Purpose – Dynamic changes in organizations and their environment offer multiple opportunities for communication leaders—if they are able to anticipate where their professional advice and services might be needed. However, gaining such insights early on is by no means easy. Trend studies offered by industry media, associations, and agencies tend to uncover what is already known in the field, while academic research is mainly concerned with deepening knowledge on current and past practices through surveys, interview studies, content analyses, or experiments. This paper shows how this gap can be closed by introducing a novel approach to identifying trends in communication management.
Design – The proposed methodological approach combines a systematic analysis of developments in society, management, and technology with the assessments of researchers from different disciplines and communication leaders.
Findings – The approach has been applied in three consecutive trend research projects to date. A total of 15 trends for communication management have been identified. This paper outlines Scarcity Management, Unimagination, and Augmented Workflows are outlined as exemplary trends for 2023/24.
Originality – This paper contributes to the body of knowledge in communication management and public relations by stimulating a debate about the need, methodologies, and limitations of trend studies in our field. It allows scholars and practitioners to take a fresh look at potential concepts and topics for knowledge transfer and continuous education.
Key words – Communication management, Futures research, Knowledge transfer, Public relations, Trends, Trend Research
Paper type – Full-length research paper
