Moving forward through the mist: Reimagining strategic communication in the digital age

Despite integrating theories from multiple disciplines to expand its knowledge base, strategic communication, interchangeably called public relations, corporate communication or communication management, continues to face an identity problem. In the very first journal dedicated to this field, the International Journal of Strategic Communication , Hallahan, Holtzhausen, va n Ruler, Vercic and Sriramesh (2007) defined “strategic communication” as “the purposeful use of communication by an organization to fulfil its mission” (p. 3). Holtzhausen and Zerfass (2013) extended this concept to cover a range of contexts where set goals (e.g. business growth, reputation) are pursued, including for - profits, non - profits, government, activism, sports and entertainment. Nonetheless, the mainstream strategic communication literature has been criticised for three interrelated deficiencies. F irstly, its management discourse and organisation - centricity perpetuate narrow elite interest as a top priority and “control” as a “troublesome issue” (Murphy, 2011, p. 3). Secondly, the stabilised organisational interest is reinforced by a predominant research focus on the organisational site , especially large corporations, with poor attention to publics, communities and wider societies (Smith, 2010). The third resulting deficiency lies in the field’s lack of explanatory power in the informal, and sometime s discursive, role of strategic communication outside the ‘organisational box’ but embedded in everyday practice..