Journal of Public Relations Research

Zhou, Alvin; Capizzo, Luke W.; Page, Tyler G.; Toth, Elizabeth L.

2023 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2023.2180373

This project addresses the evolution of public relations research over the past decade by examining its two SSCI-indexed journals with methods that can reveal the influence of multiple categories of research clusters. Modeling the full text of all 1,293 published articles in Public Relations Review (PRR) and the Journal of Public Relations Research (JPRR) from 2010 to 2020 (7,400,685 words), we identified nine non-discrete clusters in public relations research. Using three computational methods – structural topic modeling, inter-cluster network analysis, and network simulation – we found that (1) the strategic management cluster emerged as the most central for the past decade, followed by public relations professionalism, digital media, crisis communication, internal communication, global public relations, rhetoric and philosophy, media relations, and critical studies, ranked by their proportions in the scholarship; (2) JPRR had greater emphasis on the strategic management cluster relative to PRR, which offered a more diverse representation; (3) little longitudinal change occurred throughout the decade, although internal communication gained traction and public relations professionalism and media relations lost ground as the decade progressed; and 4) the last ten years of public relations research did not see intersection among theoretical traditions from different clusters as much as expected, leaving opportunity for more inter-cluster knowledge production. Theoretical and practical implications for the public relations research community are discussed.

Boman, Courtney D.

2023 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2023.2195184

The theoretically-driven inoculation strategy has increasingly become used to counter disinformation regarding pivotal societal issues such as COVID-19 and climate change. The current study examines its ability to cultivate psychological reactance toward unethical public relations attacks called astroturf, ultimately making the disinformation less persuasive. To do so, a between-subjects online experiment (N = 534) was conducted. Results show: 1) the use of inoculation messages outperforms the often-recommended paracrisis no response strategy, 2) combining inoculation with explicit details and autonomy support can elicit reactance toward disinformation, and 3) the use of this strategy can influence attitudes and future behavioral intentions to engage with the attacked organization. Guidance and implications for increasing the development of proactive PR messages within research and practice are discussed.

Kang, Minjeong; Lee, Ejae; Kim, Young; Yang, Sung-Un

2023 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2023.2194025

This study investigated how employees’ perceptions of an organization’s dialogic employee communication influence their evaluations of their positive and negative relationships with the organization. The study further examined how employees’ relationship assessments could drive their intentions for positive and negative megaphoning about their organizations. To test the differentiating effects of dialogic employee communication on positive and negative employee-organization relationships (EORs) and, subsequently, employee megaphoning intentions, we used a dual measure with the positive and the negative EORs. The online survey of 527 full-time U.S. employees showed that dialogic employee communication – particularly mutuality orientation – distinctively influenced the employees’ EOR assessments. The survey results also showed that stronger and more-positive EORs led to increased positive megaphoning intentions, and that stronger and more-negative EORs led to increased negative megaphoning intentions. This study found that positive EOR mediated the links between dialogic employee communication and both positive and negative intentions, but that negative EOR mediated only the link between dialogic employee communication and the negative megaphoning intention.