Skip to main content
  • 57 Accesses

Definition

The field of issue management is of enormous consequences for organizations as they attempt to monitor and deal with the political/social marketplace. It is where surprises often arise, where the rules of the competitive landscape in the economic marketplace are permanently changed and where executives and senior managers are ill equipped to respond. This chapter addresses the different types of issues and the processes by which issues develop, attract adherents and stakeholders, and how they crisscross between the economic and political marketplace. Strategies for dealing with the different types of issues organizations’ face are highlighted. Finally, the interplay of issues, managerial discretion, stakeholders, and costs are also addressed. Organizations and individuals need to develop skills far different from that addressed in traditional MBA and undergraduate business programs and where the instruction in strategy and competitive dynamics offer little solace. This...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ansoff, H. I. (1980). Strategic issues management. Strategic Management Journal, 1, 131–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ansoff, H. I., Kipley, D., Lewis, A. O., Helm-Stevens, R., & Ansoff, R. (2019). Using weak signal. In Implanting strategic management (pp. 449–468). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bartha, P. F. (1983). Managing corporate external issues: An analytical framework. Business Quarterly, 47, 78–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bigelow, B., Fahey, L., & Mahon, J. F. (1993). A typology of issues evolution. Business & Society, 32(1), 18–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bundy, J., Pfarrer, M. D., Short, C. E., & Coombs, W. T. (2017). Crises and crisis management: Integration, interpretation, and research development. Journal of Management, 43(6), 1661–1692.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chase, W. H. (1984). Issues management: Origins of the future. Stamford, CT: Issue Action Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Choi, J., & Lee, S. (2018). Lessons from a crisis: An analysis of Toyota's handling of the recall crisis. Journal of Public Affairs, 18(2), e1688.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chung, S., Chong, M., Chua, J. S., & Na, J. C. (2019). Evolution of corporate reputation during an evolving controversy. Journal of Communication Management, 23(1), 52–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, C. E., Bryant, A. P., & Griffin, J. J. (2017). Firm engagement and social issue salience, consensus, and contestation. Business & Society, 56(8), 1136–1168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cobb, R. W., & Elder, C. D. (1972). Participation in American politics: The dynamics of agenda building. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cobb, R. W., & Ross, M. H. (Eds.). (1997). Cultural strategies of agenda denial: Avoidance, attack, and redefinition. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coombs, W. T., & Holladay, S. (2018). Social issue qua wicked problems: The role of strategic communication in social issues management. Journal of Communication Management, 22(1), 79–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dadkhah, S., Bayat, R., Fazli, S., Tork, E. K., & Ebrahimi, A. (2018). Corporate foresight: Developing a process model. European Journal of Futures Research, 6(1), 18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawkins, C. E., & Barker, J. R. (2018). A complexity theory framework of issue movement. Business & Society, 59(6), 1110–1150. https://doi.org/10.1177/0007650318762404.

  • Druckman, J. N. (2001). On the limits of framing effects: Who can frame? Journal of Politics, 63(2), 1041–1066.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dutton, J. E., Fahey, L., & Narayanan, V. K. (1983). Toward understanding strategic issue diagnosis. Strategic Management Journal, 4, 307–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dutton, J. E., & Ottensmeyer, E. (1987). Strategic issues management systems: Forms, functions and contexts. Academy of Management Review, 12, 355–365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edelman, M. (1964). The symbolic uses of politics. Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eyestone, R. (1978). From social issues to public policy. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Festiner, W. L. F., Abel, R. L., & Sarat, A. (1980–1981). The emergence and formation of disputes: Naming, blaming, claiming…. Law & Society Review, 15(3/4), 631–654.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gholipour, R. (2018). Policy making: A new method to manage public issues. In Technology adoption and social issues: Concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications (pp. 1422–1436). Hershey: IGI Global.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Gollner, A. B. (1983). Social change and corporate strategy: The expanding role of public affairs. Stamford, CT: Issue Action Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heath, R. L., & Ihlen, Ø. (2018). Conclusions and take away points. In The handbook of organizational rhetoric and communication (pp. 485–497). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hilgartner, S., & Bosk, C. L. (1988). The rise and fall of social problems: A public arenas model. American Journal of Sociology, 94(1), 53–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, J. (1983). Issues management: What are the issues. Business Quarterly, 48(3), 22–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, S., & Krishna, A. (2017). Bridging strategy versus buffering strategy: Enhancing crisis management capability in public management for relational and reputational improvement, and conflict avoidance. Asian Journal of Communication, 27(5), 517–535.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kingdon, J. W. (1984). Agendas, alternatives, and public policies. Boston, MA: Little Brown.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laamanen, T., Maula, M., Kajanto, M., & Kunnas, P. (2018). The role of cognitive load in effective strategic issue management. Long Range Planning, 51(4), 625–639.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, T. H. (2017). The status of corporate social responsibility research in public relations: A content analysis of published articles in eleven scholarly journals from 1980 to 2015. Public Relations Review, 43(1), 211–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lock, I., & Schulz-Knappe, C. (2019). Credible corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication predicts legitimacy: Evidence from an experimental study. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 24(1), 2–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahon, J. F. (1993). Shaping issues/manufacturing agents: Corporate political sculpting. In B. Mitnick (Ed.), Corporate political agency: The construction of competition in public affairs (pp. 187–212). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahon, J. F., & Cochran, P. L. (1991). Fire alarms and siren songs: The role of issues management in the prevention of, and response to, organizational crises. Industrial Crisis Quarterly, 5, 155–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahon, J. F., & McGowan, R. A. (1992). Multiple games, multiple levels: Gamesmanship and strategic response to environmental issues. Business in the Contemporary World, IV(4), 162–177.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahon, J. F., & McGowan, R. A. (1998). Modeling industry political dynamics. Business & Society, 37(4), 390–413.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahon, J. F., & Waddock, S. A. (1992). Strategic issues management: An integration of issue life cycle perspectives. Business & Society, 31(1), 19–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahon, J. F., & Wartick, S. L. (1994). Toward a substantive definition of the corporate issue construct: A review and synthesis of the literature. Business & Society, 33(3), 293–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahon, J. F., & Wartick, S. L. (2012). Corporate social performance profiling: Using multiple stakeholder perceptions to assess a corporate reputation. International Journal of Public Affairs, 12(1), 12–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ndlela, M. N. (2019). A stakeholder approach to issues management. In Crisis communication (pp. 37–51). Cham: Palgrave Pivot.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Nolan, J. T. (1985). Political surfing when issues break. Harvard Business Review, 63, 72–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Brien, M. (2018). Non-profit issues management: A new approach to resist the label of ‘risk’. In Communicating causes (pp. 65–78). Abingdon, OX: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rochefort, D. A., & Cobb, R. W. (Eds.). (1984). The politics of problem definition: Shaping the policy agenda. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Slagmulder, R., & Devoldere, B. (2018). Transforming under deep uncertainty: A strategic perspective on risk management. Business Horizons, 61(5), 733–743.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sommerfeldt, E. J., & Yang, A. (2017). Relationship networks as strategic issues management: An issue-stage framework of social movement organization network strategies. Public Relations Review, 43(4), 829–839.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strauβ, N., & Jonkman, J. (2017). The benefit of issue management: Anticipating crises in the digital age. Journal of Communication Management, 21(1), 34–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tekin, K. (2018). Issue management in the digital world. In Reputation management techniques in public relations (pp. 204–221). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Uysal, N., Yang, A., & Taylor, M. (2018). Shareholder communication and issue salience: Corporate responses to ‘social’ shareholder activism. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 46(2), 179–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zenisek, T. J. (1979). Corporate social responsibility: A conceptualization based on organizational literature. Academy of Management Review, 3, 359–368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John Mahon .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Section Editor information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Mahon, J. (2020). Issue Management. In: Harris, P., Bitonti, A., Fleisher, C.S., Skorkjær Binderkrantz, A. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13895-0_89-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13895-0_89-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-13895-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-13895-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Political Science and International StudiesReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics