Message Integrity

Message integrity refers to the degree to which an organization’s key message is used with little or no alteration by an intermediary and communicated with the organization’s original point of view. Even though a message may be actually or socially correct, it may still fail to communicate an organization’s perspective. It is important for organizations to strive for a high level of full message integrity because the ability to do so helps an[Page 452] organization align its desired reputation with its actual reputation. The focus on message integrity evaluation provides organizations with feedback on message design, spokesperson effectiveness, and message clarity and coherence. The rest of this entry discusses the role of intermediaries in relaying organizational messages, the types of errors intermediaries may commit when ...