Page 375 - Gabrijela Kišiček and Igor Ž. Žagar (eds.), What do we know about the world? Rhetorical and argumentative perspectives, Digital Library, Educational Research Institute, Ljubljana 2013
P. 375
stakeholders in promotional genres:
a rhetorical perspective on marketing communication 375
goal have stakeholders, i.e. persons who have an interest in the commu-
nicative success of the text (Mazzali-Lurati, 2011). Different stakehold-
ers play different roles and have a different interest in respect to the text.
Thanks to the concept of stakeholders it is possible to gain an in-depth
understanding of actors playing within a given communicative situation
and their different roles.
We drew the concept from the field of corporate management,
where it has been used for the first time by Freeman (1984) in relation-
ship to strategic management (Post et al., 2002: 18). The conventional
model of corporate stakeholders includes, beside investors (who are tra-
ditionally considered the partner of the corporation management, the
ones the management has to reward and care about – cf. the ownership
view of corporation; Post et al., 2002: 12), customers and users, also em-
ployees, governments, regulatory authorities, unions, joint venture part-
ners and alliances, local communities and citizens, private organizations
and supply chain associates (Post et. al., 2002: 22).
From the field of corporate management the concept has then been
drawn on in the field of web design and usability, in order to identify and
refer to the “persons who have expectations, goals and interests connect-
ed to the implementation and success of the site” (Cantoni et al., 2003:
32; translated by the authors). In web design and usability stakehold-
ers are users, clients, decision makers, opinion makers, project manag-
ers, product managers, domain and content experts, content providers,
as well as the development team (Perrone et al., 2005).
Some of these categories of stakeholders appear to be relevant not
only in relationship to the corporation, its activity and its website, but
also in relationship to the texts that are daily and continuously written
in the realm of the corporation’s activity. For instance, texts produced in
the written communication of organizations have clients (someone who
asks to write the text in order to face a given exigency) and users or cus-
tomers (the persons who are meant to read the texts and to react to it)
and, sometimes, have regulatory authorities, that is, persons or institu-
tions that elaborate rules (at the level of content and at the level of their
presentation) the text has to follow and respect. Drawing on a concept
from media sociology we see that texts in organizations sometimes also
have gatekeepers, that is, individuals and groups that have the power to
let information get through channels of communication or to block it
(Lewin, 1947: 145).4
4 See for instance the role played by the journalist who screens news and press releases for deciding
which news is worth being published in the newspaper (Wolf, 1996: 178–179).
a rhetorical perspective on marketing communication 375
goal have stakeholders, i.e. persons who have an interest in the commu-
nicative success of the text (Mazzali-Lurati, 2011). Different stakehold-
ers play different roles and have a different interest in respect to the text.
Thanks to the concept of stakeholders it is possible to gain an in-depth
understanding of actors playing within a given communicative situation
and their different roles.
We drew the concept from the field of corporate management,
where it has been used for the first time by Freeman (1984) in relation-
ship to strategic management (Post et al., 2002: 18). The conventional
model of corporate stakeholders includes, beside investors (who are tra-
ditionally considered the partner of the corporation management, the
ones the management has to reward and care about – cf. the ownership
view of corporation; Post et al., 2002: 12), customers and users, also em-
ployees, governments, regulatory authorities, unions, joint venture part-
ners and alliances, local communities and citizens, private organizations
and supply chain associates (Post et. al., 2002: 22).
From the field of corporate management the concept has then been
drawn on in the field of web design and usability, in order to identify and
refer to the “persons who have expectations, goals and interests connect-
ed to the implementation and success of the site” (Cantoni et al., 2003:
32; translated by the authors). In web design and usability stakehold-
ers are users, clients, decision makers, opinion makers, project manag-
ers, product managers, domain and content experts, content providers,
as well as the development team (Perrone et al., 2005).
Some of these categories of stakeholders appear to be relevant not
only in relationship to the corporation, its activity and its website, but
also in relationship to the texts that are daily and continuously written
in the realm of the corporation’s activity. For instance, texts produced in
the written communication of organizations have clients (someone who
asks to write the text in order to face a given exigency) and users or cus-
tomers (the persons who are meant to read the texts and to react to it)
and, sometimes, have regulatory authorities, that is, persons or institu-
tions that elaborate rules (at the level of content and at the level of their
presentation) the text has to follow and respect. Drawing on a concept
from media sociology we see that texts in organizations sometimes also
have gatekeepers, that is, individuals and groups that have the power to
let information get through channels of communication or to block it
(Lewin, 1947: 145).4
4 See for instance the role played by the journalist who screens news and press releases for deciding
which news is worth being published in the newspaper (Wolf, 1996: 178–179).
