Organization–Public Relations Theory

The perspective labeled organization-public relationships (OPRs) emerged as a primary paradigm in the public relations field following Mary Ann Ferguson's call for emphasis on the relationship as a unit of study in 1984. G. M. Broom, S. Casey, and J. Ritchey demonstrated that relationship management delineates the three key components of OPRs: antecedents of relationships, relationship cultivation strategies, and relationship quality outcomes. Antecedents of relationships are the reasons that motivate organizations and publics to initiate relationships. Relationship cultivation strategies are the communication activities between an organization and its publics that either cultivate or deteriorate their relationships. Six relationship cultivation strategies—access, positivity, openness, sharing tasks, networking, and assurances—were found to be significant predictors of relationship quality outcome. The relationship quality is the product of the relationship ...