With the continual expansion of social media, organization-public relationships (OPR) have become all the more important to keep up with consumers. While historically companies have maintained a public relations office, a relatively new idea of actually building relationships through the media has started to emerge through social media. Using observations of bloggers through a netnographic study and discourse analysis, this paper confirms that corporate executive blogs can be used to effectively manage customer relations. Using a sample of 123 blog posts and comments from the medical, technology, and travel industries, this study validates that OPRs can be maintained and strengthened through blogs while justifying the time commitment and devotion executives give to keep in touch with consumers. / text

Social media's impact on nonprofit organizations' annual fund revenues has not been widely studied. The purpose of this case study was to examine how one organization used Facebook and Twitter to build and maintain relationships with its constituents and how those relationships affected annual fund revenues. The organization selected was a national voluntary health nonprofit that conducts research on pediatric brain tumors causes and treatments and provides support to families facing a diagnosis. Hon and Grunig's measurements for long-term organization-public relationships and Kelly's theory of fundraising were the conceptual basis for this study. Data were collected through interviews with employees and constituents, organizational social media analytics such as Facebook Insights, and a week of Facebook and Twitter content. Data were coded inductively and analyzed using classical content analysis. Results indicate that although both the organization constituents and employees interviewed saw social media as a valuable tool to communicate information, it was not having a direct, immediate effect on annual fund revenues. Recommendations were that the organization leaders consider expanding to other social media platforms and track constituents with whom they frequently interact to determine if they make a gift or fundraise through an event in the future. The positive social change implications of this study include recommendations to nonprofit leaders to connect with their constituents with the cost-effective tool of social media and to track how it affects direct donations or participation in its fundraising events. An organization that can keep its expenses low as it connects with its constituents could direct more of its annual revenues into its mission.

A modified grounded theory approach was used to analyze the 2016 Target #NOFOMO swimwear campaign in which Target partnered with top bloggers and social media influencers to promote their inclusive swimwear line. Public and public prioritization as well as message themes, message styles, and message consistency were analyzed in research questions one A through F. Relationship management theory emphasizes that the organization-public relationship is key to organizational success. Constructs of trust, openness, and transparency are important measures of this organization-public relationship. Thus, research question two analyzed the frequencies of these constructs in public commentary on Target and blogger related content. Findings indicate that there was overall campaign consistency in both message themes and message styles across Target, the bloggers, and their publics. Moreover, the campaign prioritized the social media platform Instagram and, in doing so, created an intentional online social community of strategic publics that helped facilitate trust between Target, the bloggers, and their publics. Trust was the most frequently used construct of relationship management theory in public commentary, transparency seemed to be assumed in trust, despite the low frequency findings. Target mainly prioritized small-bodied white models/bloggers despite the campaign's inclusive messages and the greater opportunities for public interaction when medium- and large-bodied, non-white models/bloggers were featured. Finally, campaign disclosure and disclosure placement by Target partners were inconsistent across social media platforms which remains troubling in light of FTC requirements and Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Code of Ethics guidelines. / Master of Arts / In 2016, Target partnered with top bloggers and social media influencers to promote their #NOFOMO swimwear campaign, which emphasized their inclusive message and extended swimwear sizes. The analysis examined publics, public prioritization, message themes, message styles, and message consistency through an examination of press releases, blog posts, and related posts on social media platforms. In addition, comments on these same platforms were analyzed to determine if constructs of trust, transparency, and openness were apparent between Target, the bloggers, and their publics. Findings indicate that there was overall campaign consistency in both message themes and message styles across Target, the bloggers, and their publics. Moreover, the campaign prioritized the social media platform Instagram and, in doing so, created an intentional online social community of strategic publics that helped facilitate trust between Target, the bloggers, and their publics. In examining trust, the analysis also showed that commenters assumed transparency in their trust of Target and the bloggers. Target mainly prioritized smallbodied white models/bloggers despite the campaign’s inclusive messages and the greater opportunities for public interaction when medium- and large-bodied, non-white models/bloggers were featured. Finally, campaign disclosure and disclosure placement by Target partners were inconsistent across social media platforms which remains troubling in light of FTC requirements and Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Code of Ethics guidelines.

Despite a growing amount of research on social media, little research has been conducted to investigate why consumers connect with brands on Facebook. As companies continue to expand their presence to the social networking website, a gap in research on social media has formed. This study focuses on consumer's connection with a brand on Facebook. To do this, this research focuses on the connection of consumers with Oreo on the website to identify the environment created that engages those who connect with the brand online. Oreo was selected as the focus of the research due to its popularity on Facebook as well as the steady engagement that occurs on its page. Utilizing a phenomenological method, this qualitative study features 12 interviews in which current Oreo fans on Facebook discussed their experience and motivations for connecting with the brand. The interview questions were designed to investigate whether the tenets of relationship management theory and Ledingham's (2003) five dimensions of organization-public relationships (trust, openness, investment, involvement, and commitment) aligned with interaction on Facebook. Overall, the responses of the participants identified a connection between organization-public relationships and engagement on social media.

This study presents an exploration of the autonomy-dependence paradox inherent in organization-public relationships that is informed by paradox theory, structuration theory and scholarly and philosophical literature on authenticity. These theories suggest that relationships between organizations and their publics are defined by interdependence, or the centripetal and centrifugal forces of autonomy and dependence that cause tensions that can influence the decision making of the relational partners. They also suggest that organizations must use their agency, their knowledge of relational structures, and their understanding of their authentic selves to manage their own behavior and communication rather than that of their publics. The case studies presented in this paper were assembled from fourteen semi-structured in-depth interviews of museum professionals at the Brigham Young University Museum of Art, museum archival documents, and news media reports. The data shows that organizations can benefit from adopting a framework based paradox theory, structuration theory, and authentic leadership theory to avoid harmful defensive mechanisms and vicious cycles by seeking divergent solutions. The value of this study is that it illustrates how paradoxical tensions can influence the decision-making process in organizations, as well as the ways in which organizations can manage their own behavior and communication in spite of natural tendencies to manage and control stakeholders and publics. This study also shows a need for future research to explore other paradoxes in the field of public relations, conduct more case studies of different types of organizations, and develop methodologies to evaluate the effect of these strategies on the health of organization-public relationships.

The purpose of this research is to identify best practices for public relations professionals when engaging with a Millennial performing arts audience, focusing on Hon and Grunig's relationship management theory (1999) and Kent and Taylor’s theory of dialogic communication (2014) to build interactivity in a digital space. Performing arts organizations have successfully engaged with previous generations, but are facing new challenges when communicating with millennial audiences. Changing demographics have led to a stagnation and decline of performing arts attendance as the millennial generation has come of age. This massive population has new priorities for spending and consumption of entertainment, and social media is their preferred channel of communication as opposed to print and broadcast media. The researcher distributed a survey to patrons of the Orlando Shakespeare theatre to identify their perspectives of current public relations practices. Results from 148 respondents indicated that the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre maintains strong relationships with Millennials (N=6) and non-Millennials alike, as made evident by their practice of Baumgarth's cultural consumer behaviors (2014). However, a larger sample of Millennial patrons is necessary to determine best practices for the specific population. The primary product of this research is the creation of a theory-driven survey that can be used to effectively measure the depth of a performing arts organization's relationship with its patrons, and a case study exemplifying a successful organization.

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This thesis makes a new contribution to the field of corporate social responsibility in the area of corporate community engagement (CCE) and public relations in the area of organization-public relationships (OPRs). The thesis focuses on the Nigerian oil and gas industry community relationship in the Niger Delta region. This study provides valuable insights into how CCE works for enhancing stakeholder relationship and other desirable outcomes and thereby contributes to the growing body of knowledge on CSR in public relations. For the practice of CCE, this study reinforces the importance of relationship management as a viable and robust strategy that can bring long-term benefits both to organizations and society in general. A qualitative approach was adopted as it is considered appropriate for the research, which focuses on assessing stakeholders’ views regarding the relationship between oil and gas company and their host community in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Also, exploring how the stakeholders juxtapose their understanding of the relationship determinants between the oil and gas company and their host community. Semi-structured interviews served as the primary source of data collection from various stakeholders during fieldwork in Nigeria. Secondary methods served a crucial but minor role and were used primarily for the purpose of the researcher as a tool to double check the interview findings. Thirty-five respondents provided their views and opinions concerning the relationship between the oil and gas companies and communities in the region. The study uncovered the importance of culture, social awareness, social identity, corruption, insecurity, mediation and weak institutional structures as crucial predictors of relationship determinants for the oil and gas companies during engagement with their host communities. Moreover, this study explored the research on relationship success determinants key constructs (i.e. control mutuality, trust, commitment and satisfaction) to a qualitative assessment. Also, the developed framework emphasised the need for using these factors for assessing and building a successful long term relationship. Another key finding was that there is a significant difference between how multinational oil companies (MNOCs) and indigenous oil companies (INOCs) engage with the community. This finding suggests that the INOCs have a better approach in the engagement of host communities.

This thesis makes a new contribution to the field of public relations in the area of organization-public relationships (OPRs). The thesis focuses on a petroleum industry-community relationship in Sundre, Alberta, Canada, which was explored in-depth. A qualitative phenomenological orientation was adopted as it suited the focus of the research which was to explore and describe the lived experiences of the actual participants involved in the Organization-Public Relationship phenomenon as well as how they described the relational elements and related them to their experience of the OPR. In-depth interviews, as the primary method, were conducted with both industry and community members. Secondary methods played an important but minor role and were used primarily for the purpose of the researcher as a tool to double check the interview findings and included participant observation, discourse analysis, and a small co-orientation survey. The empirical research undertaken uncovered the importance of the background context of the OPR when engaging in relationship building and maintenance activities, opinions regarding the relational elements, relationship building processes, including the importance of having communication and trust building workshops. An interesting finding for this particular industry-community relationship emerged concerning the influence of ‘management guru’ Stephen Covey’s work which shaped the way the industry and community members engaged with each other. Trust emerged as the fundamental relational element, whilst transparency was critical for rebuilding trust after a crisis. This thesis has added to the body of theoretical knowledge in the field of public relations. Specifically it extended the understanding of an area of practice, community relations, and it has explored options for the management of activism and community engagement. The thesis also contributes to public relations practice. Public relations practitioners working within the oil and gas industry as well as other non-renewable resource extraction industries are responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with key publics, including the communities they operate within. Practitioners need to be able to work with the relational parties and collaborate in the development of processes that meet the needs of the participants. As practitioners shift their focus to developing relationships with key publics they will need to develop new skills in areas such as conflict resolution, community engagement, and interpersonal relationship building. This piece of research is functional as it reflects on the OPR and highlights findings that are useful for gaining insight into the relational dynamics for academics and practitioners as well as questioning the power distribution and dynamics within this particular OPR. By adopting the phenomenological approach it has provided a representation of an OPR, which whilst it cannot be generalized it does provide a richer understanding of how relationship building processes can operate as well as the importance of trust and transparency building when there has been a relational history of hostility, distrust and deep unhappiness. Further qualitative research should explore the development and maintenance of the other OPRs in order to understand more about the various contexts, processes, content and ability to set agendas within relationships. It would also be interesting to further explore the influence of management gurus and management fashions adopted or promoted by senior management involved in OPRs and illuminate how these approaches are implemented and impact an organization’s external relationships.

Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 40-45).