Excellence Theory

Excellence theory explains how public relations as a management function can contribute to the planning and response processes necessary for organizational effectiveness. Excellence was the term adopted from management theory to represent the theoretical foundations for the landmark study funded by a $400,000 grant from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Research Foundation. The excellence study, headed by James E. Grunig, resulted in the publication of three books: James E. Grunig's 1992 Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management (theory and literature review); David M. Dozier, Larissa A. Grunig, and J. E. Grunig's 1995 Manager's Guide to Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management (principles for implementing the research findings); and L. A. Grunig, J. E. Grunig, and Dozier's 2002 Excellent Public Relations and Effective Organizations: A Study of Communication Management in Three Countries (findings and theoretical refinement of excellence theory). The 2002 book observed, “The major premise of the excellence theory states that communication has value to an organization because it helps to build good long-term relationships with strategic publics” (p. 57).

The excellence study spanned over a decade and quantitatively studied 312 organizations on an international level; it included qualitative research in 25 of those organizations. It included organizations of all types, including corporations, government agencies, nonprofits, and associations. The team of researchers sought to identify key factors that make public relations “excellent” in its contribution to organizational effectiveness, its role as a management function, and the ideal [Page 324]internal composition, structure, and role of the function. The organizations selected to participate in the excellence study either had records as excellent communicators and served as best-case exemplars or were known for poor communications, serving as examples of what impedes effective public relations.

By reviewing literature drawn from many disciplines, the team developed and tested theoretical propositions. Those propositions and research-based conclusions helped to form the excellence theory and were refined into the principles of excellence.

Factor analysis of the data, the mathematic search for data clustering around underlying patterns, revealed what the researchers labeled the “excellence factor.” The excellence factor comprises several characteristics that span organization size and type, culture, and other influences, allowing them to be labeled “generic” principles of excellence. These characteristics are the backbone of the excellence theory, providing a normative yet practical guide for how public relations can make the maximal contribution to an organization.

The excellence factor consists of 10 principles of excellence that apply generically across organizations, industries, sizes of enterprise, and cultures:

• 1.

  Value of communication, as seen by the CEO and top management of an organization. CEOs who placed higher value on public relations favored a communication function in their own companies with many of the attributes of excellence and were likely to have more effective public relations units. Senior public relations practitioners in these organizations were likely to participate in the overall strategic management of the organization.

• 2.

  Empowerment in the dominant coalition to contribute to strategic organizational functions. Active participation in strategic planning is necessary for public relations to contribute to organizational effectiveness, but access to the high-level process is difficult to attain. Public relations contributes frequently in the organization's response to social issues and routine operations. It contributes less frequently to strategic planning, except in organizations in which the CEO places high value on the public relations function.

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