Strategic communication and decision-making processes. Toward the Communication Oriented Organisation

Communication continues to be an increasingly strategic and pervasive component in the processes of governance and management at all levels of a company. This evolution has been made evident by the importance that the communication function has acquired, or is acquiring, inside the organisational structure of companies. Furthermore, this evolution has been made evident by the growth of the role that communication, especially that of communication professionals, plays within the strategic decisional processes of the executive committee and administrative management of a company. Lastly, this evolution has been made evident by the omnipresence of communication within specific company functions especially with its most advanced and innovative forms and instruments. The aim of this article is to bring attention to the evolution of the role of communication at the levels of company administration and management, using the results of the most recent international and national empirical research as well as the considerations emerging from a lively on-going debate in international publications, most markedly within the disciplines of public relations, organisation and management. Finally, using the main results of case studies of four Italian successful companies.