Global Public Relations
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This study explores how public relations professionals at agencies manage their practices when they
work with multinational clients. It examines how the theory of global public relations, generic principles
and specific applications, is applied to the practice from an agency perspective. In addition, whereas
most theories and studies have focused on an organization’s perspective, this research tries to find out
how individual practitioners from agencies view public relations in global settings.
The research
questions for this study are:
RQ1: How is the theory of global public relations, generic principles and specific application,
reflected in the job of public relations professionals at agencies when they work with
multinational clients?
RQ2: What are the factors that the professionals think influence their practice?
RQ3: What do the public relations practitioners believe are the best strategies and methods regarding
the approaches to international public relations?
Method
Because of the exploratory nature of the research questions, this study employs qualitative methods
of interviewing. Qualitative methods focus on in-depth understanding of the phenomenon in question.
Qualitative interviews are “conversations with a purpose” (Lindlof, 1995, p. 164), through which
researchers explore a few topics to “unfold the participant’s perspective on the phenomenon of interest”
(Marshall & Rossman, 1999, p. 108). The interview lets the interviewees have their own frames and
structures for responses; researchers explore those topics using interviewees’ perspectives, not their own.
The research questions were investigated through face-to-face, semistructured interviews with seven
public relations professionals. The qualitative method was preferred because it provided the opportunity
for participants to discuss the research topic from their point-of-view. It also was useful to interpret and
understand the perception and attitudes among public relations professionals toward their clients and
colleagues as well as toward their job.
Convention