Strategic integrated communication on South African nonprofit organisation websites

Abstract

South Africa’s democratic political regime opened up a global operating environment, affecting all sectors of the economy including the nonprofit sector. Models of sustainability have become more important than ever, with an increased emphasis on management models in this sector. New information and communication technologies such as the Internet and especially website technology have produced a challenging need for communication management paradigms. Operating within a context of increasing uncertainty may lead to nonprofit organisations looking outside the boundaries of their own sector for new management models and ideas. Strategic integrated communication is a management idea rooted in private sector knowledge. More specifically, Niemann’s (2005) conceptual model for the implementation of strategic integrated communication has the potential to address the sustainability issue within the website arena. The present study evaluates the application of strategic integrated communication according to Niemann’s (2005) conceptual model, among a selection of South African nonprofit organisation websites. Lack of research regarding strategic integrated communication within the South African nonprofit sector was the main motivating factor for this study. The study also represents an attempt to empirically test Niemann’s (2005) normative model within a specific context, thus helping to assess the scientific validity of the model. An exploratory qualitative research design was employed, with evidence collected by means of a content analysis of nonprofit websites and an e-mail questionnaire intended for the most senior communication/marketing staff member of each organisation. From an external perspective, nonprofit websites display many of the elements of Niemann’s (2005) conceptual model. Yet, evidence about the internal communication management aspects of the same organisations indicates that essential elements of the model are absent. Copyright