Measurement and predictors of resilience among Latin American public relations professionals

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angeles Moreno ◽  
Cristina Navarro ◽  
Juan-Carlos Molleda ◽  
M. Cristina Fuentes-Lara
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Relations Practitioners ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Resilience Scale

Purpose It is well established that greater resilience buffers the negative effects of adverse events and conditions, allowing the affected individual to recover adequately. Resilience is a core trait for public relations practitioners, due to the challenging and pressure-laden nature of their work. However, as an individual-level trait, this phenomenon remains underexplored in the communication field. The purpose of this paper is to examine the dimensionality and measurement invariance of the 25-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (Connor and Davidson, 2003), evaluate the level of resilience and identify predictors of resilience among Latin American public relations practitioners. Design/methodology/approach A population of 898 public relations professionals from 18 Latin American countries working on different hierarchical levels, both in communication departments and agencies across the region were surveyed. Findings CD-RISC global scorings show direct correlations with age, years of experience, type of organization, hierarchy and social media skills. However, education, salary, gender or working in an excellent, successful and influential communication department were not predictors of resilience. Additionally, results provide supporting evidence that the CD-RISC has good psychometric properties and can be used as a reliable and valid tool to assess resilience among Latin American public relations practitioners. Research limitations/implications As in any study using self-report measures, the results may have been influenced by participants’ acquiescence and need for social desirability. Greater participation is needed from some countries to allow for a more comprehensive comparative analysis. Practical implications Identifying factors that protect against negative outcomes is important for the development of strengths-based approaches that emphasize resilience. Moreover, in predicting the ability to tolerate stress and its negative effects, this study may help in the selection of personnel who will manage tougher job demands. Originality/value Research on the concept of resilience has gained substantial momentum over the past decades and has become a multidisciplinary field of research spanning a variety of theoretical and conceptual positions. However, practitioner resilience has not formally addressed in the public relations research, with the sole exception of the qualitative research conducted by Guo and Anderson in 2018 using a critical incident technique approach. This field provides an intriguing context to study resilience because practitioners are regularly engaged in work that may require the ability to “bounce back” from challenging work.

Investigation of depression, anxiety and stress levels of health-care students during COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Obay A. Al-Maraira ◽  
Sami Z. Shennaq
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Psychological Counseling ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health Care Students ◽  
Stress Levels

Purpose This study aims to determine depression, anxiety and stress levels of health-care students during coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic according to various socio-demographic variables. Design/methodology/approach This cross-sectional study was conducted with 933 students. Data were collected with an information form on COVID- 19 and an electronic self-report questionnaire based on depression, anxiety and stress scale. Findings Findings revealed that 58% of the students experienced moderate-to-extremely severe depression, 39.8% experienced moderate-to-extremely severe anxiety and 38% experienced moderate-to-extremely severe stress. Practical implications Educational administrators can help reduce long-term negative effects on students’ education and mental health by enabling online guidance, psychological counseling and webinars for students. Originality/value This paper is original and adds to existing knowledge that health-care students’ depression, anxiety and stress levels were affected because of many factors that are not yet fully understood. Therefore, psychological counseling is recommended to reduce the long-term negative effects on the mental health of university students.

A multilevel perspective on the perceived effects of COVID-19 on nurses in China

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengyao Sun ◽  
Sophie Hennekam
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Chinese Society ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Perceived Effects ◽  
Multilevel Perspective ◽  
Societal Level ◽  
Depth Interviews

PurposeThis study examines the effects of COVID-19 on individual, organizational and societal level as perceived by nurses in China.Design/methodology/approachWe draw on two qualitative studies consisting of 483 qualitative surveys and 28 in-depth interviews with nurses in China.FindingsThe pandemic has enhanced the profile of the nursing profession in Chinese society and has led to an increase in recognition, respect and visibility of nurses. In addition, participants point to an improved workplace culture in which there is a strong sense of pride in the collective effort they put. Simultaneously, however, nurses reported how COVID-19 was perceived to be detrimental to their own psychological well-being, while also interfering with their work–life balance.Originality/valueThe data reveal the paradoxal effects of COVID-19 on nurses in China. On societal and organizational level, the pandemic seems to have had a positive effect, while on individual level a range of perceived negative effects is identified.

Mitigating influence of transcendence on politics perceptions’ negative effects

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Lawong ◽  
Charn McAllister ◽  
Gerald R. Ferris ◽  
Wayne Hochwarter
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Cognitive Style ◽  
Emotional Exhaustion ◽  
Work Outcomes ◽  
Work Effort ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Working Adults ◽  
Job Tension

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how a cognitive process, transcendence, moderates the relationship between perceptions of organizational politics (POPs) and several work outcomes. Design/methodology/approach Participants across two studies (Study 1: 187 student-recruited working adults; Study 2: 158 information technology employees) provided a demographically diverse sample for the analyses. Key variables were transcendence, POPs, job satisfaction, job tension, emotional exhaustion, work effort, and frustration. Findings Results corroborated the hypotheses and supported the authors’ argument that POPs lacked influence on work outcomes when individuals possessed high levels of transcendence. Specifically, high levels of transcendence attenuated the decreases in job satisfaction and work effort associated with POPs. Additionally, transcendence acted as an antidote to several workplace ills by weakening the increases in job tension, emotional exhaustion, and frustration usually associated with POPs. Research limitations/implications This study found that transcendence, an individual-level cognitive style, can improve work outcomes for employees in workplaces where POPs exist. Future studies should use longitudinal data to study how changes in POPs over time affect individuals’ reported levels of transcendence. Practical implications Although it is impossible to eliminate politics in organizations, antidotes like transcendence can improve individuals’ responses to POPs. Originality/value This study is one of the first to utilize an individual-level cognitive style to examine possible options for attenuating the effects of POPs on individuals’ work outcomes.

Chinese culture, materialism and corporate supply of trade credit

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xian Chen ◽  
Jakob Arnoldi ◽  
Xin Chen
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Culture ◽  
Trade Credit ◽  
Institutional Development ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Economic Decision Making ◽  
Trade Credits ◽  
The Individual

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how cultural value in materialism affects corporate supply of trade credits. Design/methodology/approach Using a sample of 14,710 firm-year observations of Chinese listed firms from 1998 to 2012, the authors examine the influence of regional materialism on accounts receivable. Findings The authors find that listed firms within more materialistic tend to extend less trade credit to their customers, in particular in long-term categories of trade credit. Such negative effects can be significantly mitigated by state control, suggesting the effects are more pronounced in privately controlled listed firms. The negative effects of materialism still hold after controlling for other regional factors, such as trust, GDP per capita or institutional development. Research limitations/implications The authors show materialism as a cultural construct varies across Chinese regions, and it could have important impact on corporate supply of trade credits, besides the previous found effects on consumer use of credit. Originality/value This paper expands the literature about the influence of materialism on economic decision making from the individual level to the corporate level.

Using Twitter in crisis management for organizations bearing different country-of-origin perceptions

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Xu ◽  
Yiye Wu
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Country Of Origin ◽  
Negative Evaluation ◽  
Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Foreign Countries ◽  
The Individual

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of using Twitter on American stakeholders’ crisis appraisal for organizations originated from two foreign countries with distinctively different perceptions. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a 2 (medium: Twitter vs news release)×2 (country-of-origin: China vs France) factorial experiment. The participants (n=393) are recruited through the Amazon Mechanical Turk system (Mturks). Findings – The findings suggest that using Twitter substantially mitigates participants’ negative evaluation of the organization undergoing a crisis. Country-of-origin affects how individuals perceive the organization after it has experienced a crisis. In addition, participants’ product involvement intensifies the reputational threat specifically for the organization with a less favorable country-of-origin perception. Originality/value – This study is one of the few empirically based studies in international public relations research, using an experiment to extrapolate the effects of social media and country-of-origin on consumers’ crisis appraisal. This investigation reinforces the need to consider social media not just at the individual level, but also as a form of communication that can have broader consequences at the organizational level. In addition, it is important for company leaders to understand that the organization’s home country image may exacerbate the negative management outcomes during a crisis. It is expected that this study yields theoretically indicative, empirically informative, and culturally relevant results.

Intercultural communication competence and preferred public relations practices

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lan Ni ◽  
Qi Wang ◽  
Maria De la Flor
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Direct Effect ◽  
Communication Competence ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Intercultural Communication Competence ◽  
Positive Direct

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how individual-level intercultural communication competence (ICC) represented by cultural empathy, open-mindedness, and flexibility predicts preferred use of symmetrical, two-way, conservation, and ethical public relations practices (PRPs) among public relations (PRs) students. Design/methodology/approach – Structural equation modeling was used to analyze self-report data from 268 PRs students surveyed at a southern university. Findings – Results indicated that empathy, open-mindedness, and flexibility together significantly predicted the preferred use of all four PRPs. The three ICC variables each had a positive direct effect on symmetrical and ethical PRPs. Empathy and flexibility each had a positive direct effect on two-way and conservation PRPs. Research limitations/implications – This study provides evidence that the PRPs resulted from Excellence Theory, despite controversies over their practicality, are closely and positively related with ICC qualities such as empathy, open-mindedness, and flexibility among future practitioners. Future research should overcome the limitations in this study by examining current practitioners instead of PR students who are the future practitioners, investigating the PRP instruments’ criterion-related and construct validity, as well as exploring different levels and types of ICC. Originality/value – This study is new in bridging the gap between preferred PRPs and the qualities needed for those PRPs, thereby addressing two limitations in the current intercultural PRs research.

Guiding the conversation

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 423-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Walden
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Relations Practitioners ◽  
Frontline Workers ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Normative Expectations ◽  
Depth Interviews

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how public relations practitioners view their role in guiding their organizations’ frontline (nonnominated) employees’ social media use and the tensions that organizations must navigate when they interact with their employees online. Design/methodology/approach This study utilizes in-depth interviews with 24 PR practitioners in the USA. Data were analyzed via grounded theory’s approach to open, axial, and select coding. Findings PR practitioners engage in three activities to guide employees’ social media use: serving as a reactive-technical resource; supporting employee communities; and responding to incidental monitoring of social media posts. Research limitations/implications The study extends stakeholder theory by describing the normative expectations that are placed on employees when it comes to discussing the organization online. Practical implications Recommendations are offered for PR practitioners regarding the boundary-respecting management of nonnominated employees’ social media use. Social implications Findings point to a greater understanding about frontline workers’ roles in supporting their organizations and the need for organizations to carefully explain social media policies. Originality/value Scholars have not fully explored the challenges that firms face when they seek to influence employees’ personal social networking activities. There is new insight about the ways in which organization can ethically engage with employees in digitally mediated spaces.

Taking Levels of Analysis in Humor more Seriously: Comment on Romero and Arendt

2012 ◽  
Vol 110 (2) ◽  
pp. 527-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. Sosik
Keyword(s):  
Operational Definition ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Humor Styles ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Team Cooperation ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Level Of Analysis

Humor is a phenomenon that can simultaneously coexist at the individual, dyadic, and group levels, making its measurement and conceptualization complex. In a recent field study, Romero and Arendt (2011) examined relationships between four humor styles (i.e., affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, self-defeating) and four outcomes (i.e., stress, satisfaction with co-workers, team cooperation, organizational commitment), however, the latter was apparently measured as a self-report at the individual level of analysis. Their interesting results indicated different humor styles can have either positive or negative effects on these outcome variables. However, if their operational definition—and hence their conceptualization—of humor is based on self-report by the initiator, it may be problematic to use it at the dyadic and group levels because it potentially mixes levels of analysis and may cause misalignment between data and theory. Cautions and implications for future research are discussed.

scholarly journals Enemy at the (house) gates: permanence of gender discrimination in public relations career promotion in Latin America

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 169-183
Author(s):  
Ángeles Moreno ◽  
Nadia Khalil ◽  
Ralph Tench
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
Multivariable Analysis ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Public Relations Practitioners ◽  
Private Lives ◽  
Career Opportunities ◽  
Hierarchical Decision

This study develops models capable of finding empirical relations between social factors in practitioners’ private lives, that is to say, extra-organizational or external factors to the work environment that affect the career promotion of female professionals in public relations. The aim is to analyse some gender issues at a global level by exploring the Latin American subcontinent, where there is an accepted lack of knowledge. With that purpose, the focus is on the public relations practitioners’ care responsibilities (such as living with children or dependents) and if these responsibilities influence their opportunities for career development in Latin American countries. Quantitative data from 803 Latin American practitioners representing 18 countries were analysed through predictive multivariable analysis with data mining techniques, using hierarchical decision trees. The applied statistical method is valid to explain some of the extra-organizational factors that affect female career promotion in public relations and can be used for other studies. Results empirically found that family dependency and caring responsibilities affect the career opportunities of women, and that family responsibilities do not affect men’s chances to career promotion. Therefore, the predictive analysis statistically proves that gender can be a determinant factor for career promotion in these circumstances.  

Can SMEs in the food industry expect competitive advantages from proactive CSR when CSR trade-offs exist?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yeonsoo Kim ◽  
Nandini Bhalla
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Consumer Responses ◽  
Public Relations Practitioners ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Price Differences ◽  
A Company

PurposeThe study aims to examine the effects of proactive vs passive environmental corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the context of small and medium size enterprises (SMEs), factoring in the moderating effects of price and the mediating effects of company–consumer identification(C-C identification) on consumer responses.Design/methodology/approachAn experiment with general consumer samples was conducted. A randomized 2 (CSR levels: proactive CSR vs passive CSR) × 2 (price as a CSR trade-off: higher price vs lower price) full factorial design was used.FindingsThe study findings revealed that proactive environmental CSR not only engendered more positive C-C identification but also resulted in more favorable consumer attitudes, stronger supportive communication intent and purchase intent. In addition, when a company demonstrates proactive CSR, consumers' C-C identification is generally positive irrespective of price differences, and in turn, more positive reactions follow. When a company takes a passive approach and offers lower prices, respondents showed significantly less positive C-C identification, and less favorable responses. This indicates that passive environmental CSR programs can potentially backfire, especially when combined with lower prices. This study also shows the important mediating impact of C-C identification on consumer responses.Originality/valueThis study is one of the few to explore consumer perceptions of and reactions toward the food industry's environmental CSR programs by degree of CSR involvement and price differences in the context of SMEs. This study's findings provide useful information to SME managers and public relations practitioners who work closely with SMEs, allowing them to make informed strategic decisions, especially when they evaluate the extent of their company's commitment to environmentally proactive CSR practices and its communication to consumers.

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