The idea of communication professionals as consultants and enablers of communication has been expounded by a number of researchers. This is usually linked to the ‘consulting role’ as one of multiple roles enacted by communication professionals. Nevertheless, the specific dimensions and practices of internal communication consulting and its various objectives, forms and specifications have not been researched until now. This paper provides an initial step to close this gap by developing a theoretical framework based on research in business consulting and on existing public relations role models.
PDF: Enabling, Advising, Supporting, Executing: A Theoretical Framework for Internal Communication Consulting Within Organizations
IPR Top Paper Award at 2012 International Public Relations Research Conference
Ansgar Zerfass, University of Leipzig, and Neele Franke, Consultant, Strategy & Transformation Management Consulting, IBM
March 2012
