Explicating Public Diplomacy as Organization–Public Relationship (OPR): An Empirical Investigation of OPRs between the US Embassy in Seoul and South Korean College Students

Abstract

Based on a theoretical proposition that public diplomacy can be explicated as management of organization–public relationship (OPR) between an organization concerned and foreign publics, practical and functional utility of OPR measures was empirically investigated in this preliminary study within a public diplomacy context involving the US embassy in Seoul and South Korean college students. Validating reliability and validity of Hon and J. E. Grunig's (1999) OPR measures in evaluating the quality of relationships between the US embassy and South Korean college students, the findings help further advance the theoretical and practical convergence of public relations and public diplomacy. In addition, with statistically significant links between South Korean college students' perceived relationships with the US embassy and their attitudes and behavioral intentions toward the United States and its citizens, the findings suggest that public diplomacy outcomes are related to OPR management, to some degree.