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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Examining the link between integrated communication management and communication effectiveness in medium-sized enterprises

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On the basis of a framework for integrated communication management (ICM) derived from perspectives in the integrated marketing communications and communication management literature, we tested various hypotheses concerning the link between ICM and communication effectiveness. The hypotheses were tested on a sample of 642 Swiss-based companies, with a focus on medium-sized enterprises. The data yielded insights as to the role of ICM in respect of both ‘soft’ psychological and ‘hard’ economic measures of communication effectiveness. Results include that aligning communication with the corporate strategy and mission, scripting communication concepts and having a designated function for marketing communications correlates significantly not only with ‘soft’ measures of communication effectiveness but also with selected ‘hard’ measures of corporate performance. We furthermore find support for the imperative of aligning communication instruments with respect to content, form and timing. Finally, those companies...