Strategic communication and value creation: A process theoretical understanding of value formation in strategic communication management

Demonstrating how strategic communication management creates value has long been considered a key challenge for communication departments and managers. Theorizing and explaining how strategic communication creates value and how this value can be demonstrated has, therefore, emerged as a central research concern in public relations and strategic communication. While extant literature acknowledges the importance of creating stakeholder and societal impact, researchers have primarily approached and discussed value creation from an organizational point of view, mainly focusing on explicating how strategic communication creates value for organizations. As a first step toward a broader understanding of value creation, this conceptual article proposes a process theoretical understanding of the socially and culturally embedded value formation process in strategic communication management. The article introduces concepts such as value identification, conjectured value, realized value, value slippage, and value capture to the public relations and strategic communication literature. The article aims to offer a starting point for a more nuanced understanding of socially and culturally embedded value formation and to inspire knowledge-advancing research and theorizing in public relations and strategic communication.