Journal of Public Relations Research

2016 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2016.1248130

Sha, Bey-Ling

2016 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2016.1262151

Sweetser, Kaye D.; Kelleher, Tom

2016 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2016.1237359

Guided by relationship theory, this study develops and tests abbreviated operational definitions of communicated commitment and conversational voice as communicative strategies in maintaining organization-public relationships (OPRs). Researchers first identified 25 relational maintenance items from 12 prior published studies. Then surveying three independent subsamples of an organization’s key public (N = 1,169), the distilled list revealed two univariate concepts measured with a total of 11 items. The shorter scales make the measurement and evaluation of communication online and real-world activities more accessible and manageable for practitioners and academics focused on organization-public relationships.

Claeys, An-Sofie; Opgenhaffen, Michaël

2016 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2016.1261703

Twenty-five in-depth interviews with Belgian crisis communication practitioners were conducted to examine the gap between theory and practice. Crisis communication has become an important research area within public relations. Several studies have resulted in theories and guidelines regarding the effective use of communication during organizational crises. Unfortunately, these findings are not always put into practice. This study examines to what extent public relations practitioners apply theory in practice during crises and why. The findings offer an opportunity to formulate potential ways in which we can bridge the scholar-practitioner divide in public relations, through guidelines for both scholars and practitioners.

Rim, Hyejoon; Kim, Sora

2016 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2016.1261702

This study attempts to examine the dimensions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) skepticism and to identify the strongest predictor by testing the relationships between the skepticism constructs and public responses. The study further examines the role of cynicism either as an antecedent, a moderator, or a component of CSR skepticism. Through a series of model tests, three factors of CSR skepticism were identified to better predict public responses to CSR: (a) skepticism toward a company’s altruism, (b) disbelief of CSR messages and CSR activities, and (c) skepticism toward CSR informativeness. Skepticism toward a company’s altruism was identified as the strongest predictor in determining negative public response to CSR, whereas cynicism did not have much predictive power to explain public response to CSR; as a result, it was excluded from the final dimensions of CSR skepticism.

Jiménez-Castillo, David

2016 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2016.1258564

Despite the significance of relationship management in any information provision or exchange, public relations scholarship has typically focused on examining the underlying internal communication processes from a transactional perspective. These processes are frequently associated with organizational information dissemination, overlooking other critical contents to make strategic decisions. This study draws market information processing into the debate about internal communication, providing a greater understanding of how a relational approach can improve market intelligence dissemination. Results show that an effective management of market knowledge requires the use of such an approach, which in turn, cultivates the shared interpretation of market information and innovation performance. The findings stimulate fresh discussion about the nature and development of internal communication knowledge and practice.