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The marketplace of ideas metaphor has long influenced how scholars and practitioners understand public relations' role in U.S. discourse and democratic society, yet it is rarely questioned. We argue that the unacknowledged aspirations and Western, capitalist values embedded in the marketplace of ideas could cloud understandings of public relations in society and absolve practitioners of certain consequences of the discourses they put forth due to the function of the invisible hand symbolism operating within it. This work draws mostly from rhetorical and marketplace theory in public relations, including fully functioning society, to present five central limitations of the marketplace metaphor. A case example of U.S. discourse about trans women in sports showcases the shortcomings of the marketplace metaphor in practice. We introduce the bazaar and other compatible metaphors to inspire alternative, figurative thinking about societal communication and address some of the limitations we present, though we also ask questions about the marketplace of ideas to improve its fit with contemporary public relations. This essay offers theoretical and practical contributions by extending metaphors to explain practitioner responsibility in societal discourse and outline the importance of suiting metaphors to particular public relations contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This moral psychology study surveys the College of Fellows of the Public Relations Society of America to examine morally relevant features and motivations. Using the Moral Foundations Theory assessment in conjunction with other moral psychology measures, the results (n = 59) affirm the exemplar status of Fellows, reflected in Global Character Strengths, personality traits and ethical ideology. Fellows reject relativism and rate Honesty and Fairness among their top Character Strengths, reflecting key ethical norms for public relations practice. Results also document links regarding empathy, justice and harm, reflecting the moral intuitionist orientations found to be common among populations in Western developed countries. Overall, the emerging moral psychology profile of PR exemplars embodies the spirit and core meta-ethical elements of both an ethic of care and neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study explored how 54 U.S.-based public relations practitioners engaged in ethical listening. Findings of the study suggest that public relations professionals engage in ethical listening by drawing upon deontological concepts of dignity and respect, implementing care-centered concepts of empathy and inherent connection to others, modeling inclusivity and attentiveness to diverse perspectives, practicing accountability to ethical listening, and remaining humble. Models depicting organizational listening should consider inclusion of ethical values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research into gender dynamics in the Public Relations (PR) industry has suggested that the gendered perceptions of PR roles, gender bias, and cultural norms may contribute to gender-related issues in the field. The current study, framed as an exploratory investigation, examines how PR professionals in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) perceive gender equality issues within their industry. Drawing on survey responses from 152 PR practitioners in the UAE, this research investigates the extent to which these professionals perceive gender equality issues in the PR sector. The survey results reveal positive perceptions of gender equality issues, although some specific gender-related concerns emerge. One key finding is that there are minimal gender differences in perceiving gender equality issues between male and female professionals. Respondents also expressed confidence that their organizations are implementing practices in support of gender equality and recognizing the impact of such practices on employee performance. Given the lack of data on gender equality in the UAE, this exploratory study contributes to a better understanding of gender equality among professionals and provides insights into the strategies for advancing gender equality in the sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to identify the extent of the use of Twitter network by public relations departments of government institutions in their various communicative activities, monitoring, description and explaining the methods of public relations departments interaction with the public who deal with government institutions and their accounts on social networks to learn about their perceptions towards the services provided, in addition to identifying the communicative methods practiced by public relations departments with the responsible departments within government institutions to know the public’s perceptions towards the services provided, and to ensure the upgrading of these services. The study methodology and tools: A qualitative approach was adopted using a questioner survey Key findings: The results showed that (88.2%) of public relations employees acknowledge the availability of the internet by the institution to its employees, and (48.2%) of them use the internet at a rate of two to five hours, and that all selected government institutions have an official account on the Twitter network at a rate of (100 %). The results showed that (88.2%) of public relations employees acknowledge the availability of the internet by the institution to its employees, and (48.2%) of them use the internet at a rate of two to five hours, and that all selected government institutions have an official account on the Twitter network at a rate of (100 %). The results indicated that (65.6%) believe that the higher management's understanding of the importance of Twitter in public relations activity is "significant", and the majority of the study community reported the presence of the higher management's interest in training them on using the Internet and social media in public relations. The study concluded that, communication with the Foundation through its official accounts on Twitter comes in the first order among the communication methods used by the public to interact with the Public Relations Department with an average of (4.73), while visiting the Foundation came in the second order with an average account of (4.12). E-mail ranks first among the methods used by a public relations practitioner to communicate with senior administration with a relative importance of (69%), followed by - in the second place- holding a meetings inside the institution with a relative importance of (60.5%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to examine how crucible experiences (i.e. transformative life experiences) influence the leadership development of U.S. Latinas in public relations. Through 24 in-depth interviews with mid-management and senior-level Latina public relations leaders, the findings suggest that crucible experiences differed between immigrant and first-generation Latinas and non-immigrant Latinas in topics such as language expectations (proficiency in English or Spanish), bicultural identity, cultural and social isolation, and access to power structures. They met their career and personal challenges mainly through advocacy, seeking instrumental support, and resilience. This unique inquiry fills the literature gap by proposing a new theoretical framework that examines how intercultural identities and crucible experiences influenced their PR leadership development, and underscores the growing importance of DEI in public relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public relations researchers make inferential claims about populations based on analysis and evaluation of data they have collected from smaller samples of people. A question that has been raised in the social sciences is how well the populations sampled in conducted studies represent or reflect broader populations. We also ponder, to what extent DEI-related topics are explored in public relations scholarship. We conducted a quantitative content analysis of 1,277 articles published in leading, peer-reviewed journals in public relations or adjacent journals in mass communication, strategic communication, and communication studies known to publish public relations research. We found that scholars are not providing complete demographic data when conducting research involving human participants; samples include significantly more women than are represented in the most current U.S. Census; samples overly rely on White participants; samples include significantly fewer persons of Latin origin than reflected in the most current U.S. census; and DEI-related publications are still proportionally few but are increasing. Based on these findings, we introduce the Researcher Responsibility to Diversity and Inclusion, which provides six guiding principles for journal editors and researchers to advance disciplinary theorizing and research and to make inclusivity a more central aspect of disciplinary theory and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen energy has become a pivotal actor in achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 in the era of the climate crisis. Regardless of its importance, three consecutive hydrogen safety accidents and their aftermath in South Korea have aggravated the public's acceptance of hydrogen. Hydrogen-induced risks have always existed in our society regardless of technical improvement. Here, the task of the government is to manage the hydrogen risk to prevent hydrogen disasters. This study included three steps in its research design; 1) selecting experts through snowball sampling, 2) conducting a qualitative email survey, and 3) analyzing the qualitative answer sheet by applying semantic network analysis. We found that experts' evaluations of the Korean hydrogen PR policy were positive regarding responsiveness but negative regarding openness, guidelines, and control tower. Therefore, we suggest practical policy recommendations; the central government should play an important role in cultivating professional crisis management PR personnel and others. [Display omitted] • Experts positively evaluate the responsiveness of hydrogen PR policies in Korea. • Yet, experts negatively evaluate policy openness, guidelines, and control tower. • The government should improve communication about hydrogen technology. • The government needs to cultivate professional crisis management PR personnel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the extent to which the professionalization of Lithuanian political campaigns has changed over the last 30 years. To achieve this, the article employs two main methods. First, it reviews existing research on election campaign professionalization. Second, it presents the findings from a case study of Lithuanian political campaigns. The analysis draws on data from interviews with PR professionals and politicians conducted over the past two decades (46 interviews). The analysis also includes a data review of party spending in parliamentary campaigns. Through these methods, the analysis finds that both candidates and professional political consultants increasingly view political campaigns as important. Professional consultants play a significant role in campaign preparation and management in all parties, with major functions implemented by external campaign professionals being related to marketing strategies and communication management. Furthermore, contemporary Lithuanian political campaigns are often permanent and centralized, using a variety of marketing tools and instruments to research the electorate and prepare advertising campaigns and messages. The study concludes that Lithuanian election campaigns are gradually becoming more professionalized across all parties. However, the degree of professionalization varies depending on the financial and human resources available to specific party campaigns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. Problems are inevitable in the subtleties of organizational communication, but it does not mean confronting them is uncontrollable. This paper aims to offer a conceptual structure for investigating contingency theory in Public Relations (PR) during an organizational crisis. The research investigates PR practitioners' use of advocacy and accommodation in contingency theory to intervene in crisis communication. It also offers insights into the public's emotional response and coping mechanisms during a crisis, as well as how understanding these emotions (such as anger, anxiety, fear, and grief, among others) could aid PR professionals in developing more effective crisis communication methods. Method. Empirical research was conducted on the basis of literature reviews by observing and analyzing the existing literature on contingency theory, crisis communication in organizations, and public emotions. Results. This conceptual paper proposes and empirically tests a few propositions. The implications for future studies are included in the paper. Findings promote the adopting a dual-continuum strategy that might assist public relations professionals in preferring superior crisis management strategies for obtaining desired organizational outcomes. Conclusion. The authors assert that PR professionals must move from embracing Grunig's four models of excellence to contingency theory for communicating strategically with the public. The authors propose to adopt a dual-continuum approach that varies from advocacy to accommodation and might provide practical guidance to choose a better stance adopted by the organization towards the public during a crisis. The negative emotions of the public influenced by a crisis along with their emotional coping approaches are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a multidimensional theoretical scheme to analyze professional ethics in the field of political public relations. We suggest investigating the decisions of these professionals using moral foundations theory because human ethical reasoning is contextual, and the examination of ethics in a one-dimensional manner as previous researchers have done overlooks the complexity of the moral choices that such professionals make. The prospects of the proposed theoretical approach are demonstrated on 16 interviews with post-soviet Russian political PR industry leaders that were conducted from March 2018 to April 2020. Our empirical findings show that Russian political PR specialists employ all moral foundations, however, in their narratives the "care/harm" and "authority/respect" foundations were not mentioned very often. Overall, this paper makes a critical contribution to research on professional ethics in political public relations, and it provides important insight into the specifics of moral reasoning in the Russian political PR industry that is insufficiently described in the current literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Book publicists are important intermediaries in generating earned media attention, creating discoverability opportunities, and getting new books into the hands of potential readers. Despite their important function in book culture, publicists' labour in producing and framing value in the book industry is often rendered invisible in the industry and scholarly literature, which we trace back to field-defining conceptual models, particularly Robert Darnton's Communications Circuit (1982). This article draws on interviews with eight Australian publicists to make visible, interrogate, and explain the material and symbolic labour involved in the affective relationship-building and cultural framing work of publicity. This article explores publicists' day-to-day work, their relationships with authors, colleagues and the media, and publicity's function in contemporary book culture. Book publicists are important cultural intermediaries: they are integral to the economic and social contexts of publishing, and influence and shape cultural tastes and value through strategic promotional work, resulting in considerable effects across the domains of production and reception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether in podcasts, online articles, TED videos, or its I Wikipedia i page, the UFCO still casts its shadow over Operations PBFORTUNE and PBSUCCESS, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)'s 1952 and 1953-1954 covert attempts to overthrow Jacobo Arbenz's democratically elected Guatemalan government.[4] Consistently, the overwhelming question driving this media is whether and how the UFCO contributed to the U.S. government's decision. After a few years working for the United Fruit Company (UFCO), lawyer Thomas Corcoran took a moment to gloat. "You know and I know that Communism and not the United Fruit Company is the problem", one UFCO official warned Zemurray, "but unless [the UFCO] can be taken out of the picture and promptly, I think the issue is likely to be confused in the minds" of many observers.[148] Again, the U.S. government and the UFCO's goals overlapped. Internal reports claimed the corporation was pushing against the grain, a lone voice warning U.S. officials about Guatemalan communism.[45] Actually, the State Department repeatedly intervened to prevent any discrimination against U.S.-based corporations.[46] Some lower-level U.S. officials in Guatemala opposed the idea of the U.S. government constantly protecting U.S. companies' interests abroad, but their superiors insisted, "It would be to invite wholesale expropriation of U.S. interests elsewhere in the continent, if the U.S. did not protest" the alleged persecution of the UFCO.[47] Nevertheless, the UFCO felt this was insufficient, for any challenge against its authority was unforgivable. [Extracted from the article]

This article is a review of the biography "Zelda Popkin: The Life and Times of an American Jewish Woman Writer" by Jeremy D. Popkin. The author highlights Zelda Popkin's significance in American Jewish literary studies and gender studies. Her writing, which combined journalism and popular middlebrow novels, focused on major events in twentieth-century Jewish life and centered women's perspectives. The biography explores Zelda Popkin's novels, her approach to work and parenting, and her contributions to American Jewish history, including changing roles of women, perspectives on the Holocaust and Israel, and her critique of American Jewish institutions. The reviewer praises the biography for its intimate insights into Zelda Popkin's personal life and its inclusion of the author's personal memories and family archive. However, the reviewer also notes biases in the author's assessment of Zelda Popkin's writing, which detract from the analysis. Overall, the biography is seen as an important contribution to recognizing Zelda Popkin's pioneering role in Jewish American writing. [Extracted from the article]

This research work analyzes the management of public relations (PR from now on) in purpose-driven businesses that, from the triple bottom line perspective (economic, social, and environmental), make up the emerging fourth sector of the economy, where those organizations that use the force of the market to solve social and environmental problems coexist. To achieve the objectives, an exploratory-descriptive research has been carried out by applying an exhaustive questionnaire to 79 purpose-driven companies (with and without B Corp certification) in 27 countries. The most widely used PR management model in triplebottom- line businesses is that of mixed motive and it is proved by the following results: - The PR objectives mostly seek to promote negotiation and commitment with multiple publics to find common ground, areas of agreement, integration and a win-win zone. This answers to the 'mixed motive model', which involves the fulfilment of organisational objectives while at the same time attempting to help other publics to reach their own. - This mixed motive model presents itself as an evolution as it combines the interest in fulfilling organisational objectives of the asymmetric model and in the area of mutual understanding of the bidirectional symmetrical model. It is about businesses that seek to reach mutual comprehension and understanding, but this means that the organisation and the public have to modify their attitudes and behaviors. - The bi-directionality of the PR management model is reflected in the businesses that believe they are reaching a 'deeper level of affective engagement' and those that seek to reach the maximum level that entails the participation of the publics in organisational activities. What's more, all the publics defined are relevant to the PR function. Nevertheless, one factor that can condition the achievement of the mixed motive model is that the businesses are conversing, or interested in conversing, with their communities of interest above all, and to a lesser degree with their specific publics, their stakeholders and with the public sphere. - They are creating collaborative spaces to carry out prospective planning processes. The PR management traversed by a communication strategy of the identity profile that is consistent with the triple bottom line perspective because: - Businesses prefer to associate with features of the triple bottom-line business community to communicate their institutional profile. They identify as: responsible, sustainable, innovative, transparent, creative, reliable, inclusive, and dynamic (identity traits). - Among the attributes that differentiate them from their competitors are that: they work with a purpose; they offer high -quality products or services; they generate a positive social and environmental impact; they have an impact model and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. - The institutional values that stand out are responsibility, protection, respect, justice (social and environmental), gender equality, honesty, and cooperation. PR management answers to current trends of in the disciplinary field because among the most significant work areas (communications in digital, social media, and integral marketing; CSR and sustainable development; consultancy/coaching; relationships with the community and internal communication), they highlight those that prioritise the comprehensive vision of PR management, sustainability and the most direct relationship with multiple publics. Nevertheless, transactional communication (the heir of marketing) continues to be significant. On the other hand, the work areas that occupy the least time of PR professionals are those that are: reactive to contexts (crisis communication); utilitarian in their vision of associated image strategies (sponsoring and patronage); or hyper- segmented and somewhat reductionist of the impact of communication (international communication and financial communication; relationships with investors). The most relevant channels and instruments for communicating with multiple publics combine trends that pose the progress of virtuality; the most bidirectional perspectives and the revaluing of personalized communication (digital media and social media); online communication via webs, e-mail, intranets; face to face communication; events and online media outlets (newspapers and magazines). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the roles scattered in the scenarios of the Turkish TV dramas, PR practitioners are ascribed various roles and stereotyped personal traits which are mainly represented by the female gender. They are designed and scripted as similar stereotypes that are negative characters with similar roles. This paper examines how female PR professionals have been portrayed in Turkish TV dramas. Using the approach of media framing from the perspective of gendered profession, this paper analyzes women in a variety of public relations roles in Turkish TV dramas produced between 1998 and 2020. A total of fifty-five PR female practitioners were identified in these fifty-one TV dramas. The results show that among the fifty-five (N = 55) PR practitioner characters, the majority were women (N = 52) and that the general tone of most of the characters was negative, profit-oriented and manipulative. Interestingly, the study also notes that the few (N = 3) PR characters portrayed as male were all portrayed as gay. This reinforces the idea that PR is portrayed as a feminized field. Misleading media portrayals of PR practitioners can have a negative impact on how people view the profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to address gaps in the knowledge and practice of engaging underrepresented communities in public communication and policymaking on environmental justice issues. Through a quasi-field experiment conducted in Madison, Wisconsin, we investigate how Black and Latinx communities perceive environmental justice issues and how these perceptions are associated with intersectional identities such as education level, income, and gender. Additionally, we explore the impact of different information material designs on fostering inclusive and diverse discussions. Our results highlight the nuances of environmental justice perspectives within communities and underscore the importance of tailored approaches in community engagement and public relations. Furthermore, the study reveals the effectiveness of visual information materials in stimulating diverse discussions, emphasizing the significance of audience accessibility and comprehension in communication design. These findings provide both theoretical implications for the field of public relations and practical applications for science communicators, public relations professionals, and community-engaged scholars to promote more inclusive and personalized strategies in community engagement. • Tailored engagement: Unveiling nuanced perspectives for personalized involvement. • Inclusive design: Visual materials foster diverse discussions, enhance accessibility. • Intersectionality matters: Perceptions shaped by education, income, and gender. • Empowering communities: Informed deliberation for underrepresented voices. • Practical implications: Inclusive strategies for PR and science communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The managerial function of communication and PR requires the use of a scientific method for decision-making that makes it possible to correctly define the starting problem of strategic programming through an effective diagnosis, establish the objective to be achieved and, subsequently, evaluate correctly the success achieved, taking into account that the final strategic objective is to establish relationships of trust with the publics. In this article we seek to identify the contents that form competencies and research capacities in strategic planning within the study plans of the own (unofficial) master's degrees directly linked to the function of communication management, offered in Spain during the 2019-2020, to determine if the graduates have been prepared, as future managers, to investigate properly. Matilla (2018) proposes a series of information and research techniques and methods -basic and applied- that should be worked on in the first stage of the strategic planning process and that will serve as a guide for the contents that should be worked on at the training level. Through content analysis, a total of 38 unofficial master's degrees were identified that met the first search requirements in the 2019-2020 academic year, of which, after carefully reading their subjects, competencies and professional opportunities, it was seen that only 13 were directly linked to the communication management function, both from an integrated department of an organization, as well as from agencies and consultancies. The final sample unit showed that the word "research" literally appeared in 7 subject titles of 6 different master's degrees. Likewise, the descriptions or contents of another 26 subjects included at least one concept linked to the initial stage of research, such as "audit", "diagnosis", "analysis" (psychosocial, of publics, of data, of insight, executive...), "measurement", "monitoring", "metrics", "evaluation", "audience map", "information search", "issues management", "research of futures", "interpretation of results" or "social trends". A third of the Spanish master's degrees directly linked to the function of communication management do not offer any type of training in strategic research, despite its importance at a professional level, and only half of them offer at least one specialized subject in research. There is no master's degree that literally includes all the necessary contents identified by Matilla (2018) to correctly carry out the first stage of research, although there are some universities that show a high interest in training professionals capable of empirical research. Reliable proof of this interest is the Carlos III University of Madrid, which offers more than 50% of its ECTS with some mention of research techniques, methods or typologies. In short, it can be seen that depending on the postgraduate training in question, future communication and PR professionals will be trained -or not- to conduct scientific research, so that a third of postgraduates will not have received specific training in strategic research and will not be able to acquire the research skills necessary to adequately exercise the management function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following research is carried out at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the National University of Lomas de Zamora (Argentina) and is part of a broader project on "Transdisciplinary approaches in the Social Sciences in addressing gender issues", where eight (8) research teams worked articulately on lines that link different gender issues addressed from different disciplines of the Social Sciences. A transdisciplinary methodology was adopted to articulate and rethink from different points of view that provide diverse perspectives on the problems associated with gender issues, which do not admit simple or linear explanations. The beginning of this project is marked by a social and political context in the region that challenges society, and therefore the professional field of any discipline, and promotes analysis of the situation of women in the profession. Since there is no specific data about public relations in Argentina, it is hoped that the results of this research can provide information to understand the situation of women in this field in relation to the glass ceiling. The situation was analyzed from the concepts of the glass ceiling, understood as those invisible barriers that women face when they try to ascend in the hierarchical levels of the organization and strongly associated with these impediments in the growth of women, the concepts of : "Sticky Floor" -which explains how women, having to take care of their families; they put aside their continuous training outside of their working hours, they have more difficulties to attend events outside of work, etc. (Upegui Valencia and Cervera Delgado, 2009)- and "male brotherhoods" (Segato, 2010) -or those informal but exclusively masculine spaces that enable the formal promotion of men in organizations-. A qualitative and quantitative methodology has been used, in which more than 250 selfadministered surveys (non-probabilistic randomized) and 17 in-depth interviews with leading PR professionals in Argentina have been analyzed, with the aim of investigating the perceptions of professionals about the phenomenon of the "glass ceiling" in the field of PR in Argentina, its origins, possible explanations, and their experiences in this regard, providing a holistic view of this problem. Given the lack of data on the specific topic of glass ceiling and Public Relations in Argentina, it is expected that the results of this research can provide information to understand what the situation of women in this field is and generate contributions that aim to reduce asymmetries. The final results confirm that there are phenomena in the profession that are recurrent in different regions of the world (for example, the feminization of the profession, the glass ceiling, stereotypes associated with gender, the existence of masculine brotherhoods) and yet in the study, other phenomena appear that contradict some theories and that allow to think of alternative ways to address this social problem. From the role in university teaching, the proposal is the co-construction and co-creation of educational and discursive strategies (Herrera Echenique and Bendezú, 2020) where it is essential to adopt listening as a pedagogical position: conditions must be generated for a new type of society, more inclusive, fair, and egalitarian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research aims at monitoring and analyzing the evaluation of practitioners in the field of public relations for the education outputs of mass communication higher education institutions and their suitability with the needs of the labour market. This study belongs to the descriptive studies of an evaluative nature, and it follows the qualitative approach. The study applied on PR professionals who work in private companies, government agencies or public relations agencies, following the available sampling procedures. (30) PR practitioners have been interviewed to collect the necessary data to answer the study`s questions. The most important results: • The recentness of the field of public relations in Egypt and its entry into various field (political, sports, social, educational, and health), in addition to the representation of all levels of public relations companies, there are international companies that deal with high professionalism, medium companies, and local companies that are limited to publish press releases to build a relationship between the company and the media. • The absence of regulatory bodies that manage and regulate the work of public relations companies by setting rules or principles that govern it, making it chaotic, random and unprofessional. • Missing graduates of media faculties, departments and media institutes lack personal skills and professional abilities that qualify them to work in the public relations labour market, which has resulted in the entry of graduates of specializations far from the field of media to work in it. • Despite the great development in technology, most of the companies that have been affected by private companies and public relations companies, especially with the corona pandemic crisis, where some direct activities provided through various modern applications. • Although the study revealed that the public relations labour market accommodates the number of graduates of this specialty, There is an absence of the graduate`s personal skills and practical abilities, which are the most important requirements for work in the field of public relations. • On the other side, there are differences between graduates of international, private and governmental education in the "nature of education, teaching method and the scientific material provided" and professional experiences. • The suggestions of most professionals focused on paying attention to languages (Arabic and English), which are a major requirement for the labour market, in addition to practical training throughout the university years and simulating practical life on the ground, in addition to the need to develop curricula to keep pace with the successive changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid-19 crisis has forced communication and public relations professionals from non-governmental organizations to develop new roles, especially in the new economic and social post-confinement context in Mexico. This study reviews their new roles, and which are the challenges that they face from the pandemic. This research covers the cases of Amnistía Internacional, Cáritas Mexicana, Greenpeace, Hábitat para la Humanidad, Médicos Sin Fronteras, Special Olympics y World Wildlife Fund. The study shows that there is no, a unique single role to manage communication and public relations. Their work is less strategic despite the dominance of the managerial and operational roles in the crisis. Their activity is more represented in the roles of the European four-by-four model of Anne Gregory and Paul Willis and with less relation to the four social roles of the North American model of James E. Grunig and J. White. Nowadays professionals intensify the use of the web and social networks, raise awareness of the pandemic, strengthen alliances between organizations, focus their online management efforts to retain, and attract volunteers. In addition, they try to stay on the media agenda. Likewise, this study considers that there are new challenges to be faced in the next five years. Those challenges include the inclusion of internal communication strategies, the strengthening of trust and reputation, the improvement of its risk strategy, the expansion of its target audiences stand out, as well as paying more attention to sustainability, and inclusion, big data, and algorithms. The great challenge focuses on being less technical and managing a more strategic communication with better leadership and digital skills to achieve greater recognition of their role within the organization and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various professional organizations in the public relations field have created opportunities for formal professional achievement. Among participating professional organizations, there is the Certificate in Principles of Public Relations for students near graduation time, and professionals may pursue Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) or Accreditation in Public Relations + Military Communication (APR+M). For advanced professionals, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) offers the College of Fellows to its members. However, perceptions of and participation in these achievement opportunities are varied. This study uses the lens of the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) to explore why people do or do not seek to attain these professional milestones. Mean responses on intrinsic social cognitive response variables (confidence, self-efficacy, goal-setting) did not show a significant relationship to motivation, but the extrinsic value expectation was significant. In addition, awareness and perception of these professional achievements among human resources and hiring managers were studied. Results show students and professionals who have earned career achievements have higher mean responses on social cognitive responses than those who do not. Hiring managers value professional development indicators as positive to have but not necessary if candidates have proven experience. Qualitative responses further indicated many respondents were not familiar with the Certificate in Principles of Public Relations, APR, or College of Fellows. Those who had earned these achievements were generally positive. Few students, professionals, or educators reported reaping no benefit once achieved. Those who chose not to pursue or who provided negative responses cited lack of necessity, lacks value, requires too much (e.g. time, money), or process as reasons why. • Awareness of the Certificate in Public Relations Principles is low among students, professionals and hiring managers. • The key theoretical variable driving pursuit of the Certificate and APR is value expectation, namely to be hired or promoted. • The primary value to seek membership in the College of Fellows is personal, to belong to a select group of professionals. • Hiring managers –in PR or HR—see some value in candidates having the Certificate or APR but also consider experience and degrees more. Membership in College of Fellows is less a factor when hiring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although scholarship discussing public relations professionals' roles has been abundant, ethical dilemmas facing public relations professionals remain implicit in such roles. Specifically, a theoretically-derived typology explaining the origin of these dilemmas and categorizing them into distinct profiles has been lacking so far. We address this lacuna by utilizing role theory to elucidate the origin of public relations professionals' ethical dilemmas and employ a deductive approach to extricate such dilemmas from each part of the name "public relations professional." Each part of the name signifies a distinct role with specific functions and inherent expectations. Put differently, each part implies specific values that role constituents expect role incumbents to uphold. As such, the name "public relations professional" has been deliberately chosen as it carries value-laden meanings, referring to an individual who exhibits an orientation and a commitment to publicness while developing, maintaining, and promoting relationships and upholding professionalism. In building our typology, we portray the "public" role as the midpoint on a continuum, with organization at one end and society at the other; the "relations" role as the midpoint between transactions and bonds ; and the "professional" role as the midpoint between employee and citizen. This leads to a multidimensional typology that includes three types of ethical dilemmas: organization-versus-society, transactions-versus-bonds, and employee-versus-citizen. We advance extant scholarship by explaining the origin of public relations professionals' ethical dilemmas and unifying such dilemmas in an exclusive-inclusive typology. • A theoretically-derived typology explaining the origin of public relations professionals' ethical dilemmas and categorizing such dilemmas into distinct profiles has been so far lacking. We address this lacuna by utilizing role theory to elucidate the origin of public relations professionals' ethical dilemmas and employ a deductive approach to extricate such dilemmas from each part of the name "public relations professional." Each part of the name reflects a specific role and implies a specific value, which role constituents expect role incumbents to uphold. As such, the name "public relations professional" has been chosen to carry value-laden meanings, referring to an individual committed to publicness while developing, maintaining and promoting relationships and upholding professionalism. • In building our typology, we portray the "public" role as the midpoint on a continuum, with organization at one end and society at the other; the "relations" role as the midpoint between transactions and bonds ; and the "professional" role as the midpoint between employee and citizen. This leads to a multidimensional typology that includes three types of ethical dilemmas: organization-versus-society, transactions-versus-bonds, and employee-versus-citizen. • We contribute to extant literature in two ways. First, we clarify PRPs' ethical dilemmas by drawing on role theory, which offers a nuanced explanation of the genesis of such dilemmas. Specifically, role theory provides a valuable lens for elucidating intra -role conflicts, leading to competing values within each part of the name. Second, by using the name "public relations professional" as a source of values and dilemmas, our typology presents exclusive-inclusive types of PRPs' ethical dilemmas. This approach can be applied to other functions in a business context, particularly as different names imply different values and ethical dilemmas. • We contribute to practice in three ways. First, we offer a conceptual foundation to PRPs by explaining the origin of their ethical dilemmas. Specifically, we clarify that when PRPs abandon or compromise any of the three core values in their name, they become polarized (i.e., adopting one or more ends of each continuum) and pose themselves with ethical risks. Second, our typology helps improve PRPs' ethical decision-making by enhancing their awareness and analysis of ethical dilemmas. Third, our typology helps improve ethics management by providing content for the design of ethics codes and training programs for PRPs, by recommending the avoidance of a work environment that pressures PRPs to conform to only one end of each continuum, and by highlighting the importance of creating a work environment that encourages PRPs to openly discuss their ethical dilemmas. • We draw two conclusions from this study. First, we show that each part of the name "public relations professional" represents three core values for public relations professionals. When PRPs abandon or compromise any of such values, they often become polarized, hence posing themselves with ethical risks. Relatedly, using the name in building our typology ensures the exclusivity of ethical dilemmas to PRPs and the inclusivity in applying such dilemmas to various contexts. However, this suggests a second, perhaps more speculative conclusion: the underlying typology cannot ascertain the inclusion of all ethical dilemmas. Mainly since ethical dilemmas are context-dependent and constantly evolve, reflecting a dynamic social phenomenon that requires continuous examination and adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hispanic or Latina/o community is an important and growing part of the economy, culture, and politics of the United States. As such, public relations professionals need to be knowledgeable about and responsive to the needs of Hispanic or Latina/o publics. Despite a growing emphasis on diversity and inclusion in the field of public relations, research on Hispanic public relations (HPR) remains largely unexplored. To address this gap, the present study conducted a Delphi panel with 17 experts in HPR in the U.S. The panel used a multi-iteration and consensus-building approach to evaluate different aspects of HPR, including the state of the profession, the competencies required to practice HPR effectively, the value of incorporating HPR courses into academic curricula, and strategies for recruiting and retaining HPR students. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for public relations scholars, educators, and industry leaders. By examining the current state of HPR and identifying key issues and challenges, this study contributes to a better understanding of the profession and its potential for growth and development. By highlighting the importance of HPR education and training, this study also offers practical guidance for those interested in advancing the field of HPR. • Delphi panel with 17 experts in Hispanic PR evaluated key aspects of the field. • Provides insights for PR scholars, educators, and industry leaders. • Examines the state of Hispanic PR, competencies required, and strategies for recruiting students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public relations practitioners and academics have long debated the merits of licensing; however, licensing has not been adopted due to a lack of appetite among practitioners as well as concerns about the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Using an analogy with the professions that practice therapy, we argue that licensing of public relations can comply with the First Amendment by providing incentives to licensees, as opposed to restricting the practice of the unlicensed. We identify several potential incentives and provide a detailed analysis of a proposed right to legally privileged communication. We conclude with suggestions for next steps toward creation of licensing and resources that may help in this endeavor. • Licensing public relations professionals can address crisis of mis- and disinformation. • Using an analogy with therapy, we argue that licensing public relations professionals can comply with the First Amendment. • Licensing PR professionals requires offering benefits for licensing rather than preventing practice of the unlicensed. • Licensed public relations professionals should be given the right to privileged communication. • Next steps toward creating licensure are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Listening remains an understudied concept in public relations, particularly with consideration for the complex intersecting identities and lived experiences of publics. Through 38 interviews with nonprofit and governmental professionals, this study sought to fill the dearth of applied research on listening and intersectionality and to develop an intersectional framework for listening in public relations. One research question guided this exploratory, qualitative study: How do public relations professionals embody listening with consideration for intersectionality? Findings suggest that public relations professionals across nonprofit and governmental contexts described listening with consideration for intersectionality via personal reflexivity, interpersonal sensitivity, organizational programs and initiatives, and community and coalitional collaboration. From these insights, a framework for listening with consideration for intersectionality in public relations is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media are already part of the communicative routines of most organizations, including communication agencies. Nevertheless, given their duty to serve other companies, these agencies should have an advanced understanding of these platforms, not only in their most profound sense but also in a time-advanced one. In other words, agencies should test emerging social media with the aim of knowing them in-depth and determining whether they serve their communicative purpose. It should be noticed that investment in digital advertising and actions with influencers are greater and greater. Besides, they are platforms that not necessarily remain unalterable, but some of them achieve their life cycle, even disappearing. On this matter, it is necessary to check if agencies really are working on the most recent social networks or only on those which are already consolidated. For such a research, the quantitative method, based on the content analysis, was adopted within a descriptive study. It was used on a sample of the ten communication agencies with the highest billing which operate in Spain. As secondary research objectives, it was considered to analyze the use that agencies do of social media which they are present in, to determine the existence of online content strategies, as well as to value the interaction level of these companies on online channels. The results show that most of analyzed agencies offer web 2.0-related services, such as digital strategy, online content management, monitoring and influencers relations. Social media talking, except for a few cases, communication agencies prefer to maintain a presence on the most consolidated social networks (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube). Furthermore, those are the ones that usually have links on their websites. This does not mean that agencies do not use the more recent applications, but that, mostly, they do not do this for their benefit as a brand. Otherwise they keep them in the background. In fact, some agencies use current platforms, such as Twitch or TikTok, publishing suitable content to their characteristics, which means that agencies know their possibilities, although their use is not still usual among them. Among the commonly used social networks, the activity of these agencies remains along the lines of what has already been concluded in previous academic papers: the purpose of information dissemination prevails with a self-promoting role. Communication agencies keep their social profiles updated and, during the month of research, they constantly published content, especially, information about themselves or about the communication sector, followed by news of common interest, clients news and projects carried out. Finally, although they published content frequently, the interaction with other users is low and, when it happens, it usually has, as mentioned, a self-promoting intention. In conclusion, communication agencies, as other kinds of organizations, are used to introduce social media work in their routines. However, it cannot be said that they are early adopters, at least to self-use. Probably, public relations professionals are researching and going deep in these new platforms, but in a private way, so agencies cannot, or prefer not to show their know-how by doing it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to understand whether there is a concern in a municipal body as the Covilhã City Council to legitimize itself; gauge how it legitimizes the public processes of urgent matters, such as the Covid-19 process; and find out which categories of moral legitimacy suggested by Suchman (1995) are more important for the citizens of the municipality. In this case, legitimation through municipal communication was analyzed based on an in-depth interview with the professional responsible for communication, content analysis of press releases released by Covilhã City Council, and with data collected in four focus groups in order to understand the legitimating processes and expectations from the citizens' point of view. The results show that there an intention on legitimizing that is not translated in a strategic or tactical-planned way. Although there is an intense communication around the urgent public process, with about 14 press releases referring to it in the period of six months, these are limited to a more informative character and to the dissemination of activity and political decisions, rather than strategic or with contents that seek legitimization processes with implicit and/or symbolic dimensions. From the analysis of communication management, despite the professionalization and even a structure in the body in question, there is no decision-making autonomy, nor monitoring of the public or planning according to analyses. In this way, ad-hoc communication may mirror momentary mental strategies of the manager and the team of communication and public relations professionals, but does not consider an analysis of publics, nor the production of specific materials for each segment of citizens. These findings are in line with conclusions from studies of government communication, which suggest the need for a strategic and not only tactical approach to build intangibles (e.g. Sanders and Canel, 2013). Furthermore, the study reveals that citizens have expectations in various dimensions, including public communication in awareness-raising processes and strategies with preference to better suited tools to all age groups. As a conclusion we can state that there is no satisfaction of the communicative needs and consequently legitimacy is in question. The focus group analysis shows that younger citizens seek and expect communication processes at the level of the role of politicians and dialogical processes; the dialogical and procedural expectations decrease with the age of the groups. However, there is a predominance of structural legitimacy in all Portuguese groups, which mostly include national and regional bodies. The roles of local processes are left to the background. Consequential legitimacy has less relevance. The professional practice of communication in the public sector in the case of Covilhã Municipality regarding Covid falls short of what is proposed by the academic discipline. This study contributed to reinforce the idea that legitimacy and legitimation processes are always contextual and dependent on the environment and that, therefore, without research on publics, strategic management and strategic plans it is not possible to have an effective communication management in the public sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to monitor the actual reality of the public relations departments in the organizational structure in health institutions (governmental and private), and the extent of consistency between the plans and objectives of the public relations departments in the health institutions under study and the state’s general plan to confront the Corona pandemic, and the procedures used to measure the extent to which the public relations department under study achieves its objectives set to confront the pandemic. The study relied on the use of the descriptive approach, by applying it to a deliberate sample of 60 individuals from public relations employees in some public and private hospitals affiliated with the Directorate of Health in Cairo. (Public and private hospitals) under study, and most of the sample members of public relations officials in public and private sector hospitals believe that their institutions succeeded in building a good reputation for them during the Corona pandemic, and that they relied on the compensation strategy as a communication strategy to create a positive image and good reputation, as the hospitals affiliated with them took steps and decisions to correct errors stay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to identify the effectiveness of electronic messages for public relations in communication between employees of private institutions. The extent of the importance of these messages as a means of internal communication with the public of the institution’s employees, in supporting or promoting the activities carried out by the public relations department socially, culturally and morally, and to what extent electronic messages contribute to the internal communication processes of individuals working in the institutions in light of the rapid developments produced by information and communication technology and its advanced and renewable applications In recent years, the form of electronic messages has changed; A new communication reality, its manifestations manifested in the concepts, administrative and intellectual systems, and organizational cultures on which modern institutional communication studies have relied, which in turn changed the methods of this communication with employees to manage public relations as a link and a concept of work. The importance of this study lies in the fact that it examines how electronic messages act as a communication tool to support communication and cooperation between departments in disseminating information related to institutional operations to work at the internal and external levels, and the importance of content that can support employee relations in institutions by implementing regulations or administrative and organizational systems. And others. As this study sought to reveal the nature of the effect of electronic messages on any variables or aspects of communication for employees of the Public Relations Department that may arise when performing institutional work, through application to a sample of employees in the public relations department in different institutions estimated at 120 individual in to interpret the results Studies used to show aspects of communication and communication using electronic messages to complicate or facilitate practical communication. The results indicate that most of the behavioral and cognitive motives are most appropriate for the proper management of public relations e-mails when communicating through them: deleting unimportant publications immediately after downloading them; The order of reading messages according to some criteria; After reading, immediately decide what to do with the letters; reply to requests via PR emails on the same day; and organizing the incoming read messages according to categories, and transferring them to different folders, in order to ensure the institutional building that enhances this communication. Accordingly, the study came out with recommendations for the necessity of managing and using electronic messages for public relations in the course of work, because through the results they do not pose a threat to the productivity, security and privacy of institutions, in most cases; There is room for improvement and measures that may enhance the utility of this tool. In particular, most workers may face some difficulty in organizing the information received through this method, and a large proportion of them still have behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interested in understanding external social control, this article aims to investigate the use of instruments and channels of social networks used to exercise social control under public administration, based on the citizen participation of residents in Recife (Pernambuco, Brazil). In order to do so, a field research was used, using unstructured interviews, empirical research with residents of the researched place, and documental research whose data were confonted with theoretical discourses. As findings of this research, interesting information is revealed for public managers, for the academic environment and for society, since it is concluded that despite the existence and availability of data for the exercise of external social control, these are still poorly understood. for a large part of the population; that citizens are interested in expressing their opinion on the acts of public administration; and, that the use of social networks/media should be better explored by information providers in order to avoid information noise and the generation of fake news. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to identify the importance of employing motion graphic technology in the training platforms and its role in developing the skills of public relations employees, accordingly observe their attitudes and tendencies towards those courses. The researcher adopted the descriptive survey approach by using the comprehensive survey style to find answers related to the study's questions and hypotheses, by applying to the staff of the Public Relations Management, whose number reached (23) employees of both male and female, at Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah Al-Mukarramah. The study reached several results, the most important is that the motion graphic technology greatly affects the majority of the individuals’ response to the study sample in presenting the training material content in Ethraie platform and this came at a rate of (65%). As it appears the high percentage of satisfaction in The study sample about the training content provided by motion graphic technology in the Ethraie platform is 65%. Moreover, as the study indicated that the majority of the respondents have benefited greatly from the courses provided with motion graphic technology in the Ethraie platform. So, this reflects the extent of their understanding and cognition to the benefit of using this technology in presenting training content. The study recommended doing more Arabic research that shows the importance and the benefit of using motion graphic technology in the field of training and other fields. Besides, the training institutions’ interest to provide some of their courses using motion graphic technology, due to its importance in greatly simplifying the understanding of information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes the theory of integrated gendered work evaluation in public relations (IGWE). It holds that gender inequalities in the workplace are intrinsically linked to work-related evaluations, specifically measured through levels of satisfaction and stress. We theoretically place our proposal in the integrative phase of feminist theory that acknowledges the holistic nature of workers' lives and their commitment to fulfill not only their worker or employer roles but also their commitments to family and communities. The empirical contribution of this paper builds on past debates from two decades ago: the need for research to isolate factors that perpetuate gender discrimination. It explores factors of gender inequalities and conflicts that can affect the work-related evaluation of those people who make up the majority of the industry's employees: female public relations professionals. IGWE theory provides a new way of identifying, contextualizing, theorizing and analyzing how gender discriminations affect work evaluations combining both workplace and private life experiences from an integrated gender perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an increasing awareness of the prevalence and impact of trauma on publics' lives, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As intermediaries who shape symbols, discourses, meanings, and practices amidst evolving social, cultural, and psychological landscapes such as these, public relations professionals must remain mindful of their potential to inflict harm on the recipients of their work and understand publics' lived experiences that may involve trauma. Yet, little research has explored public relations work from a trauma-informed approach. Building upon Macnamara's (2016b, 2018) architecture of listening model, this study considers how public relations can help enact trauma-informed organizational listening. As such, this qualitative analysis of interviews with 54 public relations and strategic communication professionals yielded insights for listening with consideration for trauma and harm among diverse publics. Findings suggest that public relations professionals engage in trauma-informed listening via respect and sensitivity, listening out for invisible or unheard trauma, consideration of power distance, understanding that the trauma can be inflicted by communications work, and with consideration for 'compassion fatigue.' Combined with existing organizational listening theory, this article offers practical recommendations for how organizations can enact trauma-informed listening. • Interviews with 54 PR professionals yielded insights for listening for trauma. • Findings suggest that PR pros listen with respect, with consideration of power, and with consideration of compassion fatigue. • Trauma-informed listening can be seen as a bridge function between organizations and publics who have experienced trauma. • Public relations would benefit from training that draws upon concepts from counseling, medical, sociological, and psychological approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imperial panegyrics were considered to be the subject of certain controversy. What was the exact purpose of this genre? Early on, it was dismissed as too flattery, which was a result of the desire to present the perfect image and the fact that this genre could be used and misused; also, the genre was said to depict the "inflated" sense of self worthof those who were written about. From one point of view, which was a little bit more critical, the panegyrics were meant to portray a perfect prince, in the hope that the emperor to whom the panegyric was dedicated would adjust his behavior according to this model. The other writers of this genre saw themselves as some sort of public relations court personnel, and panegyrics as poems created to depict the emperor in a way in which he wanted to be perceived by the commonpeople. All three given motives were often present to a certain degree, which differed from occasion to occasion, but it is also possible that the main role of panegyrics was simply to serve as a part of important public ceremonies, like some sort of a medal or diptych issued during commemorations. In many ways, panegyrics resembled custom-made or pre-ordered musical pieces of our era. Themes that those poems covered were in most cases so conventional (to avoid saying that they were trivial), and remote from anything mundane, so that it is hard to imagine that they were taken seriously either by the emperor or his subjects. The form and manner of presentation were much more important than the content itself. The writers of panegyrics gained wealth, privileges and glory not due to what they were writing about, but due to fulfilling the request for a perfectly formed praise and the skill to present the written. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Police work is constantly at the forefront of media coverage and public interest - there are only few State Institutions that are subject to as much media and public attention as the police. Public relations, therefore, shape its image importantly, and, at the same time, differ from the public relations in public administration and the private sector due to its specific nature. The article discusses the work of Slovenian police communication experts, their position and status, as well as their position in comparison with their foreign colleagues, and communicators in the public and private sectors. We examined the content and systemic limitations of Slovenian police communication experts and found that they are faced with lack of media experience, appropriate education and knowledge of contemporary skills. Key reasons for this situation are several: An inadequate staffing policy, organisation, implementation of public relations and lack of employee training. These limitations are also the main factors why police communication experts devote most of their time to the technical level of public relations, even if, for higher quality and modern public relations, they should act more often in a strategic role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eve of World War II saw the development of direct connections between public relations experts and issues of foreign affairs in the United States. Public relations professionals assisted both internationalists and noninterventionists to spread their arguments across the nation, helping them to hone their messages, to organize, and to raise money. All of the main citizens' organizations created during this period sought public relations assistance in the face of growing popular awareness of global events, and with an awareness of the need for public relations counsel in the face of an increasingly measurable concept of public opinion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activism represents a prominent and growing body of knowledge in public relations scholarship and practice. Most of the extant studies focus on progressive and prosocial activism, understanding activism as a form of communication that aims to further social justice and equality. However, arguably, activism is a polylithic concept and not all movements are progressive in nature or seek to further issues in a given society's best interest. One such example is the so-called antivax protest movement that emerged in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast to its depiction as a large, single-issue protest movement, the authors highlight it as a movement that brings together multiple issues, agendas, and worldviews. Drawing on Putnam's notions of bridging and bonding social capital, the authors argue that a movement's lack of ability to convert bridging into bonding social capital limits its longevity and impact. They suggest that public relations professionals need to avoid the temptation to apply convenient umbrella labels to multi-issue movements, emphasising the need to adopt a critical awareness of a movement's underlying issues and motivators, which may be varied, to develop nuanced and effective messaging. • The COVID-19 antivax movement is a multi-issue movement, which has been uncritically presented as a single-issue group • Activism is a polylithic concept deserving further critical attention beyond the extant focus on progressive movements • Bridging social capital may temporarily increase the impact, reach, and visibility of a social movement or activist group • A single-issue focus can strengthen bonding social capital, enhancing a social movement's potential longevity and impact • Multi-issue responses require active listening and consideration of different types of social capital & diverse objectives [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizations rely on employees to think, feel, and behave in ways that support organizational goals. Employees make up 90% of an organization's workforce and are often responsible for implementing organizational strategy. While internal communication, a key practice area for public relations, has been established as an antecedent to employees being engaged in their personal role performance, few studies have looked at if and how, internal communication cultivates the development of more strategic employee attributes: that is, supporting employee understanding of how their role contributes to their organizational success. This study determines what attributes constitute a strategic employee and develops a strategic employee attribute scale. Data from a survey of 530 employees in a government organization in Malaysia investigated the relationship between internal communication and employee engagement and examined their role in supporting strategic employee attributes within an organizational context. Data were analyzed using factor analyses and partial least square structural equation modelling. The results suggest that meaningful internal communication positively influenced employees to enact strategic behaviors, characterized by understanding of their organizational goals, emotional intelligence, and team leadership behaviors, mediated through employee engagement. This research extends internal communication and employee engagement theories of public relations by addressing the types of internal communication that improves the dimensions of engagement to help organizations perform more strategically within their social environment. This study conceptualizes strategic employee attributes for internal organizational publics for future research and public relations practitioners to implement with organizational members in business settings. • Investigates the role of internal communication that leads to strategic employee attributes. • Meaningful manager - employee communication increases employee engagement that supports strategic employee attributes. • Operationalizes a strategic employee attribute scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]