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An Ace Up the Organizational Sleeve – The Role of the Corporate Purpose and How Investor Relations Professionals Make Sense of It

Brühl, Josefine LU (2022) SKOM12 20221
Department of Strategic Communication
Abstract
This thesis addresses the role of the corporate purpose in strategic financial
communication from the perspective of investor relations professionals (IRPs)
with particular reference to their sensemaking process.
Strategic financial communication increasingly includes intangible assets that
contribute to the value of the company. At the same time, more and more
companies are publishing corporate purpose statements that are intended to
express their relevance. The thesis acknowledges those trends and aims to assess
how IRPs make sense of the corporate purpose and how they strategically use it in
investor relations communication.
Eleven qualitative in-depth interviews with IRPs from German DAX40
companies were conducted and... (More)
This thesis addresses the role of the corporate purpose in strategic financial
communication from the perspective of investor relations professionals (IRPs)
with particular reference to their sensemaking process.
Strategic financial communication increasingly includes intangible assets that
contribute to the value of the company. At the same time, more and more
companies are publishing corporate purpose statements that are intended to
express their relevance. The thesis acknowledges those trends and aims to assess
how IRPs make sense of the corporate purpose and how they strategically use it in
investor relations communication.
Eleven qualitative in-depth interviews with IRPs from German DAX40
companies were conducted and analyzed with an abductive method. The results
show that IRPs focus on cues when making sense of the corporate purpose,
especially links to intangible assets and organizational values can be identified.
The corporate purpose is only partially used in communication with the financial
public.
Deepened reflection on the corporate purpose, fueled by discussions and cues,
supports the sensemaking process of IRPs which can be guided by the
organization. The role of the corporate purpose turned out to be complex with –
although not always explored – the potential to be used as a descriptive and
normative tool in strategic financial communication. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Brühl, Josefine LU
supervisor
organization
course
SKOM12 20221
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Corporate Purpose, Sensemaking, Strategic Financial Communication, Investor Relations Professionals, Intangible Assets
language
English
id
9086406
date added to LUP
2022-06-27 14:29:21
date last changed
2022-06-27 14:29:21
@misc{9086406,
  abstract     = {{This thesis addresses the role of the corporate purpose in strategic financial 
communication from the perspective of investor relations professionals (IRPs) 
with particular reference to their sensemaking process. 
Strategic financial communication increasingly includes intangible assets that 
contribute to the value of the company. At the same time, more and more
companies are publishing corporate purpose statements that are intended to 
express their relevance. The thesis acknowledges those trends and aims to assess 
how IRPs make sense of the corporate purpose and how they strategically use it in 
investor relations communication.
Eleven qualitative in-depth interviews with IRPs from German DAX40 
companies were conducted and analyzed with an abductive method. The results 
show that IRPs focus on cues when making sense of the corporate purpose, 
especially links to intangible assets and organizational values can be identified. 
The corporate purpose is only partially used in communication with the financial 
public.
Deepened reflection on the corporate purpose, fueled by discussions and cues, 
supports the sensemaking process of IRPs which can be guided by the 
organization. The role of the corporate purpose turned out to be complex with –
although not always explored – the potential to be used as a descriptive and 
normative tool in strategic financial communication.}},
  author       = {{Brühl, Josefine}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{An Ace Up the Organizational Sleeve – The Role of the Corporate Purpose and How Investor Relations Professionals Make Sense of It}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}