Public Relations 2008 Abstracts
Public Relations Division
How Do the News Media Frame Crises? A Content Analysis of Crisis News Coverage • Seon-Kyoung An and Karla Gower, University of Alabama • The present study is a content analysis of crisis news frames found in 2006 crisis news coverage. A total of 247 news stories were analyzed to examine which of five news frames (attribution of responsibility, human interest, conflict, morality, and economic frames) and level of responsibility (individual and organizational level) were used by the media according to crisis types.
A Cross-Cultural Study of Effective Organizational Crisis Response Strategy in the U.S. and South Korea • Seon-Kyoung An, University of Alabama; Dong-Jin Park, Hallym University; Seung Ho Cho, Mississippi State University; Bruce Berger, University of Alabama • This cultural comparative study investigated the public’s perception toward organizational crisis response strategies by using a 2 x 2 x 2 design with level of responsibility (individual vs. organizational level), organizational response (causal and treatment responsibility), and two countries (the U.S. vs. South Korea). Students (N = 410) responded to hypothetical news stories describing a recall accident.
Effect of Company Affiliation on Credibility in the Blogosphere • Elizabeth Bates and Coy Callison, Texas Tech University • Blogging is a form of corporate communication adopted as a means of addressing corporate criticism and providing a forum for corporate communicators to interject themselves into conversation. Little empirical research, however, has explored perceptions of credibility relative to the blogosphere. Through spokesperson and blog sponsorship manipulation, this study (N = 167) shows that company spokespersons are more credible than anonymous sources. Corporate or citizen group sponsorship of the blog did not affect perceptions of credibility.
JetBlue’s Valentine Day Crisis: Implementing Safe Side Strategies • Asya Besova, Louisiana State University • This research study tests the Coombs’ Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) while analyzing corporate messages disseminated by the JetBlue after the Valentine’s Day storm. Press releases, broadcast messages and Internet messages were content analyzed in an attempt to reveal underlying public relations strategies. JetBlue used strategies mainly from the deal response option, rather than from diminish and deny response option, as suggested by the SCCT model. Ingratiation and compassion were the most widely used strategies.
“Without a Sacrifice of Truth”: William Wirt Constructs the Image of Patrick Henry • Mary Blue, Tulane University • Patrick Henry’s historical prominence was largely the result of the efforts of William Wirt. The prosecutor in Aaron Burr’s treason trial, U.S. Attorney General 1817-1829, and Anti-Masonic candidate for President in 1832, Wirt was also Henry’s first biographer. This paper considers Wirt’s use of ideas and mechanisms that are considered today to be some of the basic principles of public relations to give his Patrick Henry an enduring place in American history.
Exploring Adolescent-Organization Relationships: A Study of Effective Maintenance Strategies with Adolescent Volunteers • Denise Bortree, Penn State University • This paper reports on a study of the adolescent volunteer-nonprofit organization relationship. The study identified three key relationship maintenance strategies that influence an adolescent public – guidance, assurances and shared tasks. In addition, it identified the relationship quality outcome of control mutuality as playing a key role in the adolescent volunteer-nonprofit relationship.
The Level of Glocalization of Corporate Social Responsibility Activities of Multinational Corporations: Content Analysis of Home and Host Countries’ Web Sites • Moonhee Cho, University of Florida • The purpose of this study is to investigate how similar and how different the CSR issues presented on the Web sites of U.S. MNCs and their subsidiaries in Korea are. Also, the study aims to examine the extent to which subsidiaries provide CSR programs target the local community. The study found that subsidiaries of MNCs in Korea provide limited CSR information on their Web sites and limited CSR programs for the local community.
Anger and Moral Judgment in Crisis Communication • Seung Ho Cho, Mississippi State University • This study attempts to examine the relationship between causal attributions and anger through a public’s moral judgment about an organization involved in a crisis, and to measure the effect of anger on blame and the resultant image of the organization during the crisis. This study manipulated causal attributions to create different types of crises—internal/external controllability and stability.
The Effects of Attribution of VNRs and Risk on News Viewers’ Assessments of Credibility • Colleen Connolly-Ahern, Penn State University; Susan Grantham, University of Hartford; Maria Baukus, Penn State University • The executive branch practice of issuing video news releases without attributing them to government agencies has been sharply criticized by the Government Accounting Office. However, the effects of attribution on VNR viewers are not understood. This paper reports the results of an experiment testing the relative credibility of two different government agencies by viewers of a VNR attributed to an agency, compared with viewers who saw the VNR without attribution.
Communication Activism as Mediator of Efficacy and Fatalism as Predictors of Fire Safety Behavior • David Dozier and John Kim, San Diego State University • Longitudinal data collected over a two-year period tracked desired changes in wildfire safety behavior. Activist communication behavior was positively correlated with efficacy and negatively correlated with fatalism. Individuals predisposed to activist communication were significantly more likely to enact positive outcomes regarding fire safety behavior over the period of study. Efficacy and fatalism exerted no direct, independent influence on desired wildfire safety behavior, once communication activism was controlled.
How National Security Reporters Make Meaning of Terrorism Information Disseminated by the U.S. Government • Heather Epkins, University of Maryland, College Park • Arguably one of the most important issues of our time, terrorism is a concept that continues to spawn debate regarding its meaning and scope. Scholars have examined numerous components of this crucial topic and several have explored the role of the American press in communicating terrorism information to the public, but none have been found to seek an understanding of the detailed process of disseminating terrorism news content from the viewpoint of the national security reporter.
Fulfilling Psychological vs. Financial Needs: The Effect of Extrinsic Rewards on Motivation and Attachment to Internships • Vincent Filak, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh; Bob “Pritch” Pritchard, Ball State University • Self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000) has posited that extrinsic rewards have the potential to undermine intrinsic motivation and thus diminish engagement, enjoyment and attachment to activities (Lepper, Green & Nisbett, 1973). A study of public relations students who have completed a recent internship (n=141) indicates that need satisfaction trumps extrinsic rewards in predicting both supervisor and overall internship experience approval. Implications for educators are discussed.
Team Teaching to Teach Teaming • Susan Gonders and Doug McDermott, Southeast Missouri State University • New public relations practitioners are expected to collaborate and work in teams, but faculty typically do not model teamwork in the classroom. This case study demonstrates how team teaching can effectively teach teaming by example in public relations skills courses. Team teaching is more work, not less, and it pulls grumbling students from their comfort zones. However, the greater effort of team teaching comes with significant payback for both teachers and students.
Impact of Hosting a Global Sporting Event on the Hosting Nation in Terms of Tourism • Jee-Hee Han, University of Dayton • This paper examined whether hosting a global sporting event such as the Olympics would have a positive impact on the hosting nation in a way that it would result in an increase in tourism. After analyzing the data, it was found that there were not much of differences in the change ratios before and after the event in terms of inbound tourism.
Mattel’s Toy Recall: The Influence of Government and Corporate Media Efforts on News Coverage. • Jooyun Hwang and Spiro Kiousis, University of Florida • This study explores the crisis response strategies and issues frames that emerged in government and corporate information subsides during the Mattel Toy Recall.
A Functional Analysis of the 2007 South Korean Presidential Campaign News Releases • Sungwook Hwang, University of Missouri • This functional analysis study examined the 2007 South Korean presidential news releases. Candidates acclaimed more than attacked. Policy was discussed more often than character. The Incumbent party candidate Jung Dong Young acclaimed more and attacked less than the challenger Lee Myung Bak. The challenger attacked more than acclaimed in terms of past deeds. Candidates acclaimed more than attacked in terms of general goals and ideals. Simple denial was the most frequent defense strategy.
What’s Ethics In Public Relations? : PR Practitioners’ Perceptions of Their Ethics in Global PR Firms in Korea • Jiyeon Jeong, University of Missouri • This qualitative study seeks to review the perceptions held by public relations practitioners who work specifically in global public relations firms, regarding their ethics, and to identify factors that support their ethics. In-depth interviews were conducted seeking the ethical views of 20 public relations practitioners, from five global public relations firms in Korea.
A South Korean “Telethon” and Charitable Donation: Examining Uses and Gratifications and Situational Variables • Bumsub Jin, University of Florida. • This study examined whether South Koreans’ charitable donation behaviors were related to the major factors of two theoretical frameworks. In the uses and gratifications perspective, the study argued that audience activity in a telethon can be linked to donation behaviors. In the situational theory of publics, problem recognition and level of involvement may also be related to donation behaviors. The study asked 300 South Koreans from 41 different cities to respond to a Web survey.
The Effects of Public’s Cognitive Appraisal of Emotions in Crises on Crisis Coping and Strategy Assessment • Yan Jin, Virginia Commonwealth University • Despite the importance of affect in persuasion and strategic decision making, there is a lack of a systematic and integrated approach to understanding how discrete emotions publics experienced in crisis influence their crisis information processing and behavioral tendency.
How Do Different Publics in Crises Feel? Insights from Integrated Crisis Mapping (ICM) Model in Crisis Communication • Yan Jin, Virginia Commonwealth University; Augustine Pang and Glen Cameron, University of Missouri • Extending current theories in crisis communication, the authors have developed a more systemic approach to understanding the role of emotions. The authors’ Integrated Crisis Mapping (ICM) model is based on a public-based, emotion-driven perspective where different crises are mapped on two continua, the organization’s engagement in the crisis and primary public’s coping strategy.
Comprising or Compromising Credibility?: Use of Spokesperson Quotations in News Releases Issued by Major Health Agencies • Elizabeth Johnson Avery and Sora Kim, University of Tennessee • As audiences increasingly question source credibility during crisis, the use of spokesperson quotations in press releases deserves greater scrutiny, particularly in the context of relaying health information. This study analyzes use of direct quotations in avian flu press releases issued by leading health agencies to reveal the nature of quotes and use of sources.
Difference or Commonality in PR Strategies between American and Korean Corporations: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Interactivity • HyunMee Kang, Lisa Ladwig, and Pengpeng Li, Louisiana State University • This study’s main concern is possible differences in themes of corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues and activities and in interactivity features on the websites between American and Korean corporations. Also, based on understanding the unique Korean corporate environment, the study examines differences in CSR themes and in interactivity features between Chaebol and non-Chaebol corporations.
Source Credibility and Public Information Campaigns: The Effects of Organizational Sponsors on Message Acceptance • Deena Kemp and Derina Holtzhausen, University of South Florida • This study establishes a link between research on organizational source credibility and the effects of public information campaigns. Research has established that source credibility is one factor audiences evaluate when responding to messages and that credible information sources enhance message acceptance, while untrustworthy sources can interfere with desired message effects.
Causal Linkages between Relationship Cultivation Strategies and Relationship Quality Outcomes • Eyun-Jung Ki, University of Alabama; Linda Hon, University of Florida • This study was designed to examine how relationship cultivation strategies used by a membership organization affected members’ perceptions of relationship quality outcomes with the organization. Links among six relationship cultivation strategies and four relationship quality outcomes provide new information concerning the function of cultivation effects. Overall, relationship cultivation strategies like access, positivity, sharing tasks, and assurances represent the proactive approaches that organizations may employ to cultivate or nurture quality relationships with their target publics.
The Importance of Corporate Environmental Responsibility: A Content and Semantic Analysis of 2007 Fortune 500 Companies Websites • Daejoong Kim, Yoonjae Nam, Sinuk Kang, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York • This study investigated some corporate websites included in both the heavy and light industries among 2007 Fortune 500 companies’ websites, analyzing how the both industries utilizing their websites to present their commitment and performance to the environment and encourage dialog with the public on issues relating to the environment.
Embedding a Social Cause in the News: The Effects of Corporate Sponsorship and News Proximity on Consumer Attitudes and Participation Intentions • Hyo Kim and Esther Thorson, University of Missouri • This study compares response to two ways of promoting non-profit companies. One is a news feature story written only about the non-profit. The other is a news feature story written about the non-profit, but including the sponsorship of a commercial company. Both types of stories were also presented as either localized to the city in which the students lived or not.
Influence of Social Involvement on Corporate Local Philanthropy • Jangyul Kim, Colorado State University; Youjin Choi, University of Florida • This study attempted to test the effects of philanthropic activities on publics from the perspective of stakeholders (N = 6,056). It was shown that individuals’ personal involvement with social cause, perception (skepticism) of a corporation’s charitable activities, and expectations of a business organization’s charitable contribution to local communities were major variables that affected stakeholders’ intention to purchase products or use services of a corporation that engages in charitable giving.
Finding Primary Publics: A Test of the Third-Person Effect in Corporate Crisis • Jeesun Kim and Hyo Kim, University of Missouri • The present study applies the third-person perception to the corporate crisis setting. From a public relations perspective, a multiple publics approach was employed to better understand the underlying third-person process with comparison targets, moving beyond the past social distance approach. Results indicate that third-person effects were found only when the comparison targets were customers, stakeholders, and competitors in both food and laptop product category crises.
Nexus between Activism and Public Relations • Jeong-Nam Kim, Purdue University; Krishnamurthy Sriramesh, Sri Guruduth Agencies • We introduced a conceptual linkage between socio-cultural environmental variables, activism, and public relations practice. Our paper has offered research questions that could be used by future studies to add empirical evidence and refine the conceptual model presented here. These studies could assess whether higher levels of activism do contribute to strategic public relations in all societies or whether the socio-cultural environments of different societies deal with activism differently.
Linking Official National Web Sites and the National Brands Index from a Public Relations Perspective • Sooyeon Kim and Spiro Kiousis, University of Florida • This study examined the public diplomacy role of operating official national Web sites. The contents of 86 official national Web sites of 38 countries showed a positive correlation between the richness of information of Web sites and the Anholt Nation Brands Index (NBI). This study suggests that actively operating official national Web sites can be one important relationship building strategy of public relations towards national branding.
Searching for Effective Crisis Response Strategies: An Empirical Approach • Ruthann Lariscy and Youngju Sohn, University of Georgia • This is an experimental study designed to provide empirical evidence on the effectiveness of crisis response strategies (CRSs). Specifically, this study uses a crisis situation triggered by unethical mismanagement. A product category, the MP3 player, was intentionally selected as the product type and parent-corporation for its appropriateness with the college age demographic tested. This experiment also tests the effectiveness of Coombs’ clustering scheme of CRSs. Results support the effectiveness of the clustering categorization scheme.
Who vs. How: Exploring Factors that Impact Outrage During Risk Situation on the Internet • Hyunmin Lee and Minji Kim, University of Florida • This study examined the impacts of source credibility and modality on the level of initial outrage in a risk situation. A total of 197 students in a southeastern university participated in a 2 (Source credibility: high vs. low) X 3 (modality: text only vs. text plus visual vs. text plus video) factorial design.
Ethical Leadership in Public Relations: Roles, Dimensions and Knowledge Transfer • Seow Ting Lee and I-Huei Cheng, University of Alabama • Extended from the extant research literature that is limited to ethical business leadership, the current study explores the roles and characteristics of leadership in developing and managing ethics in public relations, based on in-depth interviews with 19 high-profile leaders and managers in the public relations field in the United States. Focusing on ethical leadership, the systematic analysis of the interview data identified multiple dimensions of ethical values and roles of public relations leaders and managers.
Influences on Corporate Reputation: Personal Experience, Advertising Recall, and Media Recall • Sunyoung Lee and Craig Carroll, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • The results indicate that advertising recall has a positive influence on organizational reputation, and media recall has a negative influence on organizational reputation, and personal experience had no influence on organizational reputation. Moreover, these recollection effects vary across the dimensions of reputation. Both advertising recall and media recall influence the perception of companies’ emotional appeal, product and service, and social responsibility dimension.
A Rules Theory Approach to Understanding How Health Journalists Judge Public Relations Sources • Maria Len-Rios, Amanda Hinnant, and Sun-A Park, University of Missouri • The research presented here examines how health journalists (N=598) evaluate the appropriateness of public relations materials by public relations source (e.g., nonprofit, government). Also assessed are differences in journalist perceptions according to their news media (e.g., newspapers, magazines) and markets. Rules theory guides the analysis. Findings show that health journalists are least accepting of material from business and federal government agencies. Newspaper and freelance health journalists are sometimes more incredulous than are other journalists.
Is Apology a Cure-All Strategy? Testing the Effects of Apology and Compassion Response in Product-Harm Crises • Ying-Hsuan Lin, PRIME Research; Yoonhyeung Choi, Michigan State University • This study compares the effects of apology and compassion responses on crisis outcomes in product-harm crises in the context of Situational Crisis Communication Theory. A one-way between subject experiment (crisis response: correction (control), correction + compassion, correction + apology, and correction + compassion + apology) was conducted to examine whether compassion and apology result in significant differences.
Distinguishing Elite Newspaper and A-List Blog Crisis Coverage: A Primer for Public Relations Practitioners and Academics • Brooke Liu, DePaul University • Historically, the litmus test for measuring whether an organization effectively managed a crisis was the amount of negative media coverage the crisis received. Today, with the explosion of online media, crisis managers now face an additional litmus test: the amount of negative blog coverage a crisis receives. Despite this reality, public relations practitioners largely have been reticent to embrace blogging.
Conside (RED) Accountable? Consumer Insights for the Product (RED) and Global Fund Partnership Through Public Relations Theory • Amy Martin and Meghan Sanders, Louisiana State University • Product (RED), a cause-related marketing venture to be a catalyst for the private sector to be involved in social responsibility, app roached it’s first anniversary in late October 2007. The campaign’s design incorporates public relations and marketing elements for consumers to buy products and support an international non-profit organization: The Global Fund. The researcher used focus groups to investigate consumer awareness and understanding of the Product (RED) campaign and it’s partnership with The Global Fund.
Strategies for Engaging Ethnic Minorities: A Survey of the Public Relations and Mass Communication Literature • Belio Martinez and Stephanie Dowling, University of Florida • A content analysis of 242 articles from public relations, advertising, marketing, and social marketing published between 1995 and 2007 explored the most effective strategies for communicating with ethnic minorities. Public relations articles continue to be mostly introspective. Articles across fields tend to focus more on setting relevant goals and objectives, using news media tactics, and targeting African Americans. Journal of Advertising yielded most relevant articles. A comprehensive list of best practices is offered here.
Corporate Online Press Rooms as Predictors of Media Salience • Soo Jung Moon, University of Texas • This study examines the relationship between features of corporate online press rooms and media salience. It analyzed websites of Fortune 500 companies and compared the features of online press rooms and the number of news stories from five newspapers and newswires. A bivariate correlation demonstrated that the number of press releases, database indices and RSS/emails had significant relationships to the number of news stories.
Exploring Relationship Management as an Integral Part of Strategic Management of Public Relations • Lan Ni, University of Texas-San Antonio. • The present study aims to explore a preliminary theoretical framework of integrating relationship management into the strategic management process of public relations by examining how relationships are managed in different stages of strategic management and at different levels of organizational strategies. Through analysis of online documents from 13 organizations and documents from these organizations’ publics, the following patterns have been revealed.
Go Team!: A Look at Spokesperson and Message Strength in Encouraging School Spirit • Kristin M. Pace, Elizabeth Foste, and Tomasz A. Fediuk, Illinois State University • School spirit is an important component of college unity and may lead to increased student involvement, alumni donations, and higher enrollment. Not much research has been conducted examining school spirit, and how to develop it. To address this gap the current paper examines school spirit as a form of identification with the university and cohesion. A study was conducted to test the effects of matching a serious or non-serious spokesperson with a strong or weak message.
The Case of the “McDonald’s Grandma”: New Media, New Realities for Public Relations • Janis Page, University of Florida; William S. Page, MediaWerks (Florida); Kendall Sharp and Sasha Talenfeld, University of Florida. • This case study explores the implications of new media on the public image of an organization, observes the dynamics of message control, and makes recommendations for organizational management. The study follows a specific ten-day news “event” as it unfolded on the Internet.
Proactive Approach in a Crisis Communication • Sun-A Park and Glen Cameron, University of Missouri • By conducting a controlled experiment, this study examined the effectiveness of a conflict positioning strategy as a proactive approach in crisis communications. Using multiple sample structural equation modeling, this study tested noninvariance across groups between people exposed to news coverage with a conflict positioning strategy and those not exposed to this strategy. The study showed multi-group models representing differences of people’s evaluation process of a crisis across conditions of presence or absence of conflict positioning.
Much Ado About Something: Web 2.0 Acceptance and Use by Public Relations Practitioners • Kenneth Payne, Western Kentucky University • Evidence suggests communications professionals in public relations are reluctant to accept and use emerging Web 2.0 technologies – blogging, podcasting, web video, content syndication (RSS), wikis, virtual worlds, and social networking.
Persuasion and Public Relations: Rhetorical Perspectives in Giving Meaning to Public Relations • Lance Porter, Louisiana State University • To dismiss a statement as “nothing more than rhetoric” is nearly as severe a slight as to say that a statement is “merely public relations.” Sharing this mutual stigma, rhetoric and public relations attempt to define truth in society through dialogue. However, most of the current research in public relations continues to use Grunig and Hunt’s previous conceptualization of the symmetrical model of public relations, which condemns persuasion.
Understanding Ivy Lee’s Declaration of Principles: U.S. Newspaper and Magazine Coverage of Publicity and Press Agentry, 1865-1904 • Karen Russell and Carl Bishop, University of Georgia • In 1905, Ivy Lee issued a notice to a number of city editors an explanation of his new agency’s method of operation. Dubbed the “Declaration of Principles” by journalist Sherman Morse, Lee’s handout has been called the “starting point of modern public relations.” But what did Lee’s remarks mean in the context of his time? This study examines newspaper and magazine discussion of publicity and press agentry in relation to business and industry.
The Whole Picture: Coorientational Measurement of Direct and Meta-Perspectives in an Organization-Public Relationship • Trent Seltzer, Texas Tech University; Michael Mitrook, University of Florida • This study extends the relational perspective through the application of a new methodology for measuring organization-public relationships. The Hon-Grunig (1999) relationship scale was applied in a coorientational framework to include the direct perspectives of both an organization and a stakeholder public. This represents a departure from existing organization-public relationship measurement. Meta-perspectives of each party were also included to assess agreement, accuracy, and congruency. The effect of time on the coorientational relationship variables was also examined.
How New Media Influence Global Activism: A Study of Transnational NGOs’ Online Public Relations • Hyunjin Seo and Ji Young Kim, Syracuse University • This study examines how nongovernmental organizations make use of new media tools for their public relations activities and what factors influence their online public relations. To analyze related issues, we conducted a survey of communications representatives at transnational NGOs based in the United States. A total of 71 organizations participated in the survey, which included both closed- and open-ended questions.
Corporate Social Responsibility in China: The Role of Public Relations • Hongmei Shen, University of Maryland • The study explored the role of public relations in managing social responsibilities in multinationals operating in China. Results from 18 interviews of top communicators and other employees found that public relations was viewed as “publicity” or “media relations,” and communication at best. But participants suggested that the public relations function could contribute strategically to managing social responsibilities by acting as a coordinator or leader in the formulation, implementation and evaluation processes.
Extending Institutional Theory to Public Relations Analysis • Simon Sinaga, Texas Tech University • Public relations researchers and educators have long urged theory development in the field. Because public relations is practiced in organizations, theory development grounded in an organizational perspective is particularly important. This paper proposes the sociology-based institutional theory that organization studies have developed as one that is in a solid position to assess public relations’ role in advancing organizational interests because social processes define an organization’s legitimacy and ability to change.
A Need for Translation? Conceptualizing Public Relations in Spain • Brian Smith, University of Maryland • Research on global public relations is heavily focused on interpreting practice through the lenses of dominant U.S. ideology. This is particularly the case for analyses of public relations in Europe. This research explores the development and current practice of public relations in Spain, a country which has received little attention in global PR research, but which has followed a unique path of development.
Corporate Social Responsibility in U.S. Hispanic Businesses: A Qualitative Analysis of Levels of Participation and Support • Leticia Solaun and Juan-Carlos Molleda, University of Florida • The Hispanic-owned business demographic is a burgeoning component of the U.S. economic sector. This study explores the perceptions, attitudes, and participation of this demographic in corporate social responsibility (CSR). Factors evaluated include the extent to which these businesses incorporate a CSR framework, communication of core values with key publics using a U.S. model of giving, cultural perspectives of CSR, and, within the context of stakeholder theory, measures to build relationships with stakeholders through CSR initiatives.
A New Way of Looking at Public Relations • Jessalynn Strauss, University of Oregon • In this paper, James W. Carey’s “ritual view” of communication is examined and applied to the academic study of public relations, specifically the field of relationship management theory. The paper presents a brief biography of Carey and outlines his significant contributions to the field of communication studies, including the ritual view of communication.
The Role of Relationship and Reputation in the Management of Organizational Communication • Minjung Sung and Jang-Sun Hwang, Chung-Ang University (Korea) • This study focused on the role of two critical concepts in public relations literature: relationship and reputation. Three popular marketing constructs including corporate image, involvement, and consumer loyalty are investigated as the consequences of these two. Relationship, which is behavior-oriented measure, and reputation proved to be strong predictors of consumer loyalty by mediated with corporate image and involvement.
Credibility of Corporate Blogs and Impact on Attitude toward a Company • Jiun-Yi Tsai, University of Wisconsin-Madison • This study provides an empirical approach to investigate the impacts of corporate blogging. It explores whether different sources of blog authors could influence people’s perceptions of credibility and attitude toward a company. Also, it tests whether level of involvement can moderate the effect of perceived source credibility on attitudes. By performing an experimental design (N =177), this inquiry sheds light on research of blog communication and persuasion literature.
An Exploratory Study of the Media Transparency in Ukraine • Katerina Tsetsura, University of Oklahoma; Anastasia Grynko, Kiev (Ukraine) Mohyla Academy • This study extends the media transparency project by analyzing the phenomenon of media transparency, or media bribery, in Ukraine. Surveying of journalists and public relations practitioners revealed that media bribery is present in Ukraine in different forms, most of which deal with indirect influences owners and governments have on the media. The results revealed multiple factors influence how communication leaders make sense of media transparency. Implications and recommendations for future studies are offered.”
The Implications of Social Circles for the “Anomaly” of Government Relations: An “Anomaly” No Longer? • Leah Tuite, Marist College • Government relations, a specialized form of public relations, has been found to be an anomalous form of public relations. Its successful practice deviates from the Excellence theory of public relations, tending not to correlate as strongly with some theoretical indicators of excellent public relations as do other specialized forms of public relations, such as media, employee, or member relations (Dozier, L.A. Grunig, & J.E. Grunig, 1995; J.E. Grunig, 1992; L.A. Grunig, J.E. Grunig, & Dozier, 2002).
Societal Culture a Determinant for Gender-Roles in Organizational Public Relations in Romania • Antoneta Vanc, University of Tennessee • This study aims to understand the Romanian societal accepted gender-roles, and its implications for public relations in organizational settings. This study expands on the body of research concerning gender-role attitudes in public relations organizations and argues that cultural determinants are important in understanding women’s and men’s attitudes and the historical context in which these attitudes are formed.
Student-coach Relations: A Case Study Examining Crisis Communication in Higher Education • Tulika Varma, Louisiana State University • This study examines how public relations officials managed the crisis arising from the news of the resignation of coach Chatman at Louisiana State University and the subsequent linkage of her resignation to inappropriate conduct with former student athletes within the framework of public relations in higher education and crisis communication. The findings from this study reveal how internal stakeholders view crisis and how their perception of the crisis determines their evaluation of the crisis management.
Public Relations, Marketing, and the Disintegration Paradox • Robert Wakefield, Brigham Young University • The public relations field seems to be in better condition than ever; yet, ominous trends portend a reduction in stature for public relations over time. As one researcher argued, while public relations scholars and practitioners debate integration with marketing and other fields, the field is actually disintegrating in critical ways—particularly at the levels that have traditionally been the highest in stature and remuneration. This paper explores these trends and proposes solutions.
Effects of Positive Versus Negative News Coverage of Blockbuster’s End of Late Fees Promotion on Perceived Trustworthiness and Message Strength and Attitude toward News Coverage • Alex Wang, University of Connecticut; Ron Anderson, University of Texas at Austin • This study compared the relative effects of positive and negative news coverage of Blockbuster’s End of Late Fees promotion on perceived trustworthiness and message strength and attitude toward the news coverage. Valence of news coverage has been shown to play a contingent role in message processing that is positively related to message effects. Positive and negative are two dimensions of news-coverage valence, whereas message effects are manifestations of audiences’ perceived trustworthiness and message strength.
Rethinking Relationship Maintenance Strategies: Comparing the Impact of Cultivation on Major Gift and Annual-giving Donors • Richard Waters, North Carolina State University • In recent years, the organization-public relationship has drawn the attention of many public relations scholars. Now, scholars are beginning to discuss the impact of relationship cultivation strategies on individual types of relationships. In this study, six strategies adapted from interpersonal communication theory and four stewardship strategies derived from the practice are subjected to path analysis to determine which strategies are most impactful on how donors evaluate their relationships with nonprofit hospitals.
Communicating Outside the Classroom with Millennials: Preparing for the Next Generation of Public Relations Students • Richard Waters, North Carolina State University and Denise Bortree, Penn State University • Recent research has shown that the current group of students enrolled in colleges and universities are vastly different from their previous generations. The Millennial generation is more collaborative and sociable than any before them, and they routinely multi-task while communicating. However, this generation is also quite protected by their parents, who frequently are involved in decision-making situations and their children’s academic problems.
The Emergence of the Communication Strategist: An Examination of Practitioner Roles, Department Leadership Style, and Message Strategy Use in Organizations • Kelly Werder and Derina Holtzhausen, University of South Florida • A survey of Public Relations Society of America members (N=885) indicates the emergence of the communication strategist role. Results indicate that public relations department leadership style influences practitioner role enactment. In addition, practitioner roles were found to influence public relations message strategy use in organizations.
Communicating Before a Crisis: An Exploration of Bolstering, CSR and Inoculation Practices • Shelley Wigley, Texas Tech University; Michael Pfau, University of Oklahoma • This study explored the effectiveness of communicating to publics before a crisis occurs by using both affective and cognitive inoculation messages, along with bolstering, corporate social responsibility, and control messages. Results indicate that inoculation, bolstering and CSR messages work similarly in protecting a corporation’s reputation following a crisis. The study also found no downside to providing inoculation messages to an organization’s publics even when a crisis does not occur.
PR Gets Personal: A Framing Analysis of Coverage Before and After a Source’s Criticism of the Media • Shelley Wigley and Weiwu Zhang, Texas Tech University • Public relations practitioners emphasize the importance of positive source-reporter relationships, but what happens when sources are critical of the reporters who cover them? Using framing analysis, this study examined newspaper coverage both before and after a source’s personal attack on the media and found few differences in how the editors and reporters covered the source of the attack. Therefore, at least in this study, journalists were able to maintain their objectivity.
An Action Research Analysis of an Art Museum’s Relationships with Two Key Stakeholder Groups • Christopher Wilson, Brigham Young University • This action research study considers the major theoretical concepts from relationship management theory, stakeholder theory and donor relations theory to assess an art museum’s relationship with two key publics with the intent of developing strategic programs to enhance the museum’s relationships with them.
Mediation Effects of Organization-Public Relationship Outcomes • Sung-Un Yang and Minjeong Kang, Syracuse University • The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the value of organization-public relationship outcomes in the behavioral framework of awareness, attitude, intention, and behavior (e.g., Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975; Ajzen, 2006). More specifically, this study is to examine mediation effects of relationship outcomes on key factors of stakeholders’ support for a not-for-profit organization, which include awareness, attitude, and behavioral intention toward supportive relationship-building.
Message Strategies Used (or Unused) in Crisis by Contractors Operating in Iraq • Olga Zatepilina, Syracuse University • This study analyzed the corporate discourse by selected U.S. government contractors operating in Iraq in 2004-2007 in response to charges of factual or alleged wrongdoing. Corporate apologiae was the message strategy of choice. Contractors routinely refused to comment but rarely apologized. Condolence was found to be a frequently used message strategy, which doesn’t fit into the existing image-repair typologies. In crisis, contractors protected their bottom line and did little to effectively manage their long-term reputation.
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