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 Caroline Siegel receives the award from Professor Yusuke Ibuki, Kyoto Sangyo University, Japan.

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Award for theoretical contribution on maturity models

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REFRESH 2024 - The conference on communication management on April 12, 2024

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Günter F. Thiele celebrates his 90th birthday

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Profile

Prof. Dr. Cornelia Wolf and her team deal with the topics of media change and change in public communication, academic and innovation communication, non-profit communication as well as cross- and transmedia strategies in journalism and organizations in research and teaching.

The current annual report 2023 provides an overview of the Communication Management department .

Focus Areas of the Professorship for Online Communication

Strategic communication with customers, employees, investors, politicians, and stakeholders in society is a success factor. The practice is just as creative as it is complex - classic press work meets content strategies on the Internet and social media, editorially designed corporate media, events, advertising measures, integrated campaigns and concepts for personal communication by managers and live events. From the point of view of the company management, beyond these forms of implementation, there are always a few fundamental questions: Why and when do companies have to communicate? Which goals can be achieved? What framework conditions apply and what are the consequences of the increasingly professionalized communication in business for society as a whole?

Research on corporate communication combines communication studies and business knowledge in order to answer the questions that arise. The spectrum of projects ranges from basic research projects on the self-image and value proposition of corporate communication and Zerfass’ theory of corporate communication to empirical studies on current approaches in practice, such as competence management and talent promotion, leadership and communication or CEO communication. The interdisciplinary knowledge is bundled and made accessible for research, teaching and practice in basic works such as the "Handbuch Firmenkommunikation" and "Routledge Handbook of Strategic Communication".

Digitization has fundamentally changed information and opinion-forming processes in society. After the stationary internet, the mobile internet is also becoming increasingly relevant. The rapid growth of mobile media use and production is once again significantly changing the fields of action for strategic communication. New technical specifics such as the ubiquitous availability of devices, constant connectivity to the internet, and the option of localization offer a wide range of opportunities for communication with different stakeholders. The development of this innovative field of application and research is theoretically located in the field of communication management at the University of Leipzig in communication studies and strategic communication, and examined through multi-method empirical research. In addition to technological framework conditions, the focus is on organizational changes and strategies, as well as potential and challenges for communication tools.

The technological and social change in the course of digitization has fundamentally changed the conditions of strategic communication. As a result, organizations are increasingly using online platforms and tools for strategic communication with different reference groups.

This poses a challenge for communication management, since both the requirements of the stakeholders and the work in the communication departments are changing. Online specifics offer both potential and challenges in equal measure: topicality, interactivity, and multimedia require new concepts and the integration of individual measures into consistent communication strategies.

The different fields of activity of strategic communication on the Internet as well as organizational and content-related challenges of online communication are theoretically located in communication science in the Communication Management department of the University of Leipzig and analyzed empirically using different methods.

At the interface between the areas of public relations, marketing, and journalism, corporate media offerings are one of the most dynamic growth areas of strategic communication in terms of content and economy. In the light of digitization and easier access to information, in addition to paid media, owned media and content strategies geared to them are becoming increasingly important in the fight for the attention of reference groups. Since platforms and instruments for online and mobile media have also become highly differentiated, cross-media strategies and concepts are necessary in order to represent communication goals consistently. This leads to changed framework conditions for the organization and production of content. The current organizational and content-related changes in the organizations and the diverse new corporate media products are systematized and strategically analyzed in the area of ​​communication management, theoretically located and empirically examined.

Non-profit organizations (NPOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), social associations, churches, and initiatives of all kinds use strategic communication in the context of their respective goals. They motivate and mobilize followers, influence the media agenda, and promote their ideas and values in order to achieve their goals and change society. In some practical areas such as campaign management, fundraising and lobbying, as well as the use of volunteers as multipliers, they are regarded as pioneers of development.

Research in the subject area is dedicated to the theoretical foundations, creates interdisciplinary references, and conducts empirical studies, in particular through case studies. The interfaces to sociology, cultural studies, and political science are particularly important.

In addition to fundamental questions of communication studies, different aspects of public relations are examined in this research field. Theories of PR and organizational communication, the cooperation between media work and journalism, professional field research, ethics and history of PR communication, PR history, and much more.

Team

The team at the Professorship for Online Communication currently consists of three employees.

Prof. Dr. Cornelia Wolf

Prof. Dr. Cornelia Wolf

University Professor

Online Communication
Zeppelinhaus
Nikolaistraße 27-29, Room 4.01
04109 Leipzig

Phone: +49 341 97-35051
Fax: +49 341 97-35049

Office hours
by prior arrangement via e-mail.

 Cornelia Böhland

Cornelia Böhland

Secretary

Strategic Communication
Zeppelinhaus
Nikolaistraße 27-29, Room 4.05
04109 Leipzig

Phone: +49 341 97-35040
Fax: +49 341 97-35049

Office hours
Monday: 08:00 till 12:00
Tuesday: 08:00 till 12:00
Wednesday: 08:00 till 12:00
Thursday: 13:00 till 17:00
Friday: Home office

 Daniel Seibert

Daniel Seibert

Research Fellow

Online Communication
Zeppelinhaus
Nikolaistraße 27-29
04109 Leipzig

  • Kilian Buchmann, B.A. (Research Associate)
  • Lara-Sophie Fouquet, B.A. (Research Associate, Erasmus representative)
  • Vanessa Freudl, B.A. (Research Associate)
  • Louisa Marko, B.A. (Research Associatet)
  • Marie Prien, B.A. (Research Associate)

Research

Within the broad field of communication management and strategic communication, the employees at the Professorship for Online Communication work on various main topics.

Publications

Prof. Dr. Cornelia Wolf’s team regularly publishes national and international specialist articles. Find out about the entire list of publications at the Professorship of Online Communication.

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Contact and Directions

 Cornelia Böhland

Cornelia Böhland

Secretary

Strategic Communication
Zeppelinhaus
Nikolaistraße 27-29, Room 4.05
04109 Leipzig

Phone: +49 341 97-35040
Fax: +49 341 97-35049

Directions

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