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Given the link between quality relationships and supportive behaviours among organisations and publics, it is not surprising that public relations scholars and practitioners have turned their attention to trying to measure public relationships and understanding their value for organisations and publics. As part of the development of a diagnostic tool for measuring relationships, the present study attempted to test a measurement scale for the organisation‐public relationship. This research effort was designed to test empirically Hon and Grunig’s proposed organisation‐public relationship instrument. Although each of the two data sets displayed slightly different operationalised items, the two groups of subjects similarly perceived the six‐factor (trust, satisfaction, control mutuality, commitment, exchange relationship, communal relationship) measures as a valid and reliable instrument for measuring their relationship with the university.

While non-profit organization (NPO)-corporate alliances have proliferated in recent years, study has yet to examine on the perception of corporations toward NPOs. The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors that shape corporate perceptions of NPOs. What does the corporation consider when evaluating the activities of an NPO? Which factors are accorded the most importance when the corporate sector observes the NPO sector?

Corporate respondents generally held negative attitudes toward NPOs in terms of general activism functions. In contrast, they held neutral perceptions on trustworthiness. In factor analysis, the four factors that directed how corporate executives perceived activist groups were “positive functions of activists,” “negative aspects of organizational culture,” “trustworthy characteristics,” and “expected ethical management practices.”

While the participating corporate executives expressed positive attitudes toward activists and the role that they play in society, they showed negative attitudes toward their management style and their organizational culture. In particular, they expressed negative perceptions of the activists’ perceived elitism in their management style and internally oriented approach to the decision-making process.

Empirical evidence gathered in this study could shed light on how public relations professionals at NPOs build and maintain relationships with corporate sector, which has resources to support organization financially as well as emotionally.

The purpose of this study was to compare major corporations’ web sites both in the USA and in South Korea to identify the differences in features posted on their home pages and to examine the relationship between the features and the theoretical public relations model.

Content analysis of two countries’ 30 corporate web sites based on Grunig's public relations model.

The two countries’ corporations predominantly practised press agentry and a public information model from the perspective of a public relations theoretical model. In general, US corporations post more promotional and informative information related to products or services than South Korean corporations.

Future studies of the world wide web should be extended to public relations practitioners, who are making and maintaining the web sites.

It appears that many corporate home pages, in both countries, have not made use of the powerful tool of two‐way communication for monitoring what others are saying about the corporations, since most corporations are more likely to focus on displaying one‐way promotional features than on building relationships between organizations and their public.

Although the world wide web is a new communication medium, it appears that public relations practitioners still see media relations and image building as the most prominent responsibilities of public relations.