Vision Communication: A Systematic Review

Vision communication plays a crucial role in leadership, strategic management, and organizational change. However, current research on vision communication is fragmented, leading to a limited understanding of the topic. To advance this topic, this paper synthesizes the existing literature on the dimensions, theoretical mechanisms, moderators, and outcomes of vision communication, drawing on 150 papers. In particular, we identify four key dimensions of vision communication: vision attributes (e.g., imagery, metaphor), vision content (e.g., emphasis on profits or product quality), vision communication frequency (e.g., infrequent vs. frequent), and non-verbal delivery (e.g., emotional displays, eye gaze). Furthermore, we integrate four theoretical perspectives—motivation-based, identification-based, affect-based, and cognition-based—to explain the effects of vision communication. In essence, vision influences various outcomes by ensuring that employees are motivated and feel confident in their ability to achieve them (i.e., motivation-based), identify with the vision or leadership (i.e., identification-based), experience emotional inspiration or positive affect (i.e., affect-based), or understand the vision (i.e., cognition-based). Based on these mechanisms, we outline four categories of moderating factors that shape their impact (e.g., leader factors, follower factors, leader-follower relationships, and contextual factors). Finally, we outline future research directions to further advance research on vision communication.