Public Relations 2001 Abstracts
Public Relations Division
Gender Discrepancies in a Gendered Profession: A Developing Theory for Public Relations • Linda Aldoory, University of Maryland and Elizabeth Toth, Syracuse University • This paper illustrates through literature and original research a beginning theory that explains the enduring gender discrepancies in what has become a gendered field, that of public relations. A survey of public relations practitioners reveals statistically significant gender differences in hiring perceptions, salary and salary perceptions, and promotions. These data support several previous studies that have shown over time gender discrepancies in hiring, salaries and promotions. Using theory drawn from other fields as well as original data from a series of focus groups, authors construct concepts and theoretical propositions to help explain why there are still gender differences in a field that is predominantly women.
Student Preferences for University Recruiting Brochure Designs • Ann Befort, and Roger C. Saathoff, Texas Tech University • Researchers tested five aspects of college viewbook design- percentage of text per page, number of pictures per page, color versus black and white photographs, campus scenes versus pictures of people, and page orientation. Respondents were high school students. Results showed students’ interest in a college was significantly greater in regard to two of the elements analyzed- multiple pictures on the viewbook page rather than just one, and pictures of people rather than photos of buildings.
CO-ACCULTURATION IN A KOREAN MANUFACTURING PLANT IN MEXICO • Glen M. Broom and Suman Lee, San Diego State University, and Woo-Hyun Won, Korea University • This paper addresses intercultural manager-worker communication relationships in a large Korean manufacturing plant in Mexico. The research questions include: 1. How do managers and workers with different cultural backgrounds perceive each other’s cultural attitudes, values and behaviors? 2. To what extent do managers and workers recognize each other’s cultural values? 3. How do manager-worker relationships adjust over time to cultural differences? The researchers explicate a theoretical process of “co-acculturation” and employ a coorientational measurement model.
Company Affiliation and Communicative Ability: How Perceived Organizational Ties Influence Source Persuasiveness in a Company-Negative News Environment • Coy Callison, Texas Tech University and Dolf Zillmann, University of Alabama • The influence of attributing corrective information to different spokespersons in the wake of company-negative accusations was investigated experimentally. In particular, the research pitted a company’s own public relations sources against sources working for a firm hired by the maligned organization and sources employed by agencies investigating negative claims independently. Results suggest that PR sources are less credible than outside sources. Over time, however, PR sources are judged as equally credible as hired and independent sources.
How Prepared Are Companies in Singapore and Hong Kong for Crises? – A Comparative Study • Shiyan Dai and Wei Wu, National University of Singapore • Based on personal interviews with over 400 business executives in Singapore and Hong Kong in two surveys, this paper aims to compare and contrast the two regions in terms of crisis management (CM) planning among the companies. We intend to find out: What is the current situation of CM planning? Are there any common and consistent “Asian” attitudes toward crises and CM there? And what are the major factors influencing the CM planning there?
The Effect of the World Wide Web on Relationship Building • Samsup Jo, University of Florida, Yungwook Kim, Ewha Womans University and Jaemin Jung, University of Florida • The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between Web characteristics and perceptions toward relational components. A 2 (low interactivity and high interactivity) x 2 (text-oriented and multimedia-oriented) experiment was designed with 197 participants to test this purpose. The outcomes showed that interactivity has significant effects on relationship building. However, the interaction effects between interactivity and medium composition suggest that nonessential arrangement of interactivity and multimedia did not enhance positive perceptions of relationships with the organizations. Interactivity showed the main effect, however multimedia orientation did not. The application of interactivity on the Web was discussed for better relationship building.
If We Build It, Will They Come?: Testing the Theory of Planned Behavior as a Predictive Model For Use in Determining How Career Counseling Centers Can Better Promote Their Facilities and Services • Carolyn Ringer Lepre, California State University-Chico • Many students resist planning for the futures, and university career counseling centers sit underutilized across the country. It is proposed that it is in part up to educators, career counselors and the public relations practitioners who work for university career counseling centers to convince and encourage students to seek career counseling help when they need it. The question is, however, how can this most effectively be done? This study tested the usefulness of the Theory of Planned Behavior as a predictive model clarifying what factors impact a student’s decision to seek career counseling.
Intangible Outcomes of Corporate Strategic Philanthropy: A Public Relations Perspective • Joon-Soo Lim, University of Florida • Corporate philanthropy contributes to the long-term bottom4ine by building an intangible but valuable asset – reputation. This study tested the linkage between Fortune reputation index and the firms’ philanthropy. Results showed that a firm’s contributions were positively associated with CSR attribute. Findings here imply that the relationship between corporate philanthropy and its outcomes may be better understood by considering the firms’ social investment as obtaining good reputation by building desirable relationships with key publics.
Classifications of Corporate Web Pages by Relationship Contents and Functions • Joon-Soo Lim, University of Florida and Jae-Hwa Shin, University of Missouri-Columbia • Building better relationships with key publics could help firms develop intangible and valuable assets. This study examined the Fortune 100 companies’ web pages according to the different contents and functions that are devised to build public relationships. Results show that how each relationship function is associated with diverse relationship contents. This study will give a managerial implication on how the corporate Web pages can be devised to build a relationship with various publics.
Media Coverage of Risk Events: A Framing Comparison of Two Fatal Manufacturing Accidents • Michael J. Palenchar, University of Florida • This study extends analysis of the meaning contained in risk discourse as part of a community infrastructural approach to risk communication studies. The author deconstructed media narratives through a systematic, longitudinal content analysis of a major metropolitan newspaper’s coverage (n=92) of two manufacturing crises. Some findings include: increased use of risk bearers and a decreased use in risk generators as sources, increased focus on risk generators, and increased use of medical and legal sources. The implication of such analysis is that wise public relations personnel should understand how journalists use sources and narrative elements to frame risk coverage.
Framing Effects of Genetically Engineered Food Labels On the Public’s Attitudes toward enetically Engineered Foods: Implications to Public Relations Campaigns • Hyun Soon Park and Sunyoung Lee, Michigan State University • Since 1999, the debate over genetically engineered foods has exploded and become a worldwide public relations disaster for the biotechnology industry. One of the hot issues surrounding genetically engineered foods is a concern about mandatory food labeling. Either mandatory or voluntary labeling, whichever is to be required in the near future, has raised imminent and critical questions to public relations practitioners, risk communicators, policy makers, and marketing planners. This study aims to investigate framing effects of genetically engineered food labeling on the public’s perceptions of and attitudes toward genetically engineered food products. According to the results of this study, participants perceived differently four types of food labels (e.g., bioengineering, genetic engineering, biotechnology, and genetic modification). The framing effects of four types of labels indicated that participants exposed to “bioengineering” or “genetic engineering” labels showed higher perceived benefits, lower perceived risks, more positive attitudes, and higher purchase intentions than those who are exposed to “biotechnology” and “genetic modification” labels. As we can see in these results, framing of food labels plays a crucial role in shaping consumers’ perceptions of and attitudes toward genetically engineered food products. This gives an important practical implication to public relations practitioners, risk communicators, public policy makers, and marketing planners as well.
Hong Bo and PR in the Korean Newspapers • Jongmin Park, Pusan National University • This study analyzed the meaning of Hong Bo and PR as the terms appeared in three main Korean newspapers, on the basis of Spicer’s seven themes. A total of 1548 mentions of the term Hong Bo and PR were analyzed as follows: First, Korean newspapers, like newspapers in the United States, tend to view Hong Bo and PR as publicity or merely PR. Thus, overall Korean newspaper reporters have a negative attitude toward the meanings of Hong Bo and PR and the reporters’ viewpoint was supported by this study. Second, the uses of PR and Hong Bo were categorized as challenge, distraction, disaster, hype and merely PR. While Hong Bo was categorized more of terms as challenge, distraction and disaster than PR was, PR was categorized more of terms as hype and merely PR than Hong Bo was. This also indicates that while the meanings of Hong Bo were more negative or positive than those of PR, the meanings of PR have been used as more neutral than those of Hong Bo. The study suggests that Korean public relations practitioners and relatives have to try to lead the public to a positive attitude toward the term Hong Bo, which has been used more frequently than the term PR.
Investigating Corporate Social Responsibility: A Content Analysis of Top Chinese Corporate Web Pages • Shu Peng, University of Louisiana-Lafayette • The study investigated the current status of Web usage by large Chinese firms, especially the way they use their Web pages to support corporate social responsibility. The most frequently addressed social responsibility’ areas were environment protection, education, quality of work life, and community involvement. Market value was related to corporate social responsibility areas for non-manufacturing firms. Manufacturing firms had more corporate social responsibility areas on their Web pages.
From Aardvark to Zebra: A New Millennium Analysis of Theory Development in Public Relations Academic Journals • Lynne M. Sallot, University of Georgia, Lisa J. Lyon, Kennesaw State University, Carolina Acosta-Alzuru, University of Georgia and Karyn Ogata Jones, University of Georgia • In a replication and extension of a 1984 study by Ferguson to investigate the status of theory building by public relations scholars, 747 abstracts and/or articles published in Public Relations Review, Journal of Public Relations Research and its predecessor Public Relations Research Annual, since their inceptions through the year 2000, were subjected to content analysis. Nearly 20 percent of articles analyzed were found to have contributed to theory development in public relations compared to only 4 percent in Ferguson’s study. Theory was most prevalent in articles about excellence/symmetry, public relationships, ethics and social responsibility, crisis response, critical-cultural, Feminism/diversity and international topics. These and interdisciplinary influences are expected to continue to contribute to ever more theory building in public relations.
INSTITUTIONAL ADVERTISING AS CONTEMPORARY PUBLIC RELATIONS: PHILIP MORRIS, A CASE STUDY IN RHETORICAL FRAMING • Valerie Terry, Oklahoma State University • This paper explores how institutional advertising functions as a public relations tool. More specifically, the analysis explores how rhetorical framing of mass mediated messages can counter the indirect informational subsidy typically open to PR pros when that approach has been closed to practitioners because of a particularly hostile media environment and negative public opinion. Philip Morris’s institutional ads, aired in the wake of the 1998 tobacco settlement agreement, form the basis for this case analysis.
Public Relations Excellence in Alliances and Coalitions: An International Perspective • Mark A. Van Dyke, University of Maryland • This exploratory paper examines how excellence theory applies to public relations practices in international alliances and coalitions. Data from interviews with 6 alliance and coalition public relations practitioners were categorized and compared to 17 characteristics of excellence theory. Results revealed a close association with excellence theory. The study also suggested that a mixed-motive, mixed-worldview approach to public relations employed by these organizations might have important implications for a theory of global public relations.
Public Relations Worldview and Conflict Levels in the Client-Agency Relationship • Youngmin Yoon, Syracuse University • This study examines to what extent different worldviews of public relations are related to the agency-client relationship. A survey was conducted of eight public relations agencies and their clients in Korea, obtaining worldview measures and tension levels of 15 agency-client pairs. The findings show that overall, as the gap between the agency and client’s public relations worldviews widens, more conflict occurs between them. The findings also demonstrate that a considerable gap exists between the agencies and clients in Korea in terms of their worldviews of public relations and that agencies have more symmetrical worldviews than do clients.
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