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This study aims to assess the online presence of three Portuguese low-density territories and analyze the communication strategies employed by public and private entities within each municipality. The alignment between public and private entities within each municipality is also examined as a potential factor that could impact the effectiveness of digital communication strategies.

A qualitative methodology that employed content analysis and interviews to gather data from selected public and private entities in each of the municipalities under study was used.

Despite the widespread availability of digital communication tools, the municipalities under study are yet to fully exploit their potential to promote and publicize their offerings. This could be attributed to several factors such as a lack of knowledge and/or resources and a defective strategic approach to digital communication.

The major obstacle in maximizing the potential of digital communication tools in low-density destinations was not solely a result of restricted access. Rather, it was largely due to insufficient knowledge and resources required for their effective utilization, coupled with a lack of aligned vision among various stakeholders.

The competitive landscape in which tourist actors operate has transformed significantly because of the widespread adoption of digital communication led by social networks. However, studies exploring digital communication in low-density territories are still scarce. This study adds new insights into the main factors that hinder the efficient use of digital communication in these regions.

This study of job advertisements for internal communication practitioners aims to investigate the signals that organisations are sending the profession about what is required of these roles. The concept of corporate voice – the “voice” of the organisation – is problematised to explore tensions in vocality. The aim is to support communication practitioners to navigate multi-vocality in the evolving professional context of digital communication technologies and changes in the workplace.

This qualitative study considers the role of voice in corporate communication practices and offers insights into “digital disruption” and the discursive pressure of employers' priorities on the profession and its practices. Job advertisements for internal communication practitioners were examined during 6-month periods in 2018, 2020 and 2022, which was a significant time of change for the profession with the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Qualitative content analysis of 514 internal communication job advertisements identifies that control and consistency are valorised, and continue to dominate descriptions of internal communication skills and responsibilities. The digital affordances that communication practitioners rely on has not changed significantly and a preference for “broadcasting” is evident.

This study provides insights into how Australian organisations shape and sustain univocal corporate communication practices, and the incompatibility of narrow configurations of voice with emerging organisational challenges such as social connectedness.

This paper refines the Digital Media–Arena (DMA) framework to address the diversity of stakeholders contributing to the production, (re)appropriation and (re)distribution of organisational messages in digital environments. It also presents a case analysis for the purpose of demonstrating the applicability of the revised conceptual framework to a critical situation.

Grounded in key public relations, corporate communication and strategic communication research, this study first extends the DMA framework by introducing six new forms of media-arenas. Next, the study takes a public sector perspective to analyse the revised framework against a critical situation involving the Finnish prime minister in summer 2022.

The application of the revised DMA framework to analyse the critical situation shows the importance of mapping and understanding diverse discourses across multi-arenas and their communication role in a rapidly unfolding scandal surrounding the prime minister of Finland. Findings also reveal the diversity of stakeholder voices forming their own versions of organisational messages and sometimes converging organisational messages within and across DMAs.

The DMA framework can offer practical suggestions to guide communicators to make strategic choices in what, where, how and with whom they can communicate.

The revised DMA framework contributes expanding the field's knowledge of the strategic communicative use of the digital environment in typically highly volatile and multi-vocal situations by offering instrumental understanding of the conflicting challenge between subjugating and liberating organisational messages across the digital spectrum.

Wireless sensor networks (WSN), as a solution for buried water pipe monitoring, face a new set of challenges compared to traditional application for above-ground infrastructure monitoring. One of the main challenges for underground WSN deployment is the limited range (less than 3 m) at which reliable wireless underground communication can be achieved using radio signal propagation through the soil. To overcome this challenge, the purpose of this paper is to investigate a new approach for wireless underground communication using acoustic signal propagation along a buried water pipe.

An acoustic communication system was developed based on the requirements of low cost (tens of pounds at most), low power supply capacity (in the order of 1 W-h) and miniature (centimetre scale) size for a wireless communication node. The developed system was further tested along a buried steel pipe in poorly graded SAND and a buried medium density polyethylene (MDPE) pipe in well graded SAND.

With predicted acoustic attenuation of 1.3 dB/m and 2.1 dB/m along the buried steel and MDPE pipes, respectively, reliable acoustic communication is possible up to 17 m for the buried steel pipe and 11 m for the buried MDPE pipe.

Although an important first step, more research is needed to validate the acoustic communication system along a wider water distribution pipe network.

This paper shows the possibility of achieving reliable wireless underground communication along a buried water pipe (especially non-metallic material ones) using low-frequency acoustic propagation along the pipe wall.

This study explores the impact of transformational leadership on work engagement within remote work settings. More specifically, we investigate whether supervisor’s perceived digital communication skills moderate the relationship between perceived supervisor support and work engagement.

Moderated mediation model has been tested using a sample of 410 consultants in Italy who worked within a fully remote work setting during Covid-19 pandemic.

Drawing on construal level theory and social presence theory, our study provides insights into the dynamics of leadership and work engagement in remote work settings. We demonstrate that, despite the challenges posed by physical distance, transformational leaders can effectively stimulate the work engagement of remote collaborators. Moreover, our findings suggest that the perceived digital communication skills of supervisors play a crucial role in moderating the relationship between perceived supervisor support and work engagement. This underscores the importance of supervisors' adept use of digital tools in conveying psychological presence and fostering employee engagement in remote work environments.

Our study highlights the importance of developing supervisors' digital communication skills to support and stimulate employee engagement in remote work settings.

This study contributes to the literature by providing one of the first empirical tests of the relationship between transformational leadership, perceived supervisor support, supervisor’s digital communication skills and work engagement within a remote work setting. By challenging prior assumptions and offering novel insights, our research enhances understanding of leadership dynamics and provides practical guidance for organizations navigating the challenges of remote work.

This chapter seeks to understand the intersection between eGovernment, social media, and digital inequalities by examining the disparate flow of information during the COVID-19 pandemic. Developed economies are increasingly transitioning to digital interfaces for information dissemination and provision of services. The authors explore the potential of, and challenges facing eGovernment by looking at the use of social media during the COVID-19 pandemic. This chapter employs a case study approach to probe the dynamics of government-initiated efforts at information dissemination through the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) website and social media account on Twitter. The analysis in this chapter uses NodeXL to examine communication roles played by government and non-governmental actors within this slice of the Twittersphere centered around CDC@gov. As the findings demonstrate, non-governmental actors played key roles in the dissemination of public health messaging. The authors analyze these data with an eye to the potential of social media for public health communication and extrapolate that understanding to the use of digital access and social media for the provision of accurate, official information in other circumstances. While the COVID-19 pandemic was a global health crisis, individuals and households face individual or local crises every day. This angle of vision allows the chapter to conclude with recommendations pertaining to government-led information dissemination for the public good during crisis and non-crisis situations alike. In the concluding section, the authors probe the degree to which eGovernment can also address digital inequalities including connectivity, device, and literacy gaps. The authors offer solutions needed for eGovernment initiatives in light of challenges posed by digital inequalities to ensure that digital information sharing and services are accessible to all.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role and features of internal online events (IOE) in organizations and measure their impact on employee outcomes (communication satisfaction and loyalty in active and passive forms).

The study conducted a mixed-method process – first, which involved three semistructured interviews in India, Russia and France, and the data were analyzed through a qualitative coding procedure. Subsequently, a survey was conducted among employees regarding their perceptions of IOE. One hundred eighty-four fully completed questionnaires were collected, and the results were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The analysis of qualitative data revealed common patterns in IOEs in the organizations across India, Russia and France. The quantitative analysis showed the significant impact of IOEs on perceived communication satisfaction. Which in turn primarily stimulates the development of active employee loyalty rather than passive loyalty.

This study acknowledges that the samples were limited to only a few geographical regions of India, Russia and France. Also, the research is subject to sampling limitations due to snowball approach.

Internal communication (IC) managers can use this research findings to develop more effective IOEs to address organizational goals and create synergy-based positive outcomes (such as loyalty) within the employees of the organization.

Research contributes to exploring the role and characteristics of IOEs by applying engagement theory, emphasizing their capacity as a strategic IC channel to enhance employee involvement. Moreover, the study investigated the impact of IOEs on communication satisfaction and employee loyalty by applying affective events theory to communication.

Digitalization and marketing technologies have made it possible to overcome some barriers to pricing – a multidisciplinary field between marketing, finance and IT – and have set the stage for a paradigm shift in the pricing profession. Value creation, the pricing process, and price communication have been transformed by innovative business models and advanced algorithmic and human–machine solutions. This chapter synthesizes the literature to date and provides a comprehensive framework for an all-encompassing 360° pricing approach that broadens the understanding of pricing in the context of digital business across all steps of the price management process. Starting from product attributes and motivational beliefs in consumers' value assessment and adoption of (technological or digital) products or services, new business models and pricing models emerge in the digital economy, human–machine solutions for price implementation and repricing are increasingly applied, and price search and communication take place through a variety of digital communication channels. Each stage of this framework discusses concrete examples, highlighting the freemium strategy, the subscription model, price tracking and repricing tools, and digital price information channels such as e-commerce, marketplace, or price comparison platforms. The implications for price management in a digital, technology-driven landscape are discussed from the executive level to the analyst level.

This study addresses the pivotal role of digital transformation (DT) in the post-pandemic business landscape, identifying a notable gap in comprehending strategic adaptations and digital communication amidst the complexities of the digital era. It seeks to illuminate practical insights for businesses navigating through DT by intertwining its technological and organizational aspects.

Employing a conceptual approach, this paper synthesizes existing literature and theoretical frameworks related to DT, integrating its technological, strategic and organizational dimensions. It utilizes real-world instances to elucidate the digital era’s practical implications and strategic adaptations. The study also proposes a research agenda that spotlights pressing DT issues, challenges and actionable strategies for businesses.

Despite DT’s inherent complexity, the paper reveals that it is crucial for businesses navigating the contemporary digital landscape. It underscores the importance of strategic adaptations in DT, highlighting their implications on customer experiences and organizational structures amidst the evolving technological and market dynamics. Moreover, it accentuates the significance of effective digital communication strategies in enhancing user experiences and conveying value propositions adeptly.

This paper brings vital aspects of DT impacting modern organizations, offering invaluable insights for practitioners and scholars aiming to comprehend and navigate DT’s complexities. The identified research gaps underscore the necessity for further exploration, aiming to broaden DT’s theoretical and practical facets.

Drawing on media richness theory and a framework of interpersonal communication goals, this study investigates how and why the IT industry's top managers use communication media to achieve their interaction goals in e-leadership.

A qualitative research approach is applied to understand top managers' communication media use and interaction goals. The empirical data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 33 top managers from large IT companies and analysed using theory-guided thematic and ideal-type analyses.

Top managers were categorized into three types, based on their communication goals through face-to-face communication. Relationship-oriented top managers pursued relational and communal goals, whereas task-oriented ones wished to achieve instrumental and communal goals. Task- and relationship-oriented top managers pursued relational, instrumental, and communal goals. This study indicates that communal, instrumental, relational, and self-presentational goals influence managers' communication media selection.

This study brings new knowledge to the management communication research field. It expands the framework of interpersonal communication goals by identifying communal goals as a new category, in addition to existing instrumental, relational and self-presentational goals. This study suggests that media richness theory could be advanced by recognizing that a broader set of communication goals – including communal, instrumental, relational, and self-presentational – influences managers' communication media selection.