ABSTRACT
The discussion so far elucidates that an organisation has many publics and variable (sometimes transient) relationships with them. These relationships are realised via connections or communications that take place in the communication sphere which is a complex matrix of messages. It is essential to acknowledge that this complexity has been alluded to by the Social Mediated Crisis Communication Theory but it focuses on the nature of the relationship between the organisation and social and traditional media. Hvass (2014), on the other hand, highlights the direct and indirect relationships of offline word of mouth communication. Coombs (2007) also models the new communication space acknowledging the matrix of connections that now exist. However, the challenge lies in the simultaneous modelling of the organisation’s relationships with their publics and the public’s relationships with each other. Lastly, the complexity of relationships in the communication sphere is exacerbated by the very nature of the sphere itself.
