Organization-Issue Dynamics: A Conceptual Model for Strategic Communication Management of Sociopolitical Challenges

Ejae Lee and Yan Jin. (Forthcoming). "Organization-Issue Dynamics: A Conceptual Model for Strategic Communication Management of Sociopolitical Challenges". Journal of Communication Management.  Abstract: This study proposes a conceptual model of organization-issue dynamics (OID) that explicates how organizations identify, sustain, and recalibrate their stances on sociopolitical issues. The model reconceptualizes stance-taking as a dynamic process shaped by a connection between an organization and a given sociopolitical issue, involving interactions, transactions, exchanges, and negotiations. The OID model is anchored by two central dimensions — organizational commitment and issue complexity — whose intersections define distinct positions and stances. Positioning is governed by a stance calculus in which situational, organizational, and environmental factors shape decision thresholds. Organizational identity-issue congruence, legitimacy pressures, and stakeholder feedback loops explain how organizations oscillate among advocacy, accommodation, and strategic silence. The model provides a diagnostic tool for communication leaders to evaluate, forecast, and optimize strategic positioning on sociopolitical issues, aligning organizational values with stakeholder expectations across global contexts.