Small business, shifting boundaries: A case study of strategic communication in the digital age

Small and medium enterprises are important contributors to most national economies but their use and practice of public relations is under examined. Arguing that a robust discussion of strategic communication in the digital age requires scholarship to move beyond a fixation with the corporate managerial context, this paper presents a localised case study of entrepreneurial public relations and organisational half-life at a New Zealand sustainable fashion business, Starfish. The case study explores the ways that Starfish designer and owner, Laurie Foon, operating across shifting organisational boundaries linked by a concern with sustainability, practices public relations in a socially responsible way, enacting key principles around excellence such as dialogue, relationship building and authentic leadership. Further, the study extends beyond the demise of the Starfish business in 2013, to also capture the existence of an organisational half-life for this eco-driven fashion label. By turning attention to the non-corporate environment, and documenting an entrepreneurial response to an increasingly volatile and fast-changing business environment, the article offers an inclusive reading of what it means to be strategic in the digital age.