Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This study aims to investigate how business-to-business companies communicate with their target audience and how they most conveniently use communication channels. The study is based on a qualitatively oriented case study and the empirical material consists of six interviews. The respondents are from a selected business target group and they all work with car care. The empirical study is analyzed based on the theories of Use and gratification, and Karl Weick's theories of meaning creation and business-to-business as a marketing strategy. The purpose of the study has been formed in cooperation with an external company, but also based on existing knowledge needs in the field of research. The study results indicate that marketing communication today is becoming more and more digital and that more companies communicate through social media and on the internet. Further results show how different needs affect the individual's media usage and choice of communication channels.

This Master thesis describes the internal communication in the group of external employees and focuses to the analysis of the effectiveness of two main communication channels in particular department of the organization. At first it describes internal communication in the field of virtual teams. Then it looks at the situation in the department of content in specific internet market. The main part is the study of efficiency of the communication channels, especially of the changes in the effectiveness after four-month hiatus in use. To perform the investigation the company internal data analysis was used. At the end, the thesis evaluates the phenomena studied.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Communication Management / MPhil / Unrestricted

This thesis analyzes the internal communication in a particular organization. Its aim is to describe the various communication channels and their resources, analyze their usage and propose solutions for improving the situation in identified problem areas. The object of this work is a small company operating in the service sector. We use methods of semi structured interviews and analysis of internal documents. The conclusion highlights the positive aspects of internal communication in the company, identifies problem areas and proposes solutions to improve the current situation.

The work is concerned with the effective communication tools in a selected company. The aim is to describe the various means of communication, analyze their effectiveness and propose solutions for problematic means of communication. The object of the work is a medium sized company operating in the field of logistics. In this thesis methods of survey research, analysis of internal documentation and observation are used. In conclusion, the thesis is to evaluate the efficiency of communication in relation to employee satisfaction survey and recommended some improvements for more efficient use of communication devices in the selected company.

This thesis is specialised to analyse clients responds from banking industry to mar-keting campaigns. For purpose of such study are from the view of the information systems essential Customer Relationship Management systems, CRM systems, their operational part, with which are working all the employees and also analytical part, which serve for agregation a usage information of the operational part for desicion making. For the sake of correct understanding of the business logic of these systems is thesis concerning also area of direct marketing, which is object of CRM marketing campaigns. From theoretical point of view is suitable in the name of marketing campaigns evaluation work with Customer Intelligence and its selected topics. As a case study has been used real situation of the bank existing on the czech ban-king market, which is in current time working of implementation of a new CRM system Siebel. Situation in the bank and also on the project has dynamical charakter. Target of the thesis is to find out and provide the way how CRM system supports scoring of campaign succes, which is important for decision making about products offered to clients and about choice of appropriate communication. There are also mentioned other options of develop-ment these analytical tools.

Syfte: Studien syftar till att förstå hur B2B-företag kan förbättra kommunikationen av sitt hållbarhetsarbete. Frågeställningar: 1. Hur har hållbarhetskommunikationen sett ut de senaste tio åren? 2. Hur kommunicerar B2B-företag ut informationen i hållbarhetsredovisningen till medarbetare och kunder? 3. Vilka förbättringsmöjligheter finns för intern och extern hållbarhetskommunikation? Metod: För att besvara studiens syfte har en kvalitativ ansats använts. Elva djupintervjuer har genomförts med specialister på hållbarhetskommunikation och svenska B2B-företag med framstående hållbarhetsarbeten. Resultat: Kommunikationen av företags hållbarhetsarbete har förändrats eftersom hållbarhet utvecklats från ett tråkigt måste till att betraktas som något lönsamt. Detta beror bland annat på att engagemang och efterfrågan ökat från både medarbetare och kunder. Informationen i hållbarhetsredovisningen kommuniceras ut, men hållbarhetsredovisningen i sig är inte den främsta kommunikationskanalen. Respondenterna understryker att det är mer väsentligt att hållbarhetsinformationen kommuniceras vid aktuell tidpunkt samt bit för bit under året. Slutsats: B2B-företag borde bli mer transparenta samt kommunicera aktuell och väsentlig hållbarhetsinformation. De gynnas även av att samarbeta för att öka genomslagskraften med gemensamma hållbara initiativ. Ett annat förbättringsområde är den interna kommunikationen som med fördel skulle kunna bli mer tvåvägs, detta då den interna hållbarhetsdialogen är en väsentlig del för att integrera hållbarhet i verksamheten. Med hållbarhet integrerat i verksamheten och i strategin presenterar företag ett hållbart budskap i samtliga processer med kunden. / Purpose: The aim of the paper is to understand how B2B companies can improve the communication of their CSR activities. Problem 1. How has the CSR communication changed during the last ten years? 2. How do companies communicate the information in the CSR report to employees and customers? 3. Which potential improvements exist for internal and external CSR communication? Methodology: In order to answer the purpose of the paper a qualitative approach has been used. Eleven interviews have been conducted with B2B companies with achievements in CSR activities as well as specialists in CSR communication. Results: The communication of a company’s CSR activities has change. Earlier CSR has been perceived as something boring but today it is seen as profitable. Among other things, this is because the commitment and demand from both employees and customers has increased. The information from the CSR report is being communicated, but the report itself is not the primary channel of communication. The respondents emphasize that the CSR information should be communicated in the current time and piece by piece during the year. Conclusion: B2B companies should be more transparent and communicate current and essential information. Also, they could cooperate to increase the collective power in order to reach a sustainable level. Moreover, companies could improve their two-way communication since the internal CSR dialogue is a vital part in order to make CSR integrated in the company. If CSR is integrated in the company and strategy, it enables for the customers to perceive a sustainable message.

Background: Since the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development establishment in 2015, the UN member nations have pressured organizations to improve their sustainability engagements in order to enable the nations to meet their agreed sustainable development goals. To ensure organizational transparency regarding an organization’s sustainability engagements, a regulation regarding non-financial reporting entered into force in 2016. However, the non-financial reporting is principally external-driven, and the communicated information is not received by the ones realizing these sustainability engagements, namely the internal stakeholders. Problem: The fact that external communication of an organization’s sustainability engagements improves the consumption from consumers, together with the regulation of non-financial reporting, there is no coincidence that a lot of the sustainability communication from organizations is directed to external stakeholders rather than internal stakeholders. Furthermore, the internal communication of an organization’s sustainability engagements is an insufficiently researched topic, although it is of great importance to foster employee engagement. Purpose: This study aims to discover how organizations within the food retail industry communicate their sustainability engagements internally throughout the levels of the organization, from top management down to all employee levels.  Method: The research is conducted through a qualitative research design with six semi-structured interviews. The interviewees represented three different levels of two different food retail organizations. Findings were analyzed and compared to previous research within the topic. Conclusion: Findings show that the examined organizations do communicate their sustainability engagements to their internal stakeholders. However, this communication is done through communication channels where the actual information is not received by its intended receivers. This results in internal stakeholders being unaware of their organization’s sustainability engagements. Since awareness is a prerequisite for engagement, preferred communication channels from the receiver’s perspective and an organizational structure that enables top management to reach its intended receiver are identified as vital components to engage the internal stakeholders with its organization’s sustainability engagements.

The fundamental nature of the research question for this study was centred on the functions of internal communication. It was within this context that functionalism as theoretical approach was selected for the study of internal communication within the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) in South Africa. Functionalism’s interest in the structure and function of communication is evident in its major assumption, namely that the phenomenon of mass communication is a system that is a whole consisting of several interrelated and interdependent parts. In addition two related theories, systems theory and classical management theory, were employed as departure for the study. Related literature on internal communication bears evidence that the flow of internal communication differs from one environment to the other. This depends on the type of information that has been communicated and the type of organisation in which the internal communication occurs. Managing employees effectively requires communication and the quality of communication amongst the people that comprise an organisation is a crucial variable in determining organisational success. This requires a common understanding of the role and structure of communication and its functions. Internal communication is the strength of any organisation. Communication scholars such as Verwey and Du Plooy (2003), Kitchen and Daly (2002), Gibson and Hodgetts (1991), Murabe (1990) and numerous others already demonstrated the overwhelming importance of internal communication in today’s business environment. Internal communication creates a platform for participative decision making, employees’ interaction, information sharing, creativity and innovation, as well as an environment that fosters productivity and creates a sense of organisational ownership.A comprehensive internal communication system is required to unambiguously translate the vision, mission and strategic objectives of any organisation into reality. Furthermore effective internal communication has a potential to build and sustain social interaction within the organisation and most importantly to drive a service delivery message to all employees. Effective communication and service delivery have recently become issue of exceptional importance in government departments in South Africa, particularly in government agencies. Factors such as organisational culture and leadership style have an influence on internal communication. Organisational culture defines and describes what the organisation stands for. Leadership is very critical for internal communication as it informs the organisation’s vision. If the leadership is negatively inclined, there is no way in which the internal communication will thrive. It is always advisable to strike a balance between organisational culture, leadership and internal communication. The findings of this study indicate that management and employees of the GCIS perceive the function of internal communication differently; that both management and employees have inadequate general understanding of the communication channels and communication structure within the GCIS and reveal that though there are numerous communication channels available, only few are used and preferred within the GCIS. The selection and the understanding of communication channels within the organisation are critical elements for internal communication. Therefore, the communication department or division should ensure broader consultation with all key stakeholders within the organisation. It is regrettable to have communication channels within the organisation that are not understood by the majority of employees and to discover that out of the twenty that are implemented, only five are mainly used and two preferred by most of the management and the employees. / Dissertation (MPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / hb2013 / Marketing Management / unrestricted