ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we outline the strategic approach in greater detail. This approach is primarily interested in the potential of multimodal text to elicit specific responses from audiences. In management research, it has most dominantly been applied to the areas of marketing and consumer research, focusing on the persuasive appeal of different modes and their interplay. Accordingly, the strategic perspective on multimodality strongly draws from cognitive psychology, but often combines this theoretical underpinning with ideas from semiotics and rhetorical theory. Research taking a strategic approach is comparatively explicit in comparing the effects of different modes to each other, specifically the verbal and the visual mode. The chapter discusses which aspects of organization come into focus from a strategic perspective and which research methods are primarily used. We introduce and outline a series of studies that illustrate the strategic angle on multimodality. Finally, we suggest implications of different modes for strategic research and outline specific challenges and opportunities regarding multimodality.
