Linking Worldview, Relationship Attitudes, and Behavioral Outcomes: Implications for the Study and Practice of Public Relations

Abstract

Many public relations practitioners and scholars have warmed to the idea that the practice of public relations is relationship management. Recent research has begun to explore the ways in which adaptations of interpersonal relationship-building strategies can be incorporated into an organization-public relationship context. The current investigation is a longitudinal study that links respondents who identify themselves as in relationship with the university to the behavior of returning to the institution. The investigation also linked relationship attitude statements to personal, professional, and community relationship scores. The findings from this investigation suggest that relationship attitudes play a role in retention, providing a quantitative illustration showing that public relations strategies, grounded in interpersonal communication relationship-building theory and adapted to meet relationship needs and expectations, can positively affect public member attitudes, evaluations, and behaviors. The results also indicate that when public members view the world differently than the organization, relational dissatisfaction can result, which in turn can lead to relationship termination. Moreover, the results show that organizations’ and public's progress through “turning points” in a relationship, and the identification of these turning points can provide practitioners with an opportunity to engage in dialogue with key public members. The article concludes by discussing the benefits that can be accrued by adopting a relationship-building approach to the study and practice of public relations.