TY - JOUR
T1 - Reading beyond the lines
T2 - themes and cultural values in corporate leaders’ communication
AU - Ngai, Cindy Sing Bik
AU - Singh, Rita Gill
N1 - Funding Information:
HKBC 01 HKBC 02 HKRC 01 HKRC 02 HKRC 03 HKRC 04 HKRC 05 HKRC 06 HKRC 07 HKRC 08 HKRC 09 HKRC 10 HKRC 11 HKRC 12 HKRC 13 HKRC 14 HKRC 15 SCI 01 SCI 02 SCI 03 SCI 04 SCI 05 SCI 06 SCI 07 SCI 08 SCI 09 TWI 01 TWI 02 TWI 03 TWI 04 TWI 05 TWI 06 China Life Insurance (Overseas) Company Limited CITIC Pacific Limited China Daye Non-Ferrous Metals Mining Limited China Gold International Resources Corp. China Non-ferrous Metal Mining (Group) Co., Ltd China Foods Limited Far East Horizon Limited CHTC Fong’s Industries Company Limited Founder Holdings Company Limited Franshion Properties (China) Limited China Minmetals Corporation Poly Property Group Co., Limited Sinofert Holding Limited Sinotruk (Hong Kong) Limited Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation Yue Da Mining Holdings Limited Yuexiu Transport Infrastructure Limited Baosteel Group Corporation China CNR Corporation Limited China State Construction Engineering Corporation China Merchants Bank CSR Corporation Limited China Hainan Rubber Industry Group Co., Ltd China Kweichow Winery (Group) Co., Ltd Shandong Gold Group Co., Ltd China Petrochemical Corporation ASUSTEK Computer Inc. China Development Financial Holding Corporation Chunghua Telecom Delta Group Hotai Motor Co., Ltd Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Purpose: The unprecedented economic development and increase in the number of global corporations in the Greater China region, comprising the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong, have led to more emphasis on corporate leader-stakeholder communication. Bilingual web-based messages posted on corporate websites, which aim to strategically cultivate positive relationships between leaders and stakeholders, have emerged as a primary mode of communication for Chinese corporations. However, a research study investigating the prominent themes and underlying cultural values depicted in leaders’ messages intended for different groups of stakeholders is lacking. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the themes and cultural values expressed through corporate leaders’ web-based messages in a non-western context. Design/methodology/approach: Using an inductive approach, open coding and a categorization system, this study analyzed the web-based messages of leading corporations with WordSmith 6.0. Findings: Six prominent themes in leaders’ communication were identified. These themes included, in order of importance: company development, operating philosophy, company profile, business environment, performance, and products and services. It was found that leaders strategically selected certain themes such as focusing on progress and the business environment but omitted others depending on how they wanted to strategically influence their stakeholders’ attitudes. Differences between the cultural values depicted in Chinese and the corresponding English messages could be attributed to leaders’ cultural adaptation of the messages intended for non-domestic stakeholders. Originality/value: Since this study provides insights into the major themes preferred by leaders of corporations operating in Greater China, it will enable existing stakeholders to understand the main business focus of leaders and offer leaders more information about commonly accepted themes. These possibilities for enhanced knowledge on the part of stakeholders and business leaders, in turn, may potentially increase academic appreciation of the complexities involved in corporate communication. It also informs stakeholders about the variations in the values reflected in the English and Chinese messages of leaders, and, therefore, has a potential to offer value to academics and practitioners.
AB - Purpose: The unprecedented economic development and increase in the number of global corporations in the Greater China region, comprising the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong, have led to more emphasis on corporate leader-stakeholder communication. Bilingual web-based messages posted on corporate websites, which aim to strategically cultivate positive relationships between leaders and stakeholders, have emerged as a primary mode of communication for Chinese corporations. However, a research study investigating the prominent themes and underlying cultural values depicted in leaders’ messages intended for different groups of stakeholders is lacking. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the themes and cultural values expressed through corporate leaders’ web-based messages in a non-western context. Design/methodology/approach: Using an inductive approach, open coding and a categorization system, this study analyzed the web-based messages of leading corporations with WordSmith 6.0. Findings: Six prominent themes in leaders’ communication were identified. These themes included, in order of importance: company development, operating philosophy, company profile, business environment, performance, and products and services. It was found that leaders strategically selected certain themes such as focusing on progress and the business environment but omitted others depending on how they wanted to strategically influence their stakeholders’ attitudes. Differences between the cultural values depicted in Chinese and the corresponding English messages could be attributed to leaders’ cultural adaptation of the messages intended for non-domestic stakeholders. Originality/value: Since this study provides insights into the major themes preferred by leaders of corporations operating in Greater China, it will enable existing stakeholders to understand the main business focus of leaders and offer leaders more information about commonly accepted themes. These possibilities for enhanced knowledge on the part of stakeholders and business leaders, in turn, may potentially increase academic appreciation of the complexities involved in corporate communication. It also informs stakeholders about the variations in the values reflected in the English and Chinese messages of leaders, and, therefore, has a potential to offer value to academics and practitioners.
KW - Communication strategy
KW - Corporate communication
KW - Corporate media
KW - Culture
KW - Leadership
KW - Public relations
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85045837825&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1108/JCOM-01-2017-0005
DO - 10.1108/JCOM-01-2017-0005
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85045837825
SN - 1363-254X
VL - 22
SP - 212
EP - 232
JO - Journal of Communication Management
JF - Journal of Communication Management
IS - 2
ER -