ISSUES OF BUSINESS AND LAW

VOLUME 1 (2009)
ISSN 2029-1094

DOI: 10.2478/v10088-009-0004-y

ASPECTS OF ONLINE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION TO MASS MEDIA

Cezar SCARLAT1, Cornelia MAXIM2

1
Professor, Dr.
University “Politehnica” of Bucharest (UPB)
Splaiul Independentei No.313, Corp BN 218, Sector 6, Bucharest, Romania
E-mail: cezarscarlat@yahoo.com
2
Dr., Senior lecturer
National School of Political Studies and Public Administration (SNSPA)
Str. Povernei No.6-8, Sector 1, Bucharest, Romania
E-mail: cornelia.maxim@comunicare.ro

Abstract. This paper aims to identify the trends and characteristics of the online communication as well as challenges
organizations have to cope with. The recent scientific literature and the results of several studies are reviewed.
The research demonstrates that, besides other instruments intensively used in a company’s online communication to
media (online press releases, e-mails exchanged with journalists, blogs), organisations have to develop media sites in
order to efficiently communicate with mass media representatives. Linked to a company site, this mini-site has to be not
only an archive of press releases, but also a real instrument helping the journalists to develop their activity. There are
evidenced significant differences between what the journalists want to find online and what the communication and
public relations specialists consider useful to post on the organisation sites.
The online communication to mass media is not a revolutionary concept anymore. The Internet advantages, from the
easiness and quickness to post information to the permanent interactivity, have to be known and used by all public
relations and communication specialists active within organisation. This is as important as understanding the
challenges of the virtual environment: high interactivity and bilateral information exchange, increased freedom of
action for the public, and “many-to-many” communication model.

Keywords: communication, business communication, online communication, public relations, mass media, “Many-to-
many” communication model.

Introduction
The organisational development answers to the technical, economical, political, social, and cultural
changes that take place both in its internal and external environment. Challenged by globalization,
informatization and innovations in management, the way an organisation communicates has to react
accordingly. Any major change induces radical changes in attitude. Without open, permanent and
professional communication at the organisational level, this change in attitude is impossible to be
achieved.
The organisations have to communicate in order to survive and develop as entities. Even the
simplest economic transaction is based on communication between the seller and the buyer in order
to present the products/services offered, value and exchange tems.
In the era of “intellectual capital”, the strategic resources of organisation are essentially
represented by information, knowledge and creativity. All these cannot be fully valued without an
efficient and effective communication. In any organisation, the managers develop a series of
activities of traditional management such as planning, organising, leading, and controlling; they
also manage the human resources: through motivation, guidance, conflict solving, hiring, training;
they create and maintain relationships with people inside and outside the organisation: they

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interconnect, communicate. The communication becomes the critical element for the periods of
evolutionary changes which take place in any organisation’s life; communication is the instrument
for implementing the changes, for redesigning the internal organisational processes and new
organisational strategies.
This paper aims to identify the trends and characteristics of the online communication as well
as challenges organizations have to cope with. The recent literature and results of several studies are
reviewed.

1. Communication. Online communication

Communication becomes more and more a complex process based on audience diversification.
Organisations have to communicate with their audiences, according to the power they have:
consumers, investors, employees. Inherently, the quality of communication depends also on the
means used for transmitting the information. The modern communication techniques permit
reaching more and more public and faster than before.
Because of the heterogeneity of client devices and their network connections, the scalability on
multimedia content repurposing represents a new challenge. In order to solve the problems of
heterogeneity and scalability, the Canadian researchers from Multimedia Communications Research
Laboratory (MCRLab) at the University of Ottawa propose a solution that uses a series of
repurposing proxies in a chain fashion (Hossain and El Saddik, 2008).
As always in the history of civilizations, the emergence of a new technology creates new
opportunities of use and produces changes in society, institutions, working procedures, mentalities.
Similarly, the online communication offers new ways of transmitting the message, more efficient
way to reach the public and more sophisticated ways to convince it. But the new communication
technologies bring, besides their many advantages, unexpected challenges, too.
As the new technologies ensure high interactivity and bilateral information exchanges, the
quantity and quality of the messages sent increase accordingly; in addition, the basic nature of
communication has changed. “Since a high interest of the electronic communication is focused on
sending emails, the communication specialists have to be aware of the many advantages of the
electronic technology. Texts, images and whole pages can be sent by the electronic networks. The
technology permits all the newspapers to receive brochures, press releases, files and graphics in an
electronic way. After sending the material electronically, the receivers have the possibility to edit
some specific elements on their own computers (…) The relationship between the message sender
and the receiver is changing. The communication specialists, always frustrated by the limits
imposed [by the traditional media] in interpersonal communication, discover that new technologies
create a relation that looks more and more like a face to face communication or like a
communication in small groups.” (Kendall, 1996, p.306).
The interpersonal communication has multiple facets and angles; technology progress in
different domains as mechatronics, computer graphics, psychology and physics has been the
background for the new haptic science, which includes even newer communication haptics or
multimedia haptics (Eid et al., 2007).
The new communication technologies allow increasing the freedom of action for the public.
Using these technologies, people can easily escape from the control of the messages sent by the
communication institutions (mass media institutions, advertising companies or public relations
departments); they can look alone for their own sources of communication, they can write and send
messages and various complex products, different from those sent by the communication
institutions. As proven by many specialists, the inherent interactivity of the online communication
is like a two-sided blade – the public “just captured” can easily escape from the control of a
message, channel or institution: “Unlike TVs, where you can relax and get invaded by their

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messages, the Web is mostly an implicative and interactive environment (…) The most important
thing is that this environment requires from its client/consumer a continuous stream of decisions.
What is called “a click stream” is actually a decision stream. Each click means taking a decision. At
every step you have to make a choice (…) So, the Web is different from other media. It is very
active, oriented to a precise task and requires an intense intellectual implication.” (Sutherland and
Sylvester, 2000, p.246). Online public is not a passive and easy-to-convince public. That is why,
preparing the messages used during the online communication involves a much more elaborated
and dedicated work of creation than other traditional communication channels.
Technically speaking, the Internet is a connection between distributed and open systems –
“distributed” meaning that no one has the control, and “open” meaning that the basic rules are
freely published and accessible to anyone. All the users can contribute to the network, and to its
evolution. The new opportunities offered by the technology – the absolutely free and global
communication – represent the Internet culture. There is a strong connection between the
possibilities and the rules of using it. The technology is open, global and distributed and so are the
Internet rules: open and unwritten. There is no central control but a user’s violation of the unwritten,
set up rules is drastically punished by all other users. The Internet is the first technology
determining a global change of the relations between people. As the means of mass communication
were centrally controlled, no such thing exists when using Internet. The Internet is not a fashion, not
only the base on which the virtual reality develops, but also the key-element of current progress.
The worldwide accessibility of the web services is not only an issue of technology, but of
semantics as well. In order to avoid ambiguity in communication between various agents and online
service providers, Kaviani et al., 2007 propose “an interchange framework to transform business
rules and policies between different enterprises” using a dedicated language.
Besides its amusement function, the Internet has two other major functions: information
function and commercial function. The case of the Kosovo conflict in 1999 is good example of
information function: as the Yugoslav authorities oppressed the independent mass media in Serbia –
including radio stations and newspapers, the Internet represented the only way of communication
for both sides, leading to name the Kosovo crisis as “the Web War”.
The commercial function of the Internet is not our focus. However, is is important to mention
that online information and commercial functions are intercorrelated. Researchers from University
of Oxford’s Said Business School (UK) and Australians Deakin University’s Bowater School of
Management and Marketing have explored how e-tailers design and implement their loyalty
marketing strategies. Carried out via interviews with directors or senior managers from multi-
channel and online retailers from across the world, and supported by secondary research,
Cuthbertson and Bridson, 2006 found out that the loyalty marketing strategy employed is dependent
upon the fundamental structure of the retailer-customer relationship and customer retention
(loyalty) online depends on how long the retailer has been operating online; “communications with
the customer should be at a frequency relative to customer purchasing frequency; and successful e-
tailing practices consist of continually measuring and modelling customer sales, satisfaction and
value, both in terms of absolute figures and trends”.
A few years ago, the dot.com bubble made it clear that the e-commerce is not going to replace
the old “brick & mortar world” (Nataraajan, 2006). Interdisciplinary approach of e-commerce
(Ming-Hui, 2006) has led to the conclusion that IT increases economic efficiency; yet the allocation
equality is not guaranteed.
The trust is an essential ingredient to a successful internet marketing and trade. Analyzing the
online wine purchasing, Quinton and Harridge-March, 2006 have identified, from an online
prospective, notable links between the elements of trust and the parameters of business risk.
The Internet, being not controlled or restricted by anyone, publishes uncensored information.
The news communicated through the virtual space and released by international satellites should

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have the same rights of free expression as those of traditional media. From commercial standpoint,
the electronic commerce assumes buying and selling information, products and services by using
computer networks at lower costs.
In order to obtain measurable results, the experts suggest following the next steps (Holtz, 2002,
p.41):
1. Identify the target. What is the public?
2. Set the objectives. Why the organisation communicates with its audience? What does it want
to obtain? How can it be realized that it achieves what it wants?
3. Develop the messages and decide on the communication channels. Which are the key
messages that are going to be sent to the audience?
4. What information does the audience want? Based on the key messages and information
regarding the audience’s interests, a list of questions that could be raised by the public is developed.
5. How are the audience members going to look for the information? What are the ways used
to find the information they need?
6. Integrated communication. The message has to contain the elements to get the additional
information as well as the feedback.
The use of the online communication has limits and some disadvantages. It is quite obvious that
the communication experts will use both old and new communication channels, depending on the
objectives and resources they have, technical and/or financial. Neither the ignorance nor the
exaggeration of the new technologies represents professional attitudes. “The inventors of the new
communication systems think, too often, in terms of substitution, rather than in terms of rotation”
(Flichy, 1999, p.218). In this perspective, in the near future, a synergic mix of the traditional
communication techniques and those inspired by the online communication are expected.

2. Online Business Communication to Mass Media

The contacts with mass media, investors and business partners largely use e-media, starting with e-
mail and ending up with the web page of the organisation. As underlined by E.L. Bernays, the
public relations have the mission to set up a reliable environment between an organisation and its
public, between persons and society: “the public relations represent an essential instrument to
adjust, interpret and integrate persons, groups and society.” (Coman, 2001, p.19).
The public relations address three important areas: internal communication, relationships with
local community and public information (relations with mass media).
The internal communication represents that the public relations (PR) activity the aim of which
is to motivate the members of an organisation by making them understand the missions of the
organisation and its staff. The internal communication contributes to strengthen the moral, increase
the productivity, stimulate the feeling of being a part of the organization, and contribute to achieve
the mission of the organization.
The relationships with local community aim to increase the audience trust in the organisation,
and contribute to strengthen its functionality.
The public information (relations with mass media) refers to the process of informing the public
opinion using mass media about what an organisation is doing. Using well-planned public
information, a positive image of the organisation could be presented to the public opinion.
There are two main policies used in public information: the reactive policy, defensive attitude,
limited to only answering to mass media questions, without trying to promote its own objectives,
and the active policy, based on a plan and trying to achieve some objectives, releasing some pre-
established themes and messages. Actually, the two policies are used simultaneously. In public
information, the evaluation is a key word: it can offer conclusions, based on facts, regarding the
performances, public image, and – ultimately – the success or failures of the public information.

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The aim of a communication channel is to efficiently send the message and create powerful
impression. Efficiency means that the message is sent at the lowest cost possible and the powerful
impression means that the audience/s act according to the organisation desire. The web represents
the most efficient way of message sending; the direct communication creates the highest
impression. Because of the fact that they can communicate directly with all the members of a target
audience, the organisations can use the web network when they want to send their messages. The
Internet has broken the barriers of classical communication models as each recipient is a sender too.
Each recipient is also a sender. In mass communication, the Internet offers a new environment,
combining the actuality and the spontaneity of technologies as phone and television, with the
profundity and the amplitude of the written communication. Moreover, a new opportunity arises:
the chance to find information and to establish contacts between people with common interests. The
Internet ensures an interactive communication, makes the exchange of messages autonomous,
creates the conditions to communicate between persons, facilitates the cross-borders
communication etc. This is its novelty to communication. The Internet brought a new concept in the
mass communication. It is what is called “many- to- many” communication. The recipient and the
sender are represented by large groups of persons.
Regardless the means used by the journalists in their work – TV, radio, newspapers or Internet
– the basic constitutional value of the mass media freedom should not be questioned. The Internet
offers the organisations that unique opportunity to communicate directly with various audiences,
without depending on the intermediary public which facilitated message sending: the journalists.
Their role, even diminished, cannot be ignored. They represent one of the key-elements in the
public relation activities and it would be a great mistake for the specialists to believe that they can
influence the audiences by completely ignoring the mass media. Contrary to many opinions, the role
of the department responsible for the media relations is not to make the organisation have a good
image in the mass media.
The spread of the Internet produces important changes in the written media. Nowadays, many
people prefer now reading their newspapers online much cheaper and easier. The web sites of the
publications offer additional services compared to the written newspaper (forums, audio and video
records, latest news in real time), things which are well appreciated by the readers. The journalists
cannot ignore these changes.
In 2007, the New York Times written press and online press departments have merged.
According to the online press itself (http://wpl.journalistpresslounge.com/wpl/news/), on 24th
November 2003, WorldPressLounge (located in London, UK) has announced the launch of an
online press office (JournalistPressLounge website), aiming at helping companies to communicate
better with the media: “By delivering the right framework and tools to put all the information a
journalist wants onto the Internet, we nudge companies into the media space”. The rationale was
entirely practical, as “research has shown that journalists are increasingly using the Internet as a
primary research tool but are often frustrated by corporate websites that are frequently out of date,
difficult to navigate and of limited relevance to many journalists … journalists only find answers to
basic questions on corporate sites 60% of the time”.
Recent studies have paid attention to the factors that influence the popularity in a digital
newspaper – such as the subject, the video characteristics and the new content introduction policy,
in different timescales and periods of time (Paneda et al., 2007).
Both media and companies should be aware of new challenges. Beyond the controversies
regarding the role and functions of the mass media in society, a clear conclusion can be drawn: the
impossibility to ignore them. Besides all the critics and denies regarding the mass media, these are
present and dominate the daily life. The online communication to mass media should be an
important component of company communication strategy.

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3. Insights on Media Online Communication

To efficiently communicate with the mass media representatives, the organisations have to develop
a media site (Media Room, Newsroom, Virtual Press Office, Press Room or Media Centre). This
mini-site, linked to the organisation site, has to be not only an archive of press releases, but a real
instrument helping the journalists to develop their activity. Vocus Company
(http://www.vocus.com/content/index.asp), which offers solutions for the PR activity, has
conducted a research study which evidenced significant differences between what the journalists
want to find online and what the communication and PR specialists consider useful to post on the
organisation sites. According to this study, a complete and useful media site, which corresponds to
the journalists’ requirements, should have a number of elements, as presented below.
ƒ Contact information (data)
To give the reporter all the needed data in order to get in contact with the communication and
public relations specialists represents a necessity. An email address is not sufficient. Often, fighting
the deadline, the reporters need explanations or additional information. Thus, the phone number
should not be missed, in order to facilitate finding the proper person that can promptly and properly
answer the questions.
The contact data should be present on all materials issued by the PR department (press releases,
articles, etc) as well as in the section “Contact Us” or “General Contact” on the organisation
website. Other alternative means to contact the communication and PR specialist after working
hours should be provided as well.
ƒ Studies
The journalists want to have access to more data and various studies/researches, in order to
prepare their materials in a professional way. The media site has to contain the results of the
research works completed by the organisation or other relevant studies.
ƒ Information regarding the organisation (backgrounds)
These represent an important component of the Media site. The reporters look for various data
regarding the organisation: number of employees, the year the organisation was set up, salaries,
operations, list of branches. The mission of the organisation is important as well as many other
aspects. Offering all these elements in a clear and concise form will please the media
representatives.
ƒ Press releases
They are essential elements for the communication and PR activities and cannot be absent in
the media web site. These should be presented (indexed) chronologically, starting with the most
recent one, and also depending on other criteria. The presence of a search function could help.
ƒ Information kit for the press (media kit)
The Internet allows the communication and PR specialist to offer, at small expenses, additional
materials completing a press release. Photos, diagrams, images, brochures, audio and video
demonstrations have to be present online to be downloaded and used by the journalists. The press
release should include a link to the media kit.
ƒ Information regarding the management
The journalist considers the management staff of the organisation as important to be presented
on the site. Their biographies should include photos.
ƒ Photos
The managers’ photos should not be the only ones presented online. The images of the
products, various diagrams, and logos can complete the site. They are really useful for the
journalists when writing their articles.
ƒ Links to other sources

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To offer qualitative information should be a priority for the communication and PR specialist.
The media site may contain hyperlinks to various online resources, to experts in that specific
industry.
ƒ Articles in mass media
It is useful for every journalist to know if one subject or another referring to the organisation
was already treated in the media. It is necessary to present on the site all the news that have
appeared, either if those were positive or negative. For the negatives, the organisation’s point of
view should be expressed. The reporters want facts.
ƒ Future events
These are various seminars, conferences, product presentations. The calendar of such activities
should include:
- hour, date and place of the event;
- the nature of the organisation’s involvement;
- contact information.
Such data can help media editors to make the decision to attend the event.
ƒ Essays/articles (white papers)
To profoundly understand the aspects regarding the organisation and its activities, some
synthetic articles or written materials should be provided. These are appreciated by the journalists
and can confirm the experience the organisation has in a certain field.
ƒ Speeches
If a reporter wants to find out more about a member of the organisation management or looks
for a quote regarding a certain subject, s/he will need speeches. Consequently, these should be
present on the media site.
ƒ Awards/recognitions/certifications
The awards give credibility by proving the recognition of the quality of the products or services
provided by the organisation. It is good to have them presented on the media site.
By offering all this information, the media site will be a permanent attraction for the journalists.
It is good to offer them the possibility to express their suggestions regarding the content of the site.
A feedback form can make this desired interactivity happen. The media site has to have a clean
design, with no graphically complex elements, and be easily surfed. It is essential for the journalists
to easily reach the desired information (they do not have to make more than two clicks to reach the
desired materials). The link to the media site should be emphasized on the first page of the
organisation web site. All the data posted on the media site should be permanently updated.
The media site should not have a password, to facilitate the journalist free access to useful
materials. Its promotion should be made by:
- Offering presentation materials to the mass media representatives;
- Including the media site address on all the press releases or other materials produced by the
public relations department;
- Printing the web address on the company’s promotional products, offered to mass media
representatives;
- Announcing the mass media representatives, personally, about its existence;
- Including the media site address in the sender’s signature sent by e-mail;
- Recording it in various specialised sites.
Other instruments intensively used in company’s online communication to media are: online
press releases, e-mails exchanged with journalists, and blogs. A webblog (shortly blog) is an
updated site with inputs that are automated indexed and dated. Similar to a journal, it can contain
posts regarding one or more subjects. What makes it different from a personal web page is that it
can contain comments to the published messages and links to other online resources. As a form of
communication in the 21st century, the blog is called by the specialists even a social phenomenon:

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Internet switches from a computers network to a people and interhuman relationships network,
based on the two big industries around which our existence gravitates – Internet and
Communication. Presently, there can also be met complex forms of webblogs: mobile blogs
(mobblogs) and video blogs (vblogs), which permit to publish, besides texts, images and films. All
the existing blogs form the blogosphere.
The blogs should be seriously considered as instruments of communication between
organisations. They allow personal and direct interaction with target audiences. With their help, the
organisation can manage its image, by communicating its own messages and answering to the
requests of various audiences. The credibility represents the key in both internal and external
communication. For the communication specialists using the blog, the accuracy is a tough task. If
the journalists have editors that help them, the blog users do not have such a help. They have to
check carefully the facts before mentioning them in the online journals. That is why the
communication blogging should use the hyperlinks as much as possible when they quote the
information sources. If they cannot use the link, they should use the “quotes”. Monitoring the
important blogs and offering quick and complete feedback to the target audience helps in promoting
an image of transparent and open organisation.
As Trimi and Galanxhi-Janaqi, 2008 underlined, the blogs are one of the most explosive
outbreaks in the information world since the internet itself. The blogs’ benefits are visible not only
for the organization but for its employees as well; their benefits for the organizations are yet to be
fully explored.

Conclusions
The online communication to mass media is not a revolutionary concept anymore. Neither the
ignorance nor the exaggeration of the new technologies represents professional attitudes. In the near
future, a synergic mix of the traditional communication techniques and those inspired by the online
communication is expected.
The organisations understand the need to present them as good as possible in the virtual
environment, to optimally manage the relations with various online audiences. The online
communication increasingly becomes complex because of audience diversification: clients,
investors, employees.
The modern communication techniques allow reaching a wider public and faster than before.
The online communication offers new ways of transmitting the message, more efficient way to
reach the public and more sophisticated ways to convince it.
The emergence of new technologies brings, besides their many advantages, unexpected
challenges, too. The use of the online communication has some limits and disadvantages as well.
As the new communication technologies ensure high interactivity and bilateral information
exchanges, the quantity and quality of the messages sent increase accordingly. The connection
between the message sender and the receiver is changing and a new type of relationship is being
developed.
Internet – as a connection between distributed and open systems – offers an absolutely free and
global communication. It is the first technology determining a global change of the relations
between people.
The online communication technologies allow an increased freedom of action for the public.
The stream of “clicks” is actually a decision stream. People have the option to escape from the
control of the messages sent by the communication institutions (mass media institutions, advertising
companies or PR departments).
Besides its amusement function, the Internet has two other major functions: information
function and commercial function, which are increasingly interlinked.

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Both media and companies should be aware of new challenges. Beyond the controversies
regarding the role and functions of the mass media in society, a clear conclusion can be drawn: it is
impossible to ignore them - they are present and dominate the daily life.
There are evidenced significant differences between what the journalists want to find online and
what the communication and PR specialists consider useful to post on the organisation sites. The
online communication to mass media should be an important component of company
communication strategy.
According to the Romanian experience, the Internet advantages, from the easiness and
quickness to post information to permanent interactivity, must be known and used by all
communication and PR specialists within organisations. This is as important as understanding
challenges of the virtual environment: high interactivity and bilateral information exchange,
increased freedom of action for the public, “many-to-many” communication model.

References
Coman, C. (2001). RelaĠii publice. Principii úi strategii [Public Relations. Principles and Strategies]. Iaúi: Ed. Polirom.
(In Romanian)
Cuthbertson, R.W.; Bridson, K. (2006). Online retail loyalty strategies. International Journal of Information
Technology and Management, 5(4), 279-294. DOI: 10.1504/IJITM.2006.012042.
Eid, M.; Orozco, M.; El Saddik, A. (2007). A guided tour in haptic audio visual environments and applications.
International Journal of Advanced Media and Communication, 1(3), 265-297. DOI: 10.1504/IJAMC.2007.013918.
Flichy, P. (1999). O istorie a comunicării moderne [A History of Modern Communication]. Iaúi: Ed. Polirom. (In
Romanian)
Holtz, S. (2002). Public Relations on the Net (2nd edition). New York: Amacom.
Hossain, M.S.; El Saddik, A. (2008). Scalability measurement of a proxy-based multimedia content repurposing
system. International Journal of Advanced Media and Communication, 2(3), 267-287. DOI:
10.1504/IJAMC.2008.020180.
Kaviani, N.; Gasevic, D.; Hatala, M.; Clement, D.; Wagner, G. (2007). Integration of rules and policies for
Semantic Web Services. International Journal of Advanced Media and Communication, 1(4), 404-423. DOI:
10.1504/IJAMC.2007.014815.
Kendall, R. (1996). Public Relations Campaign Strategies. New York: Longman.
Ming-Hui, H. (2006). An interdisciplinary view of electronic commerce. International Journal of Advanced Media
and Communication, 1(2), 93-102. DOI: 10.1504/IJAMC.2006.009730.
Nataraajan, R. (2006). Marketing on the internet: looking backward and looking forward. International Journal of
Advanced Media and Communication, 1(2), 103-110. DOI: 10.1504/IJAMC.2006.009731.
Paneda, X.G.; Garcia, R.; Melendi, D.; Vilas, M.; Garcia, V. (2007). Popularity analysis of a video-on-demand
service in a digital newspaper: influence of the subject, video characteristics and new content publication policy.
International Journal of Advanced Media and Communication, 1(4), 369-385. DOI: 10.1504/IJAMC.2007.014813.
Quinton, S.; Harridge-March, S. (2006). The management of risk and initiation of trust in online purchasing: UK
online wine market. International Journal of Information Technology and Management, 5(4), 267-278. DOI:
10.1504/IJITM.2006.012041.
Sutherland, M.; Sylvester, A. (2000). Advertising and the Mind of Consumer. London: Kogan Page Ltd.
Trimi, S.; Galanxhi-Janaqi, H. (2008). Organisation and employee congruence: a framework for assessing the
success of organisational blogs. International Journal of Information Technology and Management, 7(2), 120-133.
DOI: 10.1504/IJITM.2008.016600.
WorldPressLounge. Retrieved April 3, 2009, from http://wpl.journalistpresslounge.com.
Vocus. Retrieved April 3, 2009, from http://www.vocus.com/content/index.asp.

Short biographical notes

Cezar Scarlat is currently teaching management courses at University ‘Politehnica’ of Bucharest, Romania. He
has twofold background education: engineering and economics; Ph.D. degree in Management Science. Professor
Scarlat teaches courses in management area, at undergraduate and postgraduate level, in Romania and abroad, as a
visiting professor (Belgium, Finland). Active participant at international scientific events and a member of numerous
advisory boards and professional associations. Authored or co-authored more that 30 books and manuals, and over

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100 articles. Consultant in more than 40 international projects. Editorial Board member of International Journal of
Management and Enterprise Development, member of the Editorial Advisory Board for Industrial Management & Data
Systems, and reviewer for other journals.
Cornelia Maxim is associated with National School of Political Studies and Public Administration, in Bucharest,
Romania. As Senior Lecturer, Ms. Maxim is currently teaching Information technology, Communication, and Business
communication courses, at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Ms. Maxim’s background is mathematics and
she holds a Ph.D. Degree. Dr. Maxim’s area of expertise is new information technology applied in business
communication. She has actively participated in several research teams and shared the results at numerous national
and even international scientific events.

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