Recasting public relations roles: agents of compliance, control or conscience

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to reconceptualize public relations roles, particularly the organizational conscience role, by examining practitioner involvement in organizational value setting.

Design/methodology/approach

Australian communication practitioners were interviewed to ascertain practitioner involvement in organizational value setting. The interview results were subjected to a multiple perspective analysis, which was used to develop a new framework for public relations roles.

Findings

The research found that most respondents were involved in organizational value setting, albeit at the implementation stage. The results also showed the potential for practitioners to extend their involvement to a more leadership‐oriented critical inquiry role. Based on this analysis, this paper proposes three agency roles: agency of corporate compliance, agency of concertive control, and an agency of critical conscience.

Research limitations/implications

The small sample of Australian respondents and the novel approach used to analyse public relations roles require further research. The results offer new ways for practitioners to enact the conscience role through dialectical inquiry.

Practical implications

The paper includes implications for embedding dialectical inquiry in public relations roles, and for integrating leadership into the technician‐manager role typology.

Originality/value

The paper examines practitioner involvement in organizational value setting through a multiple perspective lens and introduces a new public relations roles framework.

Citation

Sison, M.D. (2010), "Recasting public relations roles: agents of compliance, control or conscience", Journal of Communication Management, Vol. 14 No. 4, pp. 319-336. https://doi.org/10.1108/13632541011090437