Candace White

Public relations practitioners’ perception of the world wide web as a communications tool

Abstract Interviews with public relations practitioners in organizations with Web sites explored perceptions about the value of the World Wide Web as a communications tool, and how it fits into the communications mix. Practitioners believe a Web site symbolizes an organization’s competitiveness, enhances an organization’s image, and increases the practitioner’s personal sense of professionalism. However, they often have responsibility for a Web site without additional resources to maintain it and do not see it as a high priority on their to-do lists. Practitioners must juggle issues such as skepticism about the value of their site, inefficient evaluation methods, and control of the site. Laura Newland Hill is Development Researcher at Endicott College and a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; this article is based on her master’s thesis research, directed by Candace White. Candace White is assistant professor of Public Relations at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

The World Wide Web as a public relations medium: the use of research, planning, and evaluation in web site development

Abstract The World Wide Web is viewed as a desirable medium for public relations by many organizations. Given the evolving nature of the Web and the mixed findings about commercial successes of Web sites, little is known about the managerial aspects of Web site research, planning, and evaluation. This study found that, in many cases, Web site planning is done by trial and error based on subjective knowledge and intuition, with little or no formal research and evaluation . Interviews with persons responsible for making Web site decisions for organizations revealed that competition and the desire to establish an Internet presence were the driving forces in deciding to develop a Web site. Very little research about present effectiveness is done, but there is a strong belief that Web site communication will be increasingly important in the future. Candace White is assistant professor of public relations in the School of Journalism at The University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Niranjan Raman works for The Burke Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Organization–Public Relationships and Crisis Response Strategies: Impact on Attribution of Responsibility

The study examines how relationships with an organization and crisis response strategy affect attribution of crisis responsibility. Participants were exposed to 1 of 4 different crisis response strategies, manipulated through news articles. The study measured perceptions of the organization–public relationship, and after exposure to 1 of the 4 news articles, attribution of crisis responsibility. People with a positive relationship with the organization were less likely to place blame for the crisis on the organization regardless of crisis response strategy. The study provides evidence that maintaining positive relationships with stakeholders may be more important that individual crisis strategies.

How television news programs use video news releases

Abstract Video news releases are an important public relations tactic, but use by television stations is difficult to evaluate. While electronic tracking exists, data are rarely shared or published. This study analyzed proprietary data regarding the use of 14 VNRs, which resulted in 4,245 airings across the U.S. Findings indicate all sizes of markets are likely to use VNRs, but smaller markets are more likely to use longer video segments, and to use them later in the day or days after the initial satellite feed. The most common use was as a voice-over story in an early evening newscast. VNRs associated with children and their safety or health got the greatest number of uses. The results have implications for public relations practitioners who need to make cost-effective decisions regarding tactics to target specific audiences.

Corporate Social Responsibility in Transitional Countries: Public Relations as a Component of Public Diplomacy in Romania

This study explores corporate citizenship as a component of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and considers how corporations may work as nonstate actors in diplomatic efforts, using a theoretical framework of political CSR that includes corporate citizenship. It also looks at how congruent CSR strategies are with cultural values of the host country. It used a qualitative analysis of 90 news releases found on Romanian Web sites of U.S. corporations, written in Romanian, and analyzed by Romanian researchers who provided a cultural lens through which to assess cultural congruency. Findings show CSR activities of U.S. companies are not always congruent with Romanian cultural norms, but may contribute to a culture-building process in transitional, post-Communist countries.

Examining a crisis communication void

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of information context in crisis communication. Previous studies have examined the effectiveness of types of message strategies used during different periods of a crisis. The crisis presented in this case is unusual in that there were no crisis communication strategies used to mitigate it. There was a void where a crisis communication strategy should have been, allowing for critique of what happens when crisis communication is not proactive and strategic.Design/methodology/approach – This is a case study of crisis response developed through participant observation and interviews with key informants, verified through quantitative content analysis of newspaper coverage.Findings – The study found that when issues reported by the media are not tempered by explanation of context from the organization, increasingly negative media frames result, therefore elevating the salience of the issues and the perceived severity of the crisis. When issues are not p...

Exploring the role of private-sector corporations in public diplomacy

This conceptual article explores the role of international corporations as non-state actors in the process of public diplomacy as the global environment for diplomacy becomes increasingly multi-directional and networked. It provides an operational definition of the concept of corporate diplomacy and depicts potential contributions of the private sector, particularly the role of corporate social responsibility, in public diplomacy outcomes. The private sector has vast resources to contribute to public diplomacy, but corporations may be more willing to support, rather than to directly engage in public diplomacy in order to protect their economic self-interest. Key issues for research about the role of the private sector in public diplomacy are motives and intentionality of corporate efforts and strategic coordination between business and governments.

Reputation spillover: corporate crises’ effects on country reputation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how varying degrees of media-constructed associations between organizations and their home countries affect audience perceptions of such associations and, subsequently, how recipients attribute crisis responsibility and reputational damage to the home country. Additionally, the paper investigates if pre-crisis country image can buffer negative effects of the crisis for the country. Design/methodology/approach The authors hypothesize that the strength of actor associations in media reports about crises affects recipients’ cognitive processes of crisis responsibility attribution and, thus, the “direction” of reputational damage (corporation vs country). Empirically, the authors analyze the effects of different levels of actor association in crisis reports (strong actor association vs weak actor association) regarding a Chinese corporation in a one-factorial (between-subjects) experimental design; and the intervening effect of China’s country image prior to the crisis. Participants for the study lived in Switzerland and the USA. Findings The effect of different actor associations presented in the media on perceived association between a corporation and its home country is confirmed. Furthermore, these varying perceptions lead to significantly different tendencies in people’s ascriptions of crisis responsibility (corporation vs country), and different degrees of reputational fallout for the home countries. Finally, the data did not confirm a moderating effect of pre-crisis country image on the reputational damage caused by the crisis. Research limitations/implications The study contributes to the understanding of key factors in the formation of crisis attributions as well as insights for the study of country image and public diplomacy. Practical implications It provides a new approach for corporate communication and public diplomacy to analyze the complex interdependencies between countries and internationally visible and globally known corporations, which potentially affect the country’s perception abroad. Social implications Particularly for smaller countries that cannot rely on political and economic power to defend national interests in a global context, their “soft power” in terms of reputation and country image can play a central role in their political, economic, and cultural success. Originality/value The paper applies a new conceptual framework and methodology to analyze how both mediated and cognitive associations between different actors influence attribution of responsibility in crises, and how these associations ultimately bear on reputation spillover for the different actors.