Public relations practitioner assessments of the role engagement plays in organization to public relationships

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  • March 21, 2019
Creator
  • Mahin, Stephanie
    • Affiliation: Hussman School of Journalism and Media, Mass Communication Graduate Program
Abstract
  • Engagement has become a popular concept in public relations research with the rise of social media. Attempts in scholarships have been made to measure engagement’s effectiveness of various public relationships. However, scholars have not settled on a common description and theorizing about the complexity of engagement has been slow. In addition, practitioners have been missing from the scholarly conversation about engagement. This research relied on the in-depth interviews of twenty public relations practitioners from healthcare, higher education, sports, self-employed, and software technology industries to provide a thorough understanding of the term’s day-to-day use and how it is evaluated to help organizations develop stakeholder relationships. The findings serve as a roadmap for public relations scholars and practitioners. Practitioners are encouraged to take a more-sophisticated approach in thinking about what engagement means for their organization by considering that engagement efforts triggers stakeholder emotion or encourages stakeholders to act. Scholars are urged to re-conceptualize complex interpersonal theories to gain a better understanding of the role engagement plays in organization to public relationships.
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  • In Copyright
Advisor
  • Kent, Michael
  • Cabosky, Joseph
  • Boynton, Lois A.
  • Saffer, Adam
  • Johnson, Melissa
Degree
  • Doctor of Philosophy
Degree granting institution
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Graduation year
  • 2017
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