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ApprovedbyMajorProfessor(s):Approvedby:HeadoftheDepartmentalGraduateProgramDateCenYueSTRATEGICPUBLICRELATIONSMANAGEMENTINCHINAMasterofArtsKrishnamurthySriramesh11/30/2016StaceyL.
Connaughton11/29/2016JohnO.
Greene12/01/2016KrishnamurthySrirameshMarifranMattson12/01/2016iSTRATEGICPUBLICRELATIONSMANAGEMENTINCHINAAThesisSubmittedtotheFacultyofPurdueUniversitybyCenYueInPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirementsfortheDegreeofMasterofArtsDecember2016PurdueUniversityWestLafayette,IndianaiiTABLEOFCONTENTSPageLISTOFTABLES.
ivABSTRACT.
vPURPOSEANDRATIONALEOFSTUDY.
1CHAPTER1.
LITERATUREREVIEW4CHAPTER2.
2.
1PublicrelationsinChina42.
2Characteristicsofexcellenceinpublicrelationsandgenericprinciples.
102.
2.
1Anoverviewofthefourteencharacteristicsofpublicrelationsexcellence.
.
102.
2.
2GenericPrinciplesrelevanttoglobalpublicrelationsstudies.
122.
3Fourgenericprinciplesrelevanttothisstudy172.
3.
1Involvingpublicrelationsinstrategicmanagement.
172.
3.
2Involvementofpublicrelationsindominantcoalition.
232.
3.
3Knowledge.
262.
3.
4Two-waysymmetricalpublicrelationsmodel29METHODOLOGY.
36CHAPTER3.
RESULTS42CHAPTER4.
4.
1Lackingpublicrelationstalent664.
2Facingclientswhoknowlittleaboutpublicrelations.
684.
3Insufficientuseofscientificresearch.
704.
4Publicrelationsasalowpriorityfororganizations.
714.
5Copingwithdigitalmediaandintegratedcommunication72IMPLICATIONS,LIMITATIONS,ANDSUGGESTIONSFORCHAPTER5.
FUTURESTUDY.
745.
1Implications.
74iii5.
2LimitationsandSuggestionsforFutureStudy.
79REFERENCES81APPENDICESAppendixA.
Questionnaire—EnglishVersion.
87AppendixB.
Questionnaire—ChineseVersion95AppendixC.
Interviewprotocol—EnglishVersion.
104AppendixD.
Interviewprotocol—ChineseVersion.
106ivLISTOFTABLESTablePage3.
1DemographicInformationoftheSurveyRespondents.
394.
1MeansandStandardDeviationsofChinesePublicRelationsPractitioners'InvolvementinStrategicManagement434.
2Practitioners'EstimationonValueofPublicRelations,Practitioners'PerceptionofDominantCoalitions'EstimationonValueofPublicRelations,andPractitioners'PerceptionofDominantCoalitions'SupportforPublicRelations.
484.
3KnowledgefortheTechnicianRolesandtheManagerialRoles.
484.
4One-wayANOVAs-ComparisonsofKnowledgefortheManagerialRoles,KnowledgefortheTechnicianRoles,andOverallKnowledgeacrossFourTypesofOrganizations554.
5Tukeypost-hoctest-ComparisonsofKnowledgefortheManagerialRoles,KnowledgefortheTechnicianRoles,andOverallKnowledgeacrossFourTypesofOrganizations564.
6CorrelationsbetweenPublicRelations'InvolvementtoStrategicManagementandPractitioners'Knowledge.
584.
7CorrelationsbetweenPublicRelationsTrainingandPublicRelationsKnowledge,PublicRelationsTrainingandPublicRelationsValue,andPublicRelationsTrainingandSupportforPublicRelations.
594.
8PublicRelationsModels63vABSTRACTYue,Cen.
M.
A.
,PurdueUniversity,December2016.
StrategicPublicRelationsManagementinChina.
MajorProfessor:KrishnamurthySriramesh.
ThepurposeofthisstudywastoexplorethecurrentstatusofstrategicpublicrelationsmanagementinChina.
ThisstudyisthefirsttoapplythegenericprinciplesofexcellentpublicrelationsinChina.
Surveysandin-depthinterviewswereusedtoaddressfiveresearchquestionsrelatedto:(1)practitioners'strategicpublicrelationspractice,(2)theirrelationshipwiththedominantcoalition,(3)publicrelationsmodelsinuse,(4)proficiencyinpracticingthemanagerialandtechnicalroles,and(5)thechallengesfacingthepublicrelationsindustry.
ThestudyresultssuggestedthatpublicrelationswasseldommanagedinastrategicmannerinChina.
Inspecific,thepublicrelationsdepartment:(1)wasmostlyinvolvedinthetechnicianroleandnotinorganizationalpolicymaking,(2)wasnotamemberofthedominantcoalitions,didnothaveconvenientreportinglinestoseniormanagement,andwasconsideredlessvaluablethanmarketingandpublicaffairsbyseniormanagement,(3)thepressagentrymodelwasthemostprominentlyusedinChina–inagreementwithpreviousliterature–whereastwo-waysymmetricalcommunicationswasnotpracticedfrequently,and(4)thatthecurrentknowledgeinhowtomanageseemsinsufficient,theprofessionfaceschallengesinrecruitingqualifiedvipublicrelationstalent,buildinggoodagency-clientsrelationships,andbetterutilizingdigitalmedia.
1PURPOSEANDRATIONALEOFSTUDYCHAPTER1.
Intoday'sglobalizedworld,debatesarestillongoingastotheextenttowhichpublicrelationscontributestoorganizations'bottomlines.
Alongsidetheunstoppablepaceofglobalization,publicrelationsasaprofessionisexpandingallovertheworld,creatingmorequestionsrevolvingaroundtheessenceandeffectivenessofpublicrelationsindifferentcontexts.
Asaprofession,westernpublicrelationswasfirstseeninChinainthe1980s(Chen,1996;He&Xie,2009).
Sincethen,ithasbeengrowingexponentiallyduetotheexpansionofmultinationalcorporationsinChinaandtherapiddevelopmentofdomesticenterprises.
Asaresult,publicrelationstalentsequippedwithgoodcommunicationandmanagementskillsareingreatdemand.
Despitebeinganeconomicallypowerfulcountryandexperiencinganincreaseinthepublicrelationsmarket,academicresearchonChinesepublicrelationslagsbehind.
OnlyahandfulofempiricalstudieshavebeendedicatedtounderstandingthebigpictureofstrategicpublicrelationsmanagementandthestatusofpublicrelationsinChina(Chen,1996;Ngai&Ng,2013;Zhang,Shen,&Jiang,2009).
Thiscanbeexplainedbytworeasons.
First,publicrelationseducationstartedrelativelylateinChinacomparedtotheUnitedStates.
ShenzhenUniversitywasthefirstinChinatoofferapublicrelationsprogramin1994(Chen,1994).
ComparethistotheU.
S.
,whereEdwardBernaystaughtthefirstpublicrelationscourseatNewYork2Universityin1923(Smith,2001).
BostonUniversitywasthefirsttostartauniversity-leveldegreeinpublicrelationsin1947.
Second,oneofthedominantpublicrelationstheories—ExcellenceTheory—wasdependentonwesternempiricalevidence.
SrirameshandVeri(2002)expressedtheirconcernmorethanadecadeagothatthelackofempiricalstudiesfromdifferentpartsoftheworldwouldhamperpublicrelationsscholarshipandpractice.
TocombattheethnocentricityofpublicrelationsresearchintheU.
S.
andWesternEuropeancountries,theyurgedscholarstogathermore"casestudiesininternationalpublicrelations"(p.
103).
Althoughagrowingnumberofglobalpublicrelationsstudieshavebeencompleted,thereisstill"adireneedforgreaternumbersofstudiesfromdifferentsocio-culturalenvironments"(Sriramesh,Rhee,&Sung,2013,p.
121).
Underthesecircumstances,thepresentstudyaimedtoexpandthebodyofknowledgeinglobalpublicrelationsbystudyingwhetherpublicrelationsismanagedstrategicallyinChinaandwhetheritcontributestoorganizationalpolicymaking.
Ifnotmanagedstrategically,thestudyalsointendedtoexplorethechallengesforfailingtodoso.
Thisstudyenrichesscholarshipinglobalpublicrelationsandstrategiccommunicationbygatheringempiricalevidencefromadifferentculturalsettingthanwhatiscurrentlyconsideredintheliterature.
Lookingahead,comparisonscanbemadeacrossdifferentculturesinordertobuildtheoriesofglobalpublicrelations.
ThisstudywillofferadetailedanalysisofthecurrentstateofstrategicpublicrelationsmanagementinChina.
Itisbeneficialforpublicrelationspractitionerstodrawsimilaritiesanddifferencesamongpublicrelationspracticeindifferentculturesothattheycanmanagepublicrelationsadaptivelytoachieveoptimumorganizationaleffectiveness.
Furthermore,globalpublic3relationspractitionerswillfindthisstudyvaluablewhenenteringintoChinesemarketsandimplementingpublicrelationsactivitiesinChina.
Chapter2,areviewofliterature,consistsofthreemajorparts.
ThefirstsectionprovidesthebackgroundofpublicrelationsdevelopmentinChina.
Thesecondsectionillustratesthetheoreticalunderpinningsofthisthesis—genericprinciplesofpublicrelationsandglobalapplicationsoftheseprinciples.
Thethirdpartoftheliteraturereviewelaboratesonthefourgenericprinciplesmostrelevanttostrategicpublicrelationsmanagement,andexaminestheextantapplicationoftheseprinciplesinChina.
Theensuingchapteronmethodologydescribesthesurveyquestionnaireandinterviewprotocolstobeusedtogleandata.
Surveysampleswillbecollectedacrossfoursocialsectors—corporations,governmentalagencies,non-profitorganizationsandpublicrelationsconsultingfirms.
Thestudywillalsoexploretheopinionsofpublicrelationspractitionersthroughin-depthinterviews.
4LITERATUREREVIEWCHAPTER2.
2.
1PublicrelationsinChinaAccordingtoChinesepublicrelationsscholars(Chen,1996;He&Xie,2009),publicrelationswasintroducedtoChinaintheearly1980s.
Theimportoftheprofessionwasindebtedsignificantlytothepoliticalchangesinthelate1970saftertheendoftheGreatCulturalRevolutionandthereformandopening-uppolicythatwasmadepossiblebynewPartyleaderDengXiaoping.
Theprofessionhasgonethroughsomeupsanddownssincethen.
Chen(1996)summarizedthreestagesofpublicrelationsdevelopmentinChinaduringthisperiodoftime.
Duringthefirststage-roughlyfrom1980to1985-foreigncorporationsandSino-foreignjointventureswereamongthefirsttoestablishpublicrelationsdepartmentsinorganizations,especiallyintherestaurantandhotelindustries.
AccordingtoHeandXie(2009),Hill&KnowltonandBurson-MarstellerenteredtheChinesemarketin1984and1985asinternationallyrenownedPRagencies.
Amongstate-ownedenterprises,GuangzhouBaiyunshanPharmaceuticalFactorywasapioneerinsettingupapublicrelationsdepartment.
Despitetheincreasingawarenessandpopularityofthisfield,theintroductionphasealsowitnessedpeople'smisunderstandingofandconfusionabouttheprofession.
5From1986to1989,whichwasseenasthe"upsurge"phase,publicrelationsdepartmentsandassociationsrocketed.
Thefirst10yearssawarapidgrowthinpublicrelationsagenciesandeducationalinstitutions,despitethesmallsizeofmostChinesepublicrelationsdepartmentsorfirms(between10and20employees).
Publicrelationsstartedtoenterintothethirdphase-the"rethinkingphase"-in1989.
PublicrelationsasafieldofspecializationwasunderclosesurveillancebytheChinesegovernmentatthistime.
Asaresultofthe1989studentprodemocracymovement,famouslyknownastheTiananmenSquareIncident,thegovernmentwassensitivetowesternideologyanditsinfluenceinChina.
TheChinesegovernmentclaimedthatpublicrelations,aprofessionimportedfromthewesternworld,shouldbepracticedinaccordancewithChina'suniquefeatures.
Inotherwords,publicrelationswasrequiredtofollowthePartyandthegovernment.
TheAsianeconomiccrisisinthemid-90sworsenedtheindustry'sdevelopment.
Itwasdocumentedthatabout"onethirdofthePRdepartmentsinlargebusinessorganizationswereeliminated"(Chen&Culbertson,2009,p.
195).
Luckily,the"reformandopening-up"policyinitiatedbyDengXiaopingin1992openedthedoorforpublicrelationstomovemorefreelywithinthesocialistmarketeconomysystem.
Sincethen,thepublicrelationsindustryinChinahasrevivedand,todate,hasmaintainedastrongmomentum.
China'smainprofessionalassociationsforpublicrelationsareTheChinaInternationalPublicRelationsAssociation(CIPRA)andPublicRelationsSocietyofChina(PRSC).
CIPRA,establishedinApril1991,isanationalorganizationdedicatedtopromotingpublicrelations'practicalandtheoreticaldevelopmentinChina.
CIPRAhas6contributedtodefiningpublicrelationsasarecognizedoccupationwithinthenationaloccupationalclassificationrecord(Chen&Culbertson,2009).
TheAnnualChinaPublicRelationsInvestigationReport,ledbyCIPRA,reflectsindustrydynamicsyearbyyearandprovidesguidelinestoprofessionalinstitutions.
ThePRSC,foundedinAugust2015,isanewdivisionoftheChineseAssociationforHistoryofJournalismandMassCommunication.
LedbyChinesepublicrelationsscholarDr.
ChenXianhong,PRSCwillholdthefirstannualconferenceinHongKongBaptistUniversityinDecember2016.
ThePRSCcommitteeincludedsixmissionsatitsinception,includingtranslatingandpublishingasetofglobalandlocal-orientedpublicrelationsbooks,launchinghigh-endpublicrelationseducationaltrainingprograms,andhostingacademicconferencesbothabroadandathome.
AccordingtoCIPRA,thepublicrelationsmarketinChinaincreasedfrom45billionto430billionU.
S.
dollarsfrom2004to2014,withayear-over-yearincreaserateof13.
2%in2015.
JerryOlszewski,ChiefClientOfficerofKetchumopinedthat,"ChinaiseasilythemostdynamicPRmarketintheworld"(PRWeek,2006,p.
24).
ThegrowthlargelystemmedfromanincreasingnumberofforeignclientsrequestingasophisticatedlevelofserviceinChina,andChineseenterprises'commitmenttousingpublicrelationsathomeandabroad.
Asidefromcorporations,Chinesegovernmentalagenciesandnon-profitorganizationsnowemploymorepublicrelationsservices.
Chen's(2009)studyshowedthatpublicrelationsisinstitutedasagovernmentfunction"forinformationdissemination,image/reputationbuilding,andalsoasasubstitutefor'propaganda'"(p.
189).
Thenation-andcity-imagebrandingalsodemandsanemphasisonpublicrelationsasa7publicitytool.
Morefrequentlythanbefore,publicrelationsorcrisiscommunicationleaderscansecureapositioninthedominantcoalitioningovernmentcrisismanagement.
AccordingtoCIPRA,theincreasedemphasisofpublicrelationsfromgovernmentsandnon-profitorganizationswouldbeinstrumentalinbolsteringthepublicrelationsindustryinChina.
Thoughpublicrelationshasgainedincreasingimportanceinthemostrecentdecade,itsfunction"remainedlargelyunknowninChinauntilthelate1980s"(Zhang,Jiang,&Luo,1996).
Publicrelationsresearchtookoffintheearly1990s,focusingprimarilyonrelationshipmanagement,governmentalrelations,crisiscommunication,andsoon.
XueandYu(2009)reviewedthepublicrelationsliteratureinChinafrom1999to2008.
Theyfoundthatfrom1999to2008,industrialpublicrelationsdominatedtheliterature,accountingfor22%ofthetotalnumberofthepublications.
Researchonpublicrelationsmanagement(14%)followedbehind.
Theresearchersconcludedthatpublicrelationsresearchwasmoremarket-orientedandapplication-orientedcomparedtotheoreticaldevelopmentduringtheperiodfrom1999to2008.
Additionally,qualitativeresearchoverwhelmedquantitativeresearchastheprimaryresearchmethod.
SomeChinesepublicrelationsscholarshavereflectedonthestrategicroleofpublicrelationsinorganizations.
HeandXie(2009)addressedtheessentialroleofpublicrelationsinbuildingrelationshipsbetweenorganizationsandtheirpublics.
Theyopposedstereotypingpublicrelationsfunctionssolelyasimagebuilding.
Theyarguedthatpublicrelations'majorcontributionliesinbuilding"organizationalculture",enhancing"qualityoftheirownorganizations"and"theprocessofdemocratization"(p.
5).
Unfortunately,8scholarshavenotelaboratedonhowthestrategicpublicrelationsfunctioncanbeachievedandtowhatextentthisfunctionhasbeenrealizedinChina.
AfterathoroughreviewofrelevantliteratureinEnglishandMandarin,itappearsthatonlyahandfulofempiricalstudieshavebeendevotedtoexploringwhether,andtowhatextent,Chinesepublicrelationsisstrategicallycontributingtoorganizationalpolicymaking.
Ni(2006)notedthatpractitionersinsmallcorporationswereonlytakingonatechnicianrole1andthatpublicitywasamajorcomponentoftheireverydaywork.
However,inlargecorporations,practitionersweremorelikelytostrategicallyengageinplanningandbuildingcorporateculture.
ThesamenotionwasacknowledgedbyNgaiandNg(2013).
Throughaseriesofinterviewswithseasonedpublicrelationsand/orcorporatecommunication(hereafterPR/CC)professionalsinChinaandHongKong,theyconcludedthatitislarge-scalecompanies,especiallymultinationalorganizationsthatarefulfillingthestrategicfunctionofpublicrelationsandcorporatecommunication.
Asforsmalltomedium-sizedorganizations,theyareessentiallymediaormarketfocused.
Inthesamestudy,seniorPR/CCpractitionersdiscussedtheirexpectationtomoveupinanorganization'shierarchysoastocontributetostrategicplanningandpolicymaking.
Zhangandcolleagues(2009)statedthatthepublicrelationsindustryinChinaisevolvingtowardsamorestrategicmanagementdirection.
Thisconclusionwasdrawnfromseveralinterviewswithpublicrelationspractitioners,oneofwhomnotedthatpublicrelations'valuelayinidentifyingandcommunicatingwithstrategicstakeholders.
Althoughofcertainreferencevalue,thisstudydidnothaveacleardefinitionofstrategicpublic1Practitionerswhopracticetechnicianrolearenotinvolvedindevelopingstrategiesandsolvingproblems,butprimarilydealwiththetechnicalskillofwritingnewsreleasesandmanagingsocialmediaaccounts,etc.
9relationsmanagement.
Neitherdidtheseauthorsoperationalizetheconceptofstrategicpublicrelationsmanagement.
Withoutpropertheorizingoroperationalizing,theinterviewinformationobtainedfrompublicrelationspractitionersmightbeone-sidedandthereforefailtopredictorgeneralizetheconclusion.
Therefore,itislegitimatetodoubttheirconclusionthattheChinesepublicrelationsindustry"hasbeenmovingfrombranding,imagebuilding,IMC,andmediarelationstowardChinesestrategicmanagement"(p.
228).
2ItisworthnotingthatthemajorityofscholarswhohavestudiedChinesepublicrelationswereeducatedintheUnitedStates.
TheirdefinitionofexcellenceinpublicrelationscouldbebasedoncommonnotionsperceivedanddebatedbyU.
S.
publicrelationsscholars.
Thisethnocentricfocusmightcompromisethepossibilityoffindingotherexcellenceelementsthatmayonlybefeaturedinnon-westerncountriesandculturesincludingChineseculture.
AsCurtinandGaither(2005)stressed,"Westerncorporatepracticeprovidesonlyonesetofpossiblearticulations"(p.
108).
ProminentChineseculturalfeaturessuchas"guanxi"and"savingface"areevidentinChinesesocietyandthus,wereconsideredinthisstudy.
Priortothisstudy,manypublicrelationsscholarshavestudiedanddiscussed"guanxi"(Chen,1996;Huang,2000;Zhangetal.
,2009),whichconsistsofgiftgivingandbuildingreciprocalrelationshipsthroughone'ssocialnetworks,andexistsineverywalkoflife.
Withoutguanxi,individualsandorganizationscanseldomachievetheirgoals,betheygettinga2Interestingly,inreferencetothegenericprincipleswhichwillbeexplicatedinthenextsection,evidencefromthesamearticleactuallycontradictedtheclaimofstrategicevolvementofChinesepublicrelations.
Forexample,thefactofpublicrelations'subordinationtomarketingandsalesfunctionsandtheprimaryfocusofpublicrelationsonmediarelationsarestrongindicatorsthatpublicrelationshasnotmovedtowardsstrategicmanagementinChina.
10job,orimplementingmajorcorporateinitiatives.
Guanxicanbeseenasusingpersonalrelationshipstomaximizeone'sends.
"Savingface"isanotherculturalidiosyncrasyevidentinChina.
Chinesepeopledonotlikelosingfacebecause"face"representspersonaldignity.
Theywouldfeelparticularlyoffendediftheyarebeingconfrontedanddoubted,knownas"losingface"infrontofpeople,includingstrangers.
Therefore,savingfaceisnecessaryandimportant.
Onapositivenote,itmotivatespeopletoworkhardinordertobevaluedbysociety.
However,excessiverelianceonotherpeople'sopinionscanbedangerous.
Fromthecountry,tocompany,andfamily,itisacommonmaneuvertoconcealunpleasantfactsorsugarcoatmistakesinordertopreserveface.
TheoldChinesesaying,"Donotwashyourdirtylineninpublic"warnspeopletokeeppersonalquarrelsbehindcloseddoors.
Ingeneral,theextantempiricalstudiesonstrategicpublicrelationsmanagementinChinaarelackinginnumber,vagueinconceptualization,restrictedinmethodologicalapproach,andnotgeneralizableinconclusions.
Itishopedthatbyusingvalidatedprinciples,clearerdefinitions,andacombinationofquantitativeandqualitativeapproaches,morecomprehensiveandusefulconclusionsandrecommendationscanbedrawn.
Inthenextsection,thetheoreticalunderpinningsforthisstudyareexplained.
2.
2Characteristicsofexcellenceinpublicrelationsandgenericprinciples2.
2.
1AnoverviewofthefourteencharacteristicsofpublicrelationsexcellenceAsystematicexplorationofexcellenceinpublicrelations,knownastheExcellencestudy,beganin1985,whenaresearchteamheadedbyJamesE.
GrunigandfundedbytheFoundationoftheInternationalAssociationofBusinessCommunication(IABC)endeavoredtounderstandthebestpracticesinpublicrelationsinthreecountries:11TheUnitedStates,Canada,andtheUnitedKingdom.
Basedonsurveysandinterviewswithpractitionersfrom326organizations,theresearchteam(David,Grunig,&Grunig,1995)identifiedfourteencharacteristicsofexcellentpublicrelationsprograms.
Thesefourteencharacteristicsarelistedasfollows:1.
Publicrelationsismanagedstrategically.
2.
Publicrelationsispracticedinasingleorintegratedpublicrelationsdepartment.
3.
Publicrelationsisaseparatefunctionfrommarketing.
4.
Publicrelationshasadirectreportingrelationshiptoseniormanagement.
5.
Publicrelationsappliesatwo-waysymmetricalmodel.
6.
Aseniorpublicrelationspractitionertakesonamanagerialrole.
7.
Publicrelationspractitionershaveknowledgeofthesymmetricalmodelandmanagerialroles,haveacademictraininginpublicrelations,andmaintainprofessionalism.
8.
Thereisequalopportunityformenandwomeninpublicrelations.
9.
Theworldviewforpublicrelationsintheorganizationreflectsthetwo-waysymmetricalmodel.
10.
Thepublicrelationsdirectorhaspowerin,orwith,thedominantcoalition.
11.
Publicrelationsisembeddedinaparticipative,ratherthanauthoritarian,organizationalculture.
12.
Internalcommunicationissymmetricallypracticed.
13.
Publicrelationsisembeddedinanorganicratherthanmechanicalorganizationalstructure.
1214.
Aturbulent,complexenvironmentwithpressurefromactivistgroupsstimulatesorganizationstodevelopanexcellentpublicrelationsfunction.
Excellentpublicrelationscontributestoorganizationaleffectivenessbybuildingquality,long-termrelationshipswithanorganization'skeystakeholders.
TheExcellencetheoryheldthatbypracticingexcellentpublicrelations,organizationscouldmeettheirgoalsbyeffectivelycommunicatingwithstakeholders.
Moreover,thecostsoflitigation,regulation,andpressurefromthepublicinfaceofcrisiscouldbeavoidedbeforehandduetotheproactivemovementofpublicrelations.
TheExcellencestudyhasbeenrecognizedforprovidinganoverarchingguidanceforpublicrelationsscholarshipsandsheddinglightonsubsequentresearchsuchasthegenericprinciplesofpublicrelations(Veri,Grunig,&Grunig,1996).
Tengenericprinciplesderivedfromthefourteencharacteristicsofexcellentpublicrelationsprogramswillbeillustratedinthenextsection.
2.
2.
2GenericPrinciplesrelevanttoglobalpublicrelationsstudiesVerietal.
(1996)proposedanormativemodelofglobalpublicrelations.
Theyextractedtengenericprinciplesfromthefourteenindicatorsofexcellence,concludingthattheseprincipleswereapplicablegloballyeventhoughsomeenvironmentalvariablesneedtobetakenintoaccounttofitlocalcontexts.
Theenvironmentalvariablesconsistofpoliticalsystems,economics,culture,media,levelofdevelopmentandactivism.
Integratingasetofuniversallyapplicableprincipleswithspecificapplications,themodelwaspopularlyreferredtoasthe"globaltheoryofpublicrelations",orthe"normativetheoryofglobalpublicrelations"(Grunig,2009,p.
1;Grunig,Grunig,&Veri,1998,p.
341).
Thetengenericprinciplesareasfollows(Grunigetal.
,1998):131.
Involvementofpublicrelationsinstrategicmanagement.
Anorganizationthatpracticespublicrelationsstrategicallydevelopsprogramstocommunicatewithstrategicpublics,bothexternalandinternal,thatprovidethegreatestthreatsto,andopportunitiesfor,theorganization.
2.
Empowermentofpublicrelationsinthedominantcoalitionoradirectreportingrelationshiptoseniormanagement.
Forpublicrelationstobeeffective,seniorpublicrelationspractitionersneedtobemembersofthedominantcoalition,alsocalledtheseniormanagementteam,oratleasthaveaccesstovoiceconcernstothedominantcoalition.
3.
Integratedpublicrelationsfunction.
Allpublicrelationsfunctionsshouldbeorganizedunderonedepartmentoratleasthavemechanismstocoordinateeffectivelywithdifferentdepartments.
4.
Publicrelationsasamanagementfunction,separatefromotherfunctions.
Excellentpublicrelationsdepartmentsshouldbeindependentfrommarketing,humanresources,finance,orotherorganizationalfunctions.
Onlybybeingfunctionallyindependentcouldpublicrelationsidentifyallkeystakeholdersanddeveloppublicrelationsactivitiesstrategically.
5.
Thepublicrelationsunitisheadedbyamanagerratherthanatechnician.
Excellentpublicrelationsdepartmentsshouldhavemanager(s)inchargeofstrategicplanningfortheorganization'scommunicationactivities.
Managersshoulddirecttheunitratherthanprovidetechnicalservicesorcarryoutadministrativeroutines.
146.
Thetwo-waysymmetricalmodelofpublicrelationsisused.
Excellentpublicrelationsdepartmentsuseformalorinformalresearchtounderstandandcommunicatewithpublics.
Theaimofdoingresearchisnottopersuadethepublictoconformtoorganizations,butforbetterunderstanding,relationship-building,andconflict-solvingbetweenorganizationsandpublics.
7.
Departmentwiththeknowledgeneededtopracticethemanagerialroleandsymmetricalpublicrelations.
Excellentpublicrelationsdepartmentscontainprofessionalswhohavemanagementknowledgeandresearchskills.
8.
Asymmetricalsystemofinternalcommunication.
Excellentorganizationspracticesymmetricalcommunicationwithemployees.
Organizationswithorganicanddecentralizedstructuresgiveemployeesagreaterstakeindecisionmakingandthereforeincreasejobsatisfaction.
9.
Diversityembodiedinallroles.
Excellentpublicrelationsdepartmentsincludebothmenandwomen,anddifferentethnicgroupsinallroles.
10.
Anorganizationalcontextforexcellence.
Excellentpublicrelationsismorelikelytobefoundinanorganicandparticipativeorganizationalculture.
Activistsembeddedinchaoticexternalenvironmentscanpushorganizationstowardsexcellence(pp.
337-339).
Thenormativemodelofglobalpublicrelations(Verietal.
,1996)isoneofthefundamentalachievementsinpublicrelationsscholarship.
Amyriadofpublicrelationsscholarshaveappliedthemodeltobothpublicrelationsandpublicaffairsarenasacrossdifferenttypesoforganizationsglobally.
TheempiricalstudiesmanyscholarsconductedwereindebtedtotheExcellencestudyandthenormativemodelofglobalpublicrelations15(Likely,2013;Lim,Goh,&Sriramesh,2005;Oksiutycz&Enombo,2011;Rhee,2002;Sriramesh&Veri,2009;Valentini,2013;Valentini&Sriramesh,2014).
Forexample,Rhee(2002)wasthefirsttotesttheapplicabilityofgenericprinciplesinanAsiancountry—SouthKorea.
Otherscholarsexploredwhetherpublicrelationsisstrategicallymanagedinvariouscountriesbyapplyingthegenericprinciples(Limetal.
,2005;Oksiutycz&Enombo,2011;Sriramesh&Veri,2009;Valentini&Sriramesh,2014).
SrirameshandVeri's(2003,2009)compilation,abookthatincludespublicrelationscasestudiesfrommorethan50countries,providesanoverviewoftheglobalpublicrelationslandscape.
AccordingtotheExcellenceresearchteam(J.
Grunig,1992),fourprinciplesdeserveparticularattentionbecausetheyaddressthekeyaspectsofstrategicmanagementofpublicrelations.
ThevalidityandglobalapplicabilityofthefourgenericprincipleshavebeentestedincasesofSingapore,SouthKorea,Italy,Gabon,andCanada(Likely,2013;Limetal.
,2005;Oksiutycz&Enombo,2011;Rhee,2002).
Thefourprinciplesarelistedbelowandwillbediscussedingreaterdetailinthenextsection:1.
Theinvolvementofpublicrelationsinstrategicmanagement;2.
Theempowermentofpublicrelationsinthedominantcoalitionoradirectreportingrelationshiptotheseniormanagement;3.
Theuseofatwo-waysymmetricalmodelofpublicrelations;4.
Thepossessionofknowledgeforpracticingmanagerialrolesandthesymmetricalpublicrelationsmodel.
Eversincetheconceptionofthegenericprinciples,theirapplicabilityhasbeentestifiedacrosscountries.
Forexample,Kaur(1997)foundthegenericprincipleswere16applicableinMalaysia.
ResearchersdemonstratedthatthesameprinciplesclusterintoanIndexofExcellenceinSlovenianorganizationsevenafterthecountryhadgonethroughdramaticpoliticalandeconomicchange(Grunigetal.
,1998).
Rhee(2002)appliedtheabovefourprinciplestothepublicrelationsprofessioninSouthKorea.
HerresearchindicatedthattheprinciplessheexaminedwereapplicableinSouthKoreawheretheculturedifferedconsiderablyfromthatofwesterncountries.
Limetal.
(2005)appliedthesamefourgenericprinciplesofpublicrelationsinSingaporetoexploretheextenttowhichexcellentpublicrelationswaspracticedinthatcity-state.
Basedonaquantitativesurveyandseveralinterviewswithpublicrelationspractitionersatdifferentsenioritylevels,theauthorsfoundthatSingaporehadnotcommittedtoexcellentpublicrelations.
Theyconcludedthatpublicrelationspractitionersservedmoreastechniciansratherthanmanagers.
Valentini(2013)usedthefirstthreeprinciplestoexaminewhetherItalianpublicadministrationpracticedstrategicpublicadministrationmanagement.
Themajorityofpubliccommunicationofficersdidnotstrategicallycontributetoorganizationaleffectiveness,butratherfollowedroutine(technical)practices.
InconcertwiththelaterfindingsbyValentiniandSriramesh(2014),yearsofexperiencewasrelatedtoofficers'involvementinstrategicpublicadministrationmanagement.
Thelevelofinvolvementinstrategicmanagementreportedbypractitionersincreasedwithseniority.
Seasonedpractitionersweremorelikelytoconsiderthemselvesparticipatinginthestrategicmanagementoftheorganization.
ValentiniandSriramesh(2014)contributedtobuildingaglobaltheoryofpublicrelationsbyinvestigatingItaly'spracticeofstrategicpublicrelations.
Theirstudyfocused17onthefourgenericprinciplesthatweremostrelatedtostrategicmanagement.
Theresearcherssampledfromcorporations(includingpublicrelationsdepartmentsandpublicrelationsagencies),governmentagencies,andnon-profitorganizationsinordertoexplorethedifferencesinstrategicpublicrelationsmanagementacrossthethreesectors.
Theyconcludedthat,inItaly,publicrelationswasnotstrategicallypracticed.
Inbrief,anumberofglobalstudieshavebeencarriedoutovertheyearsexaminingtheapplicabilityofthegenericprinciples.
Ithasbeenshownthatthefourgenericprinciplesareeffectiveinstrumentsbywhichtodeterminethelevelofstrategicpublicrelationsmanagementindifferentcountries.
AsRhee(2002)recommended,cross-culturalreplicationofthesefindingswilladvancethedevelopmentofaglobaltheoryofpublicrelations.
Therefore,thisstudyaimstoexplorestrategicpublicrelationsmanagementinChinainlightofthefourgenericprinciples.
2.
3FourgenericprinciplesrelevanttothisstudyThissectionwillfocusonelaboratingthefourprinciplesthataredeemedtobemostrelevanttostrategicpublicrelationsmanagement.
Inaddition,priorresearchonpublicrelationspracticesinChina,whicharespecificallyrelatedtoeachofthefourprinciples,willalsobehighlightedattheendofeachsection.
2.
3.
1InvolvingpublicrelationsinstrategicmanagementHistorically,publicrelationshasbeenconsideredatechnicalprofession,andonepracticedprimarilyforpublicitypurposes.
Thelimitedunderstandingofpublicrelationsfunctionsisnotonlyfoundamongindustryoutsiders,butalsointheseniormanagementoforganizationsandpublicrelationspractitionersthemselves.
18Someresearchershavetermedthetechnicalfunctionofpublicrelationsa"symbolicparadigm"(Grunig&Kim,2011),oran"interpretive"function.
Takenliterally,technicalpublicrelationsfocusesprimarilyondisseminatingmessages,buildinggoodorganizationalimages,andinterpretingthemeaningcreatedbyseniormanagement.
Inotherwords,publicrelations,solelyormainly,practicingtechnicalactivitiesisrestrictedtopolicyimplementation,ratherthanactivelyparticipatinginmanagerialdecision-making.
Inorganizationswithaworldviewoftechnicalpublicrelations,itisnotsufficientlyvaluedtobeinvolvedinformingorganizationalstrategy.
Technicalpublicrelationsiswidelyappliedamongorganizationsthatemploypublicrelationstolowerstandards,andthatbelievemessaging,orpublicity,isthemostvaluablefunctionoftheirpublicrelationsdepartment.
AsimilardistinctioncanbefoundinBoschandVanRiel's(1998)classificationofpublicrelationsfunctions.
Theyproposedthattheroleofpublicrelationscouldbebuffering,bridging,orboth.
Publicrelationsasabridgingfunctionmediatestheconflictsbetweentheorganizationanditsstrategicpublicssoastobuildlong-termrelationships.
Conversely,abufferingstrategyofpublicrelations,muchliketechnicalpublicrelations,ismerelydedicatedtomessageframinganddisseminationsothatorganizationscouldbufferfromtheirstakeholders.
3Incomparison,publicrelationsinvolvedinstrategicmanagementdoesmuchmorethanpublicity.
Strategicpublicrelationstakesonthedutytoperformenvironmentalscanning,stakeholderidentification,issuemanagement,strategicplanning,relationship3Itshouldbenotedthatthebehavioralparadigm(bridgingfunction)doesnotcontradictthesymbolicparadigm(bufferingfunction)initsentiretyastheformeralsoincludesmessagecreationanddissemination,amongitsbroaderacknowledgementofpublicrelationsinrelationshipbuildingandmanagerialdecision-making.
19building,andevaluation(Dozier&Broom,1995;Grunig,2011).
Moreover,strategicpracticeofpublicrelationsentailsstakeholderengagement–activelyaddressingstakeholders'expectationsandinvolvingstakeholders'inputintheprocessoforganizationalstrategymaking(Sethi,1975).
Tomakeenablestakeholderstoco-createorganizationalstrategywithtopmanagement,publicrelationsneedstobeempoweredtobringoutstakeholders'valuableinputinthefirstplace.
Aconcretediscussiononthedutiesofstrategicpublicrelationsisillustratedinthenextfewparagraphs.
Asmanyscholarshaveargued(Aldrich&Herker,1977;Dozier&Broom,1995;Grunigetal.
,1992),strategicpublicrelationsshouldserveasorganizations'boundaryscannerssoastoidentifyissuesandstakeholdersinandoutoforganizations,ultimatelybuildingsolidandlong-termrelationshipswithstakeholders.
InWakefield's(2000)"world-class"publicrelationsmodel,the"advancedevolutionstage"(AE)ofthe"world-class"publicrelationsistheidealstage,amongthefourstagesheproposed.
HepredictedthatpublicrelationswouldbemostlikelytobesuccessfulworldwideifitisintheAEstage,whichcentersonfulfillingitsstrategicmanagementrolethroughproactiveplanningandrelationshipbuildingwithorganizations'stakeholders.
4Strategicpublicrelationsactivitiesinvolveconstantlyscanninginternalandexternalenvironments,identifyingkeystakeholders,andinterpretingthecontextinwhichorganizationsareinvolved.
InvernizziandRomenti(2011)viewedenvironmentalscanningasa"centralthemeinstrategicmanagementstudies"(p.
15).
Environmental4Wakefield's(2000)"world-class"publicrelationsmodeldrewlessonsfromthefailureofCoca-Cola'spublicrelations'crisisinBelgiumin1992,andwasbuiltuponthe1998EdelmanWorldwidestudy,aswellastheExcellencestudy.
Theexcellencenotion,suchasempoweringpublicrelationsinthedominantcoalition,separatingpublicrelationsfunctionsfrommarketing,andequippingpractitionerswithprofessionalknowledgewereallembodiedintheAEstageofthe"world-class"publicrelationsmodel.
20scanningisadynamicandmobileprocessbecausestakeholdersmayemergeanddisappearindifferentstagesofanissue.
Stakeholdersarepeopleorgroupsthataffectorganizations,orthosewhobeartheconsequencesoforganizationalbehaviors(Freeman,1984).
Byclearlyidentifyingandsegmentingstakeholders,organizationscanimplementdifferentstrategiestargetingstakeholdersindifferentstagesofanissue.
Organizationswillfindenvironmentalscanningparticularlyusefultopreventissuesfromescalatingtocrisis.
Forexample,alatentpublic,whichoriginallyhadlowinvolvementandinterestinaparticularissue,mightescalatetobecomeanaware/arousedpubliciftheyareextensivelyexposedtothatissue.
Inthesamevein,analreadyarousedoractivepublicislikelytoengageincollectiveaction,suchasactivistactivities,astimegoesby.
Organizationsmustthereforeusepublicrelationstomonitorthechangingenvironment,makeproactiveadjustments,andpreventcrisesfromhappening.
Theultimategoalofenvironmentalscanningistoactualizepublicrelations'bridgingfunctionbetweenkeystakeholdersandtheorganizationaswellascoordinatingsymmetricalcommunicationfrombothsides.
Besidesvoicinganorganization'smessagesaccuratelyandpromptlytothepublic,strategicpublicrelationsshouldconsciouslyremindseniormanagersoftheneedtoincorporatestakeholders'feedback,regardlessofwhetheritispositive,neutral,oroppositionaltowardsanorganization'sinitiatives.
Itshouldbenotedthatenvironmentalscanningisnotastrategicactivityinallinstances;itcanalsobeprimarilytechnical.
Forexample,"readingthepopularandindustrypressandclippingarticlesabouttheorganizationandissuesimportanttotheorganization"isnotstrategicinitsentirety(White&Dozier,1992,p.
101).
Neitherisitstrategicto"putnewspaperandmagazineclipsabouttheorganizationinafolderfor21decisionmakerstoreview"(White&Dozier,1992,p.
102).
InvernizziandRomenti(2011)advancedasimilarcommentaryontheboundary-spanningroleofstrategiccommunication.
Theyheldthatonlybyattachingmeaningtoinformationcanspannerscontributetoorganizationalexcellence,andtheycalledtheprocessofinterpretationofinformation"sense-making",originallyderivedfromWeick(1995).
Nevertheless,onethreatmayariseforpractitionersservingasanorganization'sboundaryspanners.
Asactivespanners,publicrelationspractitionersaresupposedtoreportissuesofimportance,includingopportunitiesandpotentialthreatsthattheygatheredfromtheenvironment,toseniormanagement.
Moreover,ifnecessary,excellentpublicrelationsisexpectedtotaketheinitiativetourgechangesfromtheseniormanagement.
Duetothisreason,conflictsmayarisebetweenpublicrelationspractitionersandorganizations'decisionmakersbecausedecisionmakerscanbereluctanttochangetheirbehaviors(Aldrich&Herker,1977).
Grunig,Grunig,andDozier(2002)alsopointedoutthatanorganization'sdecisions,madebytopmanagers,areprimarilyaimedatmaintainingthestatusquoandtheirpowerinthedominantcoalition.
Eventhoughitmayfirstappeartobeadisadvantageforpublicrelationsprofessionals,giventhefactthattheymaysufferfromhostilityandsuspicionfromtopleaders,scholarsstillmaintainthatpublicrelationspractitionerscouldgraduallychangethebiasedperceptionofthemanagementteambycontinuouslyofferingconstructivesuggestions(White&Dozier,1992).
Differentresponsibilitiestakenonbypractitionersleadtovariousformsofroleenactments.
DozierandBroom(1995)assignedthe"managerrole"topractitionerswhopracticemanagerialpublicrelationsandthe"technicianrole"tothosewhopractice22technicalpublicrelations.
Extendingthisclassictreatmentofpublicrelations'roleenactment,Steyn(2009)addedanewrolecalled"publicrelationsstrategist".
AccordingtoSteyn,publicrelationsstrategistsdifferfrompublicrelationsmanagersbecausestrategistsareanintegralpartofstrategyformation,whilepublicrelationsmanagersactmoreonanoperationalandadministrativelevel.
Grunig(1992)claimedthatfororganizationstobeexcellent,theymusthavepublicrelationsmanagers.
However,publicrelationsislesslikelytobeeffectiveifthemanagersonlydealwithadministrativetasks.
Steyn'snewlyadded"publicrelationsstrategists"roleseemedlikeanexpansionofthetraditionalpublicrelations'roleenactment.
Butthedutiesassumedbystrategistsareessentiallythesameasthoseexpectedofpublicrelationsmanagers.
AccordingtoDozierandBroom,publicrelationsmanagersshouldnotbeadministrativeleaders;rather,theyareexpectedtostrategicallycontributetoorganizationsthroughstrategicplanning,environmentalscanning,scientificevaluation,andconsultingmanagement.
Therefore,theseresearchersactuallystandonthecommongroundastowhetherthereshouldbeatleastsomepublicrelationsprofessionalswhotakeonthestrategicmanagementroleintheorganization,notwithstandingdifferenttitlestheyoffer.
Whenitcomestothepositiveoutcomesofstrategicpublicrelationsmanagement,amyriadofscholars(Center&Jackson,1995;Cutlip,Center,&Broom,2006;Ferguson,1984;Invernizzi&Romenti,2011;Kim,Hung-Baesecke,Yang,&Grunig,2013)unanimouslypointedtorelationshipbuilding,asanintangibleindicatoroforganizationalsuccess.
Veriandcolleagues(1996,p.
37)notedthatqualityrelationshipswithkeystakeholders,suchascustomers,investors,employees,andgovernmentofficialscangeneratemonetaryvaluefororganizations,and"reducethecostsoflitigation,regulation,23andlegislation"causedbybadrelationshipswithopponentsandactivists.
Managementscholarsalsoacknowledged"relationship"asoneofthetwointangibleassetsoforganizations(Greco,Cricelli,&Grimaldi,2013).
Basedontheprecedingliteraturereview,thefirstresearchquestionisframedasfollows:RQ1:TowhatextentareChinesepublicrelationspractitionersinvolvedinthestrategicmanagementoftheorganizationandcontributingtoorganizationalpolicies2.
3.
2InvolvementofpublicrelationsindominantcoalitionTheterm"dominantcoalition"referstoorganizations'decisionmakers.
Theyestablishgoalsandmissionsfororganizations.
AuthorsoftheExcellencestudyassertedthatinordertobestrategicallymanaged,publicrelationsshouldhaveasayinanorganization'sdominantcoalition.
Beinginvolvedinthedominantcoalitionorsupportedbytopmanagementelevatespublicrelations'statusinanorganization,therebygainingsignificantweightindictatinganorganization'smaneuverings.
Researchshowsthatpublicrelationsprofessionalsgreatlyvaluetheiractualstatusandthesupporttheyreceiveintheirorganization.
Inastudyexploringthefactorsrelatedtoprofessionalsuccessinpublicrelations,onehigh-levelpublicrelationsexecutivestated,"Ninety-ninepercentofyourabilitytoinfluenceishavingabosswhosupportsyoubypushingyoutothe[decision-making]table"(Bergeretal.
,2007,p.
65).
Theauthorsalsoreportedthatthehighestpercentageofrespondents(22.
7%)inthisstudybelievedthattheirsuccesswasmeasuredbytakingadecision-makingposition,acategorythatincludessecuringaseatinthe24dominantcoalition,beingtrustedandacceptedbymanagement,andhavinganequalsayindecisionmaking(p.
59).
InvernizziandRomenti(2011)identifiedthreedimensionsalongwhichstrategiccommunicationscancontributetodecision-making.
Inthefirstandseconddimensions,communicationplaysthe"enabling"and"constructive"rolesinorganizationaldecisionmaking.
However,itisinthethirddimension,whichtheycalled"communication-orientedorganization",inwhichthecommunicationfunctionismostvalued.
Forinstance,communicationprofessionalswouldbeconsultedineveryimportantdecisionalprocessatbothcorporateanddepartmentallevels.
TwoItalianorganizationsaregivenasexamplesof"communication-orientedorganizations".
Inthefirstcase,thedecisionofincludingthecommunicationmanagerofIllycaffèinthe"executivecommittee",whichisthedominantcoalitionofIllycaffè,wasnotmadebythecompany'sCEOsingle-handedly.
Thedemandsalsocamefromotherdivisionmanagers,whothoughtitwouldbeusefultotakeintoaccounttheprofessionaladviceprovidedbythecommunicationsdepartmentintheirdailyoperation.
InthecaseofanItalianbank,BancaMontedeiPaschi(BMPS),everydivisionaldecisionthatwillbeexposedtothepublic,suchasanewproductlaunchornewmarketingplan,mustbeapprovedbytheCCO.
Bothcasesrepresentedthehighestempowermentofcommunicationsfunctionsintheorganizations.
Nevertheless,simplysecuringaseatinthedominantcoalitioncannotguaranteethatpublicrelations'perspectiveswouldbetrulyvaluedbydecisionmakers.
Showingupatthedecisiontabledoesnotequatetoparticipatingindecisionmaking.
Thisstatementholdstrueespeciallyifpublicrelationsmanagershadlittlevoiceorthisfunctionwassubordinatedtootherdivisions,suchasmarketingandadvertising.
Forinstance,asenior25USpractitionerinDeSantoandMoss'sstudy(2005)disclosedthatthemainreasonforhertositwithtopmanagementistobeinformed"wherethebusinessisgoingtogo"(p.
187)sothatthecommunicationplanscouldfollowthegeneralcorporatestrategy.
Insomecircumstances,dominantcoalitionswouldallocateresourcesandmoneytopublicrelationsdepartments,butnotempowerthisfunctiontotheextentof"seekingcounselinsettinguporganizationalpolicies"(Limetal.
,2005,p.
327).
Somepractitionersdidnotfeelitwasaprerequisitetohaveaseatinthedominantcoalitionthoughitwouldhelp(Limetal.
,2005).
Rather,theywouldbesatisfiedaslongastheirinputsarevaluedbythedominantcoalitioninmakingmajororganizationaldecisions.
Forthem,theirinsightsbeingtakenintoaccountinorganizationaldecision-makingismoreimportantthanhavingamembershipinthedominantcoalitionorreceivingmonetarysupport.
TheaboveresearchfindingswereinaccordancewithGrunigetal.
's(2002)argumentthatpublicrelationsdepartmentscouldstillbeexcellenteventhoughtheheadofthepublicrelationsisnotamemberofthedominantcoalition.
Therefore,itisreasonabletoconcludethatmembershipinthedominantcoalitionisanimportant,butnotmandatory,conditionforpublicrelationstobeexcellent.
Noempiricalstudyhaseverbeendonetoexploretherelationshipbetweenpublicrelations'departments'functionsanddominantcoalitionsinChina.
Oneofthegoalsofthisresearchistofillthegaptodiscovertheextentofpublicrelations'membershipindominantcoalitions,publicrelations'reportinglinestodominantcoalitions,andtheextenttowhichpublicrelations'inputwasvaluedbydominantcoalitions.
Priorstudieshavetoucheduponcultures'influenceonpublicrelations'membershiporreportinglineintheorganization.
Forexample,Sriramesh(1996)26referencedHofstede's(1984)conceptofpowerdistance(PD)tostudythedynamicsofsuperior-subordinaterelationshipsinIndia.
Powerdistancereferstotheextenttowhichthesocietyisverticallystratified.
Itreflectsdifferentperceptionsindividualshavetowardstheirrolerelationshipswithmembersofdifferentstatus.
SocietieswithhighPDindexeslikeChina,IndiaandSouthKorea,tendtogivesuperiorsmorepowerandauthority,andsubordinatesacceptthisunequallydistributedpower.
Understandingandacknowledgingpowerdistanceinvariousculturesiscriticalforconductingpublicrelationsactivitiesglobally.
Forinstance,whenpracticingpublicrelationsinChina,practitionersfromegalitariansocietiessuchastheU.
S.
needto"showrespecttoleaderstheyfeeltheydeserve"(Chen,2009,p.
190).
Otherwise,theirwayofcommunicationcouldbeinterpretedasdisrespectfulandarrogant.
Srirameshfoundthathighpowerdistanceispositivelyrelatedtothedifficultyforpublicrelationstobepartofthedominantcoalition.
Becauseoftheconstraintsimposedbyhierarchyandbureaucracy,publicrelationspractitionersmayfindithardtoevenbeheard,muchless,join,thedominantcoalition.
Thesecondresearchquestion,then,wasasfollows:RQ2:WhatkindsofreportinglinesdopublicrelationsdepartmentsinChinahavewithmembersofthedominantcoalition2.
3.
3KnowledgePractitioners'knowledgeforconductingtwo-waysymmetricalpublicrelationsandstrategicmanagementcomprisesthethirdareaofinterestinthisstudy.
Excellentpublicrelationsdepartmentshavepractitionerswhopossessthetheoreticalbodyofknowledgeinpublicrelations(Verietal.
,1996).
Theknowledgeoftwo-waysymmetricalpublicrelationsandstrategicmanagementnotonlyreferstothepractical27skillspractitionerscanusetoconductresearchanddevelopstrategies,butalsotheknowledgetounderstandthevalueofstrategicpublicrelationsandtheimportanceoftwo-waycommunication.
Rhee's(2002)studyshowedthatknowledgeconcerningthetwo-waysymmetricalmodelandthemanagerialrolewerethemostimportantcontributorstothevalueofpublicrelationsinSouthKorea.
MengandBerger's(2013)leadershipresearchshedlightonqualitiesthatwouldleadpublicrelationsprofessionalsallthewayuptothedecision-makingtable.
Theyconcludedthatthose"whopossessthecompetenceandknowledgetodealwiththeenvironment"(p.
149),andwhocanpersuasivelysellsolutionsandideastothetopmanagement,wouldbevaluedandinvolvedindecision-making.
DeSantoandMoss(2005)arrivedatasimilarconclusionabouttheimportanceofcompetence,knowledgeandpersonalcharismaafterinterviewswithpublicrelationspractitioners.
Limetal.
's(2005)studyindicatedthatSingaporeanpractitioners'knowledgeofmanagerialskillsandtwo-waycommunicationwasinsufficient,whichdisenabledthemtoconductformalresearchorrecognizethevalueofpublicrelationsinstrategicmanagement.
Theybelievedthatpublicrelations'lowstatusintheorganizationscouldbepartiallyattributedtothelackofknowledgepossessedbypractitioners.
Communicationskillsandpositivepersonalcharactertraitswerenamedasthetwomostimportantqualitiesbypublicrelationsleaderstobesuccessful(Berger,Reber,&Heyman,2007).
ThesamestudyshowedthatfewpractitionersthoughthighlyofmanagerialskillswhichwereconsideredtobekeybytheExcellencestudy.
IthasbeenassertedthatpublicrelationstalentislackinginChina.
Tenyearsago,Jean-MichelDumont,ChairmanofRuderFinnAsia,pointedoutthat"thesheergrowth28oftheChinesePRmarketiscreatingahugeneedfortalent"(PRWeek,2006,p.
26).
Hiscallfortalenthasnotbeenadequatelyaddressedinthepublicrelationsindustrytenyearslater.
AccordingtoarecentCIPRAannualreport(2016),themostcrediblepublicrelationsindustryreportonpublicrelationsinChina,ashortageofpublicrelationstalentremainsabottleneckthathinderstheentireindustry'sdevelopment.
Theintensivedemandforhigh-caliberpublicrelationsprofessionalsderivespartlyfromtherapidgrowthofthepublicrelationsindustry,astherecentCIPRAreportshavealreadydemonstrated.
Inaddition,competitionfromadvertising,marketing,andorganizations'tendencyofusingintegratedmarketingcommunicationhasthreatenedtheindependentpracticeofpublicrelations.
Therefore,itispressingforpublicrelationsprofessionalstoenhancetheirknowledgeandexpertisetostrengthenitsirreplaceablefunctioninrelationshipbuildingwithstakeholders.
IntermsofpublicrelationseducationinChina,publicrelationscurriculumdesigninChinaisheavilydependentontheU.
S.
paradigm(Zhang,Jiang,&Luo,2012).
Sriramesh(2004)suggestedthatforpublicrelationsinAsiatogrow,scholarsshouldlookbeyondthewesternparadigmofpublicrelationsandfullyexploretherichnessoflocalculturesandtraditions.
Thelackofindigenousconcernalsocomesfromwithin.
Forexample,theMinistryofEducation(MOE)inChinahasnotendorsedpublicrelationsasalegitimatemajor.
Zhangetal.
(2012)attributedthisundervaluationtotwofactors.
First,MOEhasalimitedknowledgeofthefunctionsofpublicrelations.
Theystillequatepublicrelationswithpublicityandpropaganda.
Second,themindsettointegratejournalism,advertising,29andpublicrelationsintoonecurriculumorunitdeterspublicrelationsfromdevelopingintoanindependentandlegitimatemajor.
Zhangetal.
(2012)alsostressedtheramificationsofunderestimatingpublicrelationsasanindependentmajor.
Duetomarginalizationofpublicrelationsinuniversities,professorshavelittlefundingormotivationtoadvancethebodyofknowledge.
Scholarsstruggletoestablishtop-tieracademicjournalsinpublicrelations.
Thepoorpublicrelationseducationsystemwilldoubtlessdiscouragefewertalentsfromspecializinginpublicrelationsmanagement,thereforecreatingalargergapbetweenthecurrenthighdemandforpublicrelationstalentsandthelowsupply.
Providingprofessionalandacademictraininginpublicrelationswillbethekeyfactorsthathastentheprocessofinstitutionalizingpublicrelations,astherewillbemorewell-trainedprofessionalsenteringpublicrelationsindustry.
Inregardsoftheknowledge,thethirdresearchquestionwasposed:RQ3:WhatknowledgedopublicrelationspractitionersinChinapossesstofacilitatepracticingthemanagerialroleandtwo-waycommunication2.
3.
4Two-waysymmetricalpublicrelationsmodelGrunigandHunt(1984)identifiedfourmodelsofpublicrelationsthatdescribeorganizations'waysofcarryingoutcommunicationfunctions:(1)pressagentrymodel(2)publicinformationmodel(3)two-waysymmetricalmodel,and(4)two-wayasymmetricalmodel.
Amongthese,thetwo-waysymmetricalmodelwasthoughttobethemosteffectivemodelforachievingorganizationalgoals.
Thepressagentryandpublicinformationmodelsarebothone-waycommunicationmodels,withinformationflowingonlyfromtheorganizationtoits30audiences.
Thecorepurposefororganizationsusingone-waycommunicationmodelsistopublicizeorinformpublicsoforganizationalactions.
Thiscommunicationprocessisdefinedasone-waybecauseitdoesnotincorporatepublicfeedbackuponreceivingorganizationalmessages.
Boththetwo-wayasymmetricalmodelandthetwo-waysymmetricalmodelinvolveresearch,albeitwithdifferentunderlyingmotives.
Theorganizationalmotiveforimplementingthetwo-wayasymmetricalmodelistopersuadethepublictodowhatorganizationswouldlikethemtointermsofthinkingorbehavior.
Thetwo-wayasymmetricalmodelsharessimilaritywiththetwo-waysymmetricalmodelatfirstblush,becausebothmodelsinvolveinformationgivingandinformationgathering.
However,anorganization'smotiveinpersuadingitsaudiencedetermineswhetherthetwo-wayasymmetricalmodelisinessenceapersuasionmodel,justlikethepressagentrymodel.
Themotivefortwo-wayasymmetricalcommunicationiseffectivepersuasion–convincingstakeholdersoftheattractivenessoftheorganization–ratherthanunderstandingandcompromising(Morsing&Schultz,2006).
Organizationsusingthismodelseektoholdultimatecontrolandrefusetosharepowerwithstakeholders.
Incontrast,thetwo-waysymmetricalmodeltakesthestakeholders'voiceintoconsiderationinorganizationaldecision-making.
Organizationspracticingthetwo-waysymmetricalmodeltrulyvalueinputfromexternalandinternalstakeholders.
Thismodeladvocatesadialoguebetweenorganizationsandstakeholdersinsearchofmutuallyagreeablesolutionsthatbenefitbothsides.
Eventhoughpersuasionmayhappen,itisnotapersuasionmodel,becausebothsideshaveequalopportunitiestopersuadetheotherto31change.
Thetwo-waysymmetricalmodelgoesalongwaytowardsbuildingqualityandlong-termrelationshipsbetweenorganizationsandpublics.
Organizations'communicativeintentionsunderliewhethertheypracticetwo-waysymmetricalortwo-wayasymmetricalcommunication.
Althoughthepracticeofbothmodelsentailsresearchinordertogainaccurateinformationfromtheenvironment,asymmetricalcommunicationaimstopersuadepublicstodowhatorganizationswantthemtothink,ortodo,justlikepropaganda(Verietal.
,1996).
Incontrast,thetwo-waysymmetricalmodelsuggeststhatcommunicationbetweenanorganizationanditspublicshouldbebasedonmutualandsinceremotivesforthepurposesofresolvingconflictandcultivatinggoodrelationships.
One-waycommunicationdiffersfromtwo-waycommunicationinnotusingresearchtogleaninternalandexternalinformation.
Conversely,two-waycommunicationfeaturesinformation-givingandgatheringwhendealingwiththepublic(Grunig&Hunt,1984).
Veriandcolleagues(1996)assertedthatpublicrelationsshouldnotberestrictedtoone-wayinformation-giving.
Foreffectivecommunicationtohappen,itmustbetwo-way.
However,inreality,researchershavefoundthatitisnotuncommonthatpractitionersonlypracticeone-waycommunicationwhichmeansnoresearchisdonetocollectstakeholders'input,animportantfactorbeingalackofmonetarysupportfromclients(Verietal.
,1996).
Wakefield(2000)usedtheterms"inside-out"communicationand"outside-in"communicationtodescribethetwodifferentphilosophiesorganizationstaketowardcommunicatingwithpublics.
Organizationswithan"outside-in"mindsetpracticetwo-waycommunication.
Communicationistakenasaproactiveactivitythatnotonly32involvessendingmessagestopublics,butalsobringingbackfeedbackfrompublicstoorganizations,thuslycontributingtoorganizationalbehaviorinastrategicmanner.
Notonlyisthe"outside-in"modeltwo-way,itisalsosymmetrical,becauseorganizationspracticingthismodelwould"findcommongroundforunderstanding"and"seekmutuallybeneficialrelationships"withpublics(p.
64).
Incontrast,the"inside-out"approachfocusesonlyonmediarelations,productpublicity,andimagebuilding.
Itisseenasaone-wayphilosophyincommunicatingwithpublics.
Comparedwithan"outside-in"mindset,itismorereactiveandlessstrategic.
Althoughnotcategorizedasoneofthefourcommunicationmodels,the"personalinfluencemodel",identifiedasthefifthmodelbyGrunig,Grunig,Sriramesh,HuangandLyra(1995),wasfoundtoplayasignificantroleinsomecultures,suchasSingapore,China,andSouthKorea.
Personalinfluence,or"guanxi"inChinese,meaningrelationshipsandconnectionsbuiltonpersonalnetworks,waspracticedextensivelytodealwithmediarelationsandgovernmentrelationsintheabovecountries.
Guanxibuilding(orGaoGuanxi)generallyinvolves"favor-grantingandfavor-gaining"onaninterpersonallevel(Falconi,2011).
Surveyingtheempiricalevidenceregardingtheuseofthepublicrelationsmodels,itcanbeseenthatcorporationsmostfrequentlypracticethepressagentrymodel,andgovernmentagencies,thepublicinformationmodel(Grunigetal.
,1995).
However,someexceptionsdoexist.
Valentini(2013),forexample,foundthatinItaliangovernmentaladministrations,noneofthefourmodelswasmoreprevalentthantheothers,indicatingthatthepubliccommunicationofficerspracticedamixed-motivemodelinstead.
33Practitioners'understandingoftwo-waycommunicationisperplexing.
InValentiniandSriramesh'sstudy(2014),eventhoughmostpractitionersagreedthattheirdutiesinvolvedenhancingmutualunderstandingbetweenpublicsandorganizations,theydidnotbelievemanagersshouldchangeoradjusttheirattitudestothepublic.
Nordidtheybelievethatinformationaboutthepublicshouldbeinvestigatedthoroughlybeforetheimplementationofpublicrelationscampaigns.
Resolvingthisparadoxicalquestionreliesonfurtherempiricalevidence.
OneknowledgegapthisresearchseekstoexploreiswhichpublicrelationsmodelsChinesepublicrelationspractitionersemploy.
LiteratureexploringthepublicrelationsmodelspracticedbyChinesepublicrelationspractitionersislacking.
Thirtyyearsago,GrunigandHunt(1984)foundthatthecentralgovernmentinBeijingusedthepressagentrymodelmuchlikepropaganda.
Later,ChenandCulbertson(2009,p.
197)foundthattwo-waycommunicationwaspracticedinlocalgovernments'initiativesinthe1980s.
Forinstance,localgovernmentofficials,likepreviousTianjinmayor,LiRuihuan,tookvariousactionstogatherinformationfromthepeople.
Theseactionsincludedholdingpublicmeetings,launchingannualsurveys,andusingmediatogaugepublicopinion.
Inaddition,thestudyassertedthatsomemajorcommercialcenterslocatedinSouthernChinahadstartedtopracticethetwo-waycommunicationmorecommonly.
Morerecently,onestudyconductedinGreaterChinabyNgaiandNg(2013,p.
577)suggestedthatnoneoftheeightseniorPR/CCintervieweesintheirstudyacknowledgedtheimportanceoftwo-waycommunicationstrategiesinmediatingtherelationshipbetweenanorganizationanditsstakeholders.
34Sincetwo-waysymmetricalcommunicationisanimportantfeatureofexcellentpublicrelations,thisstudyaimstounderstandifitisbeingpracticedinChina.
Ifevidenceofatwo-waysymmetricalpublicrelationsmodelisnotfound,theobstaclesthatpreventpractitionersfrompracticingitandtheotherpublicrelations'modelstheypracticewillbeidentified.
Thefourthresearchquestionisstatedasfollows:RQ4:WhichpublicrelationsmodelsdoChinesepublicrelationspractitionersemployItispredictablethattherearesomechallengesfacingpublicrelationsindustryinChinatoday.
Thisstudywillexplorewhatpractitionersperceivetobethemajorchallengesthatgetinthewayofpublicrelations'involvementinstrategicmanagementaswellasthechallengestheyfaceintheirdailypracticeoftheprofession.
Thefifthresearchquestionwasposed:RQ5:WhatchallengesdoChinesepublicrelationspractitionersfaceintermsofpracticingstrategicpublicrelationsmanagementandcontributingtopolicymakingRQ5willtakethefirstfourresearchquestionsonestepfurtherbydiggingintothesourcesofthechallengesthatpractitionersface.
Bydoingso,thisstudywillhelpexplainwhystrategicpublicrelationsmanagementeithersucceedsorfails.
Overall,thisstudywillbethefirsttousethefourgenericprinciplesrelatedtostrategicmanagementtostudypublicrelationsinChina,aneconomicallypowerfulcountry.
Atheory-basedanalysisofpublicrelationsmanagementinChinawillnotonlyprovideconstructivedirectionandfeedbacktotherapidlygrowingpublicrelations35industry,butalsocontributesignificantlytothebodyofknowledgeinglobalpublicrelations.
AdaptedfromValentiniandSriramesh(2014),Limetal.
(2005)andRhee's(1999)paradigm,thefollowingfiveresearchquestionshavebeendevelopedforthisstudy.
RQ1:TowhatextentareChinesepublicrelationspractitionersinvolvedinthestrategicmanagementoftheorganizationandcontributingtoorganizationalpoliciesRQ2:WhatkindsofreportinglinesdopublicrelationsdepartmentsinChinahavewithmembersofthedominantcoalitionRQ3:WhatknowledgedopublicrelationspractitionersinChinapossesstofacilitatepracticingthemanagerialroleandtwo-waycommunicationRQ4:WhichpublicrelationsmodelsdoChinesepublicrelationspractitionersemployRQ5:WhatchallengesdoChinesepublicrelationspractitionersfaceintermsofpracticingstrategicpublicrelationsmanagementandcontributingtopolicymaking36METHODOLOGYCHAPTER3.
Thischapterpresentstheresearchmethod,sampling,researchinstrumentsandanalyticaltoolsusedforthisstudy.
ThemajorityofpreviousstudiesaboutpublicrelationsinChinahaveonlyusedqualitativeinterviews(Chen,2007;Liu,Chang,&Zhao,2009;Ni,2006;Ngai&Ng,2013;Zhangetal.
,2009;Zhangetal.
,2015).
Forthisstudy,bothsurveyquestionnairesandin-depthinterviewswereusedtogatherdatatoaddresstheresearchquestions.
Bothquantitativeandqualitativemethodswereappliedwiththeaimof(1)answeringthequestionsaboveand(2)exploringthereasonsthatledtorespondents'answersmostlythroughin-depthinterviews.
ThesurveyquestionnaireusedforthisstudywasreplicatedfromLimetal.
's(2005)studyonSingapore,butwithsomemodificationstotakeintoaccounttheChinesecontext.
Forinstance,theexampleprofessionalpublicrelationsorganizationsprovidedinsurveyquestion17werechangedtoPRSCandCIPRAsincemostChineseorganizationswouldbemorelikelytojoinChinesepublicrelationsprofessionalbodies.
Inaddition,theeducationandsalarycategorieswereamendedtoalignwiththoseinChina.
ThesurveyquestionnairewasdesignedbothinEnglishandChinese,sopractitionerscouldchoosethelanguagetheypreferred.
37Regardingthesurveyitems,atotalof12itemsinsurveyquestions5and6measuredtheextenttowhichpublicrelationsisinvolvedinstrategicmanagementandorganizationalpolicy-making(RQ1).
Surveyquestions1-4askedwhatreportinglinespublicrelationsdepartmentshavewiththemembersofthedominantcoalitionandabouttheempowermentofpublicrelationsdepartments(RQ2).
Surveyquestion7intendedtoassesstheperceivedvalueofpublicrelationsinhopesofprovidingasecondanswertoRQ2.
Question8askedaboutthedegreetowhichpublicrelationsmodelsarepracticedintheirorganizations.
Question9askedpractitionerstoratetheirknowledgelevelinpracticingthemanagerialroleandconductingthetwo-waypublicrelationsmodel.
Questions10-21assessedrespondents'demographics.
Snowballsamplingwasusedforcollectingquantitativedata.
AcquaintancesworkinginpublicrelationsindustriesinChinawereaskedtorecommendotherpublicrelationspractitionerstofillouttheonlinesurvey.
ItisnotfeasibletoconductrandomsamplingsincetherewerenodirectorieslistinginformationofpublicrelationsprofessionalsworkingindifferenttypesoforganizationsinChina.
ThequestionnairewasputonQualtrics,and92responseswerevalidforanalysis.
AsreflectedinTable3.
1,about45percentofallrespondentshadmorethansixyears'workingexperience.
Thelargestgroup(40%)wereagedbetween31to40years.
Intermsofsex,therespondentsweresplitalmostdownthemiddlewith(49%)beingfemale.
Approximately52percentofallrespondentshadabachelor'sdegreeandasurprisinglylargenumber(47%)alsoheldapostgraduatedegree(Masters,PhD).
Morethan91percentoftherespondentsearnedover5,000RMBpermonth.
AccordingtotheNationalBureauofStatisticsofthePeople'sRepublicofChina,theaveragemonthlyincomein382015was4,134RMB("Revenue,"2015,para.
8).
Alargepercentage(77%)ofrespondentsindicatedthattheirorganizationsordepartmentswerenotamemberofanyprofessionalbodies.
Fourty-threeworkedforcorporatepublicrelationsdepartments,14forgovernmentagencies,4NGOs/NPOs,and14workedforpublicrelationsagencies.
81percentofrespondentsworkedinalocalorganization,and19percentworkedinamultinationalorinternationalorganization.
Beyondthequantitativedata,thisstudyutilizedinterviewstoobtainadeeperunderstandingabouttheexperiencesofpublicrelationspractitioners.
AccordingtoEdwardsandHolland(2013),qualitativeinterviewingisamethod"thatcangiveinsightintothemeaningsthatindividualsandgroupsattachtoexperiences,socialprocesses,practicesandevents"(p.
90).
Usingthesamerecruitmentmethod,atotalof20publicrelationspractitionersparticipatedinthequalitativeinterviews.
TheywerelateraskedtocompletethesamesurveyquestionnaireonQualtrics.
Thesepractitioners,whosemajorresponsibilitywasincommunicationorpublicrelations,werefromawiderangeofsectors.
Eightofthepractitionersworkedincorporationsincludingbusiness-to-business,consumergoods,informationtechnology,softwaredevelopment,andthecarindustry.
Fivepeopleworkedinpublicrelationsorintegratedmarketingcommunicationagencies.
ThreeparticipantswereNGOworkingstaffs.
Threeworkedingovernment,andonewasanexperienceduniversityprofessorteachingpublicrelations.
Therewere11maleand9femaleinterviewees.
Sixhadmorethan15years'workingexperienceinpublicrelations,tenhad5-10years'experienceandfourhadfewerthan5years'workingexperience.
Thetitlesoftheprofessionalsdifferedduetothedifferentbusinesssectorsinwhichtheywere39Table3.
1DemographicInformationoftheSurveyRespondentsVariableValidN%Gender75Male3850.
7Female3749.
3Age(years)7521–2534.
026–302634.
731–352026.
736–401013.
341–4545.
346+1216.
0Levelofeducation75Secondary11.
3College(Bachelors)3952.
0Graduate(Masters,PhD)3546.
7Numberofyearsinpublicrelations75101621.
3Typeoforganization75Corporation4357.
3Governmentalagency1418.
7NGO/NPO45.
3Publicrelationsagency1418.
7Geographicalorientationoftheorganization75Local6181.
3Multinational/international1418.
7Memberofastrongprofessionalbody75Yes1722.
7No5877.
3Incomepermonth(inRMB,beforetaxes)7530,00079.
3Chosenottodisclosethisinformation68.
0Note.
Only72respondentsfilledoutthedemographicinformationwhichwasthelastsectionofthesurvey,andN=92everywhereelse.
40workingandtheirnumberofyearsofworkingexperience.
Adiversifiedcollectionofinterviewsamplescouldaidintheinterpretationofthequantitativedataandprovidedeeperknowledgeinresponsetotheresearchquestions.
TheorganizationstheyworkedinwerealllocatedinBeijingorShanghai,thetwobiggestcitiesinChinaandthehubsofmostgovernmentandeconomicactivity.
Theinterviewssoughtanswerstothefollowingsamplequestions:WhatroledoespublicrelationsplayinorganizationsDopublicrelationspractitionersdirectlyreporttotheseniormanagementTowhatextentdopublicrelationspractitionersthinktheyaresupportedandvaluedbytheseniormanagementWhatkindofpublicrelationsmodelsdopractitionersusetocommunicatewiththeirpublicsandwhyWhatdopractitionersthinkthepurposeofpublicrelationsisintheirorganizationsWhatcultural,economic,orpoliticalfactorsaffectthewaypublicrelationsispracticedinChinaWhatarethechallengesfacingpublicrelationspractitionersinChinaonanorganizationalandindustrylevelAcompleteinterviewprotocolcanbefoundinAppendixC(Englishversion)andAppendixD(Chineseversion).
InterviewswereconductedinMandarinandprimarilyface-to-faceincafesorintheinterviewees'offices,withafewconductedviaSkypeduetothebusyschedulesoftheinterviewees.
Theinterviewstookfrom60minutesto120minuteswith90minutesbeingtheaverage.
All20interviewswereaudiorecordedwiththeinterviewees'permission.
Theresearchertranscribedallthe20interviews.
Onehundredandthirtypagesingle-spacedpagesofdataweregenerated.
MarshallandRossman's(1999)comparisonanalysismethodwasusedtolinkdatabyconstantlycomparingandcontrastingthem.
To41analyzetheinterviewdata,theresearcherreadthetranscriptsanddetermineddifferentthemesrelevanttoeachRQ.
Tableswerecreatedtosorteachparticipant'squotationsaccordingtothetopics.
AfterreadingtheorganizeddataandtryingtounderstandwhattheymeantinthecontextoftheRQs,patternswereestablished.
ItshouldbenotedthatduetothenatureofRQ1-RQ4concerningthestatusquoofpublicrelationspracticeinChina,theywereaddressedmainlywiththesurveyfindingsbutweresupplementedwiththeinterviewresults.
SincethepurposeofRQ5wastoidentifyandsummarizethechallengesoftheindustry,itwasaddressedthroughinterviewdata.
42RESULTSCHAPTER4.
RQ1:TowhatextentareChinesepublicrelationspractitionersinvolvedinthestrategicmanagementoftheorganizationandcontributingtoorganizationalpoliciesAswithLimetal.
(2005)'sfindingsfromSingapore,respondentsinthisstudyratedtheircontributiontoroutineoperationsthehighest(M=4.
09,SD=.
96)andtomajorsocialissues(e.
g.
,crises,layoffs,feehikesetc.
)thesecondhighest(M=4.
05,SD=1.
01)(Table4.
1),adifferencethatwasnotstatisticallydifferent(t=-.
27,p=.
79).
Limetal.
arguedthatitwasparadoxicaltosimultaneouslyratebothroutineoperationsandresponsetomajorsocialissueshighlyandattributedtheparadoxtosocialdesirabilitybias"whererespondentstendtochoosehighlydesirableitemsinanattempttoprojectafavorableimageofthemselves"(p.
323).
However,regardlessofpeople'sallegedlyinflatedperceptionoftheirinfluence,itisnotnecessarilyacontradictiontoassertthatpublicrelationscontributestobothroutineoperationsandmajorsocialissues.
Whilepublicrelationsdepartmentstendtoconcentrateonroutineoperations,theyarealsocapableofhandlingsomecrisesshouldtheyoccur.
Whatdeservesmoreattentionispublicrelation'sabsencefromdecision-makingwhenmanagementdevelopsorganizationalpolicies(M=3.
46,SD=1.
04).
Thisitemwasratedthelowestofall12items.
Parallelingthisfinding,respondentsalsoreported43thattheycontributedminimallytostrategicplanning(M=3.
57,SD=.
87).
Thevaluethatseniormanagersplacedonpublicrelationspractitioners'abilitytomakedecisionsorhelpwithstrategicplanningabilitywasnothigh(M=3.
61,SD=.
88).
Therefore,itcanbeconcludedthatpublicrelationsplaysonlyaminimalroleinorganizationalpolicy-making,especiallywhenjuxtaposedwithitstechnicalactivitiesintheseorganizations.
Table4.
1MeansandStandardDeviationsofChinesePublicRelationsPractitioners'InvolvementinStrategicManagementIndicatorMSDWecontributetostrategicplanning.
3.
570.
87Wecontributeinrespondingtomajorsocialissues(e.
g.
:crises,layoffs,feehikesetc.
).
4.
051.
01Wecontributetomajorinitiatives(e.
g.
:mergers,acquisitions,newmovementsinmarkets,launchofnewproducts/services.
3.
650.
99Wecontributeinroutineoperations(e.
g.
:developmentandmaintenanceofemployeecommunication,communityrelationsormediarelationsprogram.
4.
090.
96Weconductformalresearch(e.
g.
:fromnewsclippings,Internet)foruseindecision-making.
3.
890.
85Weconductinformalresearch(e.
g.
:informalinterviews)foruseindecision-making.
3.
500.
98Wehelpourmanagementtodevelopgoalsandobjectivesinorganizationalmissionandpolicies.
3.
461.
04Wehelpmanagementtoscantheenvironmentandidentifyissueswhichmaybepotentialthreatsoropportunities.
3.
840.
84Wehelpmanagementtoidentifybothinternalandexternalstrategicpublicsthataffecttheorganization'smissionandgoals.
3.
840.
95Wehavecontactswithimportantpublics(e.
g.
:analysts,economists,industryexperts,governmentofficials)outsidetheorganization.
3.
880.
96Themanagementseeksouropinionindecisionmakingorplanning.
3.
630.
92Themanagementvaluesourjudgmentindecisionmakingorplanning.
3.
610.
88Note.
N=92.
Allitemsweremeasuredona5-pointscalerangingfrom1(stronglydisagree),2(disagree),3(neutral),4(agree),to5(stronglyagree).
Theinterviewdatareinforcedthisfinding.
Allfiveintervieweesfrompublicrelationsagenciesstatedunanimouslythatthepublicrelationsfunctionwasnotinvolvedinpolicymakingintheirclients'organizationsbasedontheirexperiencedealingwithclientsfromallwalksoflife.
OneexperiencedagencypractitionerspecializinginITclientsclaimed:"They[in-housePR]justhavetothinkabouthowtoimplementthe44strategyafterithasbeenmadeby[the]dominantcoalition.
"Theheadoftwolocalpublicrelationsagenciesacknowledgedthatitis"importantforin-housepublicrelationstoplayapartindecisionmaking",yetexpresseddisappointmentwiththereality"[incontrastwithlocalorganizations],foreignclientswithwhomIworkedbothunderstoodandvaluedtheroleoftheirpublicrelationsdepartmentstoamuchgreaterextent".
Basedonboththesurveyandtheinterviews,itappearedthatorganizationalpolicymakersrarelyconsultedwithpublicrelationspractitionersunlesspractitionerstooktheinitiativetoprovideprofessionalknowledgeandinsights.
Twoin-housepractitionersemphasizeddecisionmakers'inertiainfollowingupwiththepublicrelationsteamsaboutthedynamicsofrecentissuesandstakeholders.
Accordingtotheheadofmarketingandpublicrelationsofasoftwarecompany:"Publicrelationscouldprovideusefulinformation,butitisnotaprerequisiteinformationsourceforourcompany'smanagementtomakedecisions.
"Inaninterviewwiththeheadofcommunicationofanon-profithospital,itwasfoundthatextensiveeffortstopromotethemanagement'sviewofpublicrelationsbybottom-upreformhadbeenmade.
Shenotedthedifferenceinherdepartmentbeforeandafterthereform:"Previously,thedepartmentjustimplementedtheorderfromthetop,butgradually,Irealizedthedepartmentcoulddomore.
"TheinitiativetheytookincludedoutsourcingtoadataservicecompanytomonitorpublicopinionontheInternet.
Theintervieweeindicated"itwasararemaneuverformostnon-profithospitalsacrossthenation".
Therawdatawouldlaterbecategorizedandinterpretedbyherteam,relyingontheirprofessionalknowledgeinhospitalmanagementandhealthcare.
Sheadded:"Ithinkenvironmentalscanningisaveryusefultool.
However,youreallyneedtoorganizethisinformationandmakesenseofthemost45salientaspects.
"Inadditiontoscanningandmonitoringthehospital'senvironmentstrategically,shecommentedontheroleofcommunication:"Ifeellikeweshouldgobeyondhelpingthehospitalbuildabetterbrand.
"Sherealizedthatitwasequallyimportantforhospitalmanagementtobeimprovedthroughcommunication,andtoallowthepublicrelationsdepartmenttoplayagreaterroleinthedecisionandplanningprocess.
Clearly,theinitiativeinthiscasehadbeenimplementedbottomupand,accordingtotheheadofcommunication,hadreceivedcommendationsfromthehospital'sleadership,whourgedotherhospitaldivisionstoadjusttheiractivitiesbasedonthefeedbackfromthecommunicationdivision.
Nonetheless,bottom-uppublicrelationsinnovationwasnotafrequentpractice,andonlytwointervieweesreportedthattheyhadcarriedoutsimilartrialsintheirorganizations.
Intermsoforganization,theinterviewswithpublicrelationspractitionersatNGOsledtosomemeaningfulfindings.
Forexample,anintervieweefromoneNGOarticulatedthat[NGOs]affiliationwiththegovernmentplaysasignificantroleindeterminingtheextenttowhichpublicrelationswasinvolvedintheorganizationalpolicy-making:CommunicationsfunctioninNGOscanbedividedintothreetypes,inaccordancewith[NGOs]affiliationwiththegovernmentadministrations.
ForNGOsentirelydependentongovernmentalfunding,communicationprofessionalshadlittlesayinorganizationaldecision-making.
ThesecondtypeofNGOswerehalfmarket-driven,halfadministration-driven,andcommunicationdepartments'autonomyvariedcasebycase.
ForthethirdtypeofNGOs,whichwerecompletelymarket-driven,thecommunicationfunctionwasmorepowerfulandmorevaluableto46managementthantheothertwotypes.
BuildinggoodrelationshipswithkeystakeholdersiscrucialtoNGOsthataremarket-driveninthatfundsarecollectedthroughvariousstakeholdersratherthanthegovernment.
Underthiscircumstance,communicationprofessionalswerealsomoremotivatedtocreateahealthyandeffectivecommunicationmechanisminordertoachievetheorganization'sgoal.
Therewasahighreliability(α=.
86)ofthe12itemsthatmeasuredtheinvolvementofthepublicrelationsfunctioninstrategicmanagement,andacompositeindexwascreatedbysummingthemeansofthese12items.
Totestiftherewereanysignificantdifferencesamongthefourtypesoforganizationsininvolvingpublicrelationsinstrategicmanagement,aone-wayANOVAF-testwasconductedbutnostatisticaldifferenceswerefound,F(3,71),=.
72,p=.
54.
Thiscouldhavebeenduetothesmallsizeinthisstudy.
RQ2:WhatkindsofreportinglinesdopublicrelationsdepartmentsinChinahavewithmembersofthedominantcoalitionAroundathirdoftherespondents(37%)reportedthattheirheadofpublicrelations,publicaffairsorcommunicationwasamemberofthedominantcoalitionintheirorganizations.
Seventy-sixpercentindicatedthattheirdepartmentsreporteddirectlytothemostseniormanagersintheircompaniesortheirclients'companies.
Ifnotreportingtothemostseniormanagers,nearlyEighty-twopercentreportedtoseniormanagerswho,inturn,reportedtothedominantcoalitions.
Practitionersperceivedsupportfromthepowerelitetosomeextent(M=3.
68,SD=1.
05).
Aweakbutsignificantcorrelation(r=.
23,p<.
05)wasfoundbetweenperceivedsupportandpublicrelations'involvementinstrategicmanagement.
47Specifically,threestrategicpracticesofpublicrelationswerepositivelyrelatedtoperceivedsupport,includingrespondingtomajorsocialissues(r=.
24,p<.
05),developinggoalsandobjectivesinorganizationalmissionandpolicies(r=.
22,p<.
05),andidentifyingstrategicpublics(r=.
21,p<.
05).
Nocorrelation(r=.
14,p=.
19)wasfoundbetweenperceivedsupportandroutinepublicrelationspractice.
Theseresultssuggesttwopossiblemeanings:Itmightbethatpublicrelationsdepartmentsweremorelikelytoreceivesupportfromthedominantcoalitioniftheymadeastrategiccontributiontotheorganizations.
However,itcouldnotberuledoutthatreceivingsupportfromthedominantcoalitionwasonekeyfactorthatledtostrategicpracticeofpublicrelations.
5ThisfindingconcerningthevalueofpublicrelationstotheorganizationasReturnOnInvestment(ROI)wasnotsurprising.
EstimationsonValueofPublicRelationsweremeasuredonacost–benefitratioscalefrom0-200percent,Practitioners'estimateofmeanvaluewas122.
82percent(SD=44.
53)(Table4.
2),indicatingthebenefitspublicrelationsgeneratedwereworthmorethanthecostofpublicrelationsactivities.
Practitioners'evaluationoftheirownestimatedvaluewastwelvepercenthigherthantheirestimatesofwhatthedominantcoalition'sestimationonpublicrelationswouldbe(M=110.
39,SD=38.
84).
Thissuggeststhatrespondentsdidnotthinkthedominantcoalitionvaluedthepublicrelationsfunctionashighlyastheydidthemselves.
Therewasaweakbutsignificantcorrelationbetweentheirpredictionofhowtheperceiveddominantcoalitionwouldvaluethemandtheinvolvementofthisfunctiontostrategicmanagement(r=.
30,p<.
01).
5Andofcourse,someunassessedthirdvariablecouldbepresentthatsimultaneouslyaffectthesupportpublicrelationsreceiveandtheinvolvementofpublicrelationsinstrategicmanagement.
48Table4.
2Practitioners'EstimationonValueofPublicRelations,Practitioners'PerceptionofDominantCoalitions'EstimationonValueofPublicRelations,andPractitioners'PerceptionofDominantCoalitions'SupportforPublicRelationsIndicatorMSDPractitioners'estimationonvalueofpublicrelations122.
8244.
53Practitioners'perceptionofdominantcoalitions'estimationonvalueofpublicrelations110.
3938.
84Practitioners'perceptionofdominantcoalitions'supportforpublicrelations3.
681.
05Note.
EstimationsonValueofPublicRelationsweremeasuredonacost–benefitratioscalefrom0-200%.
Practitioners'PerceptionofDominantCoalitions'SupportforPublicRelationswasmeasuredona5-pointscalerangingfrom1(stronglydisagree),2(disagree),3(neutral),4(agree),to5(stronglyagree).
Table4.
3KnowledgefortheTechnicianRolesandtheManagerialRolesIndicatorMSDOverallknowledgeforthetechnicianrolesandthemanagerialroles(α=.
91)3.
500.
73Knowledgeforthetechnicianroles(α=.
84)3.
790.
81Producecommunicationmaterials(e.
g.
:pressrelease,mediaadvisory,factsheet,brochure,speech,audio-visuals)3.
960.
87Coordinateapressconference3.
831.
05Convinceareportertogivepublicitytoanorganization.
3.
731.
03Understandthenewsvaluesofjournalists3.
650.
98Knowledgeforthemanagerialroles(α=.
88)3.
370.
78Conductresearchtosegmentpublics3.
221.
07Conductevaluationresearch3.
381.
03Prepareadepartmentalbudget3.
561.
18Developstrategiesforsolvingpublicrelationsandcommunicationproblems3.
790.
86Helpmanagementtounderstandtheopinionsofparticularpublics3.
731.
06Helpmanagementtoscantheenvironmentandidentifyissueswhichmaybepotentialthreatsoropportunities3.
601.
08Negotiatewithanactivistgroup3.
091.
03WriteandpublishresearchpapersinPRorcommunicationrelatedjournals2.
781.
21EstablishtiesorjointventureswithaccreditedPRorganizations(e.
g.
ChinaInternationalPublicRelationsAssociation,PublicRelationsSocietyofChina,InternationalAssociationofBusinessCommunicationsetc.
)3.
241.
28Knowledgeforthemanagerialroles(α=.
88)3.
370.
78Note.
N=92.
Allitemsweremeasuredona5-pointscalerangingfrom1(poor),2(fair),3(neutral),4(good),to5(excellent).
49Fromthisdata,itcanbeconcludedthatpublicrelationsdepartmentsaresupportedandvaluedbythedominantcoalitiontosomeextent.
However,thedirectionofcausalitywasnotclearbetweentheinvolvementofpublicrelationstostrategicmanagementandtheperceivedvalueandsupportfromthedominantcoalition.
Accordingtotheliterature(Grunig,Grunig,&Dozier,2002),thiswasamutualandoverlappingprocess.
Ontheonehand,top-downsupportcouldbringpublicrelations'strategicfunctionintofullplay.
Ontheother,theinside-outchangecarriedoutbypublicrelationsdepartmentsalsostoodachancetoconvinceorganizationalleaderstobelieveinthevalueofpublicrelationsandthereforegainedmoresupport.
Therewasunanimityamongintervieweesaboutthelowstatusofpublicrelationsfunctionintheirorganizations.
Sevenoutofeightintervieweesworkingforcorporationsreportedthelowstatusofpublicrelationsdepartmentswhencomparedwiththemarketingdepartment.
Forexample,oneintervieweeconfirmedthat"hereandalsoinotherorganizationsthatIknowof,thedecisionalpowerofpublicrelationsdirectorswaslimitedcomparedtomarketingdirectors",addingthat"publicrelationsdepartmentalonewaslikelytobeexcludedfromthepolicy-makingprocess,unlessitwaspartofthemarketingdepartment.
"Asanexample,ofeightin-housepublicrelationspractitioners,twosaidthatthePRDirectorreportedtotheMarketingDirectorratherthantothedominantcoalition.
Oftheothersixrespondents(whoconfirmedadirectreportinglineofthepublicrelationsdepartmentstothedominantcoalition),threestatedthattheheadofpublicrelationsalsoassumedtheroleofMarketingDirectorintheirorganizations,whichtheyreportedtobecommoninChina.
TheybelievedthatitwasthefactofbeingaMarketingDirectorthat50enabledacloserrelationshipwiththecoredecisionmakers.
"OurVicePresident,alsotheheadofmarketingandpublicrelations,attendstopmanagementmeetings",statedajuniorin-housepractitioner,"Buttheassociateheadofpublicrelations,whoissolelyfocusedonpublicrelations,andwhoreportstothehead,isnoteligibleforthetopmeetings.
"Anotherinterviewee,whowastheheadofthe"MarketingandPR"departmentofabusiness-to-businesscorporation,attributedhercloserelationshipwiththeCEOtothemarketingfunctionwhichthemanagementvalues,ratherthanthepublicrelationsrole.
Inherdepartment,ofsevenpeopletherewasonlyonepublicrelationsspecialist,therestofthestaffallbeingmarketingspecialists.
Throughacloseranalysisoftheinterviews,itcanbeconcludedthateventhoughapredominantnumberofsurveyparticipantsclaimedeitheradirect(76%)orindirect(onedegreeofseparation)(82%)reportinglinetothedominantcoalition,thiscouldlargelybeduetothepublicrelationsdepartment'saffiliationwithmarketing.
Infact,tenoutofthirteenin-houseandagencypractitionersadmittedthattherewasanincreasingtendencyformarketingdepartmentstoeitherincorporateorentirelytakeoverpublicrelationsfunctions.
Theseparationbetweencorporategovernmentrelations(alsocalledpublicaffairsfunctions)andcorporatepublicrelationsfunctionswasanothermeaningfulfindingthataccountedforPR'slowstatusinorganizations.
InChina,governmentrelationsisnotinthespectrumofdutiesforPRdepartments.
Thefunctionofgovernmentrelationsdepartmentsisusuallydeemeddistinctfrompublicrelations,andgivenmoreattentionbythedominantcoalitionbecauseofthepervasivepowerofthegovernment.
Thiswasconfirmedbyaseniorin-housepublicaffairsprofessionalwhohadmorethan15years'51experienceinthisfield.
Hisjobwastoliaisewithgovernmentofficialsand"settleproblemsthatothers(inthecompany)areincapableof.
"HeexplainedwhypublicrelationswasnotconsideredamemberofthedominantcoalitionandnottrustedtohandlegovernmentrelationsinChina:"They[PRpractitioners]lackedthesocialcapitaltosolvetheorganization'sproblems.
Theycan'tliaisewiththegovernment…thegovernmenthere[inChina]isconsideredtobeoneofthemostimportantstakeholders[fororganizations].
"Beforeelaboratingonwhypublicrelationspractitionersarenotgiventhisresponsibility,itisimportanttounderstandthenecessityofmaintaininggood"guanxi"withChinesegovernments.
Theintervieweeheldthat:"Aslongaswekeepcloseandgoodrelationshipswiththe(ChineseCommunist)Party,negativeportrayalinthemediawillnotgreatlyaffectus.
"TheChinesemediaplaystheroleoftheParty'smouthpieceandisrequiredtoserveasatooloftheparty(Li,2014).
Inmanystate-ownedenterprises,seniormanagementisongoodtermswithPartyleadersandtopofficialsingovernmentthankstotheclosepersonaltiestheydevelopedduringdifferentpublicandprivateoccasions.
Quality"guanxi"withgovernmentalauthoritiesisparticularlyimportanttomaintainorganizations'operationinunderdevelopedareas.
Gaininggovernmentsupportmeansacquiringrareresourcesandgaininglegitimacy(Wu&Chen,2011).
Therefore,shouldanycrisisoccur,theleadersofacompanycouldseekfavorsfromgovernmentofficialstopreventanynegativemediadepictionsofthecrisisorthecompany.
InChina,employeeswithabundantsocialcapital–i.
e.
,havinggoodrelationshipswithgovernmentofficials–arefrequentlytobefoundinthetopechelonsofcompanies.
Theirrelationshipswithgovernmentauthoritieswerebuiltonapersonal,ratherthan52organizational,levelandthereforearenottransferrabletootherpeople,includingpublicrelationsprofessionalsinthesameorganization.
Additionally,thehierarchicalcultureinChinaleadstoahighlystratifiedenvironment.
Toensurethesuccessofcommunicationandnegotiationattheorganizationallevel,itisaprerequisitethatpeoplefromthecorporatesideandthegovernmentsidebeequalintheirorganizationalrankandstatus.
Publicrelationspractitioners,regardlessofwhethertheyarejuniororsenior,donothaveadequatesocialcapital,orsocialrank,tobreakthesocialnormandbecomeclosetotheproblem-solvers:authoritiesandkeygovernmentofficials.
Onmostoccasions,top-leveldialogueusuallyoccursbetweenthetopleadersofcorporations,suchasthePresidentorVP,andgovernmentofficials.
Thelackofcommunicationbetweengovernmentrelationsandpublicrelationsdepartmentsinthesamecorporationwasexemplifiedbyanotherintervieweesayingshedidnotknowwhat"thosepeople(ingovernmentrelationsdepartment)doeveryday.
"Inaddition,comparedwithpublicrelations,itwasapparentthatpeoplewhodealtwithgovernmentrelationswerevaluedmorethanpublicrelationspractitionersas"their(governmentrelations)directorcoulddirectlyimpartinformationtotheCEO.
"Thisintervieweeadded:"MydirectorreportsdirectlytoCEOonlybecauseheisfirstandforemostamarketingheadwhoalsohappenstomanagepublicrelationsfunction.
"Onephenomenondeservesparticularattentionfrompublicrelationsscholars.
Eventhoughscholarsareunanimousthatpublicrelationsshouldbepositionedstrategicallyinorganizations,industryleaderstendtofixateonpublicrelations'technicalfunctionanddonotexpectittogenerategreatervalueotherthanwritingmediareleasesandimplementingpublicrelationscampaigns.
Thestereotypicalimageofpublicrelations53aslowandtechnicalfocusedwasvoicedinsomeinterviews.
Forexample,oneintervieweerevealedhiscontradictoryattitudestowardspublicrelations.
Thisintervieweeacknowledgedtheimportanceofpublicrelationsfunctionsbystating,"theseniorleadersaretherealpropellersofpublicrelations,"whilearguingthattherealpropellersofpublicrelationsshouldnotbeentitledtothetitleof"publicrelationsseniormanager,""headofpublicrelations,"oranytitlesrelatedwithpublicrelations.
Employeeswithtitlessuchas"chiefstrategist"and"publicaffairsprofessional,"whoareactuallyhighlyinvolvedinpublicrelationsactivitiesandstrategies,wouldoftenprefertonotadmittoworkinginPR.
AccordingtoZhang,Shen,andJiang(2009),thedifferenttitlesheldbypublicrelationsstaffmembersmaynotaccuratelyreflecttheirPR-relatedduties.
Thisisverydifferentfromprofessionssuchaslawyers,financialanalystsorstatisticians,whosejobtitlescorrespondpreciselywithjobduties.
Instead,publicrelationspractitionersareoftenreferredtobytitlessuchas"communicationprofessionals,""corporatecommunicationmanagers,"or"PRprofessionals,"(p.
228).
However,theyalldealwithdifferentaspectsofpublicrelationsduties.
RQ3:WhatknowledgedopublicrelationspractitionersinChinapossesstofacilitatepracticingthemanagerialroleandtwo-waycommunicationReliabilityforfouritemsthatmeasuredtheknowledgeforthetechnicianroleswere.
84,and.
88fornineitemsthatmeasuredtheknowledgeforthemanagerialroles.
Compositeindiceswerethencreatedfortechnicalknowledgeandmanagerialknowledge.
Respondentsinthisstudyhadahigherknowledgeforthetechnicianrole(M=3.
79,SD=.
82)thanforthemanagerialroles(M=3.
37,SD=.
78)(Table4.
3).
APaired-SamplesTTestshowedtherewasasignificantdifferencebetweenthesetwoindices(t=-5.
49,p54<.
001).
Intermsoftheknowledgeforthetechnicianroles,practitionerswereproficientinproducingcommunicationmaterials(M=3.
96,SD=.
87)andcoordinatingapressconference(M=3.
83,SD=1.
05).
Incontrast,itseemedthatpractitionersdidnotwriteorpublishresearchpapersinpublicrelationsorcommunication-relatedjournalsasmuch(M=2.
78,SD=1.
21).
ThesamefindingwasalsopresentedintheSingaporestudy(Limetal.
,2005).
Thecurrentfindingsuggeststhreeimplications:First,itimpliesashortageofresearchabilityandacademicwritingskillsamongpractitioners,whichwasnotsurprising,giventhefactthatparticipantsinthisstudyallworkedinindustry.
Moreover,collaborationbetweenpublicrelationsscholarsandpractitionersmightnotbeveryclose.
Second,practitionersdidnothavetimetowriteandpublisharticlesinacademicjournalswhilstfull-timeemployees.
Third,itispossiblethatparticipantsdidnothavemuchinterestormotivationinwritingscholarlypapers,consideringthattheirprofessionalismwasnotevaluatedbythequantityorthequalityofpublications.
Tobetterevaluatepractitioners'interestinacademictopicsinpublicrelations,futurestudiescouldalsoaskwhethertheyreadacademicjournalsorblogsregularly.
Practitionersdidnotpossessmuchknowledgeinnegotiatingwithactivistgroups(M=3.
09,SD=1.
03).
Thismightbeduetothelowpriorityorganizationsplacedondealingwithactivistgroups.
InChina,activistshavenotplayedacriticalroleinsociety,andtheactivistincidentsinChinawerefarfewerthaninotherdemocraticsocietiessuchastheUnitedStates(Kim&Sriramesh,2009,p.
89;Wu,2002).
Notbeingexposedtoactivistgroups,practitionershardlyfacedanysignificantthreatsfromthem,andthereforecouldbelessmotivatedtolearnskillstodealwithactivists.
55One-wayANOVAF-tests(Table4.
4)andTukeypost-hoctests(Table4.
5)wereruntotestdifferencesacrossthefourtypesoforganizationsregardingpractitioners'knowledge(includingtheoverallknowledge,knowledgeformanagerialroleandtechnicianroles).
Theresultsshowedthatpractitionersworkingindifferenttypesoforganizationsweresignificantlydifferentintheoverallknowledgeinpublicrelations[F(3,70)=3.
09,p<.
05,η2=.
12],andknowledgeforpracticingmanagerialroles[F(3,70)=2.
95,p<.
05,η2=.
11].
Furthermore,Tukeypost-hoctestswererunandamarginaldifferencewasfoundbetweenNGOs/NPOsandpublicrelationsagenciesregardingpractitioners'overallknowledgeinpublicrelationsandknowledgespecificallyformanagerialroles.
TheresultsshowedthatpractitionersinagencieshadmoreknowledgeinpublicrelationsingeneralthanpractitionersinNGOs/NPOs.
Table4.
4One-wayANOVAs-ComparisonsofKnowledgefortheManagerialRoles,KnowledgefortheTechnicianRoles,andOverallKnowledgeacrossFourTypesofOrganizationsVariablesdfFη2pKnowledgeforthemanagerialrolesBetweengroups32.
947.
11.
039*Withingroups70Total73KnowledgeforthetechnicianrolesBetweengroups32.
337.
09.
081Withingroups70Total73OverallknowledgeBetweengroups33.
087.
12.
033*Withingroups70Total7356Table4.
5Tukeypost-hoctest-ComparisonsofKnowledgefortheManagerialRoles,KnowledgefortheTechnicianRoles,andOverallKnowledgeacrossFourTypesofOrganizationsDependentvariable(I)Organizationaltype(J)OrganizationaltypeMeandifference(I-J)SEp95%CILowerboundUpperbound3.
000.
68773.
36748.
250-0.
27941.
65494.
00-0.
43040.
21673.
203-1.
00080.
14002.
001.
00-0.
09707.
21673.
970-0.
66750.
47333.
000.
59066.
39815.
453-0.
45721.
63854.
00-0.
52747.
26544.
203-1.
22610.
17113.
001.
00-0.
68773.
36748.
250-1.
65490.
27942.
00-0.
59066.
39815.
453-1.
63850.
45724.
00-1.
11813*.
39815.
032-2.
1660-0.
07034.
001.
000.
43040.
21673.
203-0.
14001.
00082.
000.
52747.
26544.
203-0.
17111.
22613.
001.
11813*.
39815.
0320.
07032.
1660Note.
1=Corporations;2=Governmentalagencies;3=NGOs/NPOs;4=Publicrelationsagencies.
*Themeandifferenceissignificantatthe0.
05level(2-tailed).
Knowledgeforthemanagerialroles1.
002.
000.
14021.
23343.
932-0.
47410.
75463.
000.
58069.
39580.
463-0.
46101.
62244.
00-0.
50265.
23343.
147-1.
11700.
11172.
001.
00-0.
14021.
23343.
932-0.
75460.
47413.
000.
44048.
42884.
734-0.
68821.
56914.
00-0.
64286.
28589.
120-1.
39530.
10963.
001.
00-0.
58069.
39580.
463-1.
62240.
46102.
00-0.
44048.
42884.
734-1.
56910.
68824.
00-1.
08333.
42884.
065-2.
21200.
04534.
001.
000.
50265.
23343.
147-0.
11171.
11702.
000.
64286.
28589.
120-0.
10961.
39533.
001.
08333.
42884.
065-0.
04532.
2120Knowledgeforthetechnicianroles1.
002.
000.
00000.
245931.
000-0.
64730.
64733.
000.
92857.
41700.
126-0.
16892.
02614.
00-0.
26786.
24593.
697-0.
91510.
37942.
001.
000.
00000.
245931.
000-0.
64730.
64733.
000.
92857.
45181.
178-0.
26052.
11774.
00-0.
26786.
30121.
810-1.
06060.
52493.
001.
00-0.
92857.
41700.
126-2.
02610.
16892.
00-0.
92857.
45181.
178-2.
11770.
26054.
00-1.
19643*.
45181.
048-2.
3855-0.
00734.
001.
000.
26786.
24593.
697-0.
37940.
91512.
000.
26786.
30121.
810-0.
52491.
06063.
001.
19643*.
45181.
0480.
00732.
3855Overallknowledge1.
002.
000.
09707.
21673.
970-0.
47330.
667557AsmentionedinthediscussionofthefirstRQ,ChineseNGOsandNPOslackedtrainedprofessionalsincommunicationinordertopracticethisfunction.
Governmentofficialswereofteninchargeofimportantpolicy-makingforaffiliatedNGOs/NPOs,sothedecisionalpowerwasnoteveninthehandsofNGOs/NPOs'topmanagement,letalonecommunicationpractitioners.
Incontrast,publicrelationsagenciesarehubsforthemostcapableprofessionals,whoaregenerallywell-trainedinknowledgeandpractice.
Inaddition,differenttypesoforganizationsdidnotvarysignificantlyinperformingtechnicianroles[F(3,70)=2.
34,p=.
08,η2=.
09].
Practitioners'overallknowledgewaspositivelylinkedtopublicrelations'involvementinstrategicmanagement(r=.
56,p<.
01)(Table4.
6).
Thecorrelationwassignificantlystronger(t=2.
91,p<.
01)betweenmanagerialknowledgeandstrategicinvolvement(r=.
58,p<.
01)thanbetweentechnicianknowledgeandstrategicinvolvement(r=.
37,p<.
01).
Specifically,themoremanagerialknowledgepractitionerspossessed,themoretheywereinvolvedinorganizationalmissionandpoliciesmaking(r=.
42,p<.
01).
Themoretechnicianknowledgepractitionershad,themoretheycontributedinrespondingtomajorsocialissues(e.
g.
,crises,layoffs,feehikes,etc.
)(r=.
39,p<.
01).
Helpingmanagementidentifystrategicpublicswastheonlystrategicpublicrelationsfunctionthatsignificantlycorrelatedwithbothmanagerialandtechnicianknowledge.
Thecorrelationbetween"identifyingstrategicpublics"and"knowledgeformanagerialroles"(r=.
41,p<.
05)wassignificantlydifferent(t=-2.
41,p<.
05)fromthecorrelationbetween"identifyingstrategicpublics"and"knowledgefortechnicianroles"(r=.
34,p<.
05).
58Table4.
6CorrelationsbetweenPublicRelations'InvolvementtoStrategicManagementandPractitioners'KnowledgeIndicatorOverallknowledgeKnowledgeformanagerialrolesKnowledgefortechnicianrolesPublicrelations'involvementtostrategicmanagement.
56**.
58**.
37**Wecontributetostrategicplanning.
.
26*.
30**.
08Wecontributeinrespondingtomajorsocialissues(e.
g.
:crises,layoffs,feehikesetc.
).
.
35**.
32**.
39**Wecontributetomajorinitiatives(e.
g.
:mergers,acquisitions,newmovementsinmarkets,launchofnewproducts/services.
.
31**.
31**.
20Wecontributeinroutineoperations(e.
g.
:developmentandmaintenanceofemployeecommunication,communityrelationsormediarelationsprogram.
.
18.
15.
21Weconductformalresearch(e.
g.
:fromnewsclippings,Internet)foruseindecision-making.
.
26*.
28*.
18Weconductinformalresearch(e.
g.
:informalinterviews)foruseindecision-making.
.
28*.
29*.
16Wehelpourmanagementtodevelopgoalsandobjectivesinorganizationalmissionandpolicies.
.
37**.
42**.
16Wehelpmanagementtoscantheenvironmentandidentifyissueswhichmaybepotentialthreatsoropportunities.
.
34**.
35**.
30**Wehelpmanagementtoidentifybothinternalandexternalstrategicpublicsthataffecttheorganization'smissionandgoals.
.
41**.
41**.
34**Wehavecontactswithimportantpublics(e.
g.
:analysts,economists,industryexperts,governmentofficials)outsidetheorganization.
.
23*.
22.
25*Themanagementseeksouropinionindecisionmakingorplanning.
.
33**.
35**.
16Themanagementvaluesourjudgmentindecisionmakingorplanning.
.
33**.
35**.
18Note.
N=92.
**Correlationissignificantatthe0.
01level(2-tailed).
*Correlationissignificantatthe0.
05level(2-tailed).
59Inaddition,thelevelofknowledgeformanagerialroleswaspositivelycorrelatedwiththedominantcoalitions'estimatedvalueofpublicrelations(r=.
25,p<.
05).
However,practitioners'technicalknowledgedidnotsignificantlycorrelatewiththedominantcoalitions'estimatedvalueofpublicrelations,indicatingtechnicalskillswerelessimportantthanmanagerialabilitieswhenitcametothevalue(perceivedbythedominantcoalitions)thatpublicrelationscanbringtoorganizations.
Table4.
7CorrelationsbetweenPublicRelationsTrainingandPublicRelationsKnowledge,PublicRelationsTrainingandPublicRelationsValue,andPublicRelationsTrainingandSupportforPublicRelationsVariableSpecializedtrainingOpportunitiestoadvanceeducationinpublicrelations**Correlationissignificantatthe0.
01level(2-tailed).
*Correlationissignificantatthe0.
05level(2-tailed).
Theseresultsalsosuggestthatknowledgeformanagerialroles,thoughlacking,wasmorevaluedbymanagementandmoreneededinorganizationalhigher-levelpolicy-makingcomparedtoknowledgefortechnicianroles.
Respondents'educationalleveldidnotcorrelatewitheithertheirknowledgeformanagerialroles[F(2,71)=1.
46,p=.
24]orfortechnicianroles[F(2,71)=2.
50,p=.
09)].
ThiswasnotsurprisingbecausemostrespondentsdidnothaveadegreeinpublicKnowledgeforthemanagerialroles.
48**.
49**Knowledgeforthetechnicianroles.
47**.
20Practitioners'perceptionofdominantcoalitions'estimationonvalueofpublicrelations.
22*.
29**Practitioners'perceptionofdominantcoalitions'supportforpublicrelations.
25*.
28**60relationsorcommunications.
Onlythreeoutoftwentyintervieweesindicatedthattheyreceivedsystematiceducationinschoolaboutpublicrelationstheoriesorpractice.
ThemajorityofpractitionersmajoredinEnglish,journalism,orbroadcasting.
BecauseChinesepublicrelationseducationisonlynowcomingofage,mostofthosewhohadaformaleducationincommunicationorpublicrelationshadjuststartedtheircareer,andthoseinmanagementpositionsweremostlynon-communicationmajors.
OneNGOintervieweesaid:Mycolleaguesfromotherdepartmentsdonothaveanypublicrelationsexperiencebutwestillhavethemparticipateinpublicrelationsprojectsbecausewesimplydonothaveenoughmanpower,whichisbasicallytruefor95%ofNGOsinChina.
AnotherlocalenvironmentalNGOemployeeemphasizedthat"itisveryrareforNGOsinChinatohavemorethansixemployees,exceptforthosegovernment-supportedNGOs.
"Withregardtoprofessionaltraining,organizationstendedtoprovidepractitionerswithspecializedtraining(e.
g.
,trainingcourses,seminars,workshops)(M=3.
74,SD=.
87)ratherthanprovidingopportunitiestoadvancetheireducationinpublicrelations(M=2.
88,SD=1.
13).
Thiswouldseemtobesensibleashelpingemployeesobtainformaldiplomascostsconsiderablymoremoneyandtimethanjusthostingregularworkshops.
Therewasasignificantrelationshipbetweenprovidingtrainingandtheknowledgerequiredformanagerialroles(r=.
48,p<.
01)andtechnicianroles(r=.
47,p<.
01)(Table4.
7).
Providingformaleducationonlycorrelatedwiththemanagerialrole(r61=.
49,p<.
01).
Itsuggestedthateducationinvariousformswasvaluableinincreasingpractitioners'knowledge,especiallytheirskills,topracticethemanagerialrole.
Inaddition,therewasapositiverelationshipbetweenperceivedsupportandprovidingpractitionerswithmoreformaleducation(r=.
28,p<.
01)andspecializedtraining(r=.
25,p<.
05).
Perceivedvalueofpublicrelationsalsocorrelatedwithprovidingeducation(r=.
29,p<.
01)andspecializedtraining(r=.
22,p<.
05).
Theresultsimpliedthatorganizationsthatvaluedandsupportedpublicrelationsweremoreinclinedtowardadvancingprofessionals'knowledgeinpublicrelations.
Withregardtoorganization,publicrelationsagenciestendedtoarrangemoretrainingforstaffthanin-housepublicrelations,NGOpublicrelations,orgovernmentpublicrelations,althoughthedifferenceswerenotsignificant.
Agencypractitionerswerenotonlyeducatedaboutthetheoreticaldifferencesbetweenpublicrelations,advertising,andmarketing,butalsotrainedtobemoreskillfulintechnicianoperations,suchaswritingnewsreleasesandhandlingmediarelations.
Interviewdataregardingprofessionals'knowledgerevealedsomeinterestingfindings.
Becausethediscussiononthistopicrevolvedaroundthechallengesandcopingstrategies,thequalitativefindingswillbeelaboratedinthelastresearchquestionwherealistofchallengesfacingtheindustrywasplaced.
RQ4:WhichpublicrelationsmodelsdoChinesepublicrelationspractitionersemployTheinternalconsistencyamongtheeightitemsthatmeasuredthepressagentrymodelwas.
78.
Acompositeindexwascreatedbysummingthemeanoftheseeightitems.
Publicrelationsagenciesusedthepressagentrymodelmostfrequently(M=3.
85,SD62=.
34),butnosignificantdifferencewasfoundamongthefourtypesoforganizations[F(3,71)=1.
10,p=.
36].
Apredominantnumber(76.
5%)ofsurveyrespondentsindicatedthatintheirorganizations,onepurposeofpublicrelationswastogainpublicity(M=3.
98,SD=.
82)(Table4.
8).
Apublicrelationsmanager'scommentwasrepresentativeoftheotherelevenintervieweesthatcommentedonthepopularityofthepressagentrymodel:"ThePRdepartmentisthepublicitydepartment.
OrganizationsdependonPRtochangewhatotherpeoplethinkandtalkabouttheorganization.
"Anotherinterviewee,aformerjournalist,criticizedherpublicrelationscounterpartsforpredominantlyusingthepressagentrymodel.
Shethoughtin-housepublicrelationswastoopronetoboastingandexaggeratingfacts.
Sheused"hypocriticalandsometimesmisleading"todescribewhatpublicrelationspractitionerssayandwriteabouttheorganizationstheyrepresented.
Halfthesurveyrespondentsrepliedthatdisseminatingneutralandaccurateinformationwasonepurposeoftheirpublicrelations(M=3.
33,SD=1.
07).
Publicinformationmodelwasmeasuredwiththreeitems(e.
g.
,"Onepurposeofpublicrelationsinmycompanyistodisseminateneutralandaccurateinformation,ratherthanserveasanadvocatefortheorganizationoramediatorbetweenmanagementandpublics).
"Scoresonthethreeitemswereaveragedtoretainthe1-5scale.
Thereliabilityofthepublicinformationscalewas.
78.
Itwasfoundthatorganizationsweresignificantlydifferentinthewaytheypracticedthepublicinformationmodel[F(3,71)=3.
51,p<.
05,η2=.
13].
Tukeypost-hoctestsindicatedthatgovernmentsectors(M=3.
95,SD=.
49)weresignificantlymorelikelythancorporationstousethepublicinformationmodel(M=63Table4.
8PublicRelationsModelsIndicatorMSDPressagentrymodelOnepurposeofpublicrelationsinmycompanyistogetpublicityformyorganization.
3.
980.
83Ourpublicrelationsunitdisseminatesonlyfavorableinformationandavoidsdisclosingunfavorableinformationtothemedia.
3.
631.
12Westageevents,toursandopenhouses.
3.
870.
98Weholdbanquets.
3.
231.
15Weoffergiftsormemorabilia.
3.
651.
08Wedeterminehowsuccessfulaprogramisfromthenumberofpeoplewhoattendaneventoruseourproducts/services.
3.
610.
89Wedeterminehowsuccessfulaprogramisbasedonthenumberofmediaclippingsgenerated.
3.
500.
95Itistheviewofmyorganizationthatpublicrelationsshouldonlyactasaliaisonbetweentheorganizationandthemedia.
3.
411.
22PublicinformationmodelOnepurposeofpublicrelationsinmycompanyistodisseminateneutralandaccurateinformation,ratherthanserveasanadvocatefortheorganizationoramediatorbetweenmanagementandpublics.
3.
331.
08Itistheviewofmyorganizationthattheemphasisofpublicrelationsisplacedonpublicserviceandsocialresponsibility.
3.
481.
01Itistheviewofmyorganizationtomakeprivateeconomicgainandspecialinterestssubordinatetothepublicgood.
3.
321.
06Two-wayasymmetricalmodelOnepurposeofpublicrelationsinmycompanyistopersuadepublicstobehaveastheorganizationwantsthemtobehave.
3.
590.
92Beforestartingapublicrelationsprogram,weconductattitudesurveysorotherinformalresearchtoensurethatanorganization'spolicieswillbeimplementedinwaysitspublicswillmostlikelyaccept.
3.
490.
91Two-waysymmetricalmodelOnepurposeofpublicrelationsinmycompanyistodevelopmutualunderstandingbetweenthemanagementoftheorganizationandpublicstheorganizationaffects.
3.
670.
95Onepurposeofpublicrelationsinmycompanyistochangetheattitudesofmanagementasmuchasitistochangetheattitudesandbehaviorsofourpublics.
3.
640.
93Beforestartingapublicrelationsprogram,weseektheopinionsofthosegroupsorindividualswhowillbeaffectedbythedecisionorpolicy.
3.
640.
86Beforestartingapublicrelationsprogram,weconductsurveysorotherinformalresearchtofindouthowmuchmanagementandpublicsunderstandeachother.
3.
580.
92Itistheviewofmyorganizationthatpublicrelationsshouldprovidemediationfortheorganization–tohelpmanagementandpublicsnegotiateconflict.
3.
670.
92Wecomplytoanenforceablecodeofethicsandstandardsofperformanceincludingthedisciplinaryactionofthosewhodeviatefromacceptedbehavior.
3.
870.
97Note.
N=92.
Allitemsweremeasuredona5-pointscalerangingfrom1(stronglydisagree),2(disagree),3(neutral),4(agree),to5(stronglyagree).
643.
25,SD=.
76)at.
05significancelevel.
Thetwo-waysymmetricalmodelwasalsorelativelycommon.
Aboutsixty-sixpercentofrespondentsbelievedthatpurposeofpublicrelationswastodevelopmutualunderstandingbetweenthemanagementandpublic(M=3.
67,SD=.
95).
Sixty-eightpercentrespondentsclaimedthatthepurposeofpublicrelationsintheirorganizationswastochangetheattitudesofmanagementasmuchasitwastochangetheattitudesandbehavioroftheirpublic(M=3.
64,SD=1.
17).
Inaddition,Sixty-onepercentoftherespondentsbelievedthemainpurposeofpublicrelationswastoprovidemediationandnegotiateconflictsbetweenmanagementandthepublic(M=3.
67,SD=.
92).
Again,socialdesirabilitybiasmayberesponsibleforthehighmeansandfrequencyofpracticingtwo-waysymmetricalcommunication.
Alleightintervieweesworkingincorporationsunanimouslyagreedthattheprimarypurposeofcorporatecommunicationsistogainpublicityforthecorporations.
Whenaskedabouttheactualpracticeofsymmetricalcommunications,theyallclaimedittobeanidealsituationwhichwasdifficulttoachieve.
Thetwo-waysymmetricalmodelscaleconsistedofthreeitems.
Anexampleitemwas"Onepurposeofpublicrelationsinmycompanyistodevelopmutualunderstandingbetweenthemanagementoftheorganizationandpublicstheorganizationaffects.
"Thereliabilityofthescalewas.
82.
Significantdifferenceswerefoundbetweengovernmentagenciesandcorporationsintheiruseofthetwo-waysymmetricalmodel.
Governmentalagenciesweremorelikelytopracticetwo-waysymmetricalcommunicationsthancorporatepublicrelationspractitioners[F(3,71)=3.
40,p<.
05,η2=.
13].
Thisresultmaylookstrangeatfirstsight,asChinesegovernmentagenciesarebelievedtobeauthoritative.
However,giventheunpoliticalnatureoftheparticipatinginstitutes(i.
e.
,65Statistics,AgricultureandEnvironmentDepartments),theycouldbemorecommittedtocommunicatingwiththepublicsincerelyandopenly.
Oneofthelimitationstothisresearchwastointerviewgovernmentofficials,especiallythoseworkingindepartmentswithstrongerpoliticalorientations,suchaspublicitydepartments,representedbyTheCentralCommitteeoftheCommunistYoungLeague.
Withoutstrongpersonalconnectionswithcertaintopleaders,itwasimpossibleforthisstudytogainaccesstothefullrangeofgovernmentagencies.
Thetwo-waysymmetricalmodelhadasubstantialrelationshipwithpublicrelations'involvementtostrategicmanagement(r=.
59,p<.
01).
Itisexpectedthatthroughsymmetricalcommunicationswithkeystakeholders,practitionerscouldfindcommoninterestbetweenpublicsandmanagement,negotiateconflicts,andpreventcrisesfromhappening.
Byshowingtheirstrategicvalueasboundaryspanners,publicrelationsdepartmentscouldcontributetoorganizations'decision-making.
However,astherewasnoclearcausalrelationshipindicated,itcouldalsobearguedthatapublicrelationsdepartmentmanagedstrategicallywasmorepredisposedtoconductsymmetricalcommunication.
Pearson'srcorrelationindicatedthattheknowledgerequiredformanagerialrolescorrelatedsignificantlywiththetwo-waysymmetricalmodel(r=.
50,p<.
01),aswastheknowledgefortechnicianroles(r=.
41,p<.
01).
Sincethepremiseofconductingtwo-waysymmetricalcommunicationentailedstrategicmindsetandimplementationskills,itjustifiedtheimportanceofhavingbothmanagerialandtechnicalknowledge.
66RQ5:WhatchallengesdoChinesepublicrelationspractitionersfaceintermsofpracticingstrategicpublicrelationsmanagementandcontributingtopolicymaking4.
1LackingpublicrelationstalentTheinterviewsrevealedtheindustry'sstruggletofindqualifiedpublicrelationstalent.
Managerialskillsandindustryknow-howweresaidtobeimportantbutlackingamongpublicrelationspractitionersinChina.
Eventhoughorganizationsrecruitedexperiencedpractitionerswhoheldseniorpositionsinpublicrelationsagencies,itwasstillworrisomebecausethemindsetofagencypractitionerswassaidtobe"basedon'local'andconcreteeventsratherthan'global'perspectives",andasanin-housepractitionerworkinginarealestatecompanysaid:"Ithinkagencypractitionersmayexcelatplanningevents,contactingmedia,andpitchingnewsstoriestothepress…[but]lackedexperienceininterdepartmentalcooperationandinsightintotheindustryinwhichtheyserve.
"Thiswasrepeatedbyaseniorin-housepractitionerfromanenvironmentalNGOwhostatedwithfrustration:"Ourprevious[publicrelations]partnersknewlittleabouthowwerunbusiness.
"TheNGOcouldnotaffordtowastemoneyforpooradviceandhaddecidedtoterminatethecontractwiththeagency.
Thissameintervieweeadded:"WethinkadeepunderstandingofNGOcommunicationandaninsightfulinterpretationofenvironmentalpolicyisaprerequisiteforpublicrelationsprofessionalstoworkwithus[theenvironmentalNGOs].
"Anotherexampleshowedthatonlywhenpublicrelationsprofessionalshadsufficientknowledgeinanorganization'scorebusinessandindustrytrendscouldtheyhavegreaterinfluencewithintheorganization.
Asmentionedearlier,thecommunication67leaderofanon-profithospitalwouldconductfurtheranalysisandwritethereportuponreceivingtheunprocesseddatacollectedbyadatacompany.
Asthiscommunicationleaderputit:Thisprocedure[writingreportsummary]couldnotbehandedovertothedatacompanybecausetheydidnothavethehealthcareexpertise,whichwasthecorebusinessofthehospital…communicationbetweenourteamandotherdepartments'leaderswasverysmooth.
Icoulddirectlytalkwiththemaboutmajorcommunicationsissues.
Fiveinterviewees,includingfourcorporateandoneNGOpractitioners,mentionedanotherfactorthathelpstoexplainthesmalltalentpoolinpublicrelations.
Alargenumberoforganizations,includingmultinationalenterprises,areonlyinterestedinmakingprofitintheshortestpossibletime,ratherthanbuildingastrongandreliablereputationintheChinesemarket.
Underthismacro-strategy,increasingsalesandcreatingthemaximummoneyintheshortestpossibletimecanbethesolecriterionformakingmajordecisions.
Aseniordirectorfromanintegratedcommunicationagencystated:Itisveryhardforustosticktoethicalpracticesiforganizations'behaviorisextremelyfocusedonprofit.
We[ethicalpublicrelationspractitioners]shouldbeconcernedwithawiderrangeofstakeholdersthanmerelyconsumers,but[bydoingthat]wemaygetinthewayoforganizations'decision-making…Bytalkingwithsomedecisionmakers,Ilearnedthattheyactuallydon'tfavorhiringpublicrelationspractitionerswithstrongethicalconcernsbecauseitcouldpossiblyhinderoreventhreatentheirdecision-makingprocess.
Theywantemployeestoserveandbehaveratherthanchallenge.
68Anotherintervieweelistedsomequalitiesorganizationalleadersvaluedmoreinrecruitingtalents:"They[decisionmakers]aremostsatisfiedwithourefficiencyandcreativity[inimplementingplans],nothighethicalstandards.
"Practitionershaverealizedthatethicsisnoguaranteeofinputinorganization'spolicy-making.
Oneexamplethatdisplayedthevalueconflictbetweenthemanagementandthepublicrelationswashiring"ShuiJun".
Acommonpublicrelationspractice,tocombattheaccusations(mostlyvalid)ofanorganization,istohire"ShuiJun",agroupofpeoplewhowerepaidalowwagebythepublicrelationsdepartmenttodeleteordiscreditanynegativecomments,ormanufacturepositivefeedbackinordertocoverupanorganization'smisbehavior.
Asoftwaretechnologyintervieweesaid:"Bad,bad,it'sverybad.
Itonlygeneratesmoreoppositionfromthepublic[whenorganizationsfacednegativepublicity]regardlessoftheintentions.
"Theintervieweecommentedthatthemanagementtendedtofavorthismethodas"itsavedmoneyandmaintainedtheorganization's'face'intheshortterm".
4.
2FacingclientswhoknowlittleaboutpublicrelationsConflictswereevidentbetweenpublicrelationspractitionersandorganizationalleadersandalsobetweenpublicrelationsagencypractitionersandtheirclientorganizations.
Anumberofdifferentagencypractitionersreportedthatalotofclientsweredisrespectfuloftheirworkandevenattackedthemverbally.
Fouroutoffiveagencypractitionersintheinterviewcomplainedthatonlyahandfuloftheirclientsreallyunderstoodpublicrelationspractice.
Aseniormanagingdirectorfromoneofthebiggestlocalpublicrelationsagenciesstatedthattheyfrequentlyhadto"firsteducateclientsaboutpublicrelations,giventhefactthatmostoftheclientswereoverlyobsessedwith69newsreleasesandmediaexposure.
"Onesenioraccountexecutivefromaninternationalpublicrelationsfirmwasdisappointedatclientswhotreatedherjobasmerelyproducingmorenewsandincreasingtheorganization'sexposure,whileshehopedtheywould"listentotheagency'sprofessionaladvice.
"Whenaskedabouttheirexperienceworkingwithclients,afewintervieweesreporteddifficultencounterswithclients,includinganumberofgloballyrenownedcompanies.
Theyusedwordssuchas"ignorantandunbearablyarrogant"torefertotheworstclientstheyhadworkedwith.
Aninterviewee,whohadjustleftherjobasaseniorpublicrelationsmanagertoworkinaninternationalintegratedmarketingfirm,gaveanexampletoshowthedifficultyofdealingwithless-educatedclients:Previously,itwasacommonpracticeforustoassignaU.
S.
publicrelationsteamtoassistChineseclientswhodesiredtoopenuptheU.
S.
market.
However,conflictstookplacebetweensomeclientsandourU.
S.
subsidiarywhenthesubsidiaryfailedtoreachthedesiredresult;specifically,topublishfeaturearticlesinkeymediaoutletssuchastheWashingtonPost.
They[theChineseclients]didnotunderstandhowmediaoperatesintheU.
S.
orunderstandthatthevalueofPRdoesnotrestonthenumberofnewsarticlesithelpstoproduce.
UnlikeinChina,publicrelationscouldnot"buy"mediaintheU.
S.
topublicizetheirclients.
Chineseclientswereusuallynumber-orientedandrevenue-orientedanddidnotunderstandthatwesternmediaaremoreindependent.
Newscoveragecannotbetradedoffformoneyorguanxi.
ThestoryendedembarrassinglywiththeclientunwillingtopaytheU.
S.
publicrelationsteambecausetheservicedidnotmeettheirrequirements.
Giventhissituation,70thefirmwouldonlyassignChinesepublicrelationsteamstohelpChinesebrandstoenterglobalmarketsnowdespitethefactthatfirm'sU.
S.
subsidiariesmayhavebeenmoreexperiencedinassistingclientswithcommunicationsintheU.
S.
4.
3InsufficientuseofscientificresearchThesurveyshowedthepractitionersengagedinsomeformative(M=3.
68,SD=.
89)andmoreevaluativeresearch(M=4.
04,SD=.
94).
However,accordingtoseveralinterviewees,theinterviewsrevealedthatconductingdeepandthoroughresearchwasneithernecessary,norcentraltopractitioners.
Byandlarge,practitionersdidnotengageinlarge-scaleresearchofanykind.
Rather,theypreferredtocollectpublicopinionsontheInternetthroughsocialmedia,suchasWeChat,Weibo,Facebook,andindustryBBS.
6Inthepast,practitionerswouldseekinsightsfromavarietyofkeystakeholders,suchasmediaeditors,keyopinionleaders,andtargetcustomersbeforedesigningasetofmessagesandstrategies.
Butthismethodappearstobelesserusednowadays.
7Aseniormanagerfromaninternationalpublicrelationsagencyprovidedtworeasonstoexplaintheriseofonlinesecondaryresearch:Ourspecialtyhasbeenassociatedwithimplementingcampaignsratherthaninresearching.
Incomparison,clientspreferredtopartnerwithadvertisingandbig-dataresearchcompaniestoconductresearch.
Forourpartners[in-housepublicrelations],theywereshyofconductingcomprehensiveresearchbecauseof6WeChatandWeiboareChinesesocialnetworkplatforms,similartoFacebookandTwitterintheU.
S.
7Practitionersindicatedthattheycollectedopinionsoverthephoneorviaface-to-facewithstakeholders.
Surveyswererarelyusedastheywerelesseffectivethanverbalcommunication.
71inadequateknowledgeinhowtocarryoutresearch,aswellasashortageofworkforceandbudget.
Fiveintervieweespointedoutthatthereweremoreimportantthingsthantrainingprofessionalstobecomeresearchers.
Practitioners'"commonsense"and"professionalinstinct"wasbelievedtobenecessaryforgoodcommunicationstrategiestobeeffectivelyimplemented.
Forexample,oneintervieweestatedthat:"ifthebudgetwastootighttocarryoutthoroughresearch,mostpractitionerswouldsimplyfollowtheir"instinct.
"TheCEOofalocalpublicrelationsagencysupportedthisstatementandbelieved"practitionersshouldaccumulateknowledgeonadailybasissothattheycouldform'professionalinstincts'overtime,whichcouldbemorevaluablethanresearchability".
Threepractitionersusedwordssuchas"fudged","biased",and"meaningless"whendescribingpublicrelationsresearch.
Oneseniorpractitionernotedthat"researchwouldbemeaninglessifthemainpurposewastosearchforevidencetobackuporganizations'predeterminedagenda",which,unfortunately,"wasnotararesituation".
Anotherintervieweereinforcedthenotion:"Ihatetoadmititbutalotofresearchwas'fudged'becausetheyweredeliberatelyhonedtosupportthepredeterminedconclusion.
"4.
4PublicrelationsasalowpriorityfororganizationsForChinesecorporations,long-termreputationdoesnotseemtobeaprioritycomparedtomakingprofitintheshortterm.
Aswasbrieflymentionedabove,alargepercentageoftheintervieweesfeltthatmanagementwassokeentosellproductsthatitwashardforpublicrelationspractitioners,despitetheirhighqualifications,toswaymanagement'sperspectivesonwhatpublicrelationstrulymeans.
72ThisphenomenonholdstrueforChineselocalenterprises,inparticularthoseyoungerones,whoprioritizegainingmarketshareinahighlycompetitiveenvironment.
Forthem,buildingareputationforfuturedevelopmentwasnotthepriority.
Thismindsetissimilartosomecountries'attitudetowardsenvironmentalpollution,especiallyindevelopingcountriesthatareexperiencingarapideconomicboom.
Littleattentionispaidbythegovernmenttoreducingpollutionbecauseeverythingelseisconsideredsecondarycomparedtoeconomicgrowth.
Similartothissituation,publicrelations,whichaimstodefuseconflictsandbuildrelationshipsbetweenorganizationsandtheirkeystakeholders,isoftensetasidebecauseitrarelyhasanimmediateandmeasurableimpactonanorganization'sprofit-makinggoal.
AnotherreasonforunderutilizingpublicrelationswasillustratedbyaseniorsecretarywhoworkedcloselywithaCEO:Itusuallytooklongerfortheboardofdirectorstomakeadecision,whichwasincompatiblewiththerapidlychangingeconomicandpolicyenvironmentinChina.
Decisionsmadebyoneperson[theCEO]aremoreefficient…Many[Chinese]organizationsareculturallyauthoritarian.
Ownersoflocalenterprisesarereluctanttorelinquishpower,makingitdifficultforthemtodesignatecontroltoboardmembersandemployees…Itishardtopersuademanagementofthepotentialbenefitsofpublicrelations.
4.
5CopingwithdigitalmediaandintegratedcommunicationThemajorityofintervieweesassertedthatdigitalmediaisinconflictwiththefunctionofpublicrelations.
Peoplewhowerepessimisticaboutthefutureofpublicrelationshadwitnessedorganizations'increasinginvestmentindigitalmarketingand73digitalmediawhilstsimultaneouslyreducinginvestmentinpublicrelations.
Ofalltheinterviews,onlytheCEOofalocalpublicrelationsagencyheldadifferentopinion:Toomanypeoplesaid,"OhPRisgoingtodiesoon"or"Digitalmediahasbeatus.
"Believeitornot,Idon'tthinktheessenceofPRhaschanged.
It'saboutbeingtransparentandhonesttothepublicasalways,isn'titIdon'tthinkithaschanged.
Inadditiontoconcernsovernewmedia,theinterviewsrevealedthatpractitionerswerealsoworriedthattheorganizations'implementationofintegratedmarketingcommunication(IMC)hadpresentednewchallengestothem.
AprofessorofpublicrelationsatauniversitysaidthatthetrendofIMCis"unstoppable",and"Publicrelationspractitionersreallydoubttheirvaluenow.
"AfewpublicrelationspractitionershavearguedthatpublicrelationsfunctionshouldbethebrainbehindIMCstrategy.
Asacommunicationdirectorforanon-profitorganizationstated:Publicrelationsdepartmentssharetheclosettiewithanorganization'sstakeholders,soweneedtobeinchargeoftheorganizations'communicationstrategiesandbrandbuilding,afunctionthatcannotbereplacedbyadvertisingormarketingcommunications.
74IMPLICATIONS,LIMITATIONS,ANDCHAPTER5.
SUGGESTIONSFORFUTURESTUDY5.
1ImplicationsThepurposeofthisstudywastoexaminetowhatextentpublicrelationswasstrategicallymanagedinChina.
Toachievethisgoal,fourresearchquestionsaddressingdifferentaspectsofstrategicpublicrelationspracticewereproposed.
Thefifthresearchquestionwasdedicatedtodiscoveringthechallengesfacingpublicrelationspractitionersintherealmofstrategicpublicrelationsmanagement.
TheevidencesuggeststhatstrategicpublicrelationsmanagementisscarcelyconductedinChina.
Thefindingspertainingtothefirstresearchquestionrevealedthatpublicrelationswasmostlyevidentinthetechnicianrole–takingordersfromtopmanagement–ratherthanbeinginvolvedinorganizationalpolicymaking.
Organizations'topmanagersdidnotshowmuchinterestinelevatingpublicrelations'statussinceitishardtoquantifythevaluethatitcreates.
Withrespecttothesecondresearchquestion,itwasfoundthatpublicrelationsstaffmembersarenotmembersofthedominantcoalitionnordidpublicrelationshaveaconvenientreportinglinetoseniormanagement.
Inaddition,publicrelationswasnotvaluedsufficientlybyseniormanagerstoenableittojointhetopdecisionmakingbody–thedominantcoalition.
Publicrelations'lowstatusinorganizationswasconspicuous75comparedtomarketingandpublicaffairs.
Notonlyisitnotgivenenoughattentioninguanxi(relationship)maintenance,butitalsosuffersprofessionalstigmatization.
Regardingprofessionalknowledge,theresultssuggestthatpublicrelationspractitionersinChinahavealottolearnintermsofhowtopracticemanagerialroles.
Thelackofmanagerialskillsetscouldaccountforwhypractitionersdonotattaineithermanagerialrolesorpracticetwo-waycommunication.
Managerialknowledgeandindustryknow-howispositivelyrelatedtopublicrelations'involvementinorganizations'policy-making,indicatingthatwell-roundedknowledgeiskeytoaddingpublicrelations'valuetoorganizations.
Therefore,itisrecommendedthatChinesepublicrelationspractitionersshouldstrengthentheirmanagerialknowledgeinordertobetterpracticetwo-waysymmetricalcommunication.
ThefourthresearchquestionaimedtodiscoverwhichpublicrelationsmodelsarepredominantlypracticedbyorganizationsinChina.
Allofthefourpublicrelationsmodelswereused,withthepressagentrymodelusedmostprominently.
Thisfindingisconsonantwithliteraturethatsuggestspressagentry'spopularityaroundtheworld.
Practitionersmightbebiasedinansweringthepurposeofcommunicationsperceivedandpracticedbytheirorganizationsinreality.
Instead,theymayhaveansweredwhatwouldbetheidealpurposeofcommunicationfortheirorganizations.
Therefore,thoughpractitionersassertedinthesurveythatthepurposeofpublicrelationswastodevelopmutualunderstandingbetweenorganizationsandthepublics,thein-depthinterviewsactuallyindicatedthattwo-waysymmetricalmentalityisrarelyfoundinfor-profitorganizations.
Inaddition,themoreknowledgeheldbypublicrelationspractitionersforthemanagerialandtechnicianroles,themorelikelytheywouldpracticethetwo-way76symmetricalmodel.
Theuseofthismodelcouldfurtherincreasepublicrelations'chancetobeinvolvedtostrategicmanagement.
ThefifthquestionrevealedsomemajorchallengesfacingChinesepublicrelationsoftheday.
PublicrelationsinChinashouldtacklechallengesvis-a-vislackoftalent,agency-clientconflicts,lackofformalresearch,pressurefromorganizations'decision-makingdynamic,anduseofdigitalmedia.
Thisstudyhasenrichedtheareaofglobalpublicrelationsandstrategicmanagementscholarship.
ThestudyisthefirsttoexplorethecurrentstateofstrategicpublicrelationsmanagementinChinabyoperationalizingthegenericprinciplesintheChinesepublicrelationsindustry.
ThisstudyfoundthatpublicrelationsdoesnotusuallycontributetoorganizationalpolicymakinginChina.
TheanalysisalsodelvesintothecontextualfactorsthatimpactpublicrelationspracticeinChina,suchastheemphasisonprofit,governmentpowerandmediacontrol.
Thisstudyhasdeeperimplicationsforpractice;ithaspinpointedthemajorchallengesstandinginthewayofenhancingpublicrelationsasastrategicmanagementfunction.
Thefindingscorroboratethecriticalrolepractitioners'knowledge(bothmanagerialknowledgeandtechnicianknowledge)playsinstrategicpublicrelationsmanagement.
Theincreasingnumberofstudentsmajoringinpublicrelations,itwashoped,wouldinstillmoreprofessionalismtothisindustryandbringbottom-uprenovation.
Itisvitalforpublicrelationseducationtonotonlyteachstudentspracticebutalsotheories,sothattheycanhaveaclearunderstandingofthedifferentfacetsofpublicrelationsandwaysinwhichitcancontributetoorganizationaleffectiveness.
Currently,thepublicrelationsindustryinChinaiscomprisedofpractitionerswithnopublic77relationsorcommunication-relatededucation.
Byprovidingpractitionerswithprofessionaltrainingandformaleducationinpublicrelationsorcommunication,organizationsexpecttoseeanincreaseinpractitioners'managerialabilityandpracticalskills.
Thisstudyalsorecommendsthatpractitionersshouldbefirminchallengingunethicaldecisionmakers,aqualitythathasrarelybeendiscussedbypublicrelationsscholars.
Toforceorganizationstofaceuptochallengesandmakechanges,publicrelationsshouldgivewarningtotopmanagementbyallowingnegative,yetaccurate,commentstogounchecked,ratherthandeletingorblockingthemattheorderofmanagement.
Throughnegativecommentsabouttheorganizations,themanagementandthebusinessunitwouldhopefullybeforcedtomakeessentialreformsregardingtheirbehavior.
Itisunderstandablethatpublicrelationsprofessionalsmightbereluctanttospeakoutagainstmanagement'sorders.
Inaculturewithsuchhighpowerdistance,ifnotoperatedproperly,theywouldatbestfacescorelowerintheirKeyPerformanceIndex(KPI).
Atworst,theycouldlosetheirjobs.
Despitethesedilemmasfacedbypractitioners,thisstudysuggeststhatpublicrelationsemployeesneedtohavethecouragetoteach,persuade,orevenarguewithlessPR-educatedleaders,explainingtherationaleandreferencingcasestothem,helpingthemtodevelopholisticandlong-termgoals,andnotbeingafraidofcriticismorsuspicion.
Itisworthwhileforfuturestudiestolookatthevariouspaths–suchaspractitioners'knowledge,initiative,andcourage–thatpublicrelationsprofessionals78couldtaketoproveitsvaluetotopmanagementandtheirrespectivecontributiontoorganizationalpolicymaking.
Insteadofplanningfortherightandcorrectingthewrong,itisnotuncommontousebiaseddataasasourcetoimplementactivities.
Theunethicaluseofresearchdeservesmorescholarlyattentioninthefuture.
Organizationsthatpurposefullyconductedbiasedresearchshouldneverbeconsideredtopracticetwo-waysymmetricalcommunication,astheyweredishonesttothepublic.
Thisstudyalsofoundthatsomepublicrelationspractitionerstreatdigitalmediaasathreatandtendtoseparatethemselvesfromit.
PublicrelationsscholarssuchasGrunighaveclaimedthatdigitalizationhasbroughtopportunityforpublicrelationstoreachitsfullpotentialasastrategicmanagementfunction.
Ifpublicrelationsisconceivedasastrategicmanagementfunction,theuseofonlinemediacouldenhanceequalcommunicationsbetweenorganizationsandthepublic.
Aninternet-mediatedenvironmentinwhichorganizationsandtheirpublicsareembeddedcancontributeconsiderablytoorganizations'shiftfromusingaone-waypublicitymodeltotwo-waycommunications.
Intheeraoftraditionalmedia,powerfulorganizationssuchascentralizedgovernmentsandcorporationspaidlittleattentiontothepublic'srequestsbecausetheylargelycontrolledinformationcontentandchannels.
Messagesonlyflowedfromtheorganizationtothepublic,butnottheotherwayaround.
However,theInternethasempoweredthepublictoanunprecedenteddegreesothatnowviews,positiveornegative,canbepostedaboutorganizations.
SocialmediasuchasTwitterandFacebookhaveprovedtobepowerfultoolsinenhancingtwo-waycommunicationsbetweenorganizationsandthepublicastheyhavemadeinformation-gatheringanddissemination79moreconvenientforbothsides.
Bylisteningcarefully,organizationscanrespondtothepublic'sneedsthroughinteractiveanddialogicalcommunicationonsocialmedia.
5.
2LimitationsandSuggestionsforFutureStudyDespitetheseinterestingfindings,thisstudyhasseverallimitations.
First,thesamplesizeofthesurveyrespondentswasrelativelysmall.
Althoughtheresearchertrieddifferentincentivestorecruitparticipants,theresponseratecouldhavebeenlarger.
Thisstudytestedsomedifferencesamongfourtypesoforganizations.
ButthesamplesizefromgovernmentalagenciesandNGOs/NPOswasstilltoosmalltoleadtomoresignificantcomparisonsamongdifferenttypesoforganizations.
However,the20in-depthinterviewswithpublicrelationspractitionershasfilledthegaptoaconsiderableextent.
Second,someofthesurveyindicatorsneedtobeupdated.
ThesurveyquestionnaireusedinthisstudywasadaptedfromLimetal.
's(2005)study.
Duringtheinterviews,somepractitionersreflectedthatthequestionnairewas"stale"anddidnothavealotof"interestingquestions".
Therewerenotquestionsrelatedtoattitudestowardsdigitalmedia,cooperationwithotherdepartments,orthetrendofintegratedcommunications.
Itwasacknowledgedthatthequestionnaireshouldbeupdated.
Thequestionnairewasalmostthesamequestionsetfrom10yearsago,whichdidnotaddressnewissueswhichhaveemergedinthisfieldinthepast10years.
However,theinterviewsoffsetitbyapplyingupdatedconceptsindigitalmediaandintegratedcommunications.
Anothershortcomingwasthatthisquestionnairewasbasedonawesterndefinitionofstrategicpublicrelations,andcouldnotcovermanyuniqueaspectsofChinesepublicrelations.
Inaddition,newindicatorsforthefourpublicrelationsmodels,especiallyfor80thetwo-wayasymmetricalmodel,couldbeadded.
Inthecurrentsurvey,therewereonlytwoitemsmeasuringthismodel.
ThisstudyfocusedonexploringwhetherstrategicpublicrelationswaspracticedinChinaandthechallengesitisfacing.
Eventhoughthisstudytouchedonsuggestionstosomeissues,itisrecommendedthatfuturestudiesconcentrateonfindingsolutionstotacklethechallengesfacingpractitionerstoday.
Scholarsinterestedinthistopiccandedicatethemselvestoexploringeachsubsectionofthisstudy,suchastalentshortage,thelackofpublicrelationsresearch,ortheapplicationofapublicrelationsmodel.
In-depthinterviewsandfocusgroupstudywouldbeappropriatetogeneraterichdiscussionsamongpublicrelationspractitioners.
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APPENDICES87AppendixA.
Questionnaire—EnglishVersionWewouldliketoknowyouropiniononthewaypublicrelationsispractisedinyourorganisation.
Itwilltakeyouabout10-15minutestocompletethisquestionnaire.
Participationisstrictlyonavoluntarybasis,andallinformationprovidedwillbekeptanonymous.
Thankyouforyourco-operation.
Forsomequestions,pleaseticktheappropriatebox.
Forotherquestions,pleaseratehowstronglyyouagreeordisagreewitheachofthefollowingstatementsbycirclingtheappropriatenumber.
PleaseprovideONEanswerforeachquestionunlessotherwisespecified.
Thefollowingseriesofquestionsasksaboutyourrelationship,ashead/consultantofapublicrelationsorcommunicationsdepartment,toseniormanagement.
1.
Manyorganizationstodayarecontrolledbyagroupofpowerfulpeople–oftencalledthe"dominantcoalition".
Inyourorganization,whoisrepresentedinthispower-elite(PleasetickALLthatapply)qThechiefexecutiveofficerqThechieffinancialofficerqThechiefoperatingofficerqTheheadofpublicrelations,publicaffairsorcommunicationqThechiefinformationofficerqThechiefmarketingofficerqOthers,pleaseindicate_2.
Now,pleaseindicatetheextentyoubelievethe"dominantcoalition"orpowereliteyouhavejustidentifiedsupportsthepublicrelationsorcommunicationfunctioninthisorganization.
NosupportatallStrongsupport123453.
Doesyourpublicrelationsdepartmentreportdirectlytothemostseniormanager/dominantcoalitioninyourcompanyqYes(ifyes,proceedtoQ5now)qNo(ifno,proceedtoQ4first)884.
Ifthereisnodirectreportingrelationshiptotheseniormanager,doesthedepartmentthenreporttoaseniormanagerwhointurnreportstothedominantcoalitionqYesqNoThenextsetofquestionsasksaboutthedifferentfunctionsandactivitiesthatyourpublicrelationsdepartmentscouldbeinvolvedin.
Pleaseindicateonascaleof1to5,theextentyouagreewitheachitemthatdescribeswhatyourpublicrelationsdepartmentdoes.
StronglydisagreeDisagreeNeutralAgreeStronglyagree123455.
Thisquestionmeasurestheextentyourdepartmentcontributestostrategicmanagementofyourorganization.
a)Wecontributetostrategicplanning.
12345b)Wecontributeinrespondingtomajorsocialissues(e.
g.
:crisis,layoffs,feehikesetc).
12345c)Wecontributetomajorinitiatives(e.
g.
:mergers,acquisitions,newmovementsinmarkets,launchofnewproducts/services).
12345d)Wecontributeinroutineoperations(e.
g.
:developmentandmaintenanceofemployeecommunication,communityrelationsormediarelationsprograms).
123456.
Thisquestionmeasurestheextentyourdepartmentcontributestostrategicplanninganddecisionmakingthrougheachofthefollowingactivities.
a)Weconductformalresearch(e.
g.
:fromnewsclippings,Internet)foruseindecisionmaking.
12345b)Weconductinformalresearch(e.
g.
:informalinterviews)foruseindecisionmaking.
12345c)Wehelpourmanagementtodevelopgoalsandobjectivesinorganizationalmissionandpolicies.
1234589d)Wehelpmanagementtoscantheenvironmentandidentifyissueswhichmaybepotentialthreatsoropportunities.
12345e)Wehelpmanagementtoidentifybothinternalandexternalstrategicpublicsthataffecttheorganization'smissionandgoals.
12345f)Wehavecontactswithimportantpublics(e.
g.
:analysts,economists,industryexperts,governmentofficials)outsidetheorganization.
12345g)Themanagementseeksouropinionindecisionmakingorplanning.
12345h)Themanagementvaluesourjudgmentindecisionmakingorplanning.
123457.
Now,estimatethevalueyourpublicrelationsorcommunicationsdepartmenthastothisorganizationintermsofacost-benefitratio.
Apercentagelessthan100%wouldindicatethatyouthinkyourdepartmentprovidesbenefitsworthlessthantheamountbudgeted.
100%wouldindicatethatthebenefitsequalthecosts.
Apercentagegreaterthan100%wouldindicatethatthebenefitsareworthmorethantheamountbudgeted.
a)YourestimateOnascalefrom0-200%b)Now,indicatewhatmembersofthedominantcoalitionwouldestimatethevalueofyourpublicrelationsorcommunicationsdepartmenttotheorganization.
Onascalefrom0-200%8.
Pleaseindicateonascaleof1to5theextentyoubelievethestatementdescribesthewaypublicrelationsispracticedinyourorganization.
YOURRESPONSESHOULDSHOWHOWPUBLICRELATIONSISACTUALLYPRACTISED,NOTTHEWAYYOUTHINKPUBLICRELATIONSSHOULDBEPRACTISED.
StronglydisagreeDisagreeNeutralAgreeStronglyagree1234590a)Onepurposeofpublicrelationsinmycompanyistogetpublicityformyorganization.
12345b)Onepurposeofpublicrelationsinmycompanyistodisseminateneutralandaccurateinformation,ratherthanserveasanadvocatefortheorganizationoramediatorbetweenmanagementandpublics.
12345c)Onepurposeofpublicrelationsinmycompanyistopersuadepublicstobehaveastheorganizationwantsthemtobehave.
12345d)Onepurposeofpublicrelationsinmycompanyistodevelopmutualunderstandingbetweenthemanagementoftheorganizationandpublicstheorganizationaffects.
12345e)Onepurposeofpublicrelationsinmycompanyistochangetheattitudesofmanagementasmuchasitistochangetheattitudesandbehaviorsofourpublics.
12345f)Ourpublicrelationsunitdisseminatesonlyfavorableinformationandavoiddisclosingunfavorableinformationtothemedia.
12345g)Beforestartingapublicrelationsprogram,weconductresearch.
12345h)Beforestartingapublicrelationsprogram,weconductattitudesurveysorotherinformalresearchtoensurethatanorganization'spolicieswillbeimplementedinwaysitspublicswillmostlikelyaccept.
12345i)Beforestartingapublicrelationsprogram,weconductsurveysorotherinformalresearchtofindouthowmuchmanagementandpublicsunderstandeachother.
12345j)Beforestartingapublicrelationsprogram,weseektheopinionsofthosegroupsorindividualswhowillbeaffectedbythedecisionorpolicy.
1234591k)Duringapublicrelationsprogram,weuseface-to-facecommunicationwiththeorganization'spublics.
12345l)Westageevents,toursandopenhouses.
12345m)Weholdbanquets.
12345n)Weoffergiftsormemorabilia.
12345o)Afterconductingapublicrelationsprogram,weperformevaluationoftheprogram.
12345p)Wedeterminehowsuccessfulaprogramisfromthenumberofpeoplewhoattendaneventoruseourproducts/services.
12345q)Wedeterminehowsuccessfulaprogramisbasedonthenumberofmediaclippingsgenerated.
12345r)Itistheviewofmyorganizationthatpublicrelationsshouldonlyactasaliaisonbetweentheorganizationandthemedia.
12345s)Itistheviewofmyorganizationthatpublicrelationsshouldprovidemediationfortheorganization–tohelpmanagementandpublicsnegotiateconflict.
12345t)Itistheviewofmyorganizationthattheemphasisofpublicrelationsisplacedonpublicserviceandsocialresponsibility.
12345u)Itistheviewofmyorganizationtomakeprivateeconomicgainandspecialinterestssubordinatetothepublicgood.
12345v)Wecomplytoanenforceablecodeofethicsandstandardsofperformanceincludingthedisciplinaryactionofthosewhodeviatefromacceptedbehavior.
12345w)Weprovideopportunitiesforpractitionerstoadvancetheireducationinpublicrelations(e.
g.
:graduateorpost-graduateprograms).
1234592x)Weprovidespecializedtraining(e.
g.
:trainingcourses,seminars,workshops)forpractitionerstoadvancetheirknowledgeinpublicrelations.
123459.
Thenextseriesofitemslisttasksrequiringspecialknowledgeorexpertisethatisavailableinsomepublicrelationsorcommunicationsdepartmentsbutnotinothers.
HowwouldyouratetheexpertiseorknowledgeofcommunicationspractitionersinyourdepartmenttoperformeachtasklistedPoorFairNeutralGoodExcellent12345a)Producecommunicationmaterials(e.
g.
:pressrelease,mediaadvisory,factsheet,brochure,speech,audio-visuals)12345b)Coordinateapressconference12345c)Conductresearchtosegmentpublics12345d)Conductevaluationresearch12345e)Prepareadepartmentalbudget12345f)Convinceareportertogivepublicitytoanorganization.
12345g)Understandthenewsvaluesofjournalists12345h)Developstrategiesforsolvingpublicrelationsandcommunicationproblems12345i)Helpmanagementtounderstandtheopinionsofparticularpublics12345j)Helpmanagementtoscantheenvironmentandidentifyissueswhichmaybepotentialthreatsoropportunities12345k)Negotiatewithanactivistgroup12345l)WriteandpublishresearchpapersinPRorcommunicationrelatedjournals1234593m)EstablishtiesorjointventureswithaccreditedPRorganizations(e.
g.
ChinaInternationalPublicRelationsAssociation,PublicRelationsSocietyofChina,InternationalAssociationofBusinessCommunicationsetc.
)12345PERSONALPARTICULARSOFRESPONDENT10.
Pleaseindicateyourgender.
qMaleqFemale11.
Pleaseindicateyourage.
q18–20yearsoldq21–25yearsoldq26–30yearsoldq31–35yearsoldq36–40yearsoldq41–45yearsoldq46andabove12.
WhatisyourhighestlevelofeducationattainedqNoformaleducationqPrimarylevelqSecondarylevelqCollegelevelqGraduatelevelqPost-graduatelevel(Masters,PhD)qOther13.
Pleaseindicateyourbasicincomepermonth(beforetaxes).
qLessthan5000q5000–10000q10001–15000q15001–20000qMorethan2000014.
Pleaseindicateyournationality.
qChinesecitizen(ifyou'reaChinesecitizen,proceedtoQ16)qForeigner(pleasespecify:ifyou'reaforeigner,proceedtoQ15)9415.
Pleaseindicatethetypeofindustryyourorganizationisin.
qPublicrelations/ConsultingagencyqGovernment/publicadministrationqNGO/NPOqBankingandfinanceqBuildingandconstructionqHealthcareqInformationtechnologyqManufacturingqPropertyqService(pleasespecifyqOthers(pleasespecify16.
Pleaseindicatethegeographicalorientationoftheorganizationyouareworkingin.
qLocalorganizationqMultinational/Internationalorganization17.
Isyourorganizationamemberofastrongprofessionalbody(e.
g.
ChinaInternationalPublicRelationsAssociation,PublicRelationsSocietyofChina,InternationalAssociationofBusinessCommunicationsetc.
)qYes(Ifyes,pleaseindicateqNo18.
Pleaseindicatethestaffstrengthofyourpublicrelationsorcommunications(corporatecommunication,employeerelationsetc)department.
q1–5q6–10q11–20q21ormore19.
Pleaseindicateyourdesignationintheorganization:20.
HowmanyyearshaveyoubeenpracticingpublicrelationsqLessthan1yearq1–2yearsq3–5yearsq6–10yearsqMorethan10years-THEEND–95AppendixB.
Questionnaire—ChineseVersion问BrianLamb10-15:yue13@purdue.
edu;:01-425-614-5012theHumanResearchProtectionProgram765494-5942irb@purdue.
eduHumanResearchProtectionProgram-PurdueUniversity,ErnestC.
YoungHall,Room1032,155S.
GrantSt.
,WestLafayette,IN47907-21141.
qqqqqCIOqCMOq962.
15123453.
q5q44.
qq123455.
a)12345b)12345c)12345d)12345976.
a)12345b)12345c)12345d)12345e)12345f)12345:g)12345h)123457.
100%100%100%a)0%-200%98b)0%-200%8.
12345a)12345b),12345c)12345d)12345e)12345f)12345g)12345h)1234599i)12345j)12345k)12345l)12345m)12345n)12345o)12345p)12345q)12345r)12345s)12345100t)12345u)12345v)12345w)12345x)123459.
12345a)12345b)12345c)12345d)12345e)12345101f)12345g)12345h)12345i)12345j)12345k)12345l)12345m)1234510.
qq11.
q18-20q21-25q26-30q31-35q36-40q41-45q4612.
qq102qqqq()q13.
q5000q5000-10000q10001-15000q15001-20000q20001-25000q25001-30000q3000014.
qq15.
qqqNGO/NPOqqqqqqqqq16.
qq10317.
qq18.
q1–5q6–10q11–20q2119.
20.
q1q1-2q3-5q6-10q10104AppendixC.
InterviewProtocol—EnglishVersionLetterofConsentYouareinvitedtoparticipateinastudyconductedbyCenYuefromtheBrianLambSchoolofCommunicationatPurdueUniversity,Indiana,UnitedStates.
ThisstudyexplorestheextenttowhichstrategicpublicrelationsarepracticedinorganizationslocatedinChina.
Inparticular,Iaminterestedinfourquestions:whetherpublicrelationsisregardedasastrategicmanagementfunction,includedinthedominantcoalition(orhaveadirectreportingrelationshiptothemanagement),themodelsofpublicrelations,andknowledgeofpublicrelationspractitioners.
Givenyourexperienceandworkasacommunicationpractitioner,youhavebeenselectedasapossibleparticipantinthisstudy.
Ifyouagreetotakepartinthestudy,theinvestigatorwillaskyouquestionsaboutyourperceptionofandattitudestowardstrategicpublicrelationspracticeinChina.
Theinterviewwilltakeapproximately30-40minutes.
Forthememorypurposes,theinterviewwillbeaudiorecordedunderyourpermission.
Yourpersonalinformationwillbekeptconfidential.
Thefindingsfromthisstudywillbepresentedinwritinginacademicjournalsandotheroutlets,suchasprofessionalblogs.
Inaddition,thefindingsofthisstudywillbepresentedatacademicandprofessionalconferences.
Formoreinformationaboutthisstudy,pleasecontactinvestigatorCenYue(email:yue13@purdue.
edu;phone:01-425-614-5012).
Yoursignaturebelowindicatesthatyouhavereadandthatyouunderstandtheinformationwritteninthisletterofconsent,andthatyouagreetotakepartinthisstudy.
(Printedname)(Signature)(Date)1051.
PleasesharewithusabriefhistoricalbackgroundofyourPR/communicationsdepartment.
a.
WhenwasitsetupWhatisthestaffstrengthofyourPRdepartmentb.
Whatisthenatureofyourbusinessc.
Whoareyourclients/stakeholders/thepublicsyourorganizations'activitieswillaffectd.
AreyourepresentedbyanyPRagencyforyourcommunicationsprogramordoyououtsourceprojectstoanyagencyIfso,pleasesharewhichagencyyouworkwith(localorMNC).
2.
Whatdoyouthinkifthechiefpurposeofpublicrelations,i.
e.
,whatrolecanPRplay3.
BrieflydescribehowyourorganizationwouldusuallyconductaPRprogramorcampaign.
Also,describewhatkindofpublicrelationsactivitiesyouconductforyourorganization.
4.
How,ifatall,arepublicrelationspractitionersinvolvedinstrategicplanninghere5.
Ifyoudoperformextensiveresearchpriorand/orafteracampaign,pleasestatewhichkindsofresearchtools(e.
g.
,survey,focusgroups,interviews)youuse.
Ifyoudon'tconductresearch,perhapsexplainwhicharetheconstraints(e.
g.
,time,budget,etc.
)youface.
6.
HowmanyyearsofexperiencedoyouhaveinPRDoyouhaveformaleducationinPR7.
WhatformsoftrainingdoesyourorganizationprovidetothePRstaffArethereopportunitiesforPRpractitionerstoadvancefurtherintopostgraduatePRcourse/degrees8.
Doyouconsideryourselfaspartoftheseniormanagement/dominantcoalitionWhomdoyoureporttoHowmuchsupportdoyoureceivefromthetopmanagement9.
How,inparticular,couldapublicrelationspractitionerbecomeamemberofthedominantcoalition,thegroupofpowerfulpeoplemakingpolicyfortheorganization10.
HowdoesseniormanagementratethevalueofPRwork11.
WhatdoyouthinkaresomeofthechallengesfacingPRpractitionersinChinaonanorganizationalandindustrylevel(e.
g.
,imageoftheprofession/industry,commonmisconceptionsaboutwhatPRis,lackofsupportfromtopmanagementinPR,etc.
)12.
Arethereanycultural,economic,orpoliticalfactorsthataffectthewayPRispracticedinChina13.
WhataresomeoftheparticularcharacteristicsofthelocalPRindustrythatyouwouldliketohighlightIfyouhavepracticedPRinothermarkets,pleasefeelfreetomakeindustrycomparisons.
14.
WhatisthecurrentimageandstatusofPRprofessionalsinChina106AppendixD.
InterviewProtocol—ChineseVersion采访说明您被邀请参与来自美国普渡大学BrianLamb传播学院由岳岑开展的采访.
这份调查旨在研究中国各类组织对公关关系的战略管理现状.
采访会紧密围绕以下四个问题:公共关系在组织战略决策过程中地位,公共关系部门是否属于组织决策团体的一员(或者能够直接向最高管理层汇报),公共关系模型以及公关从业者的知识储备.
考虑到您作为公关/传播人员丰富的从业经历,您被邀请参与本次采访.
如果您同意参与本次采访,研究人员将会就以上问题与您进行交流.
采访会占用您30-40分钟时间.
考虑到翻译和校对工作,我们希望本次采访可以录音.
如您不希望被录音,我们会尊重您的选择.
您的个人信息会被严格保密.
研究结果将会提交到学术期刊,专业博客,并且会在学术会议上进行陈述.
若您希望了解更多信息,请联系研究员岳岑(邮箱:yue13@purdue.
edu;电话:01-425-614-5012).
您的签名代表您已经阅读并理解以上说明,并且同意参与本次采访.
(印刷体姓名)(签名)(日期)1071.
能先简单介绍一下你们PR/传播部门的历史吗a.
比如说,它是什么时候建立的b.
从事公关传播的员工有几人c.
你们机构有外包服务到乙方公关公司吗如果有,你们授权的乙方是谁(是本地公关公司还是国际公关公司)d.
贵机构都有哪些利益相关者(stakeholders)呢都有哪些公众会受到贵机构政策影响,或者是会影响到贵公司决策过程的2.
请简要描述一下贵机构通常情况下是如何开展公关活动的.
你所参与的公关活动都有哪些3.
你认为公关的主要作用是什么例如:公关在组织里到底能扮演什么角色4.
你觉得你们公关部门有没有参与到组织重大政策的决策过程当中如果有,你们是以何种方式参与到战略规划过程中的1.
重大政策和决议可能包括:帮助组织进行战略规划;帮助组织应对重大的社会问题(例如:危机,裁员,涨价等);帮助组织采取重大举措(例如:组织合并,收购,市场新举动,发布新产品/服务)5.
你们在开展公关活动前后会进行广泛的研究调查吗能不能介绍一下你们都使用什么调查手段,或者是调查工具比如说:网络舆情分析,问卷调查,采访,焦点小组(小组座谈会).
如果你们不进行调查,又是什么因素阻止你们进行调研活动的呢是时间,预算吗,还有其他原因吗6.
你觉得自己是高层管理/组织当权者的一员吗你向谁汇报你从最高管理层那里得到多少支持你部门的最高领导(如:公关总监)向谁直接汇报7.
你觉得公关从业者怎样才能成为组织当权者的一员组织当权者是指为组织制定政策,拥有决策话语权的团体.
8.
你觉得高级管理层是如何看待PR带来的价值的你又是如何看待PR带来的价值的9.
您从事PR有多少年了您接受过正规的PR教育吗10.
贵机构都给公关人提供何种培训公关人有没有机会进修到公关的研究生课程或者是拿到公关的研究生学位11.
公关理论对公关的模型有四种分类:publicitymodel(宣传式公关),publicinformationmodel(公共信息传播模型),two-wayasymmetricalmodel(双向不对称),目的是说服公众做组织之所想;以及two-waysymmetrical(双向对称).
理想的公关应该是双向对称的.
也就是说组织的目的,背后的动机是真正想与公众进行意见上的沟通和交换.
并非是一味对产品和服务的宣传,或者是关于信息单纯的传递(常见于政府公关).
双向对称公关的最终目的是促进管理层和公众之间的相互理解,协调管理层和公众之间的矛盾.
10812.
分别从组织层面和行业层面来谈,你觉得中国公关人面临的挑战是什么(例如:职业/行业形象问题,对公关的常见误解,缺乏领导层的支持)(中国公关目前是否面对概念和定位模糊化的问题,比如常常与网络媒体,自媒体的混淆,来自数字媒体对自身存在的威胁).
13.
有什么文化,经济或者政治层面的因素在影响中国公关行业的发展吗a.
本地公关行业有什么特性没有如果你在其他市场也从事过公关工作,你是否可以做一下不同市场之间的行业对比b.
你怎么评价目前中国公关从业者的形象和地位