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Globalization and Public Relations

Globalization and public relations involves three dimensions: the impact of globalization on public relations, the impact of public relations on globalization, and the impact of public relations in the global setting on individuals and societies. This entry focuses more on the first dimension, the subject of most research on global and intercultural public relations.

Although the term globalization was not widely recognized until it was coined by Theodore Levitt in 1983, globalization is not a new phenomenon nor is it precisely defined by western countries according to Krishnamurthy Sriramesh and Dejan Verčič (2009). Definitions of globalization center on the increasing global interconnectedness that results from constant interchange of important factors across national borders such as economy, culture, technology, finance, and people. The consequences of globalization are widespread: Events and issues in one part of the world influence another part, if not instantly, certainly eventually. Such trends can significantly affect public relations.

Impact of Globalization on Public Relations

Two major perspectives challenge the examination of globalization on public relations: cross-cultural comparison, which focuses on comparing and contrasting public relations practices in different parts of the world, and intercultural interaction, which focuses on the actual process of communication between practitioners and publics in intercultural settings.

Cross-Cultural Comparison

In examining different public relations practices and their influencing factors, two main schools of thoughts are present: international and global, also called polycentric and ethnocentric, emic and etic, and culture-specific and culture-free. The international approach emphasizes differences in practices in different parts of the world and argues that no universal rules or principles, mostly developed in the western countries and thus likely to be ethnocentric, should apply. The global approach, however, suggests the existence of universal principles that should be applied with modifications in different areas.

Adopting a middle ground, James E. Grunig and his colleagues developed a global public relations theory of generic principles derived from the excellence study (e.g., L. A. Grunig, J. E. Grunig, & Dozier, 2002) and specific applications of these principles. Reflecting the idea of glocalization, this global theory has been expanded and refined through studies in different parts of the world.

The current generic principles of excellence feature four themes: management processes, two-way symmetrical processes, diversity, and ethics coupled to social responsibility. Several specific variables that can influence public relations practices are currently categorized as follows: infrastructure (political system, level of economic development, level of activism, and legal system); culture (societal and corporate); and media environment (media control, media outreach, and media access). Of particular note is the role of culture, with numerous studies examining cultural values or dimensions, especially those by Geert Hofstede (2001). Scholars such as Sriramesh and Verčič (2009) examined these specific variables through contextualized regional and country descriptions of public relations practices.

Intercultural Interaction

Research in intercultural public relations has focused on exploring the processes of communication between two important players, publics and practitioners, as they cope with globalization in intercultural settings.

More individuals are interacting with people from outside of their home countries, voluntarily or not. How organizations manage relationships with important publics has become an important topic for research. T. Kenn Gaither and Patricia Curtin (2008), Lan Ni (2009), and Lan Ni and Qi Wang (2011) examined relationship management with customers, local employees in multinational companies (MNCs), and international students, respectively.

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