Exploring Organizational Communication (Micro) History Network Connections

Scott D'Urso, Marquette University
Jeremy Fyke, Marquette University
David H. Torres, Marquette University

Review of Communication, Vol. 14, No. 2 (2014): 89-106. DOI.

Abstract

In light of the 100th anniversary of the National Communication Association, the following essay offers an initial look at the communication subdiscipline of organizational communication and its development over the past seven-plus decades. As part of this review, we advocate the use of network methods as a microhistory analytic tool to explore the vast number of connections, both between people and research interests, generated as the discipline developed from its humble beginnings. This work represents a small sample of the greater Organizational Communication Genealogy Project. This larger effort seeks to create a detailed review of the discipline as it explores the relationships between advisors and advisees, the development of dissertation and current research topics, the collaborative network of coauthorship, and the contributions of individual scholars through the analysis of interview data, narratives, and historical documents.