Organizational Listening and Response: Attending to External Stakeholders

This book argues that listening to constituents who reside outside organizational boundaries, but who are essential members of an organization’s ecosystem, is a vital constitutive element of organizational communication. It also attempts to demonstrate that, by and large, the field of organizational communication has neglected such listening.

The book goes on to introduce a conceptual and methodological framework organizations can use to assess listening practices and effectiveness. Through a combination of theory, research, and case illustrations, the book will be valuable to both scholars and practitioners in the fields of organizational communication, marketing, and public relations. It will provide insight and direction for theory-building, knowledge development, and implementation of best practices.

David Randall Brandt is Associate Professor of Practice in the School of Media and Communication at Northern Kentucky University, USA and former Founder and Principal of Voice Crafter, a Cincinnati-based research and consulting firm. He has assisted more than 300 organizations in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia with their efforts to listen and respond to customers, employees, and other external stakeholders.

William A. Donohue is Professor of Communication at Michigan State University. He has published extensively in the areas of conflict, communication, negotiation, and mediation, while also conducting workshops and other intervention activities focusing on communication, leadership development, and conflict management.