Corporate Communication

Since the second half of the twentieth century corporate communication has appealed to professionals and consultants, among whom the disciplinary area is born in the US. One of the main reasons of this evergreen appeal is the mind-set behind the concept of corporate communication, mostly focused on the management of communication processes. Management can be conceived as planning, organising, coordinating and governing activities, tasks and resources. In fact, since in recent years the number of communication specialties has spread in private and public organisations, the need for controlling and organising of multiple activities and resources has grown. Corporate communication has undergone a profound evolution, which has increased its strategic importance in the governance and success of complex organisations. This evolution has created the basis for the ongoing process of institutionalisation, according to which the communication role is ever more important, because it contributes to the strategic management of organisations and it increases their overall value. The aim of this chapter is to define the terrain of practice and the conceptual domain of corporate communication, by discussing similarities as well as differences with other related concepts, such as public relations, organisational communication, integrated marketing communication and so forth.