It can be said that the two propositions are the object of public relations study. These two propositions require the process of adaptation and adjustment between organization and public. 111) said: “almost all research on public relations is limited to descripstion.”Īs a science, public relations is built based on two basic propositions: (1) Public Relations as a management function (2) Public Relations is responsible to manage the relationship between an organization and its public (Everett, 1993).
A few research in public relations was based on theories (Botan & Hazleton, 1989). As a result, Public Relations is “lack of theory” (Greenwood, 2010) or “theoretical lateness” (Johansson, 2007). However, as a scientific field, public relations is relatively new (Grunig & Hunt, 1984 Ihlen & van Ruler, 2009 Skerlep, 2001). As a social activity, public relations emerged at the same time with the growth of human life, when individuals had to build relationship to fulfill their needs. Research is a tool to explain, apply and proof theories as well as to build new theories. Research has important role to develop public relations theories.
The Need for Different Perspective in Public Relations
School of Communication, Brawijaya University, Indonsia Conducting critical ethnography: Toward a new method in public relations research in Indonesia
