From amateur to expert: professionalization in the field of internal communication

Resumo

Professionalization in specialist disciplines like internal communication may lead scholars and practitioners working in a certain niche to question whether theoretical principles in the more established field of Public Relations are applicable to their specialization. In this paper we analysed whether different forms of knowledge transfer, as identified in the literature on professionalization, contribute to the creation of a professional identity. To this end we distributed an online survey amongst the members of a professional interest group.
We found that internal communicators do not all share the same educational background. Few have built their career on internal communication. Professionalization in this discipline mostly consists of peer contacts. A solid link between research and practice has not yet been established. Finally, we found that internal communicators are open to innovations in their field. This can speed up the process of professionalization and therefore the development of a unique social identity.
We made a contribution to the literature of both PR and internal communication by questioning the range to which PR theory can be applied to internal communication topics. We additionally inquired whether specialization in internal communication can be justified o n t heoretical g rounds. F urther research will determine whether professionalization of specialisms fragments the field of PR.