Correspondence: Corporate communications and its receptions

Abstract

This article critiques the conceptualization of corporate communications in a recent study by Llewellyn and Harrison. We argue that their analysis of the reception of corporate messages is one-sided and partial and fails to advance a comprehensive understanding of corporate communications and its role in contemporary organizations. Llewellyn and Harrison suggest that blue-collar employees share a class-based anti-management attitude which together with their `folk' linguistic competences leads them to read corporate communications texts in a strictly cynical way that reinforces a class distinction between `managers' and (blue-collar) `employees'. In the hope of advancing a more sophisticated view on corporate communications, we challenge Llewellyn and Harrison's position by questioning the methods and arguments brought forth in their analysis.