Anne Vester­gaard

My research helps organizations understand how communication can drive social change. I study how businesses, NGOs, and other societal actors use communication to position themselves in relation to pressing global challenges, and how these practices affect trust, legitimacy, and the ability to create impact. 

At the heart of my work is an exploration of how market, civil society, and politics converge in shaping public life.  As corporations address social issues and NGOs professionalize their strategies, boundaries blur in ways that create new opportunities for collaboration and influence. At the same time, these shifts raise critical questions about how market logics enter the civic arena and about their consequences for civil society and democracy. My research highlights both the risks and the possibilities that follow when responsibilities are negotiated across organizational and societal domains. 

Beyond research, I work to strengthen the field of communication studies through leadership and collaboration. I co-direct the Communication Research Group (COG) at Copenhagen Business School and have previously directed the school’s large program in Business Administration and Organizational Communication. I also lead international projects, most recently The Crisis of Migration Discourse, which develops participatory ways of reframing public debate. In all of this, my aim is to sensitize organizations to the role of communication in questions of responsibility, justice and democracy.