Institutionalizing Strategic Communication in Europe – An Ideal Home or a Mad House? Evidence from a Survey in 37 Countries

Figures & data

TABLE 1. Measurement of Professional Roles of Communication Managers

Theoretical concept	Construct	Item	Question
Counseling roleAnalyzing and counseling about values, norms and issues	Influence on management	Taken serious (seriousness)	How seriously are communication recommendations taken by senior management? (7 point scale)
		Reputational considerations	To what extent are communication and reputational considerations factored into strategic decision making and planning? (7 point scale)
	Social responsibility	Involvement in CSR	What is your level of involvement in CSR in the organization? (5 point scale)
		Motivation for CSR	Which are the main drivers for CSR within your organization? (5 point scale)
		CSR communication	Which aspects of CSR are in the focus of communication? (pick 3 out of 9 aspects)
	Intercultural level	European integration	Please assess the importance of challenges for communication concerning European integration today and in 2011. (5 point scale)
Coaching roleEducate organization members to behave competently in communication	Development of the field	Strategic communication issues	Please pick 3 issues that will become relevant for communication within the next three years (pick 3 out of 12 or specify another issue)
Conceptualizing roleDevelop communication plans and build relationships to gain trust	Development of sub disciplines	Importance of fields of practice	How important are the following fields today and in 2011? (5 point scale)
Executing rolePrepare the means of communication and help prepare the communication	Communication channels and instruments	Importance of channels and instruments	How important are the following communication channels and instruments today and in 2011? (5 point scale)
		Emerging interactive channels	Please assess the following interactive tools for today and next year (5 point scale)
		On line videos	Please pick the three most important areas in communication for online videos (pick 3 out of 6 or specify another area)
	Research	Evaluation	Which items do you monitor or measure to asses the effectiveness of communication? (5 point scale)
Source: Theoretical concept (roles) adapted from Van Ruler & Verčič, 2005.

TABLE 2. Ranking of the Five Most Strategic Issues in Communication Management Related to the Type of Organization

Strategic issues	Type of organizations
	Joint stock companies	Private companies	Nonprofitorganizations	Governmentorganizations	Communicationagencies
Linking business strategy and communication	1	1	3	3	2
Dealing with sustainable development and social responsibility	2	2	3	2	3
Advancing public affairs and political communication			2	1
Coping with the digital evolution and the social web	3	4	1	2	1
Building and maintaining trust	4	3	4	3	5
Dealing with the demand of transparency and active audiences	5		5	4	4
Globalisation of communication		5
Supporting organizational change				5
Source: Zerfass et al. (2008), p. 35 (n = 1,524 communication managers from 37 European countries).

TABLE 3. Involvement of Communication Professionals in CSR activities

Order Issue	N	%
Participating in / leading CSR development	683	44.8
Communicating CSR activities	426	28.0
Not involved in CSR / CSR not relevant to the organization	414	27.2
Source: Zerfass et al. (2008), p. 48 (n = 1,524 communication managers from 37 European countries).

TABLE 4. Most Important Issues within the Next Three Years

Order	Issue	N	%
1	Linking business strategy and communication	691	45.4
2	Dealing with sustainable development and social responsibility	629	41.3
3	Coping with the digital evolution and the social web	586	38.5
4	Building and maintaining trust	463	30.4
5	Dealing with the demand of new transparency and active audiences	440	28.9
Source: Zerfass et al, (2008), p. 35 (n = 1,524 communication managers from 37 European countries).

TABLE 5. Main Focus of CSR Communication in Different European Regions

Focus of CSR communication	Region
	NorthernEurope	WesternEurope	SouthernEurope	EasternEurope	Europeat large
Corporate profile	66.6%	58.9%	60.4%	56.8%	60.8%
Social action	32.5%	35.0%	45.8%	50.0%	37.7%
Environmental action	39.3%	38.6%	38.2%	31.5%	37.9%
Employment and human resources	34.1%	35.3%	27.1%	36.3%	33.8%
Products and services	30.5%	32.7%	27.6%	39.0%	31.9%
Corporate governance	27.9%	28.6%	24.0%	23.3%	27.1%
Corporate ethics	27.3%	28.9%	21.8%	23.3%	27.0%
Economic action	18.8%	24.2%	28.0%	26.7%	23.9%
Relationships with stakeholders	23.1%	17.7%	27.1%	13.0%	19.9%
Source: Zerfass et al. (2008), p. 35 (n = 1,361 communication managers from organizations and agencies in which CSR is relevant).

TABLE 6. Main Drivers for CSR Activities in Europe

Order	Drivers	N	%
1	Reputation management	949	69.8
2	Business/organizational values	822	60.4
3	Consumer/stakeholder pressure	408	30.0
4	Legitimizing organizational activities	504	37.1
5	Employees' expectations	449	33.0
Source: Zerfass et al. (2008), p. 35 (n = 1,361 communication managers from organizations and agencies in which CSR is relevant).

Van Ruler , B. and Verčič , D. 2005 . “ Reflective communication management. Future ways for public relations research ” . In Communication Yearbook , Edited by: International Communication Association . Vol. 29 , 239 – 273 . New Brunswick, NJ : Translation Books .

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Zerfass, A., Moreno, A., Tench, R., Verčič, D., & Verhoeven, P. (2008). European Communication Monitor 2008. Trends in Communication Management and Public Relations—Results and Implications. Brussels, Leipzig: Euprera/University of Leipzig www.communicationmonitor.eu

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