Catrin Johansson
Mid Sweden University
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Featured researches published by Catrin Johansson.
Corporate Communications: An International Journal | 2008
Catrin Johansson; Mats Heide
AbstractPurpose – The purpose of the present review of communication approaches to organizational changeis to identify and further develop the range of perspectives available in the literature and to present aframework on communication and change that could underpin future research.Design/methodology/approach – Research on communication, narratives, stories and discourse,which have mapped new terrain in the study of organizational change, is reviewed and discussed.Findings – The authors conclude that despite the vast academic and popular change literature,communication approaches to change still remain underdeveloped and communication scholars are,with few exceptions, remarkably absent in the field. Three challenges for the future are proposed, thatresearchers of communication and organizational change need to consider.Originality/value – This paper provides a comprehensive literature review in the field ofcommunication during organizational change. By integrating these studies in a new framework ofcommunication as tool, process and social transformation, the authors offer a new foundation fortheory building in this area. Further development and integration of these three differentcommunication approaches is suggested, which would offer better conditions for research and practiceto embrace the complex processes of organizational change.Keywords Organizational change, Communication, Change management, Emergent strategyPaper type Literature review
Corporate Communications: An International Journal | 2014
Catrin Johansson; Vernon D. Miller; Solange Hamrin
Purpose – The concept of “communicative leadership” is used in organisations that analyse and develop leaders’ communication competence. A scholarly definition of this concept is lacking, and the implications of leaders’ communication and the development of communication competence for organisations are rarely discussed. The purpose of this paper is to create a theoretical framework around the concept of “communicative leadership”, which can contribute to future research and development of leaders’ communication competence.Design/methodology/approach – Three research questions were addressed: what communicative behaviours are central to leaders? How can “communicative leaders” be characterised? What is a “communicative leader”? Literature from the leadership and communication research fields was reviewed and related to these questions.Findings – Four central communicative behaviours of leaders (i.e. structuring, facilitating, relating, and representing), eight principles of communicative leadership, and a tentative definition are presented. A communicative leader is defined as someone who engages employees in dialogue, actively shares and seeks feedback, practices participative decision making, and is perceived as open and involved.Practical implications – A theoretical foundation to the practice of analysing and developing leaders’ communication competence is provided, which is related to employee engagement and organisational performance.Originality/value – Communicative leadership is a concept emerging from organisational needs, articulated by corporate and public organisation leaders. This article links its core constructs to academic quantitative and qualitative research in an integrated framework, which can guide further research and the development of leaders’ communication competence.
Corporate Communications: An International Journal | 2012
Christina Grandien; Catrin Johansson
Purpose – Development and expansion of the communication management function in organizations has recently been discussed in relation to the concept of institutionalization. Empirical evidence has illustrated that the role of communication executives and communication managers varies between organizations, and could also be subjected to change within an organization. The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize institutionalization of communication management as a process. It aims to develop a theoretical framework that integrates important factors that influence and regulate this process.Design/methodology/approach – A literature review resulted in a number of factors potentially influencing the institutionalization process. These factors were attributed to three main theoretical areas and four different levels of analysis, using institutional theory as a guiding framework. The theoretical areas and analysis levels, were proposed to be mutually interdependent, and were compiled in a theoretical framewor...
Corporate Communications: An International Journal | 2013
Christina Grandien; Catrin Johansson
Purpose – Development and expansion of the communication management function in organizations has recently been discussed in relation to the concept of institutionalization. Empirical evidence has illustrated that the role of communication executives and communication managers varies between organizations, and could also be subjected to change within an organization. The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize institutionalization of communication management as a process. It aims to develop a theoretical framework that integrates important factors that influence and regulate this process.Design/methodology/approach – A literature review resulted in a number of factors potentially influencing the institutionalization process. These factors were attributed to three main theoretical areas and four different levels of analysis, using institutional theory as a guiding framework. The theoretical areas and analysis levels, were proposed to be mutually interdependent, and were compiled in a theoretical framewor...
Nordicom Review | 2007
Catrin Johansson
Abstract Swedish research on organizational communication is characterized by empirical, qualitative research. The tradition of holistic and profound case studies is strong. In this article, a wide definition of organizational communication is employed, including research focusing on both internal and external communication. Research themes and methods are reviewed and discussed. The majority of the studies concern public information, including health communication and crisis communication. Particularly, scholars have studied planning and evaluation of information campaigns concerning health, traffic and environment; and more recently, authority communication during major crises in society. Research focusing on organizations’ internal communication includes topics such as superior-subordinate communication, organizational learning, sensemaking, communication strategies and communication efficiency. Strengths and weaknesses following from this empirical case study research tradition are highlighted. Finally, the contribution of Swedish research in an international perspective is discussed.
Journal of Applied Communication Research | 2012
Catrin Johansson; Cynthia Stohl
This study explores a corporate campaign to pass a referendum to enable the development of a hydropower plant in a small Swedish community. In the changing institutional context that grounds this case, the organization needed to develop communicative practices that embodied “cultural competence,” a set of processes identified as critical for the legitimacy and success of business organizations in the emerging global/intersectoral environment. Findings suggest that the MNCs communication strategy captured important components of cultural competence. However, institutional contradictions impeded enactment of the strategy and resulted in delegitimizing paradoxical communication. The results indicate that organizational awareness of institutional change and culturally competent strategy are insufficient without special attention to contradictions and resultant communicative paradoxes embodied within a particular institutional context. The importance of a reflective communication approach that engages contradictions and tensions in the surrounding micro–macro institutional contexts is underscored.
International Journal of Strategic Communication | 2016
Christina Grandien; Catrin Johansson
ABSTRACT This article explores the institutionalization of strategic communication as a dynamic interplay between macro- and mesolevel discourses. The change processes in the two cases of this study involved both a reorientation of the purpose of the communication function and a physical relocation of the professionals to a centralized department. In both organizations, the transformation toward a strategic management function failed and the communication professionals are now working in ways similar to those before the change was initiated. The analysis illustrates that the institutionalization of strategic communication is effected by organizational-level processes and mechanisms that are not always controlled by communication professionals. The institutionalization of strategic communication is bound by organizational discourses as well as by the actions of communication practitioners and general managers. The study also shows that macro- and mesolevel discourses influence the ways in which change initiatives are translated and strategic communication effected on an organizational level. Hence, institutionalization processes of strategic communication will comply with management trends but can change direction when these trends are challenged. Our results expose that new ideas or practices of strategic communication are translated discursively within organizations in processes of recontextualization, reinterpretation, and reframing. Consequently, new ideas and practices of strategic communication are adjusted to organizational discourses and organizational settings. The translation of a new idea or practice will therefore change the initial meaning of that same idea or practice. For that reason, institutionalization of strategic communication should not be reduced to a unidirectional process but conceptualized as a dynamic interplay between discourses on different levels that moves institutionalization in multiple directions.
International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences | 2016
Ingela Bäckström; Pernilla Ingelsson; Catrin Johansson
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to describe leaders’ views on how Communicative Leadership influences co-worker health by comparing their opinions with the health-related values within Quali ...
International journal of business communication | 2018
Catrin Johansson; Lars Nord
The global financial crisis that broke out in 2008 affected a large number of governmental, public, and private organizations. This article explores communication of public authorities in Sweden during the crisis, and highlights their discursive strategies between 2008 and 2010, analyzing press releases. As an analytical point of departure, complexity theory is combined with theory on strategic ambiguity in order to analyze which communication strategies were employed by the authorities. Results show that the public authorities embraced complexity and ambiguity differently in their communication, and consequences of their different approaches are discussed. The study also confirms that the different roles of significant actors during a crisis influence the selection of possible message strategies.
Corporate Communications: An International Journal | 2018
Jody L. S. Jahn; Catrin Johansson
Purpose The purpose of this study is to explain how adaptive capacity is accomplished through communication processes and can contribute to enhancing disaster resilience. We adopt a structurational “four flows” explanation of communication processes. Design/methodology/approach We observed and analyzed discourse in meetings of a crisis communication network consisting of representatives of municipalities and public authorities involved in crisis communication management during the Vastmanland wildfire in Sweden. Findings Adaptive capacity during the wildfire was principally accomplished through the structurational communication processes or “flows” of self-structuring, activity coordination, and institutional positioning. These flows intersected demonstrating how communication accomplishes (a) the development of a responsive affiliation, (b) organizes stabilizing structuring practices, and (c) enables adaptive structuring practices. Research limitations/implications The main contribution of this study is ...