scholarly journals Connecting the dots: a bibliometric review of Habermasian theory in public relations research

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 444-467
Author(s):  
Alexander Buhmann ◽  
Øyvind Ihlen ◽  
Craig Aaen-Stockdale
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Theory Development ◽  
Recent Decade ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Stakeholder Relationships ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Bibliometric Review ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Connecting The Dots

Purpose Meta reviews are central for mapping the state of the field, consolidating the heterogeneous public relations body of knowledge, and pointing to new potential research directions. Habermas is one of the most influential contemporary social theorists and his work has repeatedly been used in public relations scholarship. While some have maintained that his work has been most influential in the development of public relations theory, this stream of research has never been reviewed empirically. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the authors present a bibliometric literature review of 263 public relations research articles published between 1980 and 2016 that cite and use Habermas’ work. A network analysis of these publications based on the technique of bibliographic coupling was used to identify common forms of application, research themes, as well as patterns of impact. Findings Results show that the use of Habermas has grown significantly, specifically in the recent decade. At the same time, researchers have a narrow focus specifically on earlier developments in the theory. Finally, we discover three main topical research clusters that have been influenced by the theory: public relations and the public sphere, dialogic stakeholder relationships, as well as public relations and communication ethics. Originality/value The findings map out an important stream of scholarship in the field by showing where public relations scholars have been and where the research community has not ventured yet. Based on the results of our analysis, the authors propose directions for research to advance future theory development in public relations using Habermas’ work.

Social media analytics: how they support company public relations

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Tam ◽  
Jeong-Nam Kim
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Media Analytics ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Media Data

Purpose In the midst of practitioners’ increasing use of social media analytics (SMA) in guiding public relations (PR) strategy, this paper aims to present the capabilities and limitations of these tools and offers suggestions on how to best use them to gain research-based insights. Design/methodology/approach This review assesses the capabilities and limitations of SMA tools based on industry reports and research articles on trends in PR and SMA. Findings The strengths of SMA tools lie in their capability to gather and aggregate a large quantity of real-time social media data, use algorithms to analyze the data and present the results in ways meaningful to organizations and understand networks of issues and publics. However, there are also challenges, including the increasing restricted access to social media data, the increased use of bots, skewing social conversations in the public sphere, the lack of capability to analyze certain types of data, such as visual data and the discrepancy between data collected on social media and through other methods. Originality/value This review suggests that PR professionals acknowledge the capabilities and limitations of SMA tools when using them to inform strategy.

Practically there? Exploring public relations educators' perceptions of creativity in the curriculum and classroom

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richie Barker ◽  
Sharyn McDonald
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Social Nature ◽  
Core Skill ◽  
Assessment Tasks ◽  
The Social

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the position of creativity within Australian public relations courses and explore how academics embed what is often identified by industry as a core skill for future and current practitioners.Design/methodology/approachThe study consists of semi-structured interviews with 15 public relations academics to examine their views on the value and delivery of creativity in the public relations curriculum.FindingsThe findings of this exploratory study indicate creativity is addressed implicitly by educators who rely on personal and internalised knowledge rather than the application of a specific theory or body of knowledge pertaining to creativity. In addition, it identifies a series of challenges educators face including students' lack of confidence when required to be creative and a lack of clarity on how to successfully evaluate creativity in assessment tasks.Originality/valueCreativity has been identified as a vital future workplace skill and highlighted as an important capability in global best practice frameworks for public relations professionals. However, the successes and barriers experienced by educators who are responsible for building and evaluating students’ creative abilities have yet to be specifically explored. In response, this study considers educators' perceptions of their practice with regard to this prominent professional attribute and applies this knowledge to argue for theory-led pedagogies, particularly the use of models that emphasise the social nature of creativity, to demystify creativity and enhance students' work readiness as future practitioners.

State contestations in constructions of 1Malaysia

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-65
Author(s):  
Mary Varghese ◽  
Kamila Ghazali
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
The Public ◽  
Malaysian Population ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract This article seeks to contribute to the existing body of knowledge about the relationship between political discourse and national identity. 1Malaysia, introduced in 2009 by Malaysia’s then newly appointed 6th Prime Minister Najib Razak, was greeted with expectation and concern by various segments of the Malaysian population. For some, it signalled a new inclusiveness that was to change the discourse on belonging. For others, it raised concerns about changes to the status quo of ethnic issues. Given the varying responses of society to the concept of 1Malaysia, an examination of different texts through the critical paradigm of CDA provide useful insights into how the public sphere has attempted to construct this notion. Therefore, this paper critically examines the Prime Minister’s early speeches as well as relevant chapters of the socioeconomic agenda, the 10th Malaysia Plan, to identify the referential and predicational strategies employed in characterising 1Malaysia. The findings suggest a notion of unity that appears to address varying issues.

Relational cultivation strategies and community building on Fortune 500 company corporate blogs

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tugce Ertem-Eray ◽  
Eyun-Jung Ki
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Sense Of Community ◽  
Communication Channel ◽  
Community Building ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Fortune 500 ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Fortune 500 Companies ◽  
Corporate Blogs

PurposeAs the number of corporate blogs has continued to increase over the years, this study examines the use of relationship cultivation strategies of Fortune 500 companies on their corporate blogs. Moreover, it focuses on how companies use corporate blogs as interactive online communication channels to create a sense of community among their publics.Design/methodology/approachA content analysis of Fortune 500 company corporate blogs was conducted to examine the use of relational cultivation strategies and their methods of promoting a sense of community.FindingsFindings indicate that networking and sharing tasks are used most frequently among all relational cultivation strategies on corporate blogs, and that there are statistically significant differences among industries for using relationship cultivation strategies on corporate blogs. The most frequently used dimension of sense of community on corporate blogs is shared emotional connection.Originality/valueStudies analyzing social media as public relations tools have not yet focused on community building. In fact, few studies have examined the community building aspect of corporate blogs in the public relations field. To fill this gap, this study focuses on community building and analyzes how companies use corporate blogs as an interactive online communication channel to create a sense of community among their publics.

Public relations in the age of data: corporate perspectives on social media analytics (SMA)

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathy R. Fitzpatrick ◽  
Paula L. Weissman
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Social Media Analytics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Management Function ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Corporate Brands ◽  
Depth Interviews

PurposeThe aim of this study was to understand how public relations leaders view and use social media analytics (SMA) and the impact of SMA on the public relations function.Design/methodology/approachThe research involved in-depth interviews with chief communication officers (CCOs) from leading multinational corporate brands.FindingsThe findings revealed that although CCOs perceive social media analytics as strategically important to the advancement of public relations, the use of social media data is slowed by challenges associated with building SMA capacity.Theoretical and practical implications – The research extends public relations theory on public relations as a strategic management function and provides practical insights for building SMA capabilities.Originality/valueThe study is among the first to provide empirical evidence of how companies are using social media analytics to enhance public relations efforts.

scholarly journals Politics overwhelms science in the Covid-19 pandemic: Evidence from the whole coverage of the Italian quality newspapers

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. e0252034
Author(s):  
Stefano Crabu ◽  
Paolo Giardullo ◽  
Andrea Sciandra ◽  
Federico Neresini
Keyword(s):  
Topic Modeling ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Stochastic Gradient Descent ◽  
The Public ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Scientific Experts ◽  
Science And Politics ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Media Narratives

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has emerged as one of the most dramatic health crises of recent decades. This paper treats mainstream news about the current pandemic as a valuable entry point for analyzing the relationship between science and politics in the public sphere, where the outbreak must be both understood and confronted through appropriate public-health policy decisions. In doing so, the paper aims to examine which actors, institutions, and experts dominate the SARS-CoV-2 media narratives, with particular attention to the roles of political, medical, and scientific actors and institutions within the pandemic crisis. The study relies on a large dataset consisting of all SARS-CoV-2 articles published by eight major Italian national newspapers between January 1, 2020 and June 15, 2020. These articles underwent a quantitative analysis based on a topic modeling technique. The topic modeling outputs were further analyzed by innovatively combining ad-hoc metrics and a classifier based on the stacking ensemble method (combining regularized logistic regression and linear stochastic gradient descent) for quantifying scientific salience. This enabled the identification of relevant topics and the analysis of the roles that different actors and institutions engaged in making sense of the pandemic. The results show how the health emergency has been addressed primarily in terms of political regulation and concerns and only marginally as a scientific matter. Hence, science has been overwhelmed by politics, which, in media narratives, exerts a moral as well as regulatory authority. Media narratives exclude neither scientific issues nor scientific experts; rather, they configure them as a subsidiary body of knowledge and expertise to be mobilized as an ancillary, impersonal institution useful for legitimizing the expansion of political jurisdiction over the governance of the emergency.

scholarly journals Archives, libraries and museums in the Nordic model of the public sphere

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Håkon Larsen
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Archival Science ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Spheres ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of ALM organizations within a Nordic model of the public sphere. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper discussing the role of archives, libraries and museums in light of a societal model of the Nordic public sphere. Throughout the discussions, the author draw on empirical and theoretical research from sociology, political science, media studies, cultural policy studies, archival science, museology, and library and information science to help advance our understanding of these organizations in a wider societal context. Findings The paper shows that ALM organizations play an important role for the infrastructure of a civil public sphere. Seen as a cluster, these organizations are providers of information that can be employed in deliberative activities in mediated public spheres, as well as training arenas for citizens to use prior to entering such spheres. Furthermore, ALM organizations are themselves public spheres, as they can serve specific communities and help create and maintain identities, and solidarities, all of which are important parts of a civil public sphere. Research limitations/implications Future research should investigate whether these roles are an important part of ALM organizations contribution to public spheres in other regions of the world. Originality/value Through introducing a theoretical model developed within sociology and connecting it to ongoing research in archival science, museology, and library and information science, the author connects the societal role of archives, libraries, and museums to broader discussions within the social sciences.

Vigilant resilience: the possibilities for renewal through preparedness

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 212-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Carlson
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Renewal Theory ◽  
Theory Building ◽  
System Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Energy Company ◽  
Resilience Process

Purpose Post-crisis renewal discourse (Ulmer et al., 2007) is one form of communication that stakeholders may use as they attempt to organize for resilience. The purpose of this paper propose extending Discourse of Renewal Theory to explain how it could enact a different kind of resilience than scholars typically consider. Organizational resilience strategies often focus on the recovery or prevention stages of crisis management. Under conditions of persistent threat, it would be more productive for renewal discourse to emphasize greater preparedness. Design/methodology/approach To illustrate the need for this kind of theorizing, the author analyzes a case study that follows the public relations efforts of Canadian energy company Enbridge, Inc., in the aftermath of the 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spill. Findings By the criteria of Discourse of Renewal Theory, Enbridge attempted a renewal strategy, but it failed. By other criteria, however, it succeeded: it created the opportunity for richer dialogue among stakeholders about their interdependence and their competing interests. Originality/value By considering how elements of the resilience process may vary, this paper offers resources for more nuanced theory-building and theory-testing related to organizational and system-level resilience.

The conceptual heritage of public relations: using public memory to explore constraints and liberation

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 375-392
Author(s):  
W. Timothy Coombs ◽  
Sherry J. Holladay
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Public Memory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Counter Narratives ◽  
Dominant Narratives ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Development And Evolution

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe three foundational concepts that contribute to conceptual heritage of the field of public relations (publics, organizations and relationships). Conceptual heritage is positioned as a type of shared public memory, a dominant narrative, that encourages adherence to the past whilst recognizing that counter-narratives can pose useful alternatives to foundational concepts. Design/methodology/approach The approach is a selective literature review that describes three dominant concept categories and presents more recently developed alternative concepts and approaches to illustrate how public memory is subjective and evolving. Findings The concepts of publics, organizations and relationships have grounded the dominant narrative and development of the field of public relations. Though these concepts continue to be influential as researchers rely upon and expand upon their legacies, counter-narratives can spur the innovation of ideas, measurement and practice. Research limitations/implications The paper focuses on only three major foundational concepts selected by the authors. The importance of these concepts as well as additional examples of the field’s conceptual heritage and evolution could be identified by different authors. Practical implications The analysis demonstrates how the public memory contributes to the development and evolution of the field of public relations. Counter-narratives can offer appealing, subjectively constructed challenges to dominant narratives. Originality/value This paper describes and critiques public relations’ conceptual heritage and argues that conceptually and methodologically-based counter-narratives have contributed to its evolution.

The evolution of the public sphere

Kybernetes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (9) ◽  
pp. 2201-2219
Author(s):  
José J. Blanco
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
Media Theory ◽  
Language Games ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Dominant Paradigm

Purpose The purpose of this study is to rethink the issue of publicity from a cross-cultural and evolutionary perspective. Design/methodology/approach Assuming that there is a dominant paradigm in the studies of the public sphere centered on Habermas’ ideas, media theory (and especially Luhmann who is considered as a media theorist) is selected as a new context that provides different concepts, ideas, language games and metaphors that allow the re-foundation of the study of publicity. Findings Publicity as a social structure emerges – and acquires different forms during history – out of the complex dynamics resulting from the interaction between success media, such as power, and different kinds of dissemination media. Originality/value A research into the forms of publicity not only promotes awareness of the ubiquity of the phenomenon across cultural evolution, but also offers tools to make new discoveries and systematize what is already known about the subject and its ramifications.

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