Conjugando diálogo y tecnología. Los medios digitales y el diálogo organizaciones-públicos desde la perspectiva de las multinacionales en España y Latinoamérica

Andrés  Shoai; Luis  Núñez Ladevéze; Luciano  Elizalde Acevedo

doi:10.4185/RLCS-2020-1460

Authors

Andrés Shoai CEU San Pablo University https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2750-755X
Luis Núñez Ladevéze CEU San Pablo University http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5684-9885
Luciano Elizalde Acevedo Austral University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2020-1460

Keywords:

dialogue; digital media; social networks; public relations; communications consulting

Abstract

Introduction: This article analyzes how multinational corporations in Spain and Latin America perceive the impact of digital technologies on the dialogue with their audiences and if they think that communication consultants can help bridge the gap between academic normativity and professional practices in this field. Methodology: Since this is a relatively unexplored research perspective, in which creating specific analytical categories is still necessary, 22 in-depth interviews were conducted with senior executives of multinational corporations in 9 countries in the Ibero-American ambit. Results: These companies perceive the impact of digital technologies on the organization-audiences dialogue in a predominantly positive way, despite the fact that most of the recent academic studies imply a “non-compliance of the dialogical promise” of the new media. This research also reveals the coexistence of two dialogue definitions and three roles assigned to the consulting firms regarding this topic. Discussions and conclusions: This research revealed “pragmatic dissonance” in organizations; on the one hand, dialogue is presented as a search for mutual understanding, but in practice any communicative exchange is deemed as dialogical. In addition, this research offers analytical categories for future studies about this topic.

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Author Biographies

Andrés Shoai, CEU San Pablo University

He has a Master’s Degree in Sociology and Political Science from the Latin-American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO Argentina). He is a Researcher in the training of the PhD in Social Communication of the CEU San Pablo University (Spain). He is currently part of the project: “From the culture of masses to social media: media convergence in the digital society” (Ref. CSO2016-74980-C2-1-R. Main Researchers: Luis Núñez Ladevéze and Tamara Vázquez Barrio). He has been associate professor of “Opinión Pública” (EN: Public Opinion) in the University of Buenos Aires (UBA, Argentina) and guest lecturer at the George Washington University (The United States). He participated in the research project “The complexity ideology in the contemporary social theory” from the Research Institute Gino Germani (Ref. UBACyT 20020110100169). He has been Director Partner of the Mora and Araujo Communication Group, firm committed to researching public opinion and the counseling in strategic communication in Latin America.

Luis Núñez Ladevéze, CEU San Pablo University

He has a PhD in Law. He is Professor of the UCM excedente, Emeritus Professor of the USP-CEU, where he led the Institute of Studies in Democracy. He is coordinator of the Doctoral Program in Social Communication. He was counselor of the Coordination Council of Universities. He is founder and president of the editorial council of the Doxa comunicación Magazine. He is part of councils in another 20 magazines; he leads the researchers association of Communication and Infancy http://www.infanciaycomunicacion.org. He has thirty-six years of research work acknowledged by ANECA, five projects of the National Plan of I+D in the last decade. He is author of a large academic bibliography in which there are articles in the Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, Revista de Estudios Políticos, REIS and books in the CEPC, Tecnos, Ariel, Alianza Editorial, Akal, Tirant lo Blanch, Síntesis.

Luciano Elizalde Acevedo, Austral University

He is Dean of the Faculty of Communication in the Austral University (Argentina). He has a PhD in Communication from the University of La Laguna (Canary Islands, Spain). He has a Master’s Degree in Social Sciences, with orientation in Sociology (FLACSO Argentina). He has a Degree in Social Communication (Catholic University of La Plata). He is director of the Master’s Degree in Communication Management in Organizations (MGCO), Austral University. He is Professor of the subjects Public Matters and Crisis Communication and Theory of Communication (Master’s Degree in Communication Management in Organizations, Austral University). He is full-time Titular Professor of Theory of Communication and Sociology of Public Communication (Degree in Social Communication, Austral University). He is an associated Researcher in the CONICET. He has been a guest lecturer at the San Andrés University. He works in counseling and applied research in the corporate communication field and public affairs, especially in matters regarding crises. He has written books and is author of specialized articles for dissemination.

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