Journal of Public Relations Research

Tsetsura, Katerina

2010 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2010.504763

This study examined how female practitioners' discourses shape perceptions of public relations as an emerging field in Russia. Interviews with 25 practitioners from Moscow public relations agencies showed that a prism of a real job and a woman's job can help explain how socio-economic, professional, and gender-defined contexts influence practitioners' perceptions of public relations and provided evidence for understanding public relations as a socially constructed gendered profession. The study found that Russian women construct their professional identities in gendered ways that may limit their career opportunities.

Seltzer, Trent; Zhang, Weiwu

2010 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2010.504791

This study examined the organization–public relationship between citizens and their political parties against the backdrop of the 2008 presidential general election. Employing a telephone survey of registered voters (n = 508), we investigated the interaction of politically relevant relationship antecedents, relationship cultivation strategies used by political parties, perceptions of the organization–public relationship between voters and their party, and outcomes of the relationship to test a model of political organization–public relationships (POPRs). Time, interpersonal trust, mediated communication, interpersonal communication, and dialogic communication emerged as significant predictors of POPR strength. The findings lay the groundwork for further investigation of POPRs.

Lee, Seow Ting; Cheng, I.-Huei

2010 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2010.504790

This study explores the characteristics of leadership in developing and managing ethics in public relations, based on in-depth interviews with 20 public relations executives in the United States. Systematic analysis of the interview data identified multiple dimensions of ethical leadership and ethical knowledge, and suggested that ethical leadership is grounded in personal rather than professional characteristics. Personal ethics, interpersonal behaviors, and articulation of ethical standards emerged as 3 salient characteristics of an ideal leader in facilitating knowledge transfer of ethics in public relations organizations. Ethical knowledge is implicit, intangible, personal, and often difficult to identify or articulate, posing a challenge for the transfer of knowledge through structured and formalized approaches. Theoretical implications and practical recommendations are discussed.

Brown, Kenon A.; White, Candace L.

2010 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2010.504792

The study examines how relationships with an organization and crisis response strategy affect attribution of crisis responsibility. Participants were exposed to 1 of 4 different crisis response strategies, manipulated through news articles. The study measured perceptions of the organization–public relationship, and after exposure to 1 of the 4 news articles, attribution of crisis responsibility. People with a positive relationship with the organization were less likely to place blame for the crisis on the organization regardless of crisis response strategy. The study provides evidence that maintaining positive relationships with stakeholders may be more important that individual crisis strategies.

James, Melanie

2010 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2010.505120

Positioning within public relations is a concept not often addressed in public relations literature. This article reports on the progress of a project that aims to develop a way in which positioning could be usefully conceptualized within public relations. It suggests a conceptual framework that takes positioning beyond the marketing definitions that have limited use in the broader public relations field. The article reports on the development of a provisional conceptual framework for intentional positioning within a public relations context. Drawing from recent developments in positioning theory in the field of psychology, a framework was developed and applied to 57 award winning public relations campaign entries. Findings reveal that the positioning framework has the potential to be applied both as an heuristic to aid analysis of practice and also as a framework to aid practitioners in designing positioning strategies. Possibilities for further research are discussed.