Øyvind Ihlen

Defending the Mercedes A-Class: Combining and Changing Crisis-Response Strategies

Mercedes-Benz faced a major public relations problem when the newly launched A-Class overturned during a test drive journalists in Sweden conducted. The reputation of Mercedess star was at stake as critics accused the German company of producing an unsafe car. This interpretive article uses theories of rhetoric, crisis response, and coherence to analyze the changing strategies employed by Mercedes in response to this crisis. The article advises public relations managers that the characterological coherence of standing ones ground must be weighed against argumentative and material coherence. Characterological coherence might instead be reached by admitting error.

Business and Climate Change: The Climate Response of the World's 30 Largest Corporations

This paper analyzes how central the climate change issue is and how it is treated rhetorically in the non-financial reports of the worlds 30 largest corporations. The analysis shows a huge variation in the extent to which this issue is addressed, with some corporations barely mentioning it. Using an adaptation of Aristotelian topics to organize an exploration of those that do address the climate issue, I found four topics are central: (1) the environmental situation is grave; (2) the corporation is in line with the scientific consensus and the international political process on curbing emissions (testimony); (3) the corporation has to take measures to reduce its own emissions (relationship); and (4) the climate challenge poses an opportunity for business (circumstance). There is little to suggest, however, that corporations engage in the radical rethinking of systemic problems that the situations gravity would seem to call for.

Mapping the environment for corporate social responsibility

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to seek to improve how companies map their environment in order to identify the social norms and values that exist in relation to corporate social responsibility (CSR).Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical discussion is accompanied by a short case study that includes analysis of ten sustainability reports published by the oil company Shell.Findings – The mapping tools recommended in the literature of management and public relations have limitations. There are also weaknesses in the way that Shell, a supposed leader in the CSR movement, maps its environment. The public sphere concept is suggested as a fruitful supplement.Research limitations/implications – More in‐depth case studies accompanied with qualitative interviews are needed to back up the conclusions put forward.Practical implications – The norms, values and expectations regarding CSR are not fixed entities, and it is thus vital for organisations to engage in ongoing listening and dialogue to keep abrea...

A public relations identity for the 2010s

New voices are being heard and new questions are being asked within the field of public relations. However, in its present multifaceted state, public relations research is still struggling with recurring questions regarding academic and practical contributions. This position article presents some common starting points for a public relations identity for the 2010s aiming to preserve both consistency and multiplicity. We argue that public relations should be studied as a social activity in its own right and that it must be understood in relation to its societal context. Furthermore, we point to some concepts (trust, legitimacy, understanding and reflection) that are crucial to understanding public relations practice. We also argue that issues of power, behavior, and language have to be dealt with if public relations is to be taken seriously as an academic field. Building on these ideas we make some suggestions for empirical research. Finally, we propose, on a philosophical level, to develop a critical realist framework in order to study public relations scientifically.

Birds of a feather flock together? Party leaders on Twitter during the 2013 Norwegian elections

The advent of social media has spurred democratic optimism and been seen as something that help political public relations establish and maintain good relationships with key publics. Still, research has shown how, for instance, political candidates in the United States by large did not respond to messages on their Facebook walls. Another popular social media platform, Twitter, has often been deemed as an elite medium, thus reducing its democratic potential. The findings in this study show a different picture. Most of the politicians in the sample do use Twitter and its @message functionality. Furthermore, the extent to which they communicate with ordinary citizens is larger than expected. Still, it is a clear tendency that the exchanges are found in user clusters with little overlap between them. The researched party leaders mostly approach other Twitter users in unique clusters. Thus, Twitter probably functions to maintain good relationships with, literarily, followers. As Norwegian party leaders use the @message functionality more frequently than before – especially to engage in communication with citizens – maybe we are seeing a shift in how political actors engage in online interactivity.

Green legitimation: the construction of an environmental ethos

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of manipulation as a legitimation strategy. Focusing on the role of verbal communication, are integrated insights from rhetorical theory with strategic and institutional approaches to legitimacy in a study of three documents published by the “most admired” companies in the USA in 2007; General Electric (GE), Toyota, and Starbucks.Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on a qualitative analysis of three documents that describe the environmental focus and policies of GE, Toyota, and Starbucks. The approach involves analyzing and synthesizing a large number of environmental claims made by these companies.Findings – The analysis of the texts reveals a constructed organizational ethos that is combined with strong environmental focus to appear trustworthy in environmental matters in the eyes of consumers and stakeholders. Relying on four categories of environmental statements, the companies practice a form of “green” legitimation.Researc...

Mediatization in public bureaucracies: A typology

Abstract Based on extensive fieldwork, the present article illustrates how the logic of the news media is expanding from influential communication departments to the practices, routines and priorities of traditional career bureaucrats. To theorize the mediatization of a traditional bureaucratic rationale, the article proposes a typology for how rule-based public organizations adapt to and adopt the news media’s implicit ‘logic of appropriateness.’ We emphasize the importance of (1) the news rhythm and (2) news formats, but also (3) how and why being in the media is valued by civil servants, and (4) how this leads to a reallocation of resources and responsibilities within the organization. We find that career bureaucrats both anticipate and adopt a news logic in their daily work. The normative implications of these transformations are discussed in the final section of the article.

On Barnyard Scrambles: Toward a Rhetoric of Public Relations

How can we gain a better understanding of public relations rhetoric? This essay takes stock of the analytical building blocks that can be found in the public relations research and addresses the question raised in the introduction to this special issue: Can external organizational rhetoric help make society a good place to live? It is argued that whereas the literature on crisis communication and the concept of apologia—speech of self-defense—is fairly extensive, analysis of other subfields and types of public relations discourse is needed. Following the modification of its original epistemological basis, the concept of the rhetorical situation helps guide this endeavor. Such analysis can form a basis for a critical discussion of whether organizational rhetoric helps improve society.

Framing expertise: a cross‐cultural analysis of success in framing contests

Purpose – This article seeks to analyse the skills and knowledge that have a positive impact on the reproduction of the core frames of social actors in the mass media.Design/methodology/approach – The theoretical discussion is accompanied by a cross‐cultural case study of the debate surrounding the leaked e‐mail correspondence between climate researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in 2009. First, the authors analysed the framing work of the three main actors with their respective views, namely UEA and the blogs “Real climate”, “Climate audit” and “The air vent”. Second, they conducted an analysis of the media coverage of the issue in the UK, the USA, Germany and Norway, focusing on the importance of cultural factors, psychological biases and conformity to journalistic needs.Findings – The literature review came to the conclusion that public relations practitioners stand good chances to succeed with their framing when they are able to conceive a message in a way that: is resonant with the under...

Making news and influencing decisions: Three threshold cases concerning forced return of immigrants:

Some irregular immigrants get to stay, most are asked to leave. Many in the latter category appeal and seek media coverage to further their case. While the vast majority of these stories are not reported, some cases do receive coverage, and some even cause policy change and a reversal of the return decision. In this article, we discuss under what circumstances media coverage has such an effect. We analyse three cases where a residence permit was granted after sustained media coverage. In exploring these cases, we found the notion of strong frames to be valuable, particularly in how they link to widely held cultural values. The reversals, however, were also brought about as a result of resourceful frame supporters and journalistic engagement. Taken together, the article contributes to the more general discussion of the dynamics of frame production, effects and power.