4. Results
4.4. Cross-Case Analysis
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立 政 治 大 學
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In conclusion, the company performs corporate communication with three different departments. The corporate communication performed facilitates the company during crisis management and handles public relations. It also benefits the company by teaching employees about the company and its value. The gatherings in the company also harmonize the employees and create a special bond together. However, corporate communication is performed by a different team. Even though it is a small and medium enterprise, there might lead to some overlapping of work and waste of resources. Moreover, there is no specific team to consolidate which might lead to priority changes and neglect corporate communication.
4.4. Cross-Case Analysis
Upon the three cases mentioned above, the study is able to cross analyze the interviews and summarize the findings with the primary data collected and the literature reviewed previously in 2.1. In order to reference to the topic of the study, the study has chosen interviewees from small and medium enterprises in Taiwan: manufacturing business and wholesale business. However, the interviewees are all from different positions in the company.
They range from the management position to staffs. Due to their different industries and positions, they gave the study their prospective of which corporate communication can improve their job and performances and also what can be the obstacle to practice corporate communication.
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Industry Trading/Manufacturing Biotechnology Dermatology Company Scale
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Figure 14 Cross-Case Analysis
Advantages for vision which they will invest money in the business.
2. The internal stakeholders would understand the corporate identity, vision and mission and realize what they are bringing to their customer.
1. Investors would understand the company’s identity
and the future the company is heading
towards.
2. Attending the board meeting also helps the
board of directors understand the company identity.
3. The employees are updated with the action and plans of the
company.
1. Investors, banks understand the company’s identity
and its business 2. The customers and
investor understand the company value during crisis happens.
3. The employees are able to create bond
during company or specialist to help.
There is no specific team to perform be shared and easily to
be neglected.
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立 政 治 大 學
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N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
The chart above summarized the three selected cases of small and medium enterprises in Taiwan performing corporate communication. There are similar challenges with all three company. There is no professional corporate communication team in the company to perform corporate communication. Corporate communication is performed by managing director solely in case 1, administrative department and human resource department in case 2, marketing department, human resource department and welfare committee in case 3. If all three companies have professions in corporate communication, the corporate identity to deliver to the employee and external stakeholder will have more professional approach. And corporate communication might not be neglected easily.
The corporate communication towards external stakeholders such as investors and banks are identified in all three cases. Case 1 company operates within different countries. The managing director of the company would deliver the corporate image and future plan to different offices. It helps all internal stakeholders understand the vision of the company. It would also be more efficient to implement new policies as well. Similar act is also applied to case 2 company. The company holds quarterly meeting as a communication between cross-department as well as deliver the corporate image and future plan to the internal stakeholders.
Case 3 company focus on the marketing communication towards the market to increase social acceptance and also corporate branding to consumer as well as to potential employees. The company also hold internal gatherings and parties to create bonds between the employees and create harmony in work environment.
On the other hand, there are struggles that the companies are facing. Just like Richard R. Dolphin mentioned in “The Fundamentals of Corporate Communication” in 1999 (Dolphin, 1999), Corporate communication is a management discipline. It is not a technic which small and medium enterprises might overlook it since it doesn’t show positive in financial statements.
Even though, there is no professional corporate communication officers to carry out corporate communication in small and medium enterprises in Taiwan. Small and medium enterprises can start corporate communication little by little depend on the industry and business.
On the above multiple case studies, Case 1 and Case 2 both had sales team to be responsible for market communication yet marketing team is handling market communication in Case 3. It
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立 政 治 大 學
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While, public relations in Case 1 is conducted by managing director while it is been conducted by the head of administration in Case 2. Public relations specialist was there in Case 3 to conduct public relations.
Although all three cases’ corporate communication is not conducted by corporate communication specialist. The study points out that it can be inefficient, waste of resource, and also effective. According to Corporate Communication: A Guide to Theory and Practice by Joep Cornelissen, Corporate communication is a management function that offers a framework for the effective coordination of all internal and external communication with the overall purpose of establishing and maintaining favorable reputations with stakeholder groups upon which the organization is dependent (Cornelissen, 2014). Therefore, it may not be the point of having corporate communication team or specialist in the company but having a team to coordinate the communication for it to be consistent and efficient in terms of time and resource.