This pillar refers to two major societal trends that affect organizations and their interplay with their environment. First, mediatization highlights how different forms of media, such as news and social media, have become deeply integrated into and institutionalized in different levels of society, including organizations’ (communication) practices. Organizations have to pay attention and adapt to the logic of the media to reach their audience and adjust to the contemporary media environment. Organizations have become more visible and are more likely to be publicly scrutinized, especially given the media’s tendency to focus on negative events like crises, scandals, or unmet societal expectations.
Second, politicization highlights that the debates around societal issues that affect or are affected by organizations have become more politicized – i.e., a matter of political concern or stronger association with political ideologies. Sometimes, such politicized debates evoke emotional or even polarizing discussions, which can complicate organizations’ engagement with involved stakeholders or pressure organizations to take a stance on politicized issues. With growing attention to organizations’ societal responsibility, it becomes difficult for them to not engage with the socio-political issues high on the public and media agenda. Because many organizations are deeply embedded in mediatized environments, in which organizations are more visible and scrutinized, organizations’ communication and (socio-)political issues have become inherently intertwined.
Both mediatization and politicization show the importance of organizations’ communicative engagement with multiple stakeholders and involvement in socio-political issues in order to maintain a social license to operate.