Journal of Public Relations Research

Mundy, Dean; Bardhan, Nilanjana

2023 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2023.2251786

Waymer, Damion; Brown, Kenon A.; Jackson, Joshua

2023 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2023.2195185

Public relations researchers make inferential claims about populations based on analysis and evaluation of data they have collected from smaller samples of people. A question that has been raised in the social sciences is how well the populations sampled in conducted studies represent or reflect broader populations. We also ponder, to what extent DEI-related topics are explored in public relations scholarship. We conducted a quantitative content analysis of 1,277 articles published in leading, peer-reviewed journals in public relations or adjacent journals in mass communication, strategic communication, and communication studies known to publish public relations research. We found that scholars are not providing complete demographic data when conducting research involving human participants; samples include significantly more women than are represented in the most current U.S. Census; samples overly rely on White participants; samples include significantly fewer persons of Latin origin than reflected in the most current U.S. census; and DEI-related publications are still proportionally few but are increasing. Based on these findings, we introduce the Researcher Responsibility to Diversity and Inclusion, which provides six guiding principles for journal editors and researchers to advance disciplinary theorizing and research and to make inclusivity a more central aspect of disciplinary theory and research.

Miño, Pablo

2023 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2023.2205651

Public relations scholars have advocated for a functionalist outlook on nation branding, focused on the effectiveness of campaigns that promote diverse national identities and cultures abroad. However, power imbalances to such approach have been largely neglected in the literature. A critical-cultural approach to these issues is explored in this study, by placing emphasis on the cultural-economic model (CEM) of public relations. Through in-depth interviews with 25 informants involved with nation branding campaigns on behalf of different Latin American countries, this study advocates for an interpretive approach to this subject, by understanding that national identities are nuanced, reflect power imbalances between different actors within a society, and are in constant conflict with each other. This study calls to place more value on the contested notions of the nation that such campaigns represent in the promotion of a country abroad.

Vasquez, Rosalynn A.; Neill, Marlene S.

2023 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2023.2222858

The purpose of this study is to examine how crucible experiences (i.e. transformative life experiences) influence the leadership development of U.S. Latinas in public relations. Through 24 in-depth interviews with mid-management and senior-level Latina public relations leaders, the findings suggest that crucible experiences differed between immigrant and first-generation Latinas and non-immigrant Latinas in topics such as language expectations (proficiency in English or Spanish), bicultural identity, cultural and social isolation, and access to power structures. They met their career and personal challenges mainly through advocacy, seeking instrumental support, and resilience. This unique inquiry fills the literature gap by proposing a new theoretical framework that examines how intercultural identities and crucible experiences influenced their PR leadership development, and underscores the growing importance of DEI in public relations.

Berg, Kati Tusinski; Miller, Katharine E.

2023 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2023.2227302

Today the public relations industry faces the challenge of championing and executing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. Women leaders in public relations are well situated to do this work and drive meaningful change. A grounded theory approach was chosen to analyze narratives from the honorees of PRWeek’s Women of Distinction classes from the last three years. We argue that female public relations leaders are advancing the conversation related to DEI initiatives to empower their organizations and, in turn, shape the larger societal discourse on DEI. Our thematic analysis of narratives by female leaders in public relations resulted in four broad themes: 1) practicing empathetic leadership and building meaningful connections, 2) reimagining the workplace and workplace culture, 3) showing a commitment to and celebration of DEI efforts, and 4) championing purpose-driven work and organizations. This project contributes to the limited work on public relations, diversity, and leadership, and presents important theoretical and practical implications.

Branton, Scott E.; Villamil, Astrid M.; Reed, Joel Lansing

2023 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2023.2244619

This study explores the critical nexus of communicative capitalism, neurodiverse employment, and DEI in public relations research. Through a critical discourse analysis of the owned and shared media of 13 neurodiversity workforce intermediaries (NWIs), we investigate how NWIs brand neurodiversity and their relationships with their publics against the backdrop of communicative capitalism. Our analysis unearthed power-laden tensions in traditional and novel brandings of neurodiversity, as well as ambivalent orientations that concurrently advocate for social change and economic productivity. We argue that attempts at change empowerment are short circuited by capitalist logics that value only those narrow elements of neurodiversity that fit within a business case for diversity.

Ashby-King, Drew T.; Anderson, Lindsey B.

2023 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2023.2198238

The way organizations communicate about socio-political issues, such as racism and diversity, has become increasingly visible following the racial reckoning of 2020. This study examines the diversity discourse presented in the strategic plans from 37 of universities that comprise three major academic conferences (BIG10, Southeastern Conference (SEC), and PAC-12) in order to understand how they crafted an ethos that serves as the foundation these institutions use when later communicating about socio-political issues. To do so, we draw on social issues management, neoliberalism, whiteness, and ventriloquism to underscore the complexity of crafting an organizational ethos that features a stated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We argue that these organizations’ ethos were simultaneously ventriloquized by larger socio-political discourses while also ventriloquizing diversity in ways that made their discourse about diversity speak in ways that forwarded neoliberal and whiteness ideologies that operated to maintain the status quo.

Diwanji, Vaibhav Shwetangbhai; Chen, Yvonnes; Erba, Joseph

2023 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2023.2236739

Guided by culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP), this study used automated linguistic and AI-enabled visual analyses to examine representations of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in text and images on 69 ACEJMC-accredited advertising and public relations (AdPR) program websites. Further, comparisons between large and non-large institutions were made. Linguistic analysis showed that approximately a fifth of the textual content included DEI-related terms, with no significant differences based on institution size. Visual analysis revealed the prominence of White women in images. Recommendations include application of AI-enabled approaches in addressing and advancing DEI in AdPR research as well as designing inclusive university websites across key CRP dimensions for potential students.

Kim, Solyee

2023 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2023.2233101

This study is one of the first research investigations that examined the effectiveness of DEI cues on a fictitious public relations agency’s website in attracting early-career practitioners with marginalized racial and ethnic identities and queer identities by conducting a 2 (identify as marginalized or not) x 2 (high or low DEI cues) between-subject online experiment. By integrating social identity theory, intergroup emotions theory, and signaling theory, the present study provides an overview of the cognitive and affective process underlying how public relations students perceive DEI cues and evaluate a workplace. This study highlights the importance of DEI efforts and communication of such efforts and provides critical social-psychological insights for public relations research.

Men, Linjuan Rita; Qin, Yufan Sunny; Mitson, Renee; Thelen, Patrick

2023 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2023.2222859

This study aims to advance research on internal communication and employee engagement by exploring the role of diversity communication. Specifically, this study tested a conceptual model that links organizational diversity communication efforts and employee cultural intelligence with an inclusive organizational climate and employee engagement. This study also investigated the potential moderating effects of employees’ minority status in the model. Through an online survey of 657 full-time employees working across diverse industries in the U.S. this study showed that an organization’s diversity communication and employee cultural intelligence increase employee perceived inclusive climate in the organization, which ultimately leads to a higher level of employee engagement. Further, for minority employees, an inclusive climate showed a much stronger effect on their level of engagement than for their white counterparts. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.