Research Conversations The The Institute for Public Relations (IPR) is an independent nonprofit foundation dedicated to the science beneath the art of public relations™ focusing on research that matters to the practice.
Asking the Right (or Left) Questions
Economist Daniel Klein recently wrote a piece in the Atlantic that shows just how important it is to ask the right questions in research. A colleague of Klein designed a survey to explore whether ideological differences stem more from people’s beliefs about how the world works or from differences in their basic values. Klein and the colleague then isolated a few of the questions to test a respondent’s objective knowledge about economic matters. An analysis of the responses led the pair to conclude in 2010 that left-leaning people are less enlightened about economic matters than right-leaning people. They published their ...
PRDepiction – Media Representations of Public Relations
If you have ever wondered what the best, worst, funniest, happiest, most dramatic or insightful presentation of public relations is, PRDepiction can help answer your questions.
PRDepiction, a blog devoted to the depiction of public relations in film, TV, radio and books, across all media, has just been launched. In addition to recent productions and books, it lists many of the earliest films and novels that incorporate PR characters.
Although not the first movie about publicity, Bing Crosby’s starring role as the PR man for Hawaii in the 1937 Waikiki Wedding gave the business a glamorous, musical, fun perspective.
In fiction, J. Ward ...
Research for Public Relations: Communicating in an Environment of Risk
Does academic research matter to public relations practitioners? Be not afraid. Come into the light with me, a non-PhD practitioner who finds value in academic research. In this series of posts, I will seek out quality academic and other research, drawing insights for communications practitioners.
Communicating in an environment of risk is one of the more difficult roles for senior communications strategists.
In larger organizations risk assessment often is managed by Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), which sets the risk agenda based on its discipline-specific quantitative tools and processes. But communicators may find that ERM tools rarely predict reputation risk and often ...
Research Finds that Investing in CSR Doesn’t Always Pay Off
A new book called Leveraging Corporate Responsibility: The Stakeholder Route to Maximizing Business and Social Value by Bhattacharya, Sen and Korshun, is a must read for communication professionals. It shines new light on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and documents what I have been saying about CSR for years, namely that it can be money well spent, or that it can be a waste of investment. The book offers guidance to managers making CSR decisions.
The authors already have experienced consternation and “push back” from those who advocate CSR in any and all circumstances. Many of these critics are from the communication ...
The Power of Effective Research—Moving from Support to Illumination
Recently I wrote an article for The Strategist, The Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA’s) magazine dedicated to executive-level public relations professionals. The article addressed the sometimes sticky question of how to disagree effectively with clients and management. One of the points made in the article was how important it is to back up recommendations—especially when they may be novel, controversial, or unexpected—with data. In this blog, I’ve been invited to follow up on that point a bit.
Sir Winston Churchill is widely—and famously—quoted as having said, “Statistics are like a drunk with a lamppost, used more for support than illumination.” ...
China and Public Relations Research
Beijing’s 798 Art District, fashioned from military-industrial facilities built by East German engineers in the 1950s, is often compared to New York’s SoHo. But SoHo East it is not. China’s contemporary art scene defines a one-of-a-kind place and experience.
So it is with the public relations profession in China. Several years after my last trip there, I journeyed back with the encouragement and support of multiple Institute for Public Relations (IPR) Trustees – most notably Mark Hass and Bob Grupp. As IPR adopts an increasingly global stance, I wanted to further develop a sense of how the science beneath the art ...
Leadership Style and Organizational Reputation
How do management behavior and leadership effectiveness influence internal communication outcomes, such as employee perception of organizational reputation?
When employees like the company they work for, they feel a stronger sense of belongingness and commitment; they are less prone to leave and they look forward to contributing to the success of the company everyday. Another aspect is the critical role of employees as communication assets for the organization. What employees say about the organization is often perceived to be more credible and authentic than messages from senior management or the public relations team.
So how does organizational leadership at all levels influence ...
Setting Priorities in Measurement
As we pursue a vision of excellence in public relations enabled by excellence in research, measurement, and evaluation, discussion often turns to the measurement outputs and outcomes. Several members of the Commission on Measurement and Evaluation engaged in an email discussion last May about measuring outputs and outcomes. I compiled the initial email exchange, and circulated the document for further comment.
The discussion expanded in so many interesting directions that I will not even going to attempt to summarize; you will be better off reading the entire thread. I think it comes to the following question: Which of the following should ...
Why Engagement Surveys Neither “Engage” Nor “Inform” in Any Meangingful Way
The Holy Grail for global business executives today is employee engagement. Recent studies indicate that close to 85% of employees believe they can positively impact quality of their organization’s products and services. The sad truth though is that those same studies indicate less than 1/3 of employees globally are actively engaged in their jobs.
Engagement is about individual behavior. People who have both an emotional and intellectual bond to the organization. Disengaged employees not only exhibit less than satisfactory behavior as it relates to performance, they actually produce less revenue for the business.
It is for these reasons that leaders and communicators ...
The Employee Communication Paradox
The fourth annual Grunig Lecture, presented by the Institute for Public Relations, the University of Maryland and the Public Relations Society of America, is available in full on this website. Dr. Berger has authored the following executive summary.
The great employee communication paradox is this: We know what needs to be done to create excellent internal communication programs and communication cultures, but too few organizations do it. They fail to move from knowing to doing. As a result, employee levels of trust, commitment and engagement remain distressingly low.
Extensive research, dozens of award-winning case studies and a rich ...
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