THE ROLES OF PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTITIONERS IN ORGANIZATIONS IN MONTENEGRO

Abstract

The public relations field in Montenegro is in its transitional period, moving from dominantly publicity-oriented towards higher professionalization. Academically, the field of public relations is still insufficiently researched in Montenegro, which makes it difficult to follow current trends, changes and challenges. On the other side, public relations practice exists in most Montenegrin organizations. According to available evidence of the existing practice, it is dominantly understood as mainly media relations function, which should contribute to greater publicity and visibility of the organization, as well as to dissemination of information to the public. To contribute to a deeper understanding of the current public relations practice and trends in the field, as well as to try to enrich the insufficient empirical data, this paper attempts to examine the function of public relations in Montenegrin organizations. One possible approach to such research goal refers to the roles public relations practitioners perform in organizations. The existing practice in Montenegro suggests that professionals mostly perform technician roles, rather than managerial ones. Public relations practitioners who work in both public institutions and private companies in Montenegro were included in the research. The study relies on quantitative analysis, which was used to collect and analyse data.