European Communication Monitor 2024/25

About the research project

Die Akademische Gesellschaft ist Premium-Sponsor des European Communication Monitor 2024/25.

Title: European Communication Monitor 2024/25. Managing tensions in corporate communications in the context of geopolitical crises, artificial intelligence, and managerial learning.

Team: Prof. Dr. Ansgar Zerfass (Leipzig University, Germany), Prof. Dr. Alexander Buhmann (BI Norwegian Business School, Norway), Prof. Dr. Aurélie Laborde (Bordeaux Montaigne University, France), Prof. Dr. Ángeles Moreno (University Rey Juan Carlos, Spain), Prof. Dr. Stefania Romenti (IULM University, Italy), Prof. Dr. Ralph Tench (Leeds Business School, United Kingdom)

Project period: September 2023 to November 2024

Businesses and societies around the world are facing significant challenges. Political instability and economic stagnation in many countries are unfolding alongside groundbreaking digital innovations and promising initiatives. The latter provide opportunities for sustainable and thriving economies. Communication plays a crucial role in shaping these developments—both positively and negatively. Gaining deeper insights into how communication can be effectively managed in today’s volatile environments is essential. It helps organizations to become more resilient and encourages leaders and practitioners to focus on emerging trends and future-oriented solutions.

In the European Communication Monitor 2024/25 several pressing topics are covered. The report includes the intricacies of dealing with geopolitical crises, the emergence of AI technologies in communication departments, and the handling of individual learning and growth for CCOs as the highest-ranking communication leaders. All topics are addressed and analyzed through the lens of tensions. This key concept has shaped our current understanding of modern organizations and management. The European Communication Monitor 2024/25 identifies emerging tensions at the organizational, functional, and individual level. Additionally, it shows pathways to manage these tensions to ensure excellence.

Tensions driven by geopolitical crises

In an increasingly polarized world, geopolitical risks put corporate communications under pressure to balance business perspectives with stakeholder expectations. Tensions emerge, for instance, when needing to respond to stakeholder demands for taking a stance while, at the same time, being forced to mitigate reputational and economic risks.

Tensions driven by the rise of artificial intelligence

While artificial intelligence promises vast opportunities for communication departments, the pace and uncertainty with which these technologies develop produce considerable tensions. It is necessary to carefully balance the conflicting goals between aims of raising efficiency and effectiveness on the one hand with the need to minimize risks on the other. Situational awareness for the complex process of digitalization in communication departments is needed.

Tensions driven by the need for managerial learning

Acquiring new knowledge through various modes of managerial learning is crucial for CCOs to enhance their performance and future-proof their teams. Various tensions arise when learning objectives clash with other priorities like maintaining current performance or focusing on efficiency. Often, CCOs struggle to allocate sufficient time for personal development. Most learning occurs through experimentation or peer exchange, while professional discourse in the field is underdeveloped and academic research is often unknown.

Methodology

Research questions

1. How do businesses (macro level), communication departments (meso level), and CCOs (micro level) deal with the three challenges of geopolitical risks, artificial intelligence, and managerial learning?
2. Which tensions are experienced in each context?
3. How are those tensions evaluated and managed?

Methodology

The European Communication Monitor is an international academic study fulfilling the highest quality standards of social science research. Since 2007 it has been designed and executed annually. In 2024, the ECM has entered a new phase. The study design has been refined to focus on corporate communications exclusively.

• The researchers conducted a comprehensive interdisciplinary literature review. They aimed to identify the existing body of knowledge about the main concept (tensions) and the three topics focused on in the study. Based on this, the research questions were developed.
• The sampling is based on a rigorously compiled and annually updated database. It includes the 300 largest companies from all 50 European countries. The random sample consists of 30 chief communication officers (CCOs) from these companies.
• The research questions were operationalized in two major research instruments: a quantitative pre-questionnaire, followed by a qualitative semi-structured interview with 15 open questions.

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