Anne Gregory

University of Huddersfield · Strategy, Marketing and Economics

The impact of artificial intelligence on the practice of public relations

This article proposes combining public relations and development communication insights so that organizations, particularly in the public sector, can engage and empower rural communities to adopt and exploit infrastructure developments for mutual benefit. Applying appreciative inquiry to explore the communication process involved in the development...

The use of chatbots to manage online interactions with consumers poses additional ethical challenges linked to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) applications and opens up new ethical avenues for investigation. A literature analysis identifies a research gap regarding the ethical challenges related to chatbots as non-moral and non-independent...

A guide to decision-making considering the ethical challenges of artificial intelligence in public relations.

Purpose To appraise progress towards “the professional project” for the public relations profession in the UK using the Royal Charter application as a pivotal assessment point in the journey. Design/methodology/approach Primary and secondary, qualitative research, with participant observation and chronological and thematic analysis of archival doc...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether there are information leaks immediately before CEOs change and – if so – whether some investors take financial advantage of such prior knowledge. It thirdly investigates the ethical, practical and professional options for communication managers to deal with such situations. Design/methodo...

Over the last two decades it has been argued that public relations contributes to hegemony by corporate organizations over stakeholder groups who have less power and resources. In its original formulation, the concept of hegemony had two defining features: firstly, it was conceived of as a society-wide, macroscopic formation and second as self-rein...

With spindoctoring, publicity seeking stunts and evidence of mal-practice, public relations is easily associated with the development of post-truth society. The elevation of bullshit as political coinage presents a challenge for the rational public debate which the public relations profession at large should have an interest in maintaining. In this...

The development of evaluation scholarship progresses, but the slow and incremental steps taken are largely refinements on a direction of thinking that has become established and virtually taken for granted. Most frameworks and models which have gained recognition in the academy and practice follow programme logic methodology. They also point to the...

Purpose Evaluation and measurement (E&M) remains a critical and debated topic among communication scholars and practice. Substantial research and professional efforts have been devoted to discussing what should be measured and which methods should be applied. Most of the E&M models seem to carry a positivist imprint. But, in real-life, organization...

A Global Capability Framework: Reframing public relations for a changing world.This paper describes a two-year research project the purpose of which was to produce the first globally applicable Capability Framework for the practitioner, employer and academic communities in public relations and communication management. Working with partners across...

Management writer Tom Peters noted that what gets measured is what gets done in organizations. Therefore, measurement and evaluation models and approaches provide insights into strategy. Furthermore, the most widely used approaches to evaluation are based on program logic models that identify objectives, planning, and inputs, as well as seek to tra...

This paper chronicles in detail, analyses and draws conclusions about the development of the UK Government Communication Service (GCS) from the election of the Coalition Government led by David Cameron in May 2010, to his resignation following the referendum vote to leave the European Union (EU) on 23rd June 2016. Looking at the radical changes int...

In spite of the macro-economic impact of the so-called ‘sharing economy’ there is a nearly complete dearth of contributions from the communication academy to its discourse. More attention is overdue, particularly for the conceptual pressure the ‘sharing economy’ is exerting on the public relations function. The authors propose a reconceptualization...

The notion of public relations contributing to the fabric of society is heavily contested in the public sphere and under-researched by the academy. The authors of this paper propose that the study of the relevance of public relations to society can be enlightened by turning to economics. Using information asymmetry as a framework, the argument is t...

One of the pervasive discourses in the academy is how students should be prepared for the world of work and how transformational change is required in Higher Education to respond to this challenge (Head, 2013; Barber, Donnelly and Rivi, 2013). These changes are driven by a range of factors including globalization, technological advances, changing s...

Public relations is operating in an increasingly challenging and complex environment. Pressures from outside the organisation include new accountabilities, empowered stakeholders, increased public cynicism and a new communication landscape. Internally, there are increasing demands to demonstrate a return on investment, alongside a requirement to co...

This chapter looks at the management process of organizing and managing communication within organizations. It looks at this from three perspectives. First, it examines the organizational context that sets the backcloth for organizing and managing communication. Second, it looks at the contribution of communication at four strategic levels: societa...

Highlights ► Explores some key factors to reflect on in public relations scholarship and research in the 21st century. ► Suggests that the field is ready to move towards maturity following a period of adolescence. ► Challenges scholars to reflect on the scholarship and research that is being produced. ► Provides an optimistic conclusion, reminding...

The challenges posed by the digital network revolution, globalisation and the empowerment of stakeholders (Arthur W. Page Society, 2007), combined with other events such as the global economic recession and a loss of trust in organisations, poses significant issues and opportunities for public relations practitioners. This paper explores the challe...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a status report on the development of the public relations profession in the UK in the first decade of the twenty‐first century. This is the most comprehensive review to date and its aim is to provide a definitive overview of developments and trends in the UK and the issues it faces. Design/methodolo...

Društveno odgovorno poslovanje je znatno razvijen koncept u zapadnim demokracijama, ali još nije jednako shvaćen kao koncept ili praksa u europskim formirajućim tržištima i zemljama u razvoju. Ovaj rad donosi istraživanje o društveno odgovornom poslovanju u jednoj globalnoj organizaciji koja djeluje u centralnoj i istočnoj Europi i europskim zemlja...

This paper presents the findings of original research into the competencies, or behavioural repertoires, of board-level communicators in the UK National Health Service (NHS). Eight core competencies specific to that group were discovered and these are presented along with the supporting behaviour sets. The paper compares and contrasts these compete...

The current situation in public relations programme evaluation is neatly summarized by McCoy who commented that ‘probably the most common buzzwords in public relations in the last ten years have been evaluation and accountability’ (McCoy 2005, 3). This paper examines the academic and practitioner‐based literature and research on programme evaluatio...

There is now a considerable body of knowledge conceptualizing the roles that public relations practitioners enact. A key element in the enactment of those roles is the competencies, or behaviors of those who occupy them, however there are no systematic studies of these competencies. Occupational psychologists who conducted in-depth interviews with...

Those involved in corporate branding recognise that interactions with stakeholders are crucial. Surprisingly therefore, the author found that there is relatively little in the literature or in the study of practice that indicates how the range of stakeholders can be actively engaged in developing the corporate brand. Stakeholders are usually regard...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a development framework for government communicators. Design/methodology/approach This paper describes how a working group approached the project which involved examining extant training frameworks from communication professional bodies, academic literature and practitioner communities; undertaking e...

While the academic literature has paid much attention to public relations evaluation over the past decade (Baskin, Aronoff & Lattimore, 1997; Cutlip, Center & Broom, 2006; Dozier & Repper, 1992; Walker, 1994; Watson, 2001), many studies have suggested practitioner use of evaluation methods remains limited (Gregory, 2001; Macnamara, 2002; Pieczka, 2...

The foot and mouth disease outbreak which started in February 2001 in the UK was the most severe civil crisis that had been seen in the UK since the Second World War. The crisis has been the subject of numerous reports, but this paper examines the communication dimensions of the outbreak, in particular the work of the Communications Directorate of...

The Internet and electronic communication has transformed public relations. However, a significant barrier in impeding further progress towards the free interchange of content, is the incompatibilities that exist between the plethora of hardware and software systems.XML (eXtensible Mark-up Language) is a universal computer mark-up language that ove...

Public consultation and engagement in public services has become increasingly important to UK governments. This has taken on greater significance for the Labour government as it releases increased funding into the public services. This paper provides a case study in stakeholder involvement in the development of the vision, values and goals of a new...

Over recent years there have been a number of initiatives for improving the quantity and quality of evaluation in public relations programmes. This has been partly because public relations practitioners wish to demonstrate their contribution, but also because, as expenditure on public relations grows (£3 billion worldwide by the end of 1999), clien...

Over recent years there have been a number of initiatives for improving the quantity and quality of evaluation in public relations programmes. This has been partly because public relations practitioners wish to demonstrate their contribution, but also because, as expenditure on public relations grows (3 billion worldwide by the end of 1999), client...

The Internet has brought about change in the way that public relations is practised. Not only has it provided another channel of communication, but the communication dynamic itself has changed because of the Internet’s unique combination of characteristics. Much public relations practice is still posited on dated theories of the system of communica...

The emergence of public relations as an academic and practitioner discipline has benefited from input from many sources: social science, behavioural science, engineering, philosophy, business and management. One of the main theoretical underpinnings is systems theory, with parallels being drawn between systems and how communication is practised. Mo...

Recent research among the corporate communications and public affairs functions of a sample of major public corporations in the UK revealed that 95 per cent felt that issues were handled in a reactive and ad hoc manner. Examines a management and environmental study currently being conducted by Rhône-Poulenc Agriculture Ltd. Demonstrates how public...

Much new work has been undertaken in the field of strategic management in recent years. Corporate planning, especially popular in the 1980s, has given way to new and dynamic management models. Similarly, various techniques for making organisations more effective such as ‘management by objectives’ (MBO) and ‘total quality management’ (TQM) have been...