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Abstract: It is almost a decade since the last empirical study of Australian public relations appeared in the academic literature. This paper reports on a survey conducted immediately prior to the onset of the global financial crisis aimed at revealing the state of public relations in Australia. In particular, the study investigated levels of professionalisation in terms of such criteria as the strategic orientation of public relations, its position within organisational hierarchies, and the importance placed on ethics and professional development. The findings show Australian PR professionals to be highly educated, comparatively well paid and frequently in positions of influence with their CEOs. Paradoxically despite these strengths, the profession in Australia does not seem to have outgrown public relations’ pervasive identity crisis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents a study that extends on previous empirical research, which examined the role of enabling ‘climate for innovation’ constructs in determining the level of innovation diffusion outcomes, and subsequent business performance in architectural and engineering design (AED) firms. Whilst this previous study elucidated the relationships between broad theoretical constructs, the present study was focused on targeting the significant enabling factor interrelationships with the core outcomes that result from the innovation diffusion process. To achieve this objective, a sequential mixed-method research design combining quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques was employed. The quantitative techniques included a correlation analysis to identify the strong factor relationships, followed by Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to determine the critical pathways for enhancing innovation diffusion and ultimately heightened levels of client satisfaction. Following path model extraction, qualitative interviews with five Australian AED firms were conducted. The interview findings confirmed the uncovered significant pathways, and provided in-depth insights into how the improvement of critical enabling factors could leverage improved innovation diffusion outcomes and business performance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]