A Comparative Study of Crisis Consultancies Between Singapore and Denmark: Distant Cousins of the Same Destiny?

Pang, Augustine; Frandsen, Finn; Johansen, Winni; Yeo, Su Lin

doi:10.1080/1553118x.2013.765880

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Against this backdrop the purpose of this paper is to present a framework for explaining the function and skills of communication consultants as translators who span organizational boundaries. By doing this, the present research adds to our understanding of the communication consultants expertise and performance in organizations, a line of inquiry which only recently has captured the attention of communication scholars (Pang et al, 2013;Röttger and Preusse, 2013;Zerfass and Franke, 2013). This paper is arranged in three parts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

The communication consultant: an important translator for communication management

Platen

2015

Journal of Communication Management

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to put forward a theoretical model which conceptualizes and clarifies the function and skills of communication consultants in terms of translation. Design/methodology/approach – The paper combines theoretical underpinnings from Scandinavian institutional theory with empirical examples from an interview study with ten senior communication managers in Swedish public sector organizations. Findings – Communication consultants are explained to perform varying translator functions ranging from a neutral transcoder to a freely interpretive translator and sensegiver. These functions are enacted as the consultant span organizational boundaries and contexts inside and outside the organization. The consultants are apt to carry out these tasks due to their translator expertise which resides in, e.g. multicontextual knowledge and bilingual skills, something which their clients lack. Research limitations/implications – The scope of the empirical material is limited to public organizations and a Swedish setting, and may therefore not be valid in other cultural contexts. Practical implications – The model highlights the intersecting work of communication consultants and their clients and thus raises questions concerning the legitimacy and core responsibilities of communication managers. The paper also argues that managers and consultants need to develop their translator skills, and that higher education in communication and PR should prepare students for professions where translator skills may be of great importance. Originality/value – The functions and tasks of communication consultants is a neglected area in communication research. By providing a comprehensive and pragmatic framework for communication consultants work as translation, the present research adds knowledge about the essential functions these actors perform and how they contribute to communication management as well as to organizational performance.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

The communication consultant: an important translator for communication management

Platen

2015

Journal of Communication Management

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“…They are also networked professionals (Collins, 2015) who operate in between institutions to mediate and translate practices between them (Czarniawska and Mazza, 2003; Macnamara and Crawford, 2013; Rövik, 2007; Von Platen, 2015). Many collaborate with affiliates or external partners when they need help from specialists (Pang et al, 2013: 159). Rather than being a well-defined professional body, they are knowledge workers who must create a credible image of their professional expertise (Kipping, 2002), appear trustworthy (Glückler and Armbrüster, 2003) adjusting their occupational rhetoric to the situations at hand (Kitay and Wright, 2007).…”

Section: Storytelling In Communication and Pr Consultingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Communication and PR are clearly professions in flux. They lack formal credentials and instead need to impress a wide range of actors with an image of professionalism (Alvesson 2001; Kipping, 2002), engage with various customers and institutions across societal sectors, and collaborate with external partners (Macnamara and Crawford, 2013; Pang et al, 2013; Von Platen, 2015). Thus, they need to market themselves assertively and identify new fields to occupy, and to do so, they must constantly work to develop narratives which legitimate their expertise (Bjerregaard and Jonasson, 2014; Carlsen, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, management gurus ‘tell tales’ as they narrate stories of organisational change and improvement (Clark and Salaman, 1998: 142–143). This article provides a new angle by looking how consultants tell tales in the everyday settings and contributes to ongoing studies of PR professionals (Edwards, 2014; L’Etang, 2004; Macnamara and Crawford, 2013; Pang et al, 2013; Von Platen, 2015) by exploring how everyday storytelling works as an important tactic for PR consultants as they occupy new market niches.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cleaning rotten politics, selling exclusive liaisons: Public relations consultants as storytelling professionals between markets and politics

Kantola

2016

Public Relations Inquiry

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The article examines communication and public relations (PR) consultants as storytelling professionals, who legitimate their professionalism by telling stories in everyday encounters as they occupy new fields. I draw upon 26 interviews with communication and PR professionals working in communication and PR consultancies and show how they legitimate their expertise in political advocacy and lobbying. The analysis finds that they use four clusters of antenarratives to challenge the existing political order and traditional practices of political advocacy and to populate the political field with new actors and identities. In toto, the stories create a 'living story' of professionalism which is nevertheless hampered by contradictions between the logics of market and politics. While the consultants claim to be reformers of a closed political system, at the same time, they promote hidden practices and resist the effective regulation of openness.

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“…This study forms part of a larger research project that has been running since 2007. The overall aim of this larger project is to investigate how crisis consultants define organizational crises, how they understand and practice crisis management and crisis communication, how they present and promote their expertise, how this expertise has developed after the financial crisis in 2008, and how it is put into practice by their clients (see, e.g., Frandsen, Johansen, & Pang, 2013; Johansen, 2017; Pang, Frandsen, Johansen, & Su Lin, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advice on Communicating During Crisis: A Study of Popular Crisis Management Books

Frandsen

Johansen

2019

International Journal of Business Communication

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In this study, we investigate a sample of 15 popular crisis management books (PCMBs), written by crisis consultants and published between 1986 and 2018 in the United States or in the United Kingdom. The aim of the study is to examine (1) how the authors of PCMBs position themselves in front of their readers, clients, and competitors, including public relations professionals and academics; (2) how they understand and present organizational crises and the practice of crisis management and crisis communication as their field of expertise; and (3) how they promote this expertise using various types of message strategies and rhetorical packaging. The findings of the study reveal that PCMBs are more diverse than expected and that they cover important aspects of crisis management often neglected by academic publications. The article concludes with some implications for practice, research, and education.

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A Comparative Study of Crisis Consultancies Between Singapore and Denmark: Distant Cousins of the Same Destiny?

Cited by 12 publications

References 23 publications

The communication consultant: an important translator for communication management

The communication consultant: an important translator for communication management

Cleaning rotten politics, selling exclusive liaisons: Public relations consultants as storytelling professionals between markets and politics

Advice on Communicating During Crisis: A Study of Popular Crisis Management Books

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