Communicating with Global Publics: Building a Theoretical Framework for International Public Relations

This article explores the origins of corporate public relations by examining the untold story of railroad development and expansion in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Understanding the circumstances surrounding Virginia’s pioneer railroads, which emerged at a tumultuous time within a state deeply divided over the related issues of the railroad and slavery, can enrich our comprehension of public relations history in corporate contexts. Fully functioning society theory (FFST) is used as a theoretical framework to guide the historical analysis of the rise of the railroad in Virginia in the 19th and 20th centuries. The article expands FFST’s application to historical inquiry and productively directs attention to the varied and complex nature of the emergence of corporate public relations without venerating or denigrating the field’s origins.

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Strategising Impression Management in Corporations

Cultural Implications of Knowledge Sharing, Management and Transfer - Advances in Knowledge Acquisition, Transfer, and Management ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-790-4.ch004 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 60-83 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Caroline Kamau

Keyword(s):

Public Relations ◽

Multinational Corporations ◽

Impression Management ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Cultural Knowledge ◽

Cultural Training ◽

Cross Cultural Training ◽

International Public Relations ◽

Or Organization ◽

Knowledge Audit

Impression management is a powerful psychological phenomenon with much unexplored potential in corporate settings. Employees or corporations can deploy impression management strategies in order to manipulate others’ perceptions of them. Cultural knowledge is powerful capital in impression management, yet this has not been sufficiently explored in previous literature. This chapter argues that impression-motivated employees or corporations need to perform a three-step knowledge audit: (i) knowing what their impression deficits are; (ii) knowing what impression management strategy is needed to address that deficit, based on the taxonomy of impression management strategies tabulated here; (iii) knowing what societal (e.g. collectivist culture or individualist culture) or organization-specific cultural adjustments are needed. A cultural knowledge base can thus be created through cross-cultural training of and knowledge transfer by expatriates. Multinational corporations can also benefit from utilising the knowledge presented in this chapter in their international public relations efforts.

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