Organization Public Relationships Research Articles

Can we build a relationship through artificial intelligence (AI)? Understanding the impact of AI on organization-public relationships

The purpose of this study is to explore the role of agent type and voice tone on publics’ perceived organization-public relationships and behavioral intention towards an organization. Through a 2 (agent type: human vs. AI) x 2 (voice tone: conversational human vs. organizational) between-subjects experiment, the study shows that organizational messages communicated by a human agent generated significantly higher perceived control mutuality among participants in a Twitter setting than messages communicated by an AI agent. The use of conversational human voice resulted in significantly stronger relational outcomes. A significant interaction effect was found between agent type and voice tone on control mutuality. This study contributes to the public relations literature and practice by examining the potential role of AI agents in organization-public relationships and supportive behavioral intention towards an organization in the setting of Twitter.

Using a Chatbot to Combat Misinformation: Exploring Gratifications, Chatbot Satisfaction and Engagement, and Relationship Quality

Grounded in the framework of uses and gratifications theory, this study investigates the impact of gratifications derived from utilizing Florence, a multilingual chatbot service developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to disseminate COVID-19-related information. Utilizing data from a national survey comprising 591 participants in the United States, our findings reveal the significant influence of sought-after gratifications, including modality (coolness), agency (enhancement), interaction (activity), and navigability (browsing), on users’ satisfaction with the chatbot. Additionally, our research highlights the inhibiting effect of privacy risks on user satisfaction. Furthermore, we uncover a consequential relationship between chatbot satisfaction, user engagement, and the perceived relationship with the WHO, underscoring the importance of chatbot interaction in fostering favorable organization-public relationships. Empirical and practical implications of these findings are thoroughly discussed, offering valuable insights for scholars and practitioners alike.

The Effect of Consumer Perception and Image Restoration Strategy on Organization-Public Relationship (A Case Study of Mcdonald’s Indonesia Facing Boycott of Pro-Israel Products)

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate how organizations can navigate public perception and repair their image during challenging situations. with the aim to examine the effect of consumer perception and the role of McDonald's Indonesia's image restoration strategies through media coverage on organization-public relationships. Theoretical Framework: In this topic, the main concepts and theories that underpin the research are presented. Study case stand out, providing a solid basis for understanding the context of the investigation. Method: This study adopts a quantitative approach, involving the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data to measure and generalize findings from the research sample across various perspectives to attest hypotheses. The research aims to explore the impact of consumer perceptions of McDonald's Indonesia on the organization-public relationship through image restoration strategies following the boycott of pro-Israel products. Results and Discussion: The results obtained revealed indicate a significant positive effect of consumer perception on the organization-public relationship conducted by McDonald’s Indonesia. Additionally, three image restoration strategies—evade responsibility, reduce the offensiveness, and corrective action—participate in effecting organization-public relationships. Research Implications: The practical and theoretical implications of this research are discussed, providing insights into how the results can be applied or influence practices in the field of Crisis Communication and Public Relations. These implications could encompass how McDonald's Indonesia, facing a boycott due to a political situation, attempts to repair its public image. It analyzes the role of consumer perception and different communication strategies in this context. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by Examines consumer perception in a specific cultural context , Analyzes the effectiveness of image restoration strategies, and Focuses on a specific consumer group. The relevance and value of this research are evidenced by contributes to the field of crisis communication and public relations by examining consumer perception and image restoration strategies in a specific cultural context with a particular consumer group.

Public relations lessons from the pandemic: A systematic review of the COVID-19 research in public relations published from 2020 to early 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic received considerable attention from public relations scholars and research publications after the pandemic exploded. This study provides an overview of the status of COVID-19 public relations research in terms of topics, regional focuses, organization-public relationships, public relations approaches and themes, stages of the pandemic, and theoretical and methodological frameworks. This study also investigated how public relations research has described the characteristics of the COVID-19 pandemic. We reviewed 126 articles published in peer-reviewed journals using quantitative and qualitative content analyses. We expect that this review provides new insights based on the current literature to advance public relations research in today’s fast-changing society.

Situating deep learning in a relating management approach: Examining the dynamics and outcomes of contingent organization-public relationships (COPRs) in crisis

Existing research in crisis communication and public relations focuses on relationship quality or outcomes, along with their causes and effects, mainly using cross-sectional survey data. This research expands the COPR theoretical framework by employing big data and deep learning to analyze the dynamics and intricacies of corporate and public stances during a long-term organizational crisis. Focusing on Monsanto/Bayer’s Roundup crisis from 2012 to 2022, the study analyzed 232,694 tweets and 334 articles to examine corporate stances, public stances, and various relationship modes formed from both party’s standpoints throughout the crisis. The results show the evolving and interdependent interactions between corporations and their publics, as well as the longitudinal impacts of public stances on stock prices. Our findings highlight the application of computational methods for enhancing strategic decision-making in managing organization-public relationships, particularly during prolonged and complex crisis scenarios.

Connecting issues, CSR, and OPRs: Unpacking identity mediators of the effect of CSR on relationship and the moderating role of intergroup dynamics

Dyadic assumptions permeate organization-public relationship (OPR) research. However, corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives need to be understood not only in the dyadic organization-public context (i.e., examining effects of an organization’s CSR on one particular public), but also in the multifaceted organization-publics context where the interconnectedness among publics themselves needs to be considered. The purpose of this study is to examine how CSR brings relational outcomes when intergroup dynamics are considered. Through an experimental design where a public’s identity threat was manipulated, the study suggests that CSR leads to relational outcomes through establishing identity congruity and a public’s self-expansion (validating and affirming one’s identity through the organization). Moderated mediation analysis also showed that the indirect effect of CSR on the relational outcome through congruity became greater when participants were exposed to potential identity threat. The study provides important implications for how we approach and understand the connections between a public and an organization.

Exploring the Effects of Virtual Reality PR Contents on Organization-Public Relationships and Behavior Intention

Exploring the Effects of Virtual Reality PR Contents on Organization-Public Relationships and Behavior Intention

Constructing public–private partnerships to undermine the public interest: critical discourse analysis of Working Together published by the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking

BackgroundThe global burden of alcohol harm has increased and is forecast to grow further without effective policy implementation. Public–private partnerships aiming to address global health, and other societal challenges, are a burgeoning feature of neoliberal governance. Rhetorically distancing themselves from tobacco, the major alcohol companies are committed to tackling ‘harmful drinking’ and have created a distinct type of public relations organization for this purpose. The activities of such organizations are increasingly recognized as an impediment to the implementation of policies to reduce alcohol harm, including in low- and middle-income countries where markets are expanding.MethodsThe approach of critical discourse analysis is used to examine the discursive tactics and strategies used in Working Together; a ‘toolkit’ published by the key global level alcohol industry public relations organization, the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD). This study considers how it works discursively to set the terms of, and overcome skepticism about partnerships, to define aims and position various actors by constructing their roles. The construction of prospective partners provides insights into the alcohol industry itself.ResultsThe toolkit operates as an ideological resource for forming public–private partnerships across the world based on the accumulated know-how of the major companies through IARD. This allows the largest alcohol companies to exercise leadership of the industry, while remaining off-stage. The toolkit relies on a form of rhetorical work which creates distance from obvious corporate interests and the harms caused to population health and society. This is accomplished by working against evidence-informed population level approaches, and thus avoiding policies that will make any significant difference to overall alcohol harm. Unspecific “complexity” affords opportunity for preferred types of “actions”, and “partnership” provides opportunity to gain credibility by association, further minimizing the likelihood of any material harm being reduced.ConclusionsThe toolkit is designed to not only legitimate the inclusion of alcohol industry actors as initiating ‘partners’, but also assigns them roles as managers of a set of carefully constructed relationships. This vision of public–private partnership reproduces the hegemonic narrative that has successfully blocked policy advances for decades and led to growing alcohol harm globally.

Gamifying Public Engagement on Sustainability Issues: From Motivational Affordances to the Effectiveness of Symmetrical Public Relations

This study aims to investigate the impact of gamification as applied to public relations, specifically its ability to engage the public with social issues. Using a survey of users on a corporate-sponsored sustainability-themed gamification platform (N = 417), the study examines the effects of two gamified two-way communication strategies—feedback and value co-creation—on the public’s feeling of engagement. Additionally, it explores the mediating role of motivational experiences and perceptions of the organization-public relationship in this process. The findings provide empirical evidence that gamification can enhance corporate public engagement programs by offering motivational affordances, thus creating an encouraging environment that satisfies individual users’ needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Consequently, positive perceptions of the relationship with the company are strengthened, leading to increased psychological engagement. This study’s contribution to the field lies in its novel perspective on gamification research within the context of public relations, bridging the gap in empirical research regarding its effectiveness in corporate communication. It sheds light on the potential of gamification as a valuable tool for corporate public engagement.

Examining the Effect of Anthropomorphic Design Cues on Healthcare Chatbots Acceptance and Organization-Public Relationships: Trust in a Warm Human Vs. a Competent Machine

AI-powered healthcare chatbots demonstrate great promise in enhancing communication and fostering stronger relationships between healthcare organizations and their publics. This study conducted an experiment to examine how different anthropomorphic design cues shape chatbot acceptance and organization-public relationships by influencing trust in the chatbot. Results revealed an interesting dynamic: when users interacted with healthcare chatbot featuring human-like cues, they tend to place greater trust in the chatbot that showed warmth rather than competence. Conversely, in interactions with a chatbot embodying machine-like cues, a competent conversation style generated higher levels of trust compared to a warm style. This trust in human-computer interactions further enhanced users’ intentions to continue using the chatbot and follow its recommendations, alongside bolstering relational trust and satisfaction with the healthcare organization. These findings contribute to the theoretical understanding of human-chatbot interaction and offer practical insights by aligning chatbot design nuances with the broader strategic health communication goals.

Relationship cultivation strategies in the metaverse

This study uses the organization-public relationship approach to investigate the relationship cultivation strategies employed by an organization within the metaverse. This study also explores the highly immersive nature of metaverses, investigating both system and narrative immersion features. A content analysis of 101 existing metaverses reveals that networking (99%), positivity (98%), and assurance (76%) are most frequently used strategies by organizations, highlighting the unique affordances of the metaverse, such as embodiment, interactivity, and navigability. The findings suggest that organizations leverage the immersive properties of the metaverse to establish and cultivate relationships with their publics effectively. Furthermore, the majority of metaverse spaces exhibit medium to high levels of system immersion, while only a few incorporate clear narrative immersion features. These findings have implications for organizations seeking to engage with their audiences in immersive virtual environments.

Should relationships be at the heart of public relations? A meta-analysis of the antecedents and consequences of organization-public relationships

Organization-public relationships (OPRs) have been central to public relations theorizing for decades. Guided by Broom et al.'s (1997) foundational three-stage model of OPRs, this study contributes to the public relations literature by conducting the first meta-analysis of the associations between each of the four dimensions of OPRs (trust, satisfaction, commitment, and control mutuality) and their most frequently studied antecedents and consequences. A total of 454 correlations from 67 empirical studies (N = 30, 223) were included in the analysis. The results confirmed the strong correlations among OPRs and the nine most frequently studied antecedents: engagement, involvement, authenticity, transparency, interactivity, two-way communication, interpersonal communication, mediated communication, and symmetrical communication. The research also confirmed the strong connections among OPRs and six commonly researched consequences: reputation, attitudes, positive word-of-mouth communication, purchase intentions, advocacy, and information seeking. We identified the sampling method, employee-organization relationships (EORs), organization type, and country as significant moderators for certain relationships. Overall, the findings support OPRs as a mature and well-supported theory that continues integrating with other public relations theories. Findings also enrich the three-stage model of OPRs with integrated empirical evidence. Areas for future scholarship are discussed relevant to the insignificant potential moderators, such as channel and crisis topic, along with important limitations in the extant scholarship.

‘Tarzan of the sciences’: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in the communication jungle, CA 1970

In this paper, I discuss how the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences attempted to transform itself from an unofficial government agency into what might be called a scientific public relations organization in the years around 1970. On an organizational level, this transformation manifested in the establishment of new positions at the Academy: an international secretary was hired in 1970 and an information secretary in 1973, both soon followed by their own departments and staff. On a more existential level, it involved redefining its role in Swedish scientific research and administration, in relation to other institutions and to its own past position.

The Effectiveness of the LAPOR Application of the Office of Communication and Informatics in Capturing Community Aspirations


 
 
 
 LAPOR namely an application for public complaints is one of the steps taken by the central government to anticipate the need for feedback from the public on the services provided by the government. Feedback in providing services is important because it can be a material for improvement for Sidoarjo Regency Government agencies. The benefits of conducting research are to find out the effectiveness of the application of LAPOR, as well as to find out what factors are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in implementing LAPOR in Sidoarjo. This research refers to the theory of Organization Public Relationship (OPR). This study uses a qualitative method with a descriptive approach, with the subject being the focus of the Sidoarjo Regency Communication and Information Service, while the object is the People's Online Aspirations and Complaints Service (LAPOR). The results of this study show that the LAPOR application involves public participation and increases two-way interaction between the community and the government in overseeing development programs. This has proven to be effective from the 2023 reports for January and February which show that there are relatively many complaints coming in, and the average number of complaints in that month is road infrastructure. The application of LAPOR in the city of Sidoarjo may face several obstacles, including limited access and understanding of technology, not all people have adequate access to the internet or the devices needed to use the LAPOR application.
 
 
 

Beyond Dyadic Organization–Public Relationships: Proposing the Devotional-Promotional Relational Engagement Model

ABSTRACT Relationships are complex, multifaceted, and complicated phenomena, both in practice and study. Additionally, while research regarding the ways in which religious organizations practice public relations is growing, this area of public relations scholarship is still in its infancy with a limited understanding regarding the practice of public relations by religious organizations and the outcomes of their efforts. Thus, to contribute to gaps in public relations theorizing on relationship management and engagement, and gaps in the literature on religious organization and stakeholders, this study interviewed 28 megachurch communication employees to assess their relational engagement strategies and goals. Findings reveal that religious organizations encourage the formation of six relationships between five entities through their public relations efforts. This study proposes the Devotional-Promotional Relational Engagement Model as a new model of relational engagement, which highlights the six strategic relationships organizations cultivate.

“OK at the moment”: The important role listening plays in the relationship between black residents and local government

Researchers surveyed 501 Black U.S. residents to examine the impact of listening on trust, satisfaction, commitment, and attitude toward participants' hometowns. Results indicate listening plays an important role in organization-public relationship (OPR) outcomes, and that satisfaction mediates the impact of listening on city attitude and likelihood to recommend a city. Qualitative responses reveal a tenuous relationship between Black residents and local government. Listening should be prioritized in future OPR scholarship and city government communicators’ practice.

Linking Community OPR and Communication Infrastructure During a Public Health Crisis: A Study of Community Engagement in Shanghai, China

ABSTRACT Engaging the public and community organizations in local health actions greatly assists disease prevention and control. However, it remains unclear how organization-public relationships (OPR) and communication networks within communities contribute to community health actions. To fill this gap, a survey was conducted among community members in Shanghai, China, who were challenged by the Omicron wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results revealed that integrated connectedness to a storytelling network (ICSN) was a significant predictor of residents’ community engagement. Trust, control mutuality, commitment, and ICSN were positively associated with community engagement intentions through the sense of community and organizational efficacy. This study is a step toward understanding how organizations and members collectively respond to health crises at the community level.

OPR and its corruption of “publics”: A critique

This paper advances existing critiques of the organization-public relationship (OPR) research tradition by explicating the poor ontological conceptualization of publics in OPR research as well as related methodological concerns. The authors critically analyze the publics and OPR literature, furthering past criticisms and raising new questions about the heuristic value of OPR research. The paper points out three major weaknesses of the OPR tradition in its use of publics: (1) serious vacillation in terms resulting in conceptual inconsistencies, (2) inappropriate operationalization of variables and the use of probability sampling, and (3) a lack of insightful context and inclusion of relationship factors in OPR studies, to which publics are inextricably bound. The critique cautions scholars engaged in OPR research to improve their literature reviews and to enlarge their methodologies beyond a narrow scope of relational variables, which are theoretically fragile if not devoid of research value. Finally, the critique suggests the importance of conceptualizing publics in ways that acknowledge their agency.

Popular Culture and Shaping HIV Perception.

The Gilead COMPASS Initiative® used celebrity partnerships to highlight HIV prevalence in the Southern U.S. and support Southern HIV and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) organizations. Using various media platforms, HIV organizations engaged with popular culture in collaboration with national media advocacy and public relations organizations to campaign against stigmatization and raise awareness about HIV.

Employees’ voice behavior in response to corporate social irresponsibility (CSI): The role of organizational identification, issue perceptions, and power distance culture

While extensive literature has examined the role of employees in corporate social responsibility (CSR), little is known about employees’ role in corporate social irresponsibility (CSI). The current study aims to examine the voice behaviors of employees generated around the issue of CSI. Two online surveys were administered to full-time employees by using two different scenarios involving CSI situations: environmental and diversity issues. The results of the study identified employees’ pre-established organizational identification as a critical cross-situational factor that influenced their CSI perceptions. In addition, employees’ situational perceptions of CSI – how they perceive CSI as a serious problem, their sense of connection to the situation, and their perceived constraints in solving the situation – played critical roles in motivating them to engage in voice behavior. Furthermore, the level of power distance culture within an organization significantly moderated the relationship between employees’ CSI perceptions and voice behavior. By incorporating organizational identification literature and public relations theory in the context of CSI communication and management, this study provides theoretical and practical implications.