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This chapter explores the extent to which female public relations (PR) practitioners perform professionalism in the workplace by interrogating and examining their professional behaviours. Using an ethnographic approach, where the researcher is immersed in the field, it uncovers the lived experiences and behavioural responses of women working in PR agency environments in the United Kingdom and enables a rich description of professional behaviours to emerge.

Fawkes argues that research into roles in PR ‘has tended to assess roles using management rather than sociological theory’ (2014, p. 2). That is not to say that all PR research adopts the same paradigmatic stance. Several scholars have encouraged the development of a research agenda rooted in social theory. Holtzhausen called for a move away from what she termed the ‘modernist approach to organizations’ (2002, p. 251), which focuses on management discourse, and encouraged instead a focus on the postmodern concept of discourse, where meaning is constructed and conveyed through social and institutional practices.

In seeking to discover the ‘lived experience’ of female practitioners, this chapter locates professionalism in the context of their behaviours and enables individuals to articulate their understandings of the relationship between performance and professionalism. Using Goffman's (1959) work on social encounters as performances in conjunction with Foucauldian discourse and Feminist theory, this chapter explores the three stages of performing professionalism – preparation, performance and reception – through the eyes of women working in PR agencies in the United Kingdom to explore their lived experience and determine how gender affects their performance of professional behaviour.

What are the academic experiences of senior professors in the field of public relations (PR) at the Brazilian universities? This chapter proposes the advance of knowledge on the theoretical framework of contemporary liberal feminism by refining the previous theoretical and methodological publications. This theoretical lens prevails in earlier works, with empirical studies grounded in industry and corporate environments – mainly done by researchers from the United Kingdom, North America and Scandinavia, while PR feminist postmodernism appears in European literature – all scarce in Brazil and Global South (Latin America and African nations). Moreover, studies applying female or male PR scholars in university settings are rare in national and international literature. Hence, we gathered data and analysed narratives from seven senior female PR professors from Brazil, using an interpretative qualitative approach. Thus, this chapter about the female PR academic experiences and everyday practices highlights the starting point for an onto-epistemological discussion to understand the liberal feminist educational-based context in a Latin American country. Henceforth, two conceptual-practical dimensions – feminist PR competence and feminist PR performance – along with three methodological recommendations are presented for enhancing the contemporary liberal feminism theme as a robust research domain in PR and Strategic Communication agenda.

The main aim of this article is to broaden the notion of strategic intent in public relations. It also develops an understanding of the social value of what can be defined as the first modern health communication campaign in Europe based on strategic intents and the development of modernity.

The study is based on both historical research and empirical material from the Norwegian tuberculosis campaign from 1889 up to 1913, when Norwegian women achieved suffrage. The campaign is analysed in the framework of modernity and social theory. The literature on lobbying and social movements is also used to develop a theoretical framework for the notion of strategic intent.

The study shows that strategic intent can be divided into two layers: (1) the implicit strategic intent is the real purpose behind the communication efforts, whereas (2) the explicit intent is found directly in the communication efforts. The explicit intent may be presented as a solution for the good of society at the right political moment, giving an organisation the possibility to mobilise for long-term social changes, in which could be the implicit intent.

The distinction between explicit and implicit strategic intent broadens our understanding on how to make long-term social changes as well as how social and political changes occur in modern societies. The article also gives a historical account of what is here defined as the first modern health communication campaign in Europe and its social value.

Exposing the hidden lives of female public relations (PR) practitioners requires deep connection with those lives. Stories need to be uncovered, interrogated, and ultimately told, to shine a light on the lived experiences of those working in PR. The methods used to collect these stories require deep immersion in the field and the ethnographic method is ideal for this. Ethnographic research methods have long been utilised to gain insights into the lived experiences of individuals and communities. This chapter provides an understanding of the strengths and limitations of ethnographic research methods in capturing the nuances of women's experiences of working in PR.

Organisational ethnography is an established field in business studies and has been used to investigate disciplines cognate to PR, including advertising and media, but, to date, has failed to be fully explored in PR research. This chapter examines the potential for ethnography to open new areas of PR theory and considers its potential as a means of bridging the gap between PR theory and practice.

Ethnography is not without its limitations; key concerns surround objectivity, the role of the researcher, and that of the participant, and ethics. Nonetheless, this method would appear to offer huge potential for the study of PR practices; the diverse nature of the sector makes it a rich area to study.

This chapter explores the potential of this method to offer an opportunity to investigate areas such as working practices, ethics in practice, power, gender, diversity, and culture.

The Astroworld concert tragedy is used as an example of crisis (mis)management and the potential utility of the 4R model. Although the 4R model has been implemented in high-risk emergency management situations, it is useful in the PR field because of its actionable approach, creating a way for practitioners to prepare for and manage crisis situations.

This is an analysis of the crisis that occurred at Astroworld, spanning preparation, day-of events, casualties and enduring reputational impact. The paper applies the 4R method to the Astroworld tragedy to show how it could have lessened or even prevented the tragedy. Finally, the SCCT model is used to explain why the official post-crisis statements were ineffective.

Social media has heightened the importance of a quick and effective organizational response to risk and crisis situations because poor responses can go viral quickly. However, social media also provides intelligence and crowd sourced information that can inform PR practitioners of emerging crisis scenarios. It is also an underutilized tool for two-way communication during crises.

The 4R approach is beneficial to general practitioners as it simplifies crisis best-practices, something essential for quick action. As our world changes and becomes less predictable, practitioners must have a clear plan to protect their organizations and the public surrounding them. This approach includes reduction, readiness, response and recovery, which are all essential in crisis communication.

The 4R method has not been explored or applied in the PR field. This paper highlights how the model has been utilized in the emergency management field and illustrates the way 4R can serve the PR field.

This study aims to examine the cryptocurrency adoption (CA) level among Indian retail investors who use cryptocurrency as an investment and mode of transaction.

Through self-administered survey questionnaires, data is collected from 397 retail investors of Haryana (India). This study adopted a quantitative method using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

This paper offered a robust model with a high explanatory value for CA in which four of the five proposed factors of diffusion of innovation theory (trialability, compatibility, complexity and observability) and one of the two proposed factors of consumer behavioral theory (perceived value) significantly influences CA. More specifically, the absence of regulatory support is a barrier to the broad adoption of cryptocurrencies, as its regulations are necessary to mitigate or minimize uncertain outcomes.

This research primarily focuses on CA in India. Thus, it can be extended to cover diverse other countries for more precise results.

The results provide insights to the government to design the policies, better regulate and make investment strategies that can ultimately enhance CA. In addition, the study’s results also inform financial educators, policymakers, employers and academicians about the significance of several variables affecting CA in India.

From a social standpoint, this study is an advance that directs central banks and governments to develop, regulate and manage digital currencies and implement a digital currency ecosystem. Moreover, the results assist in understanding investors’ perceptions and decision-making perspectives toward cryptocurrencies through the country’s digitalization.

This paper fills the study gap to assist policymakers and cryptocurrency experts in broadening their knowledge base and recognizing prioritized intentions. Additionally, this study provides a theoretical model with the latent variable for a present and pertinent matter.

Football is the world's most popular sport and the role of football on campus is of interest to university public relations (PR) and management professionals tasked with operations, promotions and reputation management. The purpose of the study is to explore similarities and differences in the structure and promotion of football on campus in the USA and the UK.

The authors completed this case study research by focusing on two related cases using cross-case pattern identification. Consistent with case study research, data collection methods were combined. Depth interviews with PR and management professionals at USA and UK universities were supported by archived documents, published media and social media accounts.

Football maintains a high level of popularity among students on campus, but each country's approach reveals different models and competitive market forces. In the USA, varsity football faces competition from popular revenue-producing sports (e.g. American football and men's basketball), but growth in the overall game, which is assisted by international influences, indicates future advancement opportunities. In the UK, football is the dominant campus sport with unique ties to professional football and high growth potential for the women's game. The lack of a fan-based model indicates the possibility for structural change, but stiff competition exists with the historically popular and well-developed professional game.

A well-known limitation of case study research is the absence of generalizability, and each case has aspects that are unique to the research (Lucas et al., 2018). That applies in this instance as well. Variance is expected to exist between, and among universities and, based on this data, this is not possible to generalize to other universities. However, future survey research could use these results to help with the development of research questions using quantitative methods.

Sports PR research using the case model with professional teams has been conducted, but the authors found no published PR research comparing the structure and promotion of football at USA and UK universities. The outcomes can help with future research inquiries and theory development and are instructive for professionals working in the field.

This study aims to identify the critical factors that can explain the intention of customers to adopt mobile banking services (MBSs) in an emerging country like India. Further, this study analyzes the difference in mobile banking adoption between males and females.

This study uses a self-structured questionnaire to collect data on a sample of 143 respondents. On the contrary, qualitative research was conducted to test the reliability of results from the past literature by a hypothetical study.

This study identified four components, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, compatibility and perceived risk, using principal component analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, significantly influencing the intention to adopt MBS in India. However, the Chi-square test reflected a negligible percentage difference in MBS among males and females.

The findings of this study have significant implications for both bankers and practitioners, as they can redesign their strategies by incorporating the parameters suggested in the study for better market penetration in the mobile banking industry.

This paper provides visions into factors influencing the behavior of banking users toward adopting new technology in an emerging country like India. This study adds to the past literature by exploring the difference in the percentage of mobile banking usage based on gender.

This study aims to investigate the impact and mechanism of new energy vehicle (NEV) information sources (IS) on mass consumers' purchase intentions (PIs) in China.

Around 902 valid questionnaires were collected using the questionnaire to analyze the different effects of three types of IS (official, interpersonal and commercial) on mass consumers' PIs. Besides, this study investigates the mechanisms by examining the mediating effect of perceived risk (PR) and the moderating effect of individual differences like age and education level.

The three types of NEV IS stimulate the PI of mass consumers, but there are some differences, with interpersonal information sources (IISs) having the strongest contribution, followed by official information sources (OISs) and commercial information sources (CISs) the least. Meanwhile, PR plays a mediating role in the effect of NEV IS on mass consumers' PIs, and age and education level moderate the influence paths. Specifically, the moderating effect of age mainly works on the negative impact of PR on PI, while education level moderates the influence of IS on PR.

This study contributes to filling the gaps in the current understanding of the role played by NEV IS in shaping consumer preferences and choices. It provides valuable insights for automotive manufacturers, policymakers and marketers to tailor their marketing strategies and improve information dissemination to effectively promote NEV adoption among mass consumers.

This study aims to explore e-wallet continuance intention in Malaysia using perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEU), perceived risk (PR) and perceived security (PS). Additional emphasis is placed on the degree of necessity of risk and security conditions driving the continuance intention to use e-wallets.

This quantitative study used a sample of 281 respondents. Partial least-squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the associations, while necessary condition analysis (NCA) was performed to uncover the factors’ necessity level.

PU is the primary facilitator for the continuance intention of e-wallet usage, followed by PS, PR and PEU. However, none were necessary for usage. E-wallet providers must emphasise enhancing PU, prioritise data security and improve the PEU to foster sustained e-wallet usage, while prudent risk management is a nice-to-have.

To maintain the survival of e-wallets, service providers must focus on prioritising PEU, PU and PS for positive user experiences, including contentment, utility, convenience, comfort and safety. Compliance with user authorisation, real-time transaction monitoring and comprehensive security protocols is a must for security concerns.

This study represents the limited empirical research focusing on risk and security in the continuance intention of e-wallet usage. Furthermore, an NCA was performed to determine the essential circumstances of risk and security for the continuance intention of e-wallets.