Caroline Siegel, M.A., received the prestigious James E. Grunig and Larissa A. Grunig Outstanding Thesis Award 2024 of the International Communication Association (ICA). The award, which is named after the doyens of public relations research, recognizes the best master thesis in the field of communication management. It is only the second time ever that it has gone to Europe, but already the second time in a row to Leipzig University. The prize was awarded on June 21 during the 74th ICA Annual Conference in Gold Goast, Australia.
The master’s thesis by Caroline Siegel explores the growing debate on maturity and maturity models in strategic communication. In recent years, maturity models have gained international popularity in the theory and practice of corporate communications. These models outline successive stages that map a development path from an initial state to a target maturity level. Despite their practical application in areas such as content management, internal communications and communication measurement and evaluation (M&E), there is a lack of a concise theoretical foundation for the concept of communication maturity in academia.
The master’s thesis presents a new conceptualization of communication maturity for corporate and organizational communication based on analytical research. This closes definitional and logical gaps in existing approaches. The concept is seen as a bridge concept between communication M&E and communication excellence. In this respect, maturity models can be used to describe, empirically evaluate, improve and benchmark the value contribution of communication to organizational success. Furthermore, the master’s thesis proposes a standardized framework for maturity modeling in strategic communication that can be used to systematically assess, adjust and develop maturity models.
The award for the thesis supervised by Professor Ansgar Zerfass once again underlines the quality of the research-oriented education in the graduate program Communication Management in Leipzig. A total of 30 awards for the best master's thesis or dissertation at national, European or global level have already gone to studies from this field. This is unique in Europe and shows how the body of knowledge in social sciences can be expanded with topics focused on the professional field.