“Let us talk”: incorporating the Coordinated Management of Meaning’s communication perspective as part of public diplomacy efforts between government, the private sector, and the foreign public

Abstract

AbstractThe present study aims to explore the current model of communication applied between critical stakeholders such as the government and private sector engaged in public diplomacy efforts for promoting or improving the country’s reputation to the foreign public. A literature review shows that the current communication model applied by the mentioned stakeholders is based on the transmission model, which, to be successful, relies on an ideal version of the communication process where the message gets clearly through the channel while assuming the receiver’s understanding is as close as it gets to the sender’s intention. This process, however, omits communication complexities that derive from such a process where new social realities are being co-created by stakeholders. Consequently, the authors argue that there is a need to introduce a communication model that enables stakeholders to achieve a more sustainable coordination-focused outcome that would benefit both government and the private sector. The methodology is based on the Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM) theoretical framework that helps identify the current transmission-based public diplomacy communication model while recommending a new model based on a communication perspective. Finally, a communication model is created to describe the needed shift from the current traditional public diplomacy communication process (based on the transmission model) to the one suggested by CMM. Further research is needed where the actual CMM-based communication model will be applied by stakeholders and adequately monitored and evaluated.