Øyvind Ihlen

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• Prof.dr.
• Professor (Full) at University of Oslo

This paper analyses how the world's largest corporations communicate about sustainability and sustainable development in their non-financial reports. It investigates the concept use, definitions and attempts at operationalization, and the rationales that corporations give to engage with them. It is concluded that the corporations typically opt to t...

Abstract New voices are being heard and new questions are being asked within the field of public relations. However, in its present multifaceted state, public relations research is still struggling with recurring questions regarding academic and practical contributions. This position paper presents some common starting points for a public relations...

How can we gain a better understanding of public relations rhetoric? This essay takes stock of the analytical building blocks that can be found in the public relations research and addresses the question raised in the introduction to this special issue: Can external organizational rhetoric help make society a good place to live? It is argued that w...

This paper analyzes how central the climate change issue is and how it is treated rhetorically in the non-financial reports of the world's 30 largest corporations. The analysis shows a huge variation in the extent to which this issue is addressed, with some corporations barely mentioning it. Using an adaptation of Aristotelian topics to organize an...

An organization's social license to operate depends on how it acts according to social norms, engages with stakeholders, and meets some kind of public interest. As will be discussed, the notion of the public interest is complex. Still, our analysis focuses on the process whereby the notion is communicatively constructed through negotiations where p...

Purpose This paper aims to examine the development of public interest topics by public affairs practitioners and how politicians evaluate these arguments. Design/methodology/approach The study utilizes the rhetorical theory of topos and theories of the public interest. It consists of 30 interviews with lobbyists and politicians in Norway’s energy...

During a pandemic, the advice issued by public health authorities undergoes significant scrutiny, potentially affecting public adherence to recommended measures. Trust and trustworthiness become key. This book analyses the rhetorical strategies of the Norwegian public health authorities as the COVID-19 pandemic moved through phases that presented d...

Research has demonstrated that interest groups frequently align themselves with a specific party and its ideological stance. Still, other studies have underlined that interest groups engage with undecided and opposing factions. In other words, they target friends as well as foes. This raises the question of whether their communication is based on t...

In an unprecedented situation of uncertainty, the COVID-19 pandemic tested the public crisis communication capacity. Using focus group data, this study analyzes public reactions to COVID-19 policies in Scandinavia. In line with the “rally around the flag” hypothesis, trust in public health authorities remained high in all three Scandinavian countri...

Recent research on crisis communication has focused on the challenges of complex and protracted crises. In this essay, it is argued that such crises must be handled communicatively by putting the communication challenges, constraints and opportunities at the centre. To this end, the combination of the notions of the rhetorical situation and kairos...

Studies of uncertainty communication have produced mixed results concerning the consequences for trust. In this article, we focus on uncertainty communication as it concerns trust in a message about vaccine effectiveness and safety, seeing source type and political preference as mediators. These factors have become increasingly important as public...

During a public health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, the public health authorities will typically be criticized for their efforts. When such criticism comes from the ranks of medical personnel, the challenge becomes more pronounced for the authorities, as it suggests a public negotiation of who has sufficient expertise to handle the pandemic....

Public health authorities and political leaders need to come across as trustworthy in their handling of a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. There is, however, little knowledge about how the affordances and dynamics of social media influence perceptions of trustworthiness, especially during a protracted crisis. In this article, we study how Twitter...

This edited volume compares experiences of how the Covid-19 pandemic was communicated in the Nordic countries – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The Nordic countries are often discussed in terms of similarities concerning an extensive welfare system, economic policies, media systems, and high levels of trust in societal actors. Howeve...

This chapter examines how leading politicians and representatives of the public health authorities in Scandinavia attempted to create consent for their strategic choices to adopt or refrain from collective prevention measures, such as border and school closures, when such measures became relevant in the region in March 2020. It thus also concerns t...

As refugee organizations' communication can influence public perceptions, this study analyzes the underlying motivations and practices. To explain Norwegian Refugee Council's (NRC) public communication strategies toward the recent Syrian and Central African crises, we conducted a 3-week office ethnography at its main communication department, inter...

Purpose The paper aims to analyze the contribution of young academics to the field of public relations (PR) and shows which authors exert most influence on them. The study thereby contributes to the assessment of the state of the art of theory building in the field. The authors analyzed the study data against the background of two approaches on pro...

Toposteori gir gode verktøy for både å forstå og utøve virksomhets­retorikk. I denne artikkelen poengteres hvordan slik retorikk må ta hensyn til doxa og ikke minst arenaen som en eventuell debatt utspiller seg på. Gjennom en caseanalyse av en debatt om lederlønn viser vi hvordan noen topoi er vanskeligere å få gjennomslag for enn andre. I et egali...

As public relations has grown in social importance, the need to understand what it does to and for society has become even more pressing. For a discipline that traditionally has defined itself as being applied, meeting this need requires pulling on different theoretical approaches. More specifically, sociological theory or social theory is needed t...

In consensus democracies, interest organizations are likely to pursue their goals by attempting to create goodwill to strengthen their relationships with politicians. Through an exploratory analysis based on interviews with representatives from 58 organizations, a typology of seven strategies for such goodwill is suggested: Lobby-ists will convey a...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, communication with the public has been a central concern for state actors. One important question has been how to best use social media to ensure the sufficient uptake of their advice and recommendations to the public. With regard to such strategic communicative aims, a significant amount of attention has been previous...

The concept of transparency has been problematized in risk research. This exploratory study contributes to the risk literature by considering an established three-dimensional transparency framework (information substantiality, accountability, and participation) and discussing the opportunities for and challenges to risk communication in relation to...

Research has shown a correlation between votes for populist parties and the belief that vaccines are not important or effective. More recent investigations in the United States and France have similarly shown that attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine have been politicized. In this article, we show a similar pattern analyzing survey data from Norwa...

Research has shown a correlation between votes for populist parties and the belief that vaccines are not important or effective. More recent investigations in the United States and France have similarly shown that attitudes toward the COVID‐19 vaccine have been politicized. In this article, we show a similar pattern analyzing survey data from Norwa...

Arguably, one of the defining traits of an expert is certainty of knowledge. So, what happens when experts in a critical situation in public simultaneously must recognize uncertainty about knowledge and the situation and argue for specific policies and actions? This has been the challenge for many national health experts during the COVID-19 crisis....

For public health promotion to succeed, popular support is necessary and the chosen policies and measures have to be perceived as legitimate by the public. In other words, health authorities need to build on and sustain established trust when they recommend a certain policy. When the policy is criticized, this trust is challenged, and the authoriti...

As illustrated by the COVID-19 pandemic, risk and crisis communication are crucial responsibilities of modern governments. Existing research on risk and crisis communication points to the importance of trust, both as a resource in and an end goal of communicative activities. In this paper, we argue that revisiting the classical rhetorical concept o...

Opinion polls have documented a considerable public skepticism towards a COVID-19 vaccine. Seeking to address the vaccine skepticism challenge this essay surveys the research on vaccine hesitancy and trust building through the lens of the rhetorical situation and points towards five broad principles for a content strategy for public health communic...

This chapter is a tour of the Scandinavian lobbying landscape providing the state of the art for research on a contested and necessary activity. We discuss the particular context of the Scandinavian countries and current trends relevant for lobbying. Lobbying is often juxtaposed with the corporatist channel which implies institutionalised contact p...

The Nordic countries have been termed a supermodel for political and economic governance. This anthology explores how and why the political communication systems contribute to explaining and understanding why the Nordic countries stand out as stable, democratic welfare states. The state and nation-building processes of these small European countrie...

Introduction for special issue of Journal of Public Affairs on lobbying and communication

Purpose There is a great potential in pulling together science communication and strategic communication, especially given how the former has gained importance in organizational contexts. Strategic communication, including rhetorical theory, can offer insights that are invaluable to understand the contests over what “truth” is and how different pol...

Although framing theory has been extensively studied in strategic communication comparatively, little is known about how trade unions, as a specific type of organization, use framing strategies to achieve their organizational goals. Trade unions frequently aim to present themselves as cause groups, campaigning for broader societal benefits and valu...

This paper explores public affairs and lobbying strategies that make public appeals beyond organizational self-interest and instead forward appeals to the public interest. While research has highlighted such appeals as a staple for lobbying campaigns, there is scant research exploring the communicative construction of this notion. Thus, this paper...

With spindoctoring, publicity seeking stunts and evidence of mal-practice, public relations is easily associated with the development of post-truth society. The elevation of bullshit as political coinage presents a challenge for the rational public debate which the public relations profession at large should have an interest in maintaining. In this...

Purpose Meta reviews are central for mapping the state of the field, consolidating the heterogeneous public relations body of knowledge, and pointing to new potential research directions. Habermas is one of the most influential contemporary social theorists and his work has repeatedly been used in public relations scholarship. While some have maint...

Frames advance coherent interpretations of issues that suggest specific problem definitions, causes, moral evaluations, and courses of action. As such, frames highlight certain aspects of an issue, and downplay or ignore others. While the use of frames is inevitable—i.e., the act of framing—actors do use frames strategically in their attempts to de...

Organizational rhetoric is critically questioned for ethics of its strategic processes and aspirational goal of persuasive, inescapably self-interested influence. Such critique pits strategic engagement needed for self-governance against self-interested framing (spin) and other dysfunctions. This theoretical essay takes stock of research literature...

Topos theory provides good tools both for the understanding and practicing of organizational rhetoric. In this paper, it is emphasized how organizational rhetoric is dependent on doxa and not least the arena where the debates take place. Through a case study of a debate concerning CEO compensation, we demonstrate how some topoi prove more difficult...

Hva slags retorikk bruker virksomheter? Hva slags retorikk bør de bruke? Paradoksalt nok er det vanskelig å finne svar på disse spørsmålene dersom en kikker i fagtidsskriftene om retorikk. Feltet er i det hele tatt diffust, men dersom en orienterer seg i tilstøtende fagområder som strategisk kommunikasjon, ledelse, og organisasjonsteori, finner man...

Purpose This chapter applies recent theoretical developments linked to the concept of culture to the field of public relations research and practice, notably through the prism of creativity as a vector of cultural change. Design/Methodology/Approach The chapter is theoretical in nature and draws on relevant scientific literature in the field of pu...

Framing is probably the most popular analytical concept within communication studies. This entry defines the concept and traces its use with a particular focus on its relevance for strategic communication. The basic attraction of framing lies in how frames provide direction for our understanding of issues through the use of certain organizing princ...

Symbolic capital concerns reputation and has roots in the other forms of capital that a social actor might possess, including social, economic, and cultural capital. The notion invites a perspective on how organizations attempt to position themselves in different contexts where different types of capital are appreciated. In some fields, like busine...

How do lobbyists get their way and what is the consequence for democracy of their strategies? It is frequently asserted that lobbyists appeal to the public interest to strengthen their proposals. This paper empirically corroborates this claim through four case studies cutting across different European cultural clusters and political systems. The pa...

How do lobbyists get their way and what is the consequence for democracy of their strategies? It is frequently asserted that lobbyists appeal to the public interest to strengthen their proposals. This paper empirically corroborates this claim through four case studies cutting across different European cultural clusters and political systems. The pa...

Public Relations and Social Theory: Key Figures, Concepts and Developments broadens the theoretical scope of public relations studies by applying the work of a group of prominent social theorists to make sense of the practice. The volume focuses on the work of key social theorists, including Max Weber, Karl Marx, John Dewey, Jürgen Habermas, Niklas...

A one-stop source for scholars and advanced students who want to get the latest and best overview and discussion of how organizations use rhetoric While the disciplinary study of rhetoric is alive and well, there has been curiously little specific interest in the rhetoric of organizations. This book seeks to remedy that omission. It presents a res...

In rhetoric, communication studies finds its foundation. The rhetorical tradition offers scholars, organizational managers, and communication practitioners a resource to understand organizational discourse, its effects, and its role in society. This chapter briefly introduces the themes and component chapters of this volume, provides a very short s...

This chapter explores engagement in relation to corporate social responsibility (CSR), and highlights why engagement is not only seen as a foundational concept to CSR, but is necessary for CSR to succeed. Specifically, this chapter draws on the existing literature to highlight three forms of engagement in relation to CSR—commitment, mapping of resp...

Based on Kenneth Burke's shift from Aristotle's views on rhetoric to the more central treatment of identification, scholars of organizational rhetoric and communication have adopted it as a key concept to explain how organization succeeds, struggles, and fails. This chapter examines identification, the logics used by Burke to support and explain it...

Public relations concerns the professionalized strategic management and communication of organizations. As such, it is the little sister of rhetoric, or one of its applications, since rhetoric is ubiquitously foundational to human choice making. This chapter conceptually connects rhetoric and public relations, and discusses how rhetoric has been us...

Humans are inherently rhetorical; they use statements to relate to one another, to create opinions, to purposefully co‐create meaning which is intended to influence behavior, including further discussion. Secondly, humans are inherently organizational. People rhetorically engaged to organize and organize to rhetorically engage. Those dynamics are m...

This chapter advances a rhetorical approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Communication is presented as the constitutive element of organizations/organizing thereby highlighting the central role of rhetoric in the conceptualization, construction, and negotiation of CSR between corporations and stakeholders. We contend that CSR is inhere...

The literature on social media use in risk and crisis communication is growing fast, and it is time to take stock before looking forward. A review of 200 empirical studies in the area shows how the literature is indeed increasing and focusing on particular social media platforms, users, and phases from risk to crisis relief. However, although spann...

Public relations has long been preoccupied with the notion of dialogue, and the advent of social media ushered in new enthusiasm. Still, despite the technology on offer and the fact that dialogue has become a value that “everyone” embraces, most research concludes that little actual dialogue takes place between corporations and their stakeholders....

The relationship between organizations and society is addressed by many academic disciplines, one of them being organizational communication. This entry is focused on the organizational communication activity called public relations, which specifically addresses organizational attempts to negotiate their relationship with society. Much of the instr...

Social media has evolved along with expectations that organizations, including public authorities, would create more dialogue with citizens. This policy brief argues for, first, the importance for public authorities to listen to, follow up on and use social media users’ responses and viewpoints to facilitate dialogue and organizational learning, a...

Sammendrag Politisk kommunikasjon dreier seg om styringen av samfunnet, samarbeid og konflikt, verdier og interesser. Politikere, journalister, byråkrater, kommunikasjonsrådgivere, bedrifts- og organisasjonsledere, og vanlige samfunnsborgere er alle aktører i slike prosesser. Forskningen på tematikken er i vekst, noe dette nummeret av Norsk medieti...

This chapter gives an introduction to and the history of CSR in Norway. Parallel to the development of industry and political changes, the development of CSR is presented. Practical examples of how companies have addressed CSR are put forward, together with key regulatory changes and milestones. The extent to which the Norwegian wealth based on oil...

PurposeThe prime goal of this chapter is to discuss what the notion of rhetorical citizenship as a normative aspiration might entail for corporations. Methodology/approachThe chapter draws on a pilot study of the Facebook pages of two banks. A rhetorical criticism of these pages was conducted. FindingsWe suggest that while corporations are assuredl...

Internationally, the issue of irregular immigration is highly contested and actors promote different frames in the news. In this article, we analyze the strategizing that goes on behind the scenes among nongovernmental organizations and public immigration authorities. Many studies have documented how strategic actors take advantage of mainstream ne...

The advent of social media has spurred democratic optimism and been seen as something that help political public relations establish and maintain good relationships with key publics. Still, research has shown how, for instance, political candidates in the US by large did not respond to messages on their Facebook walls. Another popular social media...

Two questions are discussed in this essay: first, what rhetorical strategies do corporations use with regard to sustainability? A short summary of the literature on corporate sustainability rhetoric is presented, and this research is updated with a brief analysis of the top corporations’ non-financial reports for 2012. Second, what implications do...

Social theory provides strategic communication with a basic understanding of the societal role of the practice, and its ethical and political consequences. This chapter draws out some key conclusions based on a wide reading of social theory approaches. First of all, building on social theory means recognizing both negative and positive influences o...

The corporate institution has received little attention among scholars working with the notion of mediatization. In this chapter we discuss how the media is important not only for contestation about the corporate role in society, but also for promotion of products and services, and for influencing public policy and knowledge about business in gener...

This chapter provides an analytical platform for studies of mediatization processes in public bureaucracies. First it discusses how mediatization should be operationalized to be applicable as a theory guiding empirical research on this type of institution. Secondly, the chapter proposes key characteristics of potential mediatization processes, indi...

Based on extensive fieldwork, the present article illustrates how the logic of the news media is expanding from influential communication departments to the practices, routines and priorities of traditional career bureaucrats. To theorize the mediatization of a traditional bureaucratic rationale, the article proposes a typology for how rule-based p...

The reputation and legitimacy of public organizations can be threatened by emotional news stories depicting a faceless bureaucratic power apparatus that is blind to how their decisions affect humans negatively. This qualitative study focuses on the strategies of the Norwegian immigration authorities as they handle emotional accounts of family reuni...

This essay traces the roots of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Norway. It is argued that a basic tenet of CSR, an orientation toward the concerns of stakeholders, has a long history in Norwegian business, predating the modern CSR movement. The essay underscores certain qualities of the Norwegian business system and the Norwegian political...