Proyecto: Investigación

Detalles del proyecto

Description

The field of public relations (PR) is inherently conflictual. PR professionals perpetually tread the line between organizations and their publics (stakeholders), often encountering situations with competing interests and divergent perspectives. However, understanding of conflict itself can vary considerably from one country to the next. Türkiye, South Africa, and Uruguay present distinct public relations histories situated within diverse socio-political, economic, and cultural contexts. National and cultural contexts shape how PR professionals perceive the meaning of conflict, the appropriate role of the profession in its management, and the preferred pathways towards resolution. This study delves into these nuances, examining how PR professionals in Türkiye, South Africa, and Uruguay approach conflict management within their national frameworks. Through the lens of contingency theory, which emphasizes the importance of adapting strategies to particular situations, this study explores the diverse approaches employed by these professionals, ultimately contributing to a richer understanding of the culturally contingent nature of conflict management in public relations.

Conflict situations emerge when organizations encounter incompatible interests or opposing viewpoints with publics, potentially leading to confrontational interactions. Conflict is usually defined as any situation in which interests or values diverge beyond involvement or knowledge. It can be argued that the conflict between "public" and "relations" is always within the scope of public relations because both involve inherently different and sometimes contested goals, roles, needs, processes, and desired outcomes (Shin, 2023: 2). Cameron et al. (2008:37) posit that public relations practitioners must develop communication strategies and processes to shape the trajectory of conflicts. These strategies should prioritize the organization's interests while also seeking to address the concerns of its publics, whenever possible. The contingency theory of strategic conflict management provides a useful framework for understanding the rationale behind this approach.

Emerging in the 1990s as a comprehensive framework for public relations, contingency theory has since become a cornerstone of the field through its application in crisis communication and scientific research (Pang, Jin, Cameron, 2023). According to the theory, organisations and publics exhibit a "stance" when they engage in communicative interactions. As a result of this stance, positions are taken that are aligned along two dimensions: pure advocacy, associated with concerns for self, and pure compliance, associated with concerns for others (Shin et al., 2005). In this approach, rather than describing the practice in rigid models, communication can be studied on a continuum where organisations take a variety of stances depending on the situation for a particular category of public at a particular time (Pang, Jin, Cameron, 2010). To sum up, public relations practitioners function as guardians, proactively identifying and evaluating potential threats that could escalate into conflictual situations. Subsequently, they establish a strategic position for the organization and orchestrate communication efforts in alignment with that stance.

Within the theoretical framework of the contingency theory of strategic conflict management, this study explores how the inherently conflictual nature of public relations, potentially influenced by national and cultural understandings of conflict, shapes the diverse approaches employed by public relations professionals in Türkiye, South Africa, and Uruguay.
EstadoActivo
Fecha de inicio/Fecha fin1/08/2431/07/25