Public Relations Research (eBook)

Ansgar Zerfass is professor in Communication Management at the University of Leipzig, Germany. He is engaged in various professional organizations and member of the executive board of EUPRERA, the European Public Relations Education and Research Association. Betteke van Ruler is professor in Communication Science and Communication Management at the University of Amsterdam. She serves as chair of the ICA International Communication Association’s Public Relations Division. Krishnamurthy Sriramesh is one of the leading researchers in public relations worldwide. He has taught at Purdue University, the University of Florida, and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He serves on the editorial board of severeal international journals.

Content 5
Introduction 9
1 Stimulating the Debate on Public Relations Theory 9
2 The Relevance of Epistemology and Trust 10
3 From Interdisciplinary Frameworks to Applications in Business and Politics 11
4 Contributing to Legitimisation, Crisis Avoidance and Reputation Management 12
5 Beyond Excellence and Rhetoric: Global Developments in Theory Development 14
6 The Future and Thanksgiving 15
Part I Public Relations, Intereffication and Trust 18
Public Relations Theory: The Reconstructive Approach 19
1 Reconstructive Approach and Social Theory 19
2 Structures and Processes of PR or Communication Management 21
3 Connections to Reality and Reconstructing Reality 22
4 Concluding Remarks 28
References 29
The Intereffication Model: Theoretical Discussions and Empirical Research 33
1 The Intereffication Model 33
2 Research based on the Intereffication Model: A Selection 38
3 Conclusion 44
References 44
Trust and Credibility - Prerequisites for Communication Management 49
1 Trust, Public Trust and Credibility Definition of Terms 49
2 "Trust" as the Subject of Scholarly Research 50
3 "Trust" from the Vantage Points of Various Disciplines 51
4 "Trust" in Communication Studies: Credibility and Public Trust 54
References 59
Part II Advancements in Communication Management 64
Corporate Communication Revisited: Integrating Business Strategy and Strategic Communication 65
1 Integrated Communication as an End in itself? 65
2 Value-Based Management: from Shareholder-Value to Stakeholder-Value 67
3 Strategy and Communication: Four Types of Contribution to Value-Creation 69
4 Integration and Coordination as Key Effects of Corporate Communication 71
5 Theory of Corporate Communication 79
6 Integrated Communication 87
7 Summary and Outlook 93
References 93
Organization and Communication: An Integrative Approach to Public Relations and Communication Management 97
1 Background: Organizations as Parts of Society 97
2 Approach: Public Relations and Communication Management 99
3 Consequences: Communication Management and Added Value 108
References 109
Organizational Communication and Public Relations: A Conceptual Framework for a Common Ground 111
1 Introduction 111
2 Theoretical Developments in Organizational Communication: Communication as the Core Element of Organizations 112
3 Decisions as the Characteristic Form of Organizational Communication 115
4 Strategies of De-Paradoxification 116
5 Organizational Communication between Consistency and Contingency: a Conceptual Framework 118
6 Challenges for Communication Management 120
References 121
The True, the Good and the Beautiful: Reputation Management in the Media Society 125
1 Introduction 125
2 Literature Overview: The Concept of Reputation in Professional Discourse 126
3 Three Dimensions of Reputation: Functional, Social and Expressive 127
4 The Emperor Augustus Or Why Reputation Pays 132
5 Reputation as a Core Concept in Public Relations 134
6 Reputation and Medialised Communications 134
7 Logic of Reputation Constitution in the Media Society 136
8 Conclusion 143
9 Discussion 144
References 145
Internal Communication and Leadership 147
1 Introduction 147
2 Leadership Communication Outline of an Emerging Concept 148
3 Leadership Communication and Internal Communication 153
4 Implications for Research and PR Practice 159
References 160
Internal Communication as Management of Trust Relations: A Theoretical Framework 163
1 Introduction 163
2 General Framework: Change and Uncertainty 164
3 Trust as the Subject of Scientific Research 165
4 Shaping of Trust as a Concept for Internal Communication 167
5 Examples for Implementation 173
6 Conclusion: Corporate Communication Fosters Trust in Management 175
References 175
Evaluating Strategic Communication: Theoretical and Methodological Requirements 179
1 The Practice of Evaluation 179
2 Communication-Based Theories of Evaluation 183
3 Economic and Value-Based Evaluation 185
4 Integrating the Dimensions of Evaluation 189
References 190
Political Public Relations: Research on its Success and its Influence on German Media Coverage 193
1 Introduction 193
2 Current State of German Determination Research 194
3 Current State of German Research on Election Campaigns and PR 199
4 Conclusion 201
References 201
Public Relations and Public Diplomacy: Some Conceptual Explorations 205
1 Conceptual Systems of Public Diplomacy 205
2 A Question of Terminology 208
3 Publics and National Images 210
4 Three Views of Public Relations Different Views of Public Diplomacy? 212
5 Concluding Remarks 215
References 216
Communication Management, Organizational Communication and Public Relations: Developments and Future Directions from a German Perspective 219
1 Introduction 219
2 Public Relations: Disciplinary Status 221
3 Competing Terms 224
4 Future Directions 228
References 229
Part III European Perspectives in Communication Management 233
Reflection: Legitimising Late Modernity 235
1 Introduction 235
2 Co-Evolution of Society and Organisation 236
3 Adjustments of Modernity 237
4 Legitimate Practice as Reflection 241
5 Differing Contemporary Ideals 243
6 Perspectives 247
References 247
Public Relations, Persuasion and Propaganda: Truth, Knowledge, Spirituality and Mystique 251
1 Introduction 251
2 Methodological Issues 254
3 Conclusions and Implications 267
References 268
Public Relations and Power: How Hard is Soft Power? 271
1 Prolegomenon 271
2 Argument 271
3 Conclusion 275
4 Epilogue 276
References 277
Intangible Assets and Communication 281
1 Introduction 281
2 Defining Intangible Assets 281
3 Reputation Capital and Communication 283
4 Structural Capital 285
5 Communication as an Intangible Asset 287
6 Communication Management and Intangible Assets 288
7 Measuring Communication ROI 289
References 290
Glocalising Public Relations and Crisis Communication: Bridging Gaps of Trust in Multicultural Societies 293
1 Introduction 293
2 Public Relations and Crisis Communication 295
3 Multicultural Publics, Ethnicity and Intercultural Communication1 296
4 An Empirical Example: Glocal Communities in the Neighbourhoods of Malmö, Sweden 299
5 Public Relations in a Basement in Rosengård, Malmö 300
6 Glocal Identities and New Publics to Relate to 302
References 303
Risks and Crises in Virtual Publicity Risks and Crises in Virtual Publicity – Can Publicity Crises Be Prevented by Public Relations in the Cyberspace? 305
1 Introduction 305
2 The Concepts "Publics" and "Publicity" 306
3 The Internet 307
4 Public Sphere and Counter-Public Sphere 307
5 PR and Traditional Mass Media a Cracking Symbiosis? 308
6 PR in Cyberspace 308
7 Conclusions 310
References 311
Communication Management in Europe – Challenges and Opportunities 313
1 Introduction 313
2 On Public in Public Relations 314
3 On "Relations" and "Communication" 315
4 The Parameters of the Field 316
5 Public Relations as a Separate Research Field 319
6 The Definition of the Field 320
7 Discussion 321
References 323
Part IV International Challenges for Public Relations 326
Excellence Theory in Public Relations: Past, Present, and Future 327
1 Introduction 327
2 Two Approaches to Public Relations 329
3 Origins of the Strategic Management Paradigm 331
4 The IABC Excellence Study 333
5 Extending the Excellence Theory to a Global Theory 338
6 More About the Strategic Management Role of Public Relations 339
7 Recent Research to Enhance the Strategic Role of Public Relations 340
8 Moving to the Future 341
References 342
Rhetorical Perspective and Public Relations: Meaning Matters 349
1 Introduction 349
2 From Public Sphere to Public Arenas: A Rhetorical "Sense of Place" 358
3 Conclusions 362
References 362
Reconsidering Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Public Relations and Ethical Engagement of Employees in a Global Economy 365
1 Public Relations, Ethical Dilemmas, and Professional Codes 365
2 Public Relations and Social Responsibility 367
3 Corporate Social Responsibility 368
4 Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility 372
5 Reconsidering Strategic CSR: Ethical Engagement of Employees 375
6 Conclusions 379
Acknowledgement 380
References 380
Linking Stakeholder Relationships and Corporate Reputation: A Public Relations Framework for Corporate Sustainability 385
1 Introduction 385
2 About Corporate Governance, Citizenship and Sustainability 386
3 Business Becoming Socially Relevant 387
4 Public Relations and Sustainability 387
5 Stakeholder Relationships 388
6 Corporate Reputation 390
7 Measuring Corporate Reputation 391
8 Linking Stakeholder Relationships with Corporate Reputation 393
9 Conclusive Remarks 395
References 395
Situating Science: Public Relations, Status, and Theoretical Trends 397
1 The Business of Branding and University Disciplines 397
2 Branding Evolution 398
3 Evaluating Brand PR 405
References 406
Globalization and Public Relations 409
1 Introduction 409
2 Ethnocentricity in Public Relations 410
3 Culture 413
4 Political Economy 415
5 Media culture 417
6 Activism 420
7 Can we Adopt Single Strategies for Practicing Public Relations Globally? 421
8 The Future 422
References 423
Annex 427
Günter Bentele- Curriculum Vitae 429
Publications by Günter Bentele 431
1 Monographs and Editions 431
2 Edition of Book Series 432
3 Articles and Book Chapters 433
4 Selection of Research Reports (unpublished) 446
About the Editors 449
About the Contributors About the Contributors 451

Introduction (p. 9)

Krishnamurthy Sriramesh, Betteke van Ruler &, Ansgar Zerfass

One could make a reasonable argument that public relations is an ancient practice (going back millennia) although it has been popularly perceived as a 20th century phenomenon. Scholarship in public relations, however, is more recent in origin with a history of less than four decades. During these formative years, the body of knowledge has expanded significantly, which is laudable. However, there is potential for growth and improvement in many areas of the public relations literature.

Over the decades, among other things, public relations scholarship has largely remained parochial to specific regions such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Latin America, German speaking Europe, etc. as evidenced in the bibliographic references of many essays in this volume itself where authors predominantly cite work from their own regions. This is often necessitated by linguistic differences with only English serving as the "universal" language that helps permeate knowledge through most regions.

Pedagogical and methodological factors also have played a role in the "regionalization" of the body of knowledge. However, we believe that knowledge flourishes most when it is shared across different kinds of barriers. Globalization has made it essential for us to recognize this reality more than ever. This volume tries to bridge the gap and presents theories and concepts from researchers around the world.

1 Stimulating the Debate on Public Relations Theory

Although there has been an increase in cross-national and cross-cultural knowledge sharing especially in the past decade, we deem this only as a good beginning that has great potential for exponential growth. It is with this broad goal in mind that we envisaged this book pooling the wisdom and perspectives of fertile minds from different parts of the world on various aspects of public relations and communication management.

Whereas knowledge sharing itself might have been a laudable reason to launch such a worthy project, we had another happier reason to envisage this volume – dedicating the book to celebrate a milestone in the life of a valued and renowned colleague. As a result, we have brought together scholars from around the world to share their perspectives in this compilation to mark the 60th birthday of Günter Bentele, the most renowned German-speaking scholar and researcher in public relations.

Unlike a traditional Festschrift, we refrained from asking the most important fellows of Günter Bentele’s career to contribute to this volume preferring instead to also foster research in public relations by gathering concepts advocated by those who are shaping the future of the field. This mirrors Bentele’s aspiration to bridge the gap between research traditions in different cultures and disciplines, and to support fresh thinking by younger scholars.

Bentele, whose curriculum vitae and impressive list of publications is presented in the appendix, has published almost 40 books and more than 200 articles or book chapters. He also has conducted numerous empirical studies and delivered speeches at conferences in many countries. He has served as president of the European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA) and president of the German Association of Communication Science (DGPuK).