Dr. Pekka Aula is a
professor of communication in Department of Social Research, University of
Helsinki, Finland. He received his M.A. (1993) and doctorate (1999) in
organizational communication from Helsinki University. In addition Aula is an
adjunct professor of communication (Helsinki University) and organizational
communication and PR (University of Jyväskylä).
Previously he held a position as a professor (2003-2008) at the Department of
Communication, University of Helsinki. Before the fix-term professorship he was
a visiting scholar at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research ASCoR (2002) and post-doctoral research fellow appointed by
the Academy of Finland (2001-2003). In 2001 Aula was a acting professor (one semester) at the Department of Communication, University of Helsinki. During
that period he acted as the head of the Department.
Aula has taught various
courses in the field of reputation management and organizational communication
at Helsinki University at the bachelor’s and master’s levels. He has also
chaired research seminars and supervised PhD students. Furthermore, he has
taught courses on reputation management, organizational communication theories,
and communication management and has given various guest lectures
in other universities such as University of Jyväskylä,
Helsinki University of Technology, and Helsinki School of Economics. He is also
popular lecturer at businesses,
continuing education seminars and practice-oriented conferences. In 2003-2006 he was in charge of master’s degree
studies (WERMU I and II) offered by the upgrading education program in online
communication (in cooperation with the Department of Communication and the Palmenia Centre for Research and Continuing Education at
the University of Helsinki).
Aula’s
positions in different research projects include, among others, project manager
(Mapping Media and Communication Research in the U.S funded by Helsingin Sanomat foundation),
principal investigator (Information and communication technology in
organization funded by European Social Fund), scientific manager (Advancing online communication in organizations
funded by European Social Fund), and scientific advisor (Media Corporation
2015, funded by Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation TEKES). In
addition Aula has had several scientific positions of trust and administration
in both national and international research, education and development
programs. For example, his is a partner representative in Network of Excellence
DEMO-net funded under the European Commission's sixth framework programme: Information Society Technologies IST. In
addition, he is a member of department council of the Department of
Communication at UH.
Aula has published and
edited several books and research reports as well as published articles in
edited volumes and journals such as Regional Studies and Tiedotustutkimus.
During the resent years, Aula has authored, co-authored, edited or co-edited
the following monographs, books and research reports: Strategic Reputation Management: Towards A Company of
Good (2008, Routledge, with S. Mantere), Organisational
communication: from theory to practice (2008, ed,
Infor, in Finnish), City reputation: an investigation into the structure and relevant
factors impacting on the reputation of cities (2007, Association of Finnish
Local and Regional Authorities, with K. Vehkalahti,
T.A. Äikäs, in Finnish), Mapping Media and Communication Research in the U.S (2007,
Communication Research Centre, University of Helsinki, with M. Aslama, K. Siira, R. Rice), Network communication (1st ed: 2006, 2nd ed: 2008, Helsinki
University Print, ed. with J. Matikainen, M. Villi, in Finnish), Investigations
into Online Communications (1st ed: 2002, 2nd ed: 2004 Helsinki University Print 2006, ed. with J. Matikainen, M. Villi, in
Finnish), Company of Good: Strategic
Reputation Management (1st ed: 2005, 2nd ed: 2006 WSOY, with S. Mantere,
in Finnish), Reputation (1st ed: 2002, 2nd ed: 2004, WSOY,
with J. Heinonen, in Finnish), eEepos: Finnish Internet Dream (2000 WSOY, with A. Oksanen,
in Finnish), Chaos in management or
managing chaos? (2000 WSOY, in Finnish), Perspectives on organizational communication (2000, Loki-kirjat, ed. with S. Hakala, in
Finnish), Chaotic organization or
organizing chaos? A theory of dynamic organizational communication? (Lokikirjat 1999, in Finnish).
Aula has also published
multiple texts, and been interviewed in, all the main daily newspapers and
economic magazines in the Finnish-speaking world, as well been featured a
number of times in national TV and radio. Aula is a member of the board of
directors in Reputation Management Consultancy Pohjoisranta
(www.pohjoisranta.fi), and a developer of the company’s RepMap™
reputation measurement concept. He is
also a member of the Finnish Olympic Committee’s Marketing and
Communications Commission. During 2001-2008 Aula acted as an editor-in-chief in
Maine-magazine (Reputation Magazine) for organizational communication
professionals. During 2005-2006 he was a member of the board of directors in an
internet consultancy firm Satama Interactive Plc.
Aula’s research
is focused on emerging social forms of intangible capital (e.g. reputation,
legitimation, trust) in private and public sector’s organizations operating in
the networked information society. The research is founded on the notion of
communicative action as a constitutive element in creating networks of
intangible capital, both internal and external to an organization. Shared
strategy and leadership culture, which exists as shared goals, discourses,
scripts and narratives between organizational members and managers can be
regarded as an example of the internal component to organizational intangible
capital. An example on the external component to organizational intangible
capital is reputation and social responsibility, which are created in
communicative activities with external stakeholders.
In reputation studies Aula’s research interests lie in the formation and
reformation, construction and reconstruction of reputation and reputation
management processes in and between complex organizational networks. His
approach to organizational reputation is based on the notion of communication
as a core process in the social construction of reality. In organization
studies this approach can be related to the interpretivist
school of thought, in which the deep structures and communicative actions are
explored as ontological primaries. He is unwilling to resort to official
structures and stories as his primary data, choosing instead to dig deeper into
the organizational underbrush, into the properties of the actual storytelling
system itself. He views communication not just as transmission of messages over
space, but more in terms of the maintenance of a community in time. Aula has
co-authored three monographs about reputation management and conducted several
reputation related research projects. He has also conducted research and
published in organizational communication, online communications, and
complexity and chaos theories related to different organizational aspects.
Aula’s ongoing
research project is about corporate reputational risks and the influence of the
social media. Last year he completed a study about the structure of the
reputation of cities and of factors influencing it (City Reputation).