Research

Our research examines strategic communication across three interconnected research areas and a set of cross-cutting perspectives that reflect broader transformations and challenges shaping organizational communication.

Corporate Communication

We study how organizations strategically communicate with stakeholders and position themselves in complex societal environments. Our research addresses corporate communication, public relations, reputation and leadership communication, crisis communication, issue management, corporate diplomacy, and public affairs. We are particularly interested in how organizations respond to contested societal issues and how their communication shapes legitimacy, reputation, and stakeholder relationships.

Sustainability Communication

We investigate how organizations and other societal actors communicate about environmental and societal sustainability and how communication can contribute to - or hinder - sustainable transformation. Our research addresses climate and net-zero communication, ESG communication, greenwashing, sustainable finance, and corporate influence on environmental discourse and policy, with particular attention to credibility, legitimacy, and accountability.

Financial Communication

We study communication in and around financial markets and the interactions among corporations, financial institutions, investors, news media, and other stakeholders. Our research addresses financial communication and investor relations, financial and business journalism, sustainable finance, financial crises, and the role of communication and media in shaping perceptions, trust, and outcomes in financial markets.

Cross-Cutting Perspectives

Across these three research areas, we examine broader transformations and challenges shaping contemporary strategic communication. Our cross-cutting perspectives include Crises & Societal Challenges, Digital Media & AI, Media & Public Discourse, Time & Dynamics and Power & Responsibility. Together, these perspectives allow us to investigate how strategic communication evolves under conditions of crisis, technological change, acceleration and societal transformation, and how it relates to questions of influence, legitimacy and accountability.

Our Approach

Our research is international, interdisciplinary, and multi-method. We combine quantitative, qualitative, and computational approaches, including surveys, experiments, interviews, content analysis, and computational methods. We also employ machine learning and AI-based approaches for the collection and analysis of large-scale communication data.

Through comparative and cross-national research, we aim to advance communication theory while addressing questions of relevance to organizations, media, markets, policymakers, and society.