Expanding evaluation to progress strategic communication: Beyond message tracking and control to open listening

TY - JOUR

T1 - Expanding evaluation to progress strategic communication

T2 - International Journal of Strategic Communication

AU - Macnamara, Jim

AU - Gregory, Anne

N1 - “This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Strategic Communication on 13/08/2018, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1553118X.2018.1450255

PY - 2018

Y1 - 2018

N2 - Management writer Tom Peters noted that what gets measured is what gets done in organizations. Therefore, measurement and evaluation models and approaches provide insights into strategy. Furthermore, the most widely used approaches to evaluation are based on program logic models that identify objectives, planning, and inputs, as well as seeking to track outputs, outcomes and impact, thus affording insights into the origins of strategy and strategic intent as well, as its implementation. Given increasing focus on emergent strategy and participatory or networked strategy in place of internally predetermined strategy that is unilaterally focussed on an organization’ goals and objectives, this article critically reviews widely-used models for evaluation of communication to identify how well they support and enable broader contemporary approaches to organizational strategy and strategic communication. This analysis shows a narrow organization-centric focus on evaluating organizational messaging (one-way communication) directed at achieving organizational objectives in traditional evaluation models and calls for a more open, dynamic and expanded approach to facilitate two-way communication. Furthermore, in showing the important role of formative as well as summative evaluation, this analysis identifies a number of ways that evaluation of communication can inform organizational strategy and transform strategic communication.

AB - Management writer Tom Peters noted that what gets measured is what gets done in organizations. Therefore, measurement and evaluation models and approaches provide insights into strategy. Furthermore, the most widely used approaches to evaluation are based on program logic models that identify objectives, planning, and inputs, as well as seeking to track outputs, outcomes and impact, thus affording insights into the origins of strategy and strategic intent as well, as its implementation. Given increasing focus on emergent strategy and participatory or networked strategy in place of internally predetermined strategy that is unilaterally focussed on an organization’ goals and objectives, this article critically reviews widely-used models for evaluation of communication to identify how well they support and enable broader contemporary approaches to organizational strategy and strategic communication. This analysis shows a narrow organization-centric focus on evaluating organizational messaging (one-way communication) directed at achieving organizational objectives in traditional evaluation models and calls for a more open, dynamic and expanded approach to facilitate two-way communication. Furthermore, in showing the important role of formative as well as summative evaluation, this analysis identifies a number of ways that evaluation of communication can inform organizational strategy and transform strategic communication.

KW - Strategic communication

KW - strategy

KW - objectives

KW - interests

KW - evaluation

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85051487704&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/1553118X.2018.1450255

DO - 10.1080/1553118X.2018.1450255

M3 - Article

VL - 12

SP - 469

EP - 486

JO - International Journal of Strategic Communication

JF - International Journal of Strategic Communication

SN - 1553-118X

IS - 4

ER -