Evaluar y medir el impacto social de la comunicación organizacional: Perspectiva latinoamericana en un estudio global

Evaluating and measuring the social impact of organizational communication strengthens the legitimacy and value of the discipline and makes explicit the sense of the intentionality of the communication processes deployed by the practitioners. The article presents an analysis of the current state and future perspectives on the evaluation and measurement of the social impact of organizational communication from the perspective of academics and practitioners in five Latin American countries. A qualitative database generated in a global Delphi study was reprocessed and thematized, and the open-ended responses of 81 Latin American participants were analyzed. It is concluded that, although participants express great concern for evaluation and measurement, their practice is limited and needs to improve in both approach and methodology. Two perspectives are observed in the approach to social impact assessment and measurement: one focused on the objectives and needs of organizations and the other on stakeholders and society. Due to its complexity, social impact assessment requires the creation of multidisciplinary, multi-sectoral measurement systems generated from the dialogue between academia, professional associations, and interest groups. The teaching of the discipline has yet to integrate rigorous training in this key aspect for better professional practice and to consolidate a social discipline with a strong social impact.