Introduction
The media has been one of the most critical stakeholder management concerns in recent years. Since media is useful in signaling other stakeholders faced with difficulties due to information asymmetry, it directly affects knowledge sharing and any irregularity in the business community. According to Wakefield and Barney (2016), communication has emerged as a critical problem for businesses. Because of its overall impact on the recognition and reporting of companies’ activities, media is valuable and multifaceted. Whysall (2020) stated that popularizing the media and its public effect intensified the potential consequences in business operations. Alonso (2018) stated the media significantly impacted public opinion development and information creation and dissemination. As a result, it had clout in the corporate world. Additionally, key stakeholders and media control can be critical to a company’s socioeconomic success. The media can, and has, affected an organization’s achievement of its goals.
Through contingencies on the agenda, social media has the potential of manipulating the issues and pressurizing different entities It affects the social construction of facts about firms’ activities; it depicts and influences public information and perceptions about firms (Barge, 2020). The media may also discuss what constitutes socially appropriate economic conduct. The media influences the credibility and prestige of firms by framing the overall understanding of firms among different stakeholder groups and the degree to which firms adhere to the regulatory, normative, and cognitive realms. Additionally, the media is where businesses can gain a competitive edge and even outperform their competitors (Scheu, 2019). Jungert et al. (2017) postulated that it was unclear if business interests captured media factors and, as a result, companies engaged in distinct behavior when engaging with the media. However, the degree to which companies regard media as a significant factor was just an assumption.
Stakeholder Theory
According to this theory, stakeholders are individuals, parties, corporations, or organizations with a vested interest in the outcome, ranging from consumers to governments (Howard et al., 2013). According to Chun (2012), the salience and influence of stakeholders regarding contingency or necessity or control, urgency, and credibility, determine whether their stake is considered essential to the organization. The importance of suppliers and customers as stakeholders is summarized in their contracts with the organization, making supply chain members the most critical stakeholders. Consumer influence is a catalyst for surrounding issues in the business and upstream in the supply chain, with customer influence having the most impact on eco-friendly buying. Miao et al. (2020) argued that though non-contractual stakeholders were considered contingent, they can still exert pressure on the organization through legislation, regulations, and policies. The government is authentic and is often an influential interested party that can influence decisions through policies, regulations, and legislation.
Free Press Theory or Libertarianism
Press freedom has become a common concept all over the world. When governments believe their protection and stability are threatened, however, the guarantee of free speech is not always realized (Abreu et al., 2010). There is a study of hypotheses and assumptions regarding press freedom, balancing competing rights, and social constraints. The concept of libertarianism is traced to the 17th century when printing several copies of a pamphlet or book for a low price (Kim and Lee, 2021). The state is seen as the primary genesis of a dispute with a person’s property rights. Libertarians believe that taxation was a form of systematic theft. The people’s wishes were given priority over the state’s influence. Early 16th-century philosopher Lao Tzu, 17th-century British philosopher John Locke, epic poet John Milton, and essayist John Stuart Mill were proponents of this theory (Rubalcaba et al., 2010). If the freedom of speech was granted, then the truth and falsehood wrestled.
In such consideration, self-correction measures should be embraced by the free press to enhance communication. Such a strategy will improve the transparency and confidentiality of the media. Milton emphasized in ‘aeropagitica,’ referring to a self-correcting mechanism. In their declaration, the citizens of France wrote anyone could compose, speak or print (Rubalcaba et al., 2010). The doctrines gave rise to the principle of an open marketplace of ideas, which is useful in resolving content-related issues in media. George Orwell described libertarianism as allowing people to say things they don’t want to hear (Kim and Lee, 2021). The French wrote in their Declaration of the Rights of Man in 1789 that anyone can freely speak, compose, and print. Such doctrines gave rise to the notion of an open marketplace of ideas. Kim and Lee (2021) described libertarianism as allowing people to say things they do not want to hear. According to libertarians, the press should be regarded as the Fourth Estate, reflecting public opinion.
How Does the Motivation of Each Stakeholder Affect the Potential Outcomes
The organizational response perspective provided a broad overview of the activities that businesses should take in response to media pressures. Steinhoff (2017) postulated that the stakeholder management viewpoint, in general, focused on identifying the causes for dependence and the stakeholder pressures that lead to companies engaging in stakeholder behavior. Fire-fighting measures are one form of corporate response action by which companies can handle the dynamic impacts on the media (Katz and Flynn 2013). According to García et al. (2019) stakeholder theory, stressed the benefits and suitability of more strategic steps, which required a particular commitment of resources, intricate interest coordination, and a coordinated effort.
Stakeholder pressures, which are the most critical predictors listed in the literature, cause these types of organizational response behavior. Ramirez (2010) argued that the extent of resource dependency influenced organizational behavior. It represents an organization’s reliance on resources and capabilities and regulates these resources and capabilities (Resche, 2020). As a result, the stakeholder management and organizational response perspectives are used in this study to clarify how companies respond to media impact. Sanyang and Huang’s (2010) international companies in the conventional media (print, radio, and television) market in the Netherlands was an appropriate research background due to their press freedom and freedom of expression.
How Successful Are the Present Communication Strategies Used Between the Stakeholders
The media has primarily influenced economic and social activities in society. Such attribution is achieved by disseminating and presenting stories, ideas, and knowledge about business practices and shaping firms’ image, credibility, and legitimacy through interaction with various stakeholders and the general public (Missonier and Loufrani, 2014). According to a classical perspective, Wakefield and Barney (2016) indicated that firms could engage with the press if their practices are impacted impromptu. However, Günbayı et al. argued that (2016) the approach of managing stakeholders was an unceasing organizational practice since media is underlying, paramount stakeholders, assisting them in gaining a competitive advantage. Furthermore, White and Agne (2019) identified two forms of organizational response actions that businesses can use to control the media. One category included using fire-fighting strategies on an as-needed basis to accomplish short-term goals or provide an adaptive response to a particular incident.
In most cases, such acts consist of small, reversible steps to redress the situation. Alonso (2018) listed the significant characteristics of the fire-fighting response as problem or event specificity and ad hoc strategies. Firms initiated responses as short-term interventions on an issue-by-issue basis. For example, if a given issue emerges to be outstanding, advocating can improve the company’s credibility (Chun, 2012). Greenwood and Mir (2018) argued that the press tends to focus on incidents rather than problems, supporting event-specific behavior instead of excellent management. As a result, fire-fighting activities may be defined as a company’s response to an incident or other timely matter via or to the media (Stephens, 2015). Moreover, businesses use fire-fighting measures only when the consequences have become apparent and appropriate. According to Stey et al. (2018), organizations must understand the evolution of public concern and how to handle it. Using fire-fighting tactics, businesses can quickly deal with media contingencies without organizing the whole company.
How Could Communication Practices Be Changed to Improve the Stakeholder Relationship
Conflicts, which are an unavoidable and expected part of human activity, may have functional or dysfunctional effects depending on management style. As a result, conflict management is critical for organizational success and performance, and Yarn (2014) considers it the most crucial topic in organizational management. White and Agne (2019) also agreed that it was critical to address the following topics when addressing stakeholder management strategies. First, the information collected should be transmitted to the community as a medium of mass communication. The media is currently a dominant player in society and an influential stakeholder within the politically, socially, and economically intertwined business environment (Bob and Bronkhorst, 2011). People have continuously shown concern over media content in expressing, sociopolitical or economic affiliations.
A three-step mechanism is customarily followed for stakeholder consultation and involvement: notification, consultation, and participation. Bonet et al. (2010) argued that everybody should have access to reliable information to form an informed opinion. Informal collaboration with a project representative that involves frequent two-way communication raises awareness, clarifies community interests and values, and assists the sponsor in considering how public opinion can and should influence policy decisions. Organizations, on the other hand, are often confronted with communication issues. Communicate with stakeholders in the most effective manner possible. IJzerman et al. (2016) need to recognize that every individual or community is different and choose the best communication method for them – email, online networks, social media, phone, or in-person group meetings. According to Caulkin and Black (2014), people should communicate with you and provide input in various ways. Rather than judge the stakeholder’s value, try to determine why they value it. Maintaining a transparent and inquisitive mindset will assist the team in comprehending the stakeholders’ past and current desires (Meratian and Johnson 2018). Such an open, curious mindset will help both parties find creative solutions to problems while also aligning values and interests.
From the business owners’ and managers’ interviews, it was clear that stakeholders should have a say in handling communication issues. Baggio and Cooper (2010) suggested that this is done by maintaining a commitment record and ensuring that project team members exchange information, plan consultation meetings, assign tasks, and follow-up actions. The business leaders agreed to conduct meetings, phone calls, letters, and share responsibilities to enhance communication. Unnecessary information and time wastage can be avoided if there is a clarification of the context and approach used for communicating with stakeholders which is difficult with long-termed developments involving changing participants (Swiatek & Pluszcyk, 2016). Stake Tracker, for example, assists businesses in topping the lists of their projects by organizing all messages in a central position with all messages about potential program impacts on the communities in which they operate (Riehle, 2016; Yin, 2013). During the consultation, the information and how it is controlled and published are crucial aspects of the process. According to Hitt et al. (2019), mistakes in stakeholder information management could jeopardize the success of your project. A comprehensive consultation often showed how a group viewed your project; the perspective changes over time. It allowed a person to forestall issues and come up with solutions.
Overall, communication has assisted in the growth of trust and the generation of solutions with your stakeholders and corrective action. It also allowed you to predict problems and devise solutions to them. Additionally, business owners and managers admitted that it aided in developing trust and the generation of solutions with your stakeholders and rights holders. There will be no errors in stating that without good internal communication, there will be no good external communication, which will lead to poor results. Furthermore, it is impossible to imagine organizational contact without some kind of confrontation. Conflicts are something common in every organization because people have different opinions and among them, some people cannot agree.
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