Journal of Public Relations Research

Ha, Jin Hong; Ferguson, Mary Ann

2015 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2014.924838

This study examined the perception discrepancies of the functions of public relations departments existing between public relations and marketing departments, and examined how the differences affect the conflicts between the two departments. The results revealed image function to be a statistically significant perception discrepancy in the public relations functions. The image function was found to have a significantly negative effect on the conflicts between the two departments. Public relations practitioners recognized the image function to be the most important function of the public relations department, whereas marketing practitioners considered the pragmatic function to be most important. Moreover, the perceived power of the public relations and marketing departments has an association with the perceptions of the functions of public relations.

Grappi, Silvia; Romani, Simona

2015 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2014.924839

A theoretical framework is developed to explain the mechanisms that underlie the effectiveness of matching postcrisis communication strategies to the crisis types on relevant consumer reactions. Two studies are conducted regarding an actual crisis case: the Costa Concordia shipwreck on 2012. Study 1 provides evidence of more favorable consumer reactions to a company when confession strategy and preventable crisis are matched. The results verify that consumers’ emotions of anger and sympathy play a mediating role. Study 2 demonstrates corporate reputation's moderating role on the link between postcrisis communication strategy and sympathy and, through it, on consumers’ attitudinal and behavioral responses.

Zwijze-Koning, Karen H.; De Jong, Menno D. T.; Van Vuuren, Mark

2015 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2014.924840

Although the critical incident technique (CIT) is one of the current methods in communication audits, little is known about the way it works. The validity of the CIT in the context of internal public relations depends on 3 assumptions: that participants can describe discrete communication events, that these events have structural connotations, and that they are related to sensemaking. We reviewed these assumptions with CIT data collected within 3 organizations. In this study, participants predominantly mentioned discrete events. Most events related to structural aspects of communication, and in many cases the events were linked to individual sensemaking or storytelling activities. The findings confirm the CIT's potential to assess the quality of internal communication.

Hong, Seoyeon; Len-Riós, Maria E.

2015 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2014.929502

One rationale offered for why there are fewer people of color in public relations is that publics would respond less positively if racial minorities represented the public face of an organization. To determine the plausibility of this rationale, this study employed a 2 (race: Black vs. White spokesman) × 2 (performance history: with prior crisis vs. no prior crisis) × 2 (crisis type: sports vs. product recall) within-subjects experiment (N = 64), using both implicit (reaction time) and explicit (self-report) measures. Contrary to expectations, participants rated Black spokesmen as significantly more credible than White spokesmen using explicit measures. Most significantly, implicit tests, using response time measures, revealed that heuristic cues, such as the spokesman's race, have an influence on perceptions in the absence of a performance history, i.e., when no other information must be cognitively processed. But in cases where there is a crisis history, i.e., when there is more pertinent information, racial cues play less of a role.

Olkkonen, Laura; Luoma-Aho, Vilma Liisa

2015 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2014.943761

Expectations have been connected to many central concepts of public relations research, yet definitions of what is meant by expectations are lacking. This article aims to broaden the understanding of expectations by taking into account their multidimensional nature, suggesting that there are several explanations to expectations depending on what the expectation is based on. We suggest that, in organizational context, expectations are two-fold assessments of what is considered good or desirable (expectation tone ranging from positive to negative) and the confidence placed in the organization (organization-specific context ranging from high to low confidence). As a result of the conceptual review with theoretical input from areas outside the scope of public relations, the article presents the Expectation Grid, where expectations are acknowledged as continuums of tone and context.