ABSTRACT
Corporate communication has been defined in a number of different ways – in relation to public relations perhaps the most significant is as the process of estab - lishing trust, social capital and legitimacy.1 Another popular conceptualisation is the functionalist view that corporate communication is about ‘harmonising’ all communi - cation within an organisation to ensure consistency with corporate missions and objectives – a view that is contested by critical scholars:
Whilst it may seem appealing to align all messages inside and outside an organization, a deeper examination of this position reveals logical, practical and even ethical problems. With our organizational approach, we want to demon - strate that plurality and diversity of opinions and expressions are necessary for organizations operating in complex environments and having multiple constituencies.
