it is for politicians canvasing for votes. This book provides a framework for understanding and using online media and will be required reading for serious students of communication.

Dr Charles J. Fombrun, Former Professor at New York University, NYU-Stern School, Founder & Chairman Emeritus, Reputation Institute/The RepTrak Company.

This book has addressed a current and relevant topic relating to an important aspect of digital transformation. Various chapters of this book provide valuable insights about a variety of issues relating to “Strategic Corporate Communication in the Digital Age.” The book will be a useful resource for both academics and practitioners engaged in marketing- and communications-related activities. I am delighted to endorse this valuable resource.

Dr Yogesh K. Dwivedi, Professor at the School of Management at Swansea University, UK, and Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Information Management.

This title covers a range of relevant issues and trends related to strategic corporate communication in an increasingly digital era. For example, not only does it address communication from a social media, balanced scorecard, and stakeholder engagement perspective, but it also integrates relevant contemporary insights related to SMEs and COVID-19. This is a must-read for any corporate communications professional or researcher.

Dr Linda Hollebeek, Associate Professor at Montpellier Business School, France, and Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia.

Corporate communication is changing rapidly, and digital media represent a tremendous opportunity for companies of all sizes to better achieve their communication goals. This book provides important insights into relevant trends and charts critical ways in which digital media can be used to their full potential.

Dr Ulrike Gretzel, Director of Research at Netnografica and Senior Fellow at the Center for Public Relations, University of Southern California, USA.

This new book by Professor Mark Camilleri promises again valuable insights in corporate communication in the digital era with a special focus on Corporate Social Responsibility. The book sets a new standard in our thinking of responsibilities in our digital connected world.

Dr Wim Elving, Professor at Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, The Netherlands.

Dedication

Dedicated to Adriana, Michela and Sam.

Title Page

Strategic Corporate Communication in the Digital Age

Edited by

Mark Anthony Camilleri

University of Malta, Malta

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2021

Copyright © 2021 Emerald Publishing Limited

Reprints and permissions service

Contact: permissions@emeraldinsight.com

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the chapters are those of the authors. Whilst Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the chapters’ suitability and application and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-80071-265-2 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-80071-264-5 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-80071-266-9 (Epub)

Contents

List of Tables and Figures

Tables

Figures

About the Editor

Mark Anthony Camilleri is a Resident Academic (Associate Professor) in the Department of Corporate Communication at the University of Malta. He finalized his PhD (Management) in three years’ time at the University of Edinburgh (UK) – where he was nominated for his “Excellence in Teaching.” He holds an MBA from the University of Leicester (UK) and an MSc from the University of Portsmouth (UK). During the past years, he taught business subjects at undergraduate, vocational and postgraduate levels in Hong Kong, Malta, UAE and the UK. He is an Editorial Board Member in a number of academic journals and conference committees and is a Frequent Speaker and Reviewer at the British Academy of Management and in the American Marketing Association’s (AMA) and in the (American) Academy of Management’s (AOM) annual gatherings.

He is a Member in the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)’s Stakeholder Council, where he is representing the European civil society. He is a Scientific Expert in research for the Ministero dell’ Istruzione, dell’ Universita e della Ricerca (in Italy) and a Reviewer for the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). He has been recognized as an “excellent reviewer” as well as a “top peer reviewer” by Publons and Web of Science.

He is an Editorial Board Member of the following journals (among others):

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  International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management (Emerald)

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  Interactive Technology and Smart Education (Emerald)

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  International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility (Springer)

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  Technology, Knowledge and Learning (Springer)

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  Tourism Planning and Development (Routledge)

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  Sustainable Development (Wiley)

He is also a Member in the following conference committees (among others):

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  Internet Technologies and Society Conference – ITS2020 (Brazil).

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  International Conference on New Trends in Tourism and Hospitality – INCONTH 2020 (Brazil).

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  International Conference on Education Development and Studies – ICEDS2020 (France).

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  International Conference on E-Education, E-Business, E-Management and E-Learning – IC4E2020 and IC4E2021 (Japan).

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  International Conference on Education and Training Technologies – ICETT2020 (Macao, China).

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  International Conference on Modern Management Based on Big Data – MMBD2020 (China).

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  International Conference on Education and E-Learning – ICEEL2020 (Japan).

Currently, he is serving as an Editor for Emerald (UK), Greenfellow (UK), IGI Global (USA), MDPI (Switzerland) and Wiley (USA). He has published more than 100 contributions in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals, chapters and conferences. He authored and edited the following seven books:

• Camilleri, M. A. (Ed.). (2018). Tourism planning and destination marketing. Bingley: Emerald. ISBN: 978-1-78756-292-9.

• Camilleri, M. A. (Ed.). (2018). The branding of tourist destinations. Theoretical and empirical insights. Bingley: Emerald. ISBN: 978-1-78769-374-6.

• Camilleri, M. A. (Ed.). (2018). Strategic perspectives in destination marketing. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. ISBN13: 9781522558354. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-5835-4. Retrieved from https://www.igi-global.com/book/strategic-perspectives-destination-marketing/193073

• Camilleri, M. A. (2017). Travel marketing, tourism economics and the airline product: An introduction to theory and practice. Cham: Springer Nature. ISBN 978-3-319-49849-2. Retrieved from http://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319498485#aboutBook

• Camilleri, M. A. (2017). Corporate sustainability, social responsibility and environmental management: An introduction to theory and practice with case studies. Cham: Springer Nature. ISBN 978-3-319-46849-5. Retrieved from http://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319468488

• Camilleri, M. A. (Ed.) (2017). CSR 2.0 and the new era of corporate citizenship. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. ISBN13: 9781522518426. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-1842-6. Retrieved from http://www.igi-global.com/book/csr-new-era-corporate-citizenship/166426

• Camilleri M. A. (2013). Creating shared value through strategic CSR in tourism. Saarbrucken: Lambert Academic Publishing. ISBN 978-3-659-43106-7. Retrieved from https://www.morebooks.de/store/gb/book/creating-shared-value-through-strategic-csr-in-tourism/isbn/978-3-659-43106-7

About the authors

Ignacio Aedo holds a PhD in computer science from Universidad Polite’cnica de Madrid, Spain. He’s currently Full Professor at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Escuela Polite’cnica Superior). He chaired different conferences on technology. Currently, he is Subdirector of Culture and Technology Institute and Deputy Vice-Chancellor for his Faculty (UC3M).

Kelly-Ann Allen is an Endorsed Educational and Developmental Psychologist, Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education, Monash University and Senior Honorary Fellow of the Centre for Positive Psychology, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne. She is the founding co-director of the International Belonging Research Laboratory and Editor-in-Chief of the Educational and Developmental Psychologist. She has attained the member grade of Fellow for both the Australian Psychological Society and College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists.

Gökmen Arslan, PhD, is an Associate Professor of counseling psychology at the Mehmet Akif Ersoy University in Burdur, Turkey. His research interests are centered on measuring and improving youths’ psychological functioning, mental health, and well-being.

Ashley Butler, (Master of Human Resource Management, Deakin University) has a ten year applied management background in human resources and learning and development in both public and commercial organisations in Australia. Email: HYPERLINK “mailto:ashleykbutlerau@gmail.com” ashleykbutlerau@gmail.com.

Antonella Capriello, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Eastern Piedmont in Italy. Her research interests include studies on event management, networking processes in tourist destinations, social entrepreneurship, and franchising. She published more than 60 research papers, including articles in the Journal of Business Research and Tourism Management.

Paul Capriotti holds a PhD on communication sciences from Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB), Spain. He is a Professor of public relations and corporate communication at Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) and Guest Professor in Spanish and Latin American universities. He is the Author of several books and he has published more than 30 articles in journals of international scope. He is also the Director of Bidireccional, a consultancy firm of communication strategy and media reputation.

Beatriz Casais holds a PhD in management and business studies, with a specialization in marketing and strategy, from University of Porto, Portugal. She has acquired teaching experience in several higher education institutions and is currently Assistant Professor at University of Minho, Portugal. Her research topics include celebrity endorsements, social marketing, place branding, and digital marketing.

Andrew Creed, (PhD, Exon) teaches, researches and consults in organizational behavior, organization development, sustainability, and business in Australasia. He has published in high impact journals, including Journal of Cleaner Production, Sustainability, Current Issues in Tourism, and European Business Review, and with top book publishers including, Palgrave, Emerald, Cengage and Oxford University Press. He has extensive experience in businesses, community organisations and educational settings in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. Email: HYPERLINK “mailto:andrew.creed@deakin.edu.au” andrew.creed@deakin.edu.au.

Paloma Díaz is a Full Professor in the Computer Science Department of University Carlos III de Madrid, Spain. She is the Head of the LAB DEI research group (dei.inf.uc3m.es) that is focused on the design of interactive systems. She has been Visiting Scholar of the Motivation and Goals in Context Lab at the University of British Columbia and at the Institute for Visualization and Interactive Systems at Stuttgart University.

Mohammad Hajarian is a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Computer Science Department of Universidad Carlos III de Madrid in Spain, where he is also a Postdoctoral Researcher at DEI Interactive Systems Group. He is a Chief Executive Officer of Gegli social network that he founded in 2003 (formerly known as Gohardasht.com). His research interests include online social networks, gamification, and human-computer interaction, among others.

Pedro Isaias is an Associate Professor at the Information Systems & Technology Management School of the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia. He holds a PhD in information management from NOVA University of Lisbon. He is the Author of several books, book chapters, papers, and research reports and chaired several conferences and workshops on information and communication technologies. He is also a Member in the Editorial Board of several journals.

Shital Jayantilal heads the School of Economics and Management at Portucalense University in Portugal. She is a Researcher and Member of the Family Business Research and Training Centre (Cátedra da Empresa Familiar) and leads the research group of Strategy and Competitiveness in Research on Economics, Management, and Information Technologies (REMIT). She is an Experienced Consultant with more than 15 years of hands-on experience in supporting firms across diverse industries.

Prateek Kalia is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Department of Corporate Economy, Faculty of Economics and Administration, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic. Earlier, he has worked as Director and Professor at a leading university of North India. He is a Specialist with keen interest in electronic commerce, e-service quality, and consumer behavior. He holds one copyright for a novel concept in mobile commerce.

Raj Kumar is a Distinguished Academician, Researcher, and Educational Administrator. Currently, he is the Vice Chancellor of Panjab University, Chandigarh. He has been Director, Dean, and Head of Institute of Management Studies, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi. He has been on the Editorial Board of more than two dozen international and national journals.

Inês Rios Marques completed her MSc in marketing management at the Instituto Português de Administração de Marketing (IPAM) in Porto, Portugal. Previously, she was a Social Media Manager of a jewelry brand.

Adelaide Martins is an Assistant Professor at the University Portucalense and at the University of Minho, in Portugal. She has been an Interdisciplinary Researcher whose research develops at the interface between accounting and accountability. She is also interested in impression management, social and environmental reporting, storytelling, and institutional theory. She has published in academic journals such as Critical Perspectives on Accounting and Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management, among others.

Syed Marwan holds a PhD in Islamic Banking and Finance from the Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance (IIiBF) at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). He is currently an Assistant Professor at IIiBF and teaches Economics and Islamic Finance subjects. His research interests are in Socially Responsible Investment (SRI), Social Finance, and Social Impact Bonds.

Emmanuel Mogaji, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer in advertising and marketing communications at the University of Greenwich, UK. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Certified Management and Business Educator. He was awarded the 2019 Emerald Literati Highly Commended Paper Award for a co-authored paper that was published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics.

Sunday Adewale Olaleye received his DSc in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Oulu, Finland. He holds an MSc in Information Systems from Abo Akademi University, Turku, Finland, and an MBA from the Lapland University of Applied Sciences, Tornio, Finland. He is currently pursuing his postdoctoral research at the University of Oulu, Finland, and he is a Visiting Professor at Universidad de las Américas Puebla, Mexico.

Cidália Oliveira is an Assistant Professor at the University of Minho and researcher at NIPE Center of Research in Economics and Management in Portugal. Her main research projects are related to target costing, balanced scorecard, as well as organizational culture and leadership, among other areas. She has acquired relevant experience in multinational organizations on topics relating to strategy and communications.

Oluwasola Oni is a Lecturer at Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria. She teaches information systems at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She has been involved in research considering challenges involved in the effective diffusion of innovation technologies among individuals and small- and medium-sized enterprises. In addition to the study of diffusion and adoption of technologies, she is also interested in and is currently investigating mobile money, digital ecosystems, and knowledge sharing.

Sabina Riboldazzi, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Management within the Department of Economics, Management and Statistics at the University of Milan-Bicocca in Italy. She graduated from the University of Eastern Piedmont and gained her PhD in marketing and business management from the University of Milan-Bicocca. She teaches global trade management and global marketing management.

Pablo Rodriguez-Gutierrez works as an Assistant Professor at the University of Córdoba, Spain, where he teaches Business Management and Ethics and Business at undergraduate and master’s levels. He obtained his PhD at the University of Cordoba in 2013. He has collaborated in research and regional projects that were financed by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.

Tejinderpal Singh is working as an Associate Professor at University Business School, Panjab University, India. He is an Expert in the area of data analytics and digital marketing. He is also the Course Coordinator of UGC Swayam MOOC course on Digital Marketing.

Gert Tinggaard Svendsen is a Professor of Comparative Politics at the University of Aarhus, Denmark. He holds a PhD in Economics and a Master’s degree in Political science. In addition, he has published numerous international books and articles on collective action problems, social capital, trust, climate policy and institutional quality. Svendsen is head of section and a regular contributor to media and public debate.

Ciro Troise, PhD, is a Researcher and a Knowledge Transfer Manager at the University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli” in Italy. Previously, he acquired relevant executive experience at the Italian Communications Regulatory Authority (AGCOM) and at the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM-Antitrust). He has been Visiting PhD Researcher at the Queen Mary University of London, UK.

Dandison Ukpabi holds a PhD in Marketing at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland. In line with his educational experiences in Africa, Europe, and Australia, he has also gained over 10 years of working experience in various roles including Academia, as a Lecturer/Researcher in Africa, the UK, Australia, and Finland.

Josue Kuika Watat is a Digital Advisor at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH in Africa. He received his MSc in Management Information Systems at Catholic University of Central Africa. He is the Author and Co-author of several scientific publications and has participated in top conferences on information systems, including AMCIS and EMCIS, among others.

Ileana Zeler holds a PhD on communication sciences from Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Spain. She is a Serra Hunter Fellow at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and a guest professor in Spanish and Latin American universities. She is author of several articles in international scientific journals. Her research is focused on organizational communication, public relations, corporate social responsibility, and social media. She is also Organizational and Strategic Communication Representative by the YECREA.

Ambika Zutshi, (PhD, Monash University) has a research and education focus on corporate social responsibility, business ethics, higher education and supply chain management. She has over 80 publications in journals and book chapters. She has published in high impact journals, including International Journal of ­Management Review, Technovation, Journal of Cleaner Production, ­Supply Chain Management: An International Journal; European Business Review, Business Process Management Journal, Managerial Auditing Journal, and Management of ­Environmental Quality: An International Journal, ­Australian Accounting Review, and the International Journal of Environmental and ­Sustainable Development. Ambika is also on a number Editorial Boards, including European Business Review Associate Editor, Australasia, Emerald Publisher, UK; ­International Journal of E-Entrepreneurship & Innovation (Editorial board member); PSU Research. Email: HYPERLINK “mailto:ambika.zutshi@deakin.edu.au” ambika.zutshi@deakin.edu.au

Preface

This authoritative book features a broad spectrum of theoretical and empirical contributions on topics relating to corporate communications in the digital age. It is a premier reference source and a valuable teaching resource for course instructors of advanced, undergraduate and postgraduate courses in marketing and communications. It comprises 14 engaging and timely chapters that appeal to today’s academic researchers including doctoral candidates, postdoctoral researchers, early career academics as well as seasoned researchers. All chapters include an abstract, an introduction, the main body with headings and subheadings, conclusions and research implications. They were written in a critical and discursive manner to entice the curiosity of their readers.

Chapter 1 provides a descriptive overview of different online technologies and presents the findings from a systematic review on corporate communication and digital media. Mark Anthony Camilleri (2020) implies that institutions and organizations ought to be credible and trustworthy in their interactive, dialogic communications during day-to-day operations as well as in crisis situations, if they want to reinforce their legitimacy in society. Chapter 2 clarifies the importance of trust and belonging in individual and organizational relationships. Kelly-Ann Allen, Gert Tinggaard Sven, Syed Marwan, and Gökmen Arslan (2020) suggest that trust nurtures social interactions that can ultimately lead to significant improvements in corporate communication and other benefits for organizations. Chapter 3 identifies key dimensions for dialogic communication through social media. Paul Capriotti, Ileana Zeler, and Mark Anthony Camilleri (2020) put forward a conceptual framework that clarifies how organizations can enhance their dialogic communications through interactive technologies. Chapter 4 explores the marketing communication managers’ interactive engagement with the digital media. Mark Anthony Camilleri and Pedro Isaias suggest that the pace of technological innovation, perceived usefulness, ease of use of online technologies as well as social influences are significant antecedents for the businesses’ engagement with the digital media. Chapter 5 explains that the Balanced Scorecard’s (BSC) performance management tools can be used to support corporate communication practitioners in their stakeholder engagement. Cidália Oliveira, Adelaide Martins, Mark Anthony Camilleri, and Shital Jayantilal (2020) imply that practitioners can use BSC’s metrics to align their communication technologies, including big data analytics, with organizational strategy and performance management, in the digital era. Chapter 6 focuses on UK universities’ corporate communications through Twitter. Emmanuel Mogaji, Josue Kuika Watat, Sunday Adewale Olaleye, and Dandison Ukpabi find that British universities are increasingly using this medium to attract new students, to retain academic employees and to promote their activities and events. Chapter 7 investigates the use of mobile learning (m-learning) technologies for corporate training. Ashley Butler, Mark Anthony Camilleri, Andrew Creed, and Ambika Zutshi (2020) shed light on key contextual factors that can have an effect on the successful delivery of continuous professional development of employees through mobile technologies.

Chapter 8 evaluates the effects of influencer marketing on consumer–brand engagement on Instagram. Inês Rios Marques, Beatriz Casais, and Mark Anthony Camilleri (2020) identify two types of social media influencers. Chapter 9 explores in-store communications of large-scale retailers. Sabina Riboldazzi and Antonella Capriello (2020) use an omni-channel approach as they integrate traditional and digital media in their theoretical model for informative, in-store communications. Chapter 10 indicates that various corporations are utilizing different social media channels for different purposes. Ciro Troise and Mark Anthony Camilleri (2020) contend that they are using them to promote their products or services and/or to convey commercial information to their stakeholders. Chapter 11 appraises the materiality of the corporations’ integrated disclosures of financial and nonfinancial performance. Pablo Rodríguez-Gutiérrez (2020) identifies the key determinants for the materiality of integrated reports. Chapter 12 describes various electronic marketing (e-marketing) practices of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises in India. Tejinderpal Singh, Raj Kumar, and Prateek Kalia (2020) conclude that Indian owner-managers are not always engaging with their social media followers in a professional manner. Chapter 13 suggests that there is scope for small enterprises to use Web 2.0 technologies and associated social media applications for branding, advertising and corporate communication. Oluwasola Oni (2020) maintains that social media may be used as a marketing communications tool to attract customers and for internal communications with employees. Chapter 14 sheds light on the online marketing tactics that are being used for corporate communication purposes. Mohammad Hajarian, Mark Anthony Camilleri, Paloma Díaz, and Ignacio Aedo (2020) outline different online channels including one-way and two-way communication technologies.

Acknowledgments

There are too many people to thank individually. I am very grateful to my family, particularly to my wife Adriana and our kids who have always encouraged me in my academic endeavors. Finally, I must thank Emerald Publishing (UK) and their editorial team for their valuable support during this fruitful project.