Organizations of all types, sizes and orientations are communicatively embedded in our society. This does not only create opportunities for organizations to build and maintain targeted relationships with relevant sections of society, but also responsibilities to get involved in various discourses and help shape them. Traditional media channels and social media play a central role in this process.

Communication in an organizational context must, therefore, be strategically conceived, i.e. professionally planned and developed, managed and evaluated in order to contribute to the value creation of organizations and meet the abovementioned responsibilities for social development. In addition to external communication, professional communication within organizations is essential for their constitution, design, culture and thus their stability.

At the Institute for Strategic Organizational Communication, we refer to theories of organizational and organizing communication, the various forms of this communication in the public sphere as well as its effects on and consequences for the organizations themselves and society as a whole. In short, we study communication in, by and about organizations of all kinds, such as companies, industrial networks, political organizations, non-governmental organizations and social movements.

We integrate interdisciplinary perspectives from communication science, organizational research and sociology, linguistics, as well as relevant research on marketing, management, psychology, but also environmental and political science. A particular focus is on strategic and organizational communication and communication management, especially in relation to social issues such as sustainability, health risks and economic transformation.