Acknowledging that the voices of ordinary members may be perceived as more credible than official organizational voices, many organizations seek to mobilize members to speak on their behalf. In this conceptual paper, we examine the constitutive dynamics of such practice, highlighting the influence of social discipline on member voicing. With its notion of ventriloquism, the Montreal School has provided an interesting understanding of how organizations are constituted by the voices ascribed to them. Extant formulations of this perspective, however, fail to conceptualize how member voicing is informed and disciplined by social norms and expectations. Drawing on the notions of interpellation and role, we question how “organizational” organizational communication is and what is being constituted when members voice their organizations. By foregrounding the significance of social figures in this process, we call for an extension of the ventriloqual perspective beyond its current organization-centric perspective.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the field of strategic communication is shaped and driven by several different logics that not only simply underpin each other, but also and simultaneously oppose each other and point in many different directions. Design/methodology/approach The authors address the multiple logics in strategic communication and their interplay by drawing on Edgar Morin’s theory of “dialogics.” According to Morin, complex systems are characterized by multiple logics that are at once complementary, competitive and antagonistic with respect to one another. Findings The authors present and discuss five dialogics that challenge conventional notions of managerial control: deliberate vs emergent perspectives on communication strategy; top-down vs participatory approaches; bounded vs unbounded notions of communication; consistency vs inconsistency in organizational messages; and transparency vs opacity in organizational practices. Originality/value While the dialogical perspective defies the ideal of strategic communication as a unitary discipline, the authors argue that the field can only develop by acknowledging, embracing and bringing to the fore of analysis principles that are at once complementary, competitive and antagonistic.

The communication of nonnominated members who voluntarily disseminate organization-supportive messages on their social media platforms has become a central topic in the field of public relations. While such ‘member voicing’ is generally encouraged, management often struggle to prevent unfavorable representations. Previous studies have demonstrated an extensive use of explicit control practices, including strict social media policies, but has paid little attention to less obtrusive forms of control. This conceptual article argues that unobtrusive forms of control play a significant role in shaping member voicing. Specifically, member voicing is discussed as a specific type of identity performance where members enact values and desires to present a situationally relevant identity. In voicing their organization, members are argued to draw on identity material from three partly overlapping sources: (1) values fabricated and imposed by management, (2) (social) identities desired by members themselves (‘who they want to be’), and (3) conduct expected and celebrated by peers (e.g. colleagues). The identity performance of member voicing, thus, is permeated by organizational and social ideals and expectations, participating in constituting members’ perception of ‘who they are’. While the enactment of member voicing is not determined in any detail, the paper suggests that members always speak from within a web of preconstructed values, and as such with a constrained voice.

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