Strategy Texts as Auto-Communication: How narrative, language, and visual symbolism exercise discursive control
(2025) In International Journal of Strategic Communication 19(1). p.86-104- Abstract
- Strategy texts are an important way of communicating a strategy to a range of different stakeholders, including internal audiences as the organization communicates with itself (auto-communication). In this article, we analyze two related strategy texts that were produced for auto-communicative purposes as part of a strategic change initiative in a UK organization that employed a storytelling approach to strategic communication. Our multimodal analysis shows how narrative, visual symbolism and directive lexical choices and grammatical forms used in the two strategy texts exercise discursive control using three main mechanisms: (1) encouraging action through future-focused narrative structure; (2) strengthening emotional attachment with the... (More)
- Strategy texts are an important way of communicating a strategy to a range of different stakeholders, including internal audiences as the organization communicates with itself (auto-communication). In this article, we analyze two related strategy texts that were produced for auto-communicative purposes as part of a strategic change initiative in a UK organization that employed a storytelling approach to strategic communication. Our multimodal analysis shows how narrative, visual symbolism and directive lexical choices and grammatical forms used in the two strategy texts exercise discursive control using three main mechanisms: (1) encouraging action through future-focused narrative structure; (2) strengthening emotional attachment with the organization through purposeful selection of anecdotes from a shared stock of stories; and (3) defining desired actions and behaviours through visual symbolism and directive lexical choices and grammatical forms. Moreover, the article contributes to current debates of the nature of strategic communication by demonstrating the tension between linear and dialogic communication in practice, while also providing rare empirical insights on the use of auto-communication in contemporary strategic communication. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/c550611e-271f-4299-b3bf-5f2c412d67df
- author
- Reissner, Stefanie and Falkheimer, Jesper LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- strategy as discourse, auto-communication, corporate communication
- in
- International Journal of Strategic Communication
- volume
- 19
- issue
- 1
- pages
- 86 - 104
- publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85201095244
- ISSN
- 1553-1198
- DOI
- 10.1080/1553118X.2024.2388087
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- c550611e-271f-4299-b3bf-5f2c412d67df
- date added to LUP
- 2024-07-31 14:38:27
- date last changed
- 2025-04-04 14:37:53
@article{c550611e-271f-4299-b3bf-5f2c412d67df,
abstract = {{Strategy texts are an important way of communicating a strategy to a range of different stakeholders, including internal audiences as the organization communicates with itself (auto-communication). In this article, we analyze two related strategy texts that were produced for auto-communicative purposes as part of a strategic change initiative in a UK organization that employed a storytelling approach to strategic communication. Our multimodal analysis shows how narrative, visual symbolism and directive lexical choices and grammatical forms used in the two strategy texts exercise discursive control using three main mechanisms: (1) encouraging action through future-focused narrative structure; (2) strengthening emotional attachment with the organization through purposeful selection of anecdotes from a shared stock of stories; and (3) defining desired actions and behaviours through visual symbolism and directive lexical choices and grammatical forms. Moreover, the article contributes to current debates of the nature of strategic communication by demonstrating the tension between linear and dialogic communication in practice, while also providing rare empirical insights on the use of auto-communication in contemporary strategic communication.}},
author = {{Reissner, Stefanie and Falkheimer, Jesper}},
issn = {{1553-1198}},
keywords = {{strategy as discourse; auto-communication; corporate communication}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{86--104}},
publisher = {{Taylor & Francis}},
series = {{International Journal of Strategic Communication}},
title = {{Strategy Texts as Auto-Communication: How narrative, language, and visual symbolism exercise discursive control}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1553118X.2024.2388087}},
doi = {{10.1080/1553118X.2024.2388087}},
volume = {{19}},
year = {{2025}},
}