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2022 Journal of Public Relations Research
doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2022.2057502
Listening remains an understudied concept in public relations, particularly with consideration for the complex intersecting identities and lived experiences of publics. Through 38 interviews with nonprofit and governmental professionals, this study sought to fill the dearth of applied research on listening and intersectionality and to develop an intersectional framework for listening in public relations. One research question guided this exploratory, qualitative study: How do public relations professionals embody listening with consideration for intersectionality? Findings suggest that public relations professionals across nonprofit and governmental contexts described listening with consideration for intersectionality via personal reflexivity, interpersonal sensitivity, organizational programs and initiatives, and community and coalitional collaboration. From these insights, a framework for listening with consideration for intersectionality in public relations is proposed.
Men, Linjuan Rita; Zhou, Alvin; Sunny Tsai, Wan-Hsiu
2022 Journal of Public Relations Research
doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2022.2068553
This study presents one of the earliest empirical investigations on how to harness the power of chatbots for improving key public relations outcomes. Specifically, this study integrates the construct of social presence that has been widely studied in the computer-mediated communication literature with the concept of conversational human voice in public relations to conceptualize chatbots’ social conversation. We evaluate chatbots’ social conversation as an important antecedent driving user perception, not only of chatbots’ listening capability, but also of the organizations’ listening efforts, which, in turn, enhance the essential perceptual outcomes of organizational transparency and organization-public relationships. Our theoretical model was tested through an online survey of 778 adult Facebook users in the US, who were directed to have a 5-minute conversation with a real chatbot. The study results advance the organizational listening literature and contribute to the growing body of knowledge on artificial intelligence in public relations.
2022 Journal of Public Relations Research
doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2022.2063869
By incorporating the concept of collective memory into the field of crisis communication, this study examined crisis memories (i.e., SARS memories) that were collectively constructed on social media to help make sense of and respond to an unfolding crisis (i.e., COVID-19). From a content analysis of 4,673 Weibo posts, along with a repost network analysis of these posts, various functional crisis memories constructed by multiple users (multiplicity) and in different stages (dynamics) were identified. Our findings provide a new perspective on crisis communication and management by including crisis memories as an extended part of multivocal crisis communication. We suggest that memory narratives surrounding similar past crises can be utilized as important information and resources in crisis communication, especially during public health crises with high uncertainty and widespread effects. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings for crisis communication are discussed.
2022 Journal of Public Relations Research
doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2022.2064288
Drawing on insights from both rhetorical arena theory and contingency theory of conflict management, this study examines the role of political factors in shaping stakeholder groups’ perceptions and organizational responses and stances in a scansis of a multinational corporation. This study combined qualitative content analysis and semantic network analysis to analyze organizational responses, news coverage, and social media posts regarding the National Basketball Association (NBA)–China crisis in 2019, triggered by an online comment from a team executive supporting the Hong Kong protesters. The findings show (1) the presence of diverse and rich political-laden and politically divided discussions in news coverage and social media posts, (2) a subsequent change in the NBA’s stance, from accommodative toward defensive, in response to those discussions, and (3) the great role of geopolitics/international politics and political values as political contingency factors in steering organizational, media, and digital public discourses. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
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