Yolandi Botha (Slabbert) | University of South Africa (original) (raw)

Articles, book chapters and conference papers by Yolandi Botha (Slabbert)

Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies , 2023

Organizational credibility is an important component of organizational survival. The need to buil... more Organizational credibility is an important component of organizational survival. The need to build and maintain organizational credibility in the social media context is specifically significant, largely due to the popularity of the medium in the current interactive communication environment. Social media, however, create a challenging environment for accurate information consumption, because it excludes the journalistic gatekeeper, are subject to misinformation and allow for information proliferation by both official and nonofficial users. For organizations to enhance their credibility in the social media context, it is important, firstly, to determine what constitutes social organization credibility. To establish an enhanced understanding of social organizational credibility and to build towards a formal conceptualization, this article quantitatively explored the preliminary identified determinants of social organizational credibility among active social media users. An exploratory factor analysis indicated that social organizational credibility consists of the determinants of trustworthiness, qualified resonance, homophily, personable interaction, informed conversation, and apt social word-of-mouth. Furthermore, the results also highlighted that an organization’s connections (including social media influencers and experts) are also a key determinant of social organizational credibility. This research provides guidance as to how social media users assess an organization’s credibility in the social media context, which could help alleviate the misinformation stigma that is associated with social media as an interactive communication platform. The identified determinants and the conceptualization of social organizational credibility extend existing organizational credibility literature and provide organizations with much needed guidelines to enhance their credibility in the social media context.

An introduction to social media research: Theory and Application, 2020

Strategic communication: South African Perspectives, 2021

Strategic Communication: South African Perspectives, 2021

Management Dynamics , 2021

The importance of stakeholder engagement for organisational survival is widely recognised and sup... more The importance of stakeholder engagement for organisational survival is widely recognised and supported. The interactive, polyphonic organisational context has placed added emphasis on stakeholder engagement. Strategic communication professionals are increasingly becoming responsible for creating connection among diverse voices which necessitates their involvement in the stakeholder engagement process. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of the strategic communication professional in the stakeholder engagement process in contemporary, polyphonic (multivoiced) strategic communication. This was done by determining the pragmatic relevance of two approaches to stakeholder engagement, namely deliberate-emergent and radical-emergent. A quantitative research design was employed using a web-based survey, which was distributed to communication professionals in academia and practice. An exploratory factor analysis highlighted two approaches to stakeholder engagement that recognises the importance of stakeholder conversations and inputs, while honouring conventional planning as a key activity for successful stakeholder engagement. The results of this study provide guidance to organisational management on engaging stakeholders in line with the current polyphonic organisational context. The study also affirms the indispensable role of the communication professional in the stakeholder engagement process, either to provide stakeholder guidance or to contribute to stakeholder enablement and empowerment.

The pressure on organisations to become more global and information intensive and the increasing ... more The pressure on organisations to become more global and information intensive and the increasing uncertainty and complexity of the organisational environment have increased the convolution of organisational change. Globalisation and interactive technologies such as Web 2.0 have transformed traditional media and created a communication environment of connection, convergence, and collaboration which is labelled as the ‘collaborative turn’. This changing communication landscape has stimulated postmodern thought in the field of strategic communication and emphasises purposeful communication of the communication agent on behalf of the communicative entity in the public sphere. As a starting point towards developing the concept of change-orientated communication from a postmodern strategic communication perspective (termed as ‘strategic change-orientated communication’), this literature paper aims to provide a contextualisation of this conceptual problem. Furthermore, since communication professionals are ostensibly slow in the uptake of postmodern developments in communication, this paper aims to expand the body of knowledge on the changing communication landscape with specific focus on change orientated-communication. By doing so, the paper provides an elaboration on the changes in the field of strategic communication with an emphasis on contemporary postmodern thought which serves as basis to emphasise the necessity for change-orientated communication from an emergent change context and, most importantly, the subsequent conceptual development thereof. This paper will conclude with a proposition of preliminary attributes of ‘strategic change-orientated communication’ which not only serve as one of the first steps in the concept development process, but also a heuristic for future research.

Communicatio, 2016

ABSTRACT The potential influence that internal stakeholders’ image of the organisation could have... more ABSTRACT The potential influence that internal stakeholders’ image of the organisation could have on external stakeholders’ image of the organisation, is strongly supported in the literature. This research project attempted to address the need for an approach that facilitates employee engagement, coupled with a leadership approach that allows collaboration, inclusion and cooperation within the organisation, to strengthen internal corporate image. This article reports on the results of the second phase of this research project, where a proposed stakeholder-inclusive conceptual framework for strengthening the internal corporate image, built from a stakeholder-inclusive perspective as depicted in the King III report on corporate governance, was explored in practice. A quantitative, self-administered web-based survey was conducted with the 2014 winners of the Deloitte Best Company to Work For (BCTWF) survey. The results not only indicated that these organisations’ practices resonate with the proposed stakeholder-inclusive framework, but also that the principles of the framework, namely stakeholder theory; integrated internal communication; peace arena; stakeholder engagement by means of the AA1000 Stakeholder Engagement Standard (AA1000SES) and responsible leadership and stewardship correlate with one another. The stakeholder-inclusive conceptual framework expands on the body of knowledge on corporate image and provides corporate communication professionals with a guide for strengthening their organisation’s internal corporate image, which could serve as starting point for strengthening the external corporate image and eventual corporate reputation.

Communicatio, 2011

In order for organisations to survive in an ever-changing milieu in the current business environm... more In order for organisations to survive in an ever-changing milieu in the current business environment, sufficient crisis communication and management practices need to be in place to ensure organisational survival. Despite the latter, organisational crises are often inefficiently managed which could be ascribed to the lack of managing crises strategically (Kash & Darling 1998:180). This article explores the lack of strategic crisis communication processes to ensure effective crisis communication with the media as stakeholder group. It is argued that the media is one of the main influences of public opinion (Pollard & Hotho 2006:725), thereby emphasising the need for accurate distribution of information. Furthermore, the study will focus specifically on the financial industry, as it is believed that this industry is more sensitive and thus more prone towards media reporting as financial services providers manage people's money (Squier 2009). A strategic crisis communication process with the media is therefore proposed, facilitated through an integrated crisis communication framework, which focuses on a combination of Integrated Communication (IC) literature with emphasis on Grunig's theory of communication excellence to build sustainable media relationships through two-way communication; and proposing a crisis communication process that has proactive, reactive and post-evaluative crisis communication stages, thereby moving away from crisis communication as a predominant reactive function.

Successful organizations depend on stakeholder perceptions to address changes in turbulent organi... more Successful organizations depend on stakeholder perceptions to address changes in turbulent organizational environments, report on social and environmental impacts of activities, the prevalence of public activism, globalization, emerging issues and crises and the need to be good corporate citizens through ethical and socially responsible behaviour. Despite the current emphasis on stakeholder relations and management, a lack of research exists on how to build these relationships. This article aims to report and discuss the findings of a study that explored the lack of OSR building models to emphasize the elements and development of an organization-stakeholder relationship (OSR) and highlight the need for a generic, strategic, integrated approach for sustainable OSR to contribute towards organizational effectiveness. This will be done by an exploratory literature review to constitute a conceptual framework for OSR building of which the principles of the framework will be explored and m...

The increasing pluralistic business environment, where stakeholders continually challenge the tre... more The increasing pluralistic business environment, where stakeholders continually challenge the treatise of organisational primacy, places more pressure on organisations to address and prioritise diverse stakeholder expectations. Stakeholders are central to the success of organisations, which necessitates engagement, transparency and responses to stakeholder concerns. Despite consensus in existing literature on the significance of stakeholder engagement, no common understanding on what it entails exists. Another gap is to approach stakeholder engagement from multiple stakeholder vantage points and to explore the role of the strategic communication professional in facilitating stakeholder engagement. The digital network revolution, among others, has brought about a “collaborative turn” that allows innovative and engaging opportunities to obtain valuable information from stakeholders through interactive conversations. These forces resulted in a paradigmatic shift in strategic communicat...

Communicare; Journal for Communication Sciences in Southern Africa, 2012

Although the concept 'organisation-stakeholder relationship (OSR)' is not new and has bee... more Although the concept 'organisation-stakeholder relationship (OSR)' is not new and has been researched extensively in the literature, few attempts have been made to critically analyseexisting viewpoints and propose a unified conceptual framework. The main research problem of this paper is to address this lack of a commonly accepted conceptual framework for organisational stakeholder relationships. This is done through a critical analysis of the different perspectivesand existing conceptual frameworks, using a qualitative method whereby strategic stakeholder identification, OSR development, and OSR maintenance are integrated to propose a conceptual framework, subsequently termed SISOSR, for building organisation-stakeholder partnerships(OSPs) with strategic stakeholders. This article is structured as follows: Firstly, the key concepts are defined; secondly, the building blocks of the framework are presented based on sound theoretical constructs; and. thirdly, the SISOSR framew...

Amidst challenges of economic uncertainty, resource constraints, social movement and unrest, incr... more Amidst challenges of economic uncertainty, resource constraints, social movement and unrest, increased pressure is placed on organisations to address diverse stakeholder expectations. Stakeholders are central to the success of an organisation, and this fact compels the latter to engage, be more transparent and respond to stakeholder concerns. Stakeholder engagement is an integral part of ensuring organisational sustainability and success, as it utilises strategic direction and operational excellence to serve as tools for competitive advantage. Contemporary organisations have realised there are opportunities to be derived from changing the nature of organisation– stakeholder relationships, from control to collaboration, from exchange to engagement. With the emergence of strategic communication as an all-encompassing function to achieve the mission of the organisation, the task of the strategic communication professional is to facilitate stakeholder engagement strategies that will eli...

The potential influence that internal stakeholders’ image of the organisation could have on exter... more The potential influence that internal stakeholders’ image of the organisation could have on external stakeholders’ image of the organisation, is strongly supported in the literature. This research project attempted to address the need for an approach that facilitates employee engagement coupled with a leadership approach that allows collaboration, inclusion and cooperation within the organisation, to strengthen the internal corporate image. This article reports on the results of the second phase of this research project where a proposed stakeholder-inclusive conceptual framework for strengthening the internal corporate image, built from a stakeholderinclusive perspective as depicted in the King III report on corporate governance, was explored in practice. A quantitative, self-administered web-based survey was conducted with the 2014 winners of the Deloitte Best Company to Work For (BCTWF) survey. The results not only indicated that these organisations’ practices resonate with the pr...

To fill the gap in existing literature to build organisation-stakeholder relationships (OSRs) and... more To fill the gap in existing literature to build organisation-stakeholder relationships (OSRs) and to expand the body of knowledge on the process of OSR building, Slabbert (2012) developed a model that provided a partnership approach to describe the process of OSR building with strategic stakeholders. This model was tested among in-house corporate communication professionals at JSE listed organisations. The main aim of this article was to provide a follow-up study to further explore how the principles of this model resonate with the process of OSR building in practice, specifically in selected South African public relations (PR) and communication agencies. By further exploring the principles of the SISOSR model, this study explored whether OSR building from a modernistic perspective is still relevant in practice or whether it resembles a post-modernistic move evident in recent academic literature. A twophased qualitative data collection approach was followed: Semi-structured one-on-o...

It is widely reported in the literature that employees' image of the organisation has a direc... more It is widely reported in the literature that employees' image of the organisation has a direct influence on external stakeholders' image of the organisation. This research attempted to address the need for an approach that facilitates employee engagement coupled with a leadership approach that allows collaboration, inclusion and co-operation within the organisation, to strengthen the internal corporate image. A synthesis of the literature from a unique stakeholder-inclusive perspective, depicted in the King III Report on corporate governance, was conducted to identify the theoretical principles for a preliminary conceptual framework explored through a case study approach. Parsec Technologies Pty Ltd was purposively selected as case study, because it was the 2012 and 2013 winner in the manufacturing sector of the Deloitte Best Company to Work For (BCTWF) survey, and served as a best practice organisation in the context of this research. Data triangulation by means of one-on-o...

A dominant focus on organizational stakeholders is evident in both the literature and practice as... more A dominant focus on organizational stakeholders is evident in both the literature and practice as it is argued that the success of organizations is predominantly dependent on stakeholders’ perception of the organization. Since stakeholder relations is increasingly being seen as the heartbeat of corporate communication (Luoma-aho & Paloviita 2010:49), this paper is built on the preposition that the importance of corporate communication to the organization, especially on strategic level, should become more prevalent. However, despite this emphasis on stakeholder relations and management, there is a dearth in the literature indicating how to build these organization-stakeholder relationships (OSR). In order for corporate communication to obtain more credibility as a strategic organizational function, it is argued for the purpose of this paper that the lack of OSR building models to describe the OSR building process should be addressed. This will be done through the proposition of a con...

This article proposes a new concept, co-change-orientated communication (co-COC), which encapsula... more This article proposes a new concept, co-change-orientated communication (co-COC), which encapsulates the daily social and communication processes of organisational members in making sense of change from a critical strategic communication perspective. Guided by an evolutionary approach to concept development, this article aims to quantitatively measure the pragmatic relevance of identified attributes and antecedents of co-COC to the development of a fully-fledged concept at six high-change South African organisations. An exploratory factor analysis confirmed that co-COC is attributed by meaningful dialogue, employee engagement, collaboration and co-creation, and the encouragement of dissent. It is bottom-up in nature and enabled by the antecedents of organisational agility, leadership agility, a change-able culture and stakeholder engagement. Co-COC further extends theoretical development on the need for change in approaches to communication that support ongoing organisational change...

Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies , 2023

An introduction to social media research: Theory and Application, 2020

Strategic communication: South African Perspectives, 2021

Strategic Communication: South African Perspectives, 2021

Management Dynamics , 2021

Communicatio, 2016

Communicatio, 2011

Communicare; Journal for Communication Sciences in Southern Africa, 2012

Although the concept ‘organisation-stakeholder relationship (OSR)’ is not new and has been resear... more Although the concept ‘organisation-stakeholder relationship (OSR)’ is not new and has been researched extensively in the literature, limited attempts have been made to critically analyse existing viewpoints and propose a unified conceptual framework. The main research problem of this paper is to address this lack of a commonly accepted conceptual framework for organisational stakeholder relationships. This is done through a critical analysis of the different perspectives and existing conceptual frameworks by using a qualitative method whereby strategic stakeholder identification, OSR development and OSR maintenance are integrated to propose a conceptual framework, subsequently termed SISOSR to build organisation-stakeholder partnerships (OSP) with strategic stakeholders. This article is structured as follows: Firstly, the key concepts are defined; secondly the building blocks of the framework is presented based on sound theoretical constructs; and thirdly the SISOSR framework is gra...

Communicare: Journal for Communication Studies in Africa, Oct 11, 2022