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Employing an experiment study ( N = 256), this study examines how individuals ethical orientation (deontology vs. consequentialism) and CSR message frame (normative vs. strategic) influence corporate hypocrisy perception and negative communication intentions toward a given company. Findings demonstrate that deontological ethical orientation and strategic CSR frame induce stronger corporate hypocrisy perception and negative communication intention than do consequential ethical orientation and normative CSR frame. In addition, deontological ethical orientation moderated the effects of CSR frames on negative communication intention toward the company. Implications for both public relations scholarship and practices are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we investigate investor relations (IR) scholarship across business-centered and communication-centered fields of study from 1994 to 2016. This investigation’s aims were to examine development almost a quarter of a century of IR scholarship and to use that to explore how to improve future IR practices and studies. We found that scholarly research in IR and public relations (PR) failed to display many signs of interaction with each other, rarely intersected with other disciplines, and reveal considerable potential for developing synergies from their existing differences. In conclusion, we argue that the current academic insularity also quarantines the practitioners. To address these issues we propose specific future collaborations to improve both IR’s scholarly output and its practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of dialogue has always been a mainstay in the research literature on public relations. However, the fields of corporate communication and, more recently, business management have focused on different aspects of the notion. Despite such increased research interest, the concept of dialogue yields a range of analytical perspectives; this is due in part to the fragmentation of academic study, whereby scholars pursue parallel lines of inquiry that never intersect in interdisciplinary exchange. Therefore, the twofold purpose of this article is to explore the concept of dialogue in the context of business: on the one hand, to offer an interdisciplinary account of dialogue based on a model of analysis shaped by the five key dimensions of the concept; and on the other hand, to use the model to trace which perspectives are articulated in the related theory. In short, the article works towards a clearer understanding of the management implications that stem from the conceptualization of dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite being a frequently discussed topic in the public relations literature, dialogue is often misunderstood as simply two-way communication and seldom examined in practice. While international development organizations frequently claim to use dialogic and participatory methods, development communication remains a relatively unexplored area in public relations. To further clarify public relations’ understanding of dialogue as well as its potential in development practice, this study examined how a USAID-sponsored international development project adopted participatory communication practices to encourage Bolivian farmers to switch from coca to coffee. Drawing from public relations and development literature on dialogue, the article juxtaposes the approaches to “dialogue” used in the project against normative concepts of the theory. The article argues that using genuine dialogue is a matter of differentiating deontological, means-based approaches to communication practice, from consequentialist, ends-based orientations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars in the U.S. generally agree that the origins of corporate public relations correspond to the rise of the U.S. Industrial Revolution during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This essay explores the under-theorized relationship between ideology and public relations by examining the role of the corporate voice in public relations history. Evidence suggests that public relations counsel, serving as the corporate voice, created messages that produced and reproduced certain ideological meanings about the corporation. These ideological meanings provided important guidance on how members of the public should think about, relate to, and experience the corporation as a necessary, natural and benevolent organization in society. By incorporating ideological theory as an analytical tool to study public relations history, this article explores an important, but not often studied aspect of public relations history – the development and use of the corporate voice as a site of ideological production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Partial support for greater credibility of customer rather company spokesperson. [•] Quoting a customer adds credibility to business audience's perception of an article. [•] Attitude toward product more positive when information quotes customer spokesperson. [•] Spokespersons trusted more by businesspeople with low expertise than high expertise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Network analyzed the connections between and among foreign organizations from Latin American and U.S. agents between 1998 and 2017. • During this time, businesses spent the most on strategic communication services in the U.S. spending $154,961,684.67. • Public relations services were more frequently requested by business organizations while advertising was the second most requested service. • 278 foreign organizations made 1095 connections to U.S. agencies. • Considering networks for all the Latin American countries, the average density score was 0.375, the average distance among nodes was 1.677, and the average fragmentation score was 0.575. • Business organizations and governments were often the most central with business spending the most but governments having the greatest number of contracts. Traditionally, international public relations studies have assumed that a foreign organization, namely a foreign government, is the primary influence on how its home country is portrayed to audiences abroad. This study challenges such assumption of independence by revealing how foreign organizations are connected in ways previous works have not considered. Using Foreign Agents Registration Act data, we reveal the direct and indirect connections that form when foreign organizations hire U.S. agencies to produce their international public relations work. Our network analysis of foreign organizations from Latin American and their U.S. agents documents the network structures that emerge for each country and identifies the types of organizations that are positioned advantageously in the networks. We use these findings to theorize how foreign organizations' connections and their key positions in networks may influence the production of international public relations efforts for their home country. We at a macro-level, public relations effects depend on the structure of the networks, the overlapping sites where communication content is produced, and who is positioned as key players in the production networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Crisis holds the potential for profound change in organizations and industries. The past 50 years of crisis management highlight key shifts in crisis practice, creating opportunities for multiple theories and research tracks. Defining crises such as Tylenol, Exxon Valdez, and September 11 terrorist attacks have influenced or challenged the principles of best practice of crisis communication in public relations. This study traces the development of crisis process and practice by identifying shifts in crisis research and models and mapping these against key management theories and practices. The findings define three crisis domains: crisis planning, building and testing predictive models, and mapping and measuring external environmental influences. These crisis domains mirror but lag the evolution of management theory, suggesting challenges for researchers to reshape the research agenda to close the gap and lead the next stage of development in the field of crisis communication for effective organizational outcomes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper attempts to understand the current state of the Philippine public relations industry by investigating how it obtained its current reputation and image. It traces the evolution of public relations’ image and identifies factors and entities which may have contributed to the further development of Philippine public relations’ current reputation. The study begins with the popular assumption among Philippine public relations industry practitioners that the nature, function, and role of public relations in corporations and business in the Philippines has often been questioned. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper advocates an experience-centered approach to public relations websites. A conceptual framework of the public relations website experience is proposed. The framework is grounded in communication and reader-response theory, and integrates organization–public relationship research as well as website usability findings. A new research protocol, website experience analysis, is derived from the conceptual framework. Applications of website experience analysis in public relations scholarship and practice are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper advocates a morally/ethically defensible “organic theory” of public relations that is in opposition to the public relations literature that predominantly suggests that only those publics that have direct consequences for the organization are publics with whom public relations practitioners should deal. A biological metaphor can be used in supporting this “organic” theory of public relations in which the organization is an organ and society is a body as a whole. This paper concludes that the process of public relations, as well as the outcomes, is critically important in maintaining a metabolic balance and harmony within society itself—a requisite for the health and well-being of nation-states, corporations and nongovernmental organizations. Much of this process involves communication as a ritual, rather than communication as transmission of information; it involves interpersonal communication, rather than mass communication. It involves relationship-building as opposed to persuasion. Much of this process has been found traditionally in Arab culture, and these rich traditions should be recognized and examined for their utility and value in developing an Arab model of public relations to help resolve the plethora of 21st Century issues that threaten global stability and ultimately the well-being of all cultures and societies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Management and administration of employee benefits rightfully fall under the purview of the organization's human resource department. So, too, has responsibility for benefits communication, though HR managers may lack the training, time and experience needed to administer a formal communication effort. The researchers use data from two surveys to show the criticality of benefits to recruiting, retention and motivation of quality employees, the prevalence of particular communication approaches and channels, the perceived effectiveness of those channels, and employees' media preferences in regard to benefits communication. The researchers conclude that public relations managers need to take a much more active role in benefits communication programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public relations in Spain are consolidating their structure, work models and body of knowledge, step by step. Yet, there is still a long way ahead for the CEOs of the institutions to acknowledge the real value of public relations. Educational orientation is the fulcrum around which the limitations of public relations in Spain revolves, and a consequence of the reality that everyone can be a public relations practitioner without having a degree from an educational institution. Thus, the term public relations is used less frequently than other denominations like corporate communication, corporate image, integral communication, etc. Nevertheless, practitioners of public relations in this country are looking for a new framework to link them with scientific methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on public relations, communication and marketing theories, this article explores South Africa's Saambou Bank tumbling from growth and positive media coverage to its downfall in one year. Interviews with Saambou officials and financial journalists, as well as a media content analysis of Saambou media coverage, investigates this issue. Theoretically comparing Saambou with the US Enron Corporation, the analysis presents a heuristic public relations model based on the need for functional corporate communication to target audiences, media coverage and media management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] The value of social media in public relations has been exaggerated. [•] Organization–public feedback on social media does not translate into higher overall visibility. [•] Mainstream media visibility correlates with social media visibility. [•] Professional communicators need to better understand how to use social media. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Examines the use of the World Wide Web in public relations building, from a theory-based strategic framework. Benefits of strategic communication on the Web from a consideration of dialogic communication; Strategies in creating dialogic relationship with the Internet public.

Abstract: This paper outlines the ways in which various literatures and exemplary organizations (Business for Social Responsibility, the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management, and the Global Compact) define, set principles, and provide frameworks for corporate social responsibility (CSR). It also explores British broadcasters’ accountability mechanisms and the extent to which U.K. broadcasting activist NGOs view them as adequate CSR. The activists studied were six British broadcasting-centered and Scottish cultural NGOs that lobby in the EU and at home. The data suggested that these activists’ public relations has pro-social, pro-democratic effects and that the CSR/NGO literatures and organizational frameworks provided may enable broadcasting activists and targets to more effectively pursue CSR. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Presents a bibliographical list of articles on public relations theory. "The Internet and Knowledge Gaps: A Theoretical and Empirical Investigation," by Heinz Bonfadelli, which appeared in the March 2002 issue of "European Journal of Communication"; "Communicating in Mentoring Relationships: A Theory for Enactment," which appeared in the February 2002 issue of "Communication Theory" journal; "Public Relations," which appeared in the 2002 issue of "Communication Abstracts" journal.

This article presents information on books and articles related to management, published in various journals. The article "The Future of Work," by P. Coy, W.C. Symonds, S. Baker, M. arndt and R.D. Hof, published in the journal "Public Relations Quarterly," forecasts what will happen in the workplace of the future. In the future, people who have expertise in communication, sales, management, and education will have more opportunities as long as they can be flexible, creative, and engaging with their colleagues. The article "Managing the Grassroots and Assessing Its Performance," by C.S. Fleisher, published in the journal "Journal of Public Affairs," discusses the success that many government relations programs have experienced when they began to involve grassroots networks. Grassroots management is an investment of time and energy but it often results in huge gains for both organizations. The book "Tough Calls: AT&T and the Hard Lessons Learned From the Telecom Wars," by D. Martin, provides an overview of public relations successes and failures at AT&T Corp., one of America's most well known brands.

Presents a bibliographical list of articles on investor relations related to public relations. "A Tattered Andersen Fights for Its Future," by A. Berenson and J. Glater, which appeared in "New York Times"; "The Importance of Corporate Communications," by K. Doler, which appeared in "Electronic Business"; "GE Shareholders Urged to Help Hudson River," which appeared in "National Wildlife."

Presents a bibliographical list of articles on general communication related to public relations. "E-mail: Essential in Media Relations, but Not Replacement for Face-to-Face Communication," by Duke Shearlean, which appeared in the "Public Relations Quarterly"; "They're Still the World Trade Center," which appeared in the April 1, 2002 issue of "Newsweek" magazine; "Should We Always Get the Words Right?," by Tom Wells, which appeared in the February 23, 2002 issue of "Lancet" journal.

Presents abstracts of articles concerning internal communications in public relations. `Communicating in a Crisis,' by Bob Fienberg, from `Asian Business'; `Helping to Keep the Team Onside,' from `Marketing'; `What Is Your Role for Year 2000,' by Margaret Knes, from `Public Relations Tactics.'