Abstract
Culture and Public Relations: Links and Implications, edited by Krishnamurthy Sriramesh and Dejan Verčič, marks an interesting departure from the theoretical and methodological inclinations that have dominated their previous work (2009, 2012) to consider a variety of empirically and theoretically based interpretations of PR and its relationship with culture. Contributing to the emerging literature seeking to advance sociocultural perspectives in public relations (PR), this volume includes a variety of expert contributions from scholars and, importantly, showcases work from different regions of the world.
The Editors describe the volume as ‘a book that discusses the various ways in which culture intersects with communication in general, and public relations in particular’. They state in their opening chapter that their intention was for the book to have three distinct sections: (1) culture as an ‘environment’ that influences PR; (2) PR as itself a culture; and (3) PR’s impact on culture (organizational and societal). However, when the collection came to be put together, it became clear that the overarching focus was (1) culture as an environment for PR practice. Some of the 15 essays contained in this volume have been developed from presentations delivered at the 16th International Public Relations Symposium (BledCom), which results in varied subjects of focus and historical, as well as contemporary, perspectives. Chapters range from Bob Heath’s contribution that considers the influence of classical western rhetorical traditions on contemporary PR to Lee Edwards’s critical analysis of public relations as a professional culture and a ‘site for cultural practices’ in the context of the UK. Methodological issues are considered in Jacquie L’Etang’s essay, which further critically develops her earlier calls (2010, 2011, 2011) for a specialized field of ‘public relations anthropology’, whilst theoretical issues relating to public affairs are explored via case studies in Matthew Allen and David Dozier’s analysis of the complex interactions between Arab journalists and US military public affairs officers and Julia Jahansoozi, Kingsley Eyita and Nnadozie Izidor’s work on community relations within diverse cultures in Nigeria. In Chapter 4, Judy Motion, Jarrod Haar and Shirley Leitch explore PR as indigenous engagement whilst in Chapter 12 Mohan Jyoti Dutta proposes an alternative to the model of PR influenced by free market neoliberalist agendas. Both these chapters explore the potential for more grassroots forms of PR via participatory approaches to knowledge creation and relationship building and make a welcome addition to the existing scholarship that values alternative perspectives on two-way communication approaches (Bruning et al., 2004; Dutta, 2007; Hodges and McGrath, 2011; Kent and Taylor, 2002, to name a few).
The editors acknowledge that consensus exists amongst scholars that PR research is limited by a ‘western lens’ and chapters such as Yi-Hui Christine Huang’s, ‘Culture and Chinese Public Relations Research’ propose a theoretical framework from a particular cultural perspective. Several chapters, however, refer back to established ‘western’ cultural orientations such as Hofstede or Kaplan and Manners’ cultural determinants, for example, as well as managerialist orientations within PR and the associated PR academic ‘canon’ of ‘Excellence’, to make sense of the contexts being analysed. Further nuanced and localized theoretical developments would have made a welcome contribution to our existing knowledge of international PR. That said, those of a functional or pragmatic orientation as well as critical scholars or those with particular geographical interests will find material of value here.
What the book gains from incorporating a diverse assortment of essays, it appears to lose by not presenting a clear and coherent central thesis that pulls together the varied theoretical perspectives referred to throughout and cross-referencing between chapters. Furthermore, particular chapters offer tentative or ambiguous links to ‘culture’ or ‘public relations’ (theory or practice). An example is Ales Debeljak’s essay in praise of hybridity. Whilst the author is a recognized name in cultural criticism and presents a convincing account of the processes that led to an established ‘western globalized capital order’, this chapter was not able to apply the arguments to explore the specifics of PR as a ‘product of cultural creativity’ (p. 42) or address concerns regarding PR as a cultural practice that contributes to the ‘package of western ideas and technologies’ (p. 43) circulating the globe. Chapter 10 on PR in Mexico is a welcome addition given the paucity of PR scholarship from Latin America published outside of the region, yet the evolution of the Mexican PR industry is discussed here ‘vis-à-vis the country’s economic, political and social development, and ‘culture’ – either societal or occupational, is only given cursory attention. Given that the focus of the book is PR and culture, it is often unclear whether it is culture or globalization that is taken as the context within which the analysis of public relations theory and practice is situated. It is interesting that whilst a definition of public relations is offered in the introduction, a definition of culture is not provided until Chapter 1, on p. 11. Instead, the introduction comprises three sections: ‘Globalization and the Twenty-First Century’, which briefly considers the implications of increased global interdependence for how we live, work and communicate; ‘Changing Public Relations Practices and Teaching’, which advocates a ‘qualitative approach’ to understanding occupational differences within the profession, and ‘Growing Influence and Importance of Public Relations’, which advocates an increasing need for PR and the management of relationships in a globalized society suggesting that PR is ‘a reflexive practice in that it touches our lives by its very availability’ (p. 3). It would help the reader to appreciate the approach being taken in this book had the editors’ understanding of ‘cultural perspective/s’ been made clearer in the opening chapter. If the intended focus is the impact of sociocultural globalization processes upon PR, a more critical discussion of globalization from the perspective of social relations and interchanging values, attitudes and meanings is needed, as well as the intermediary role played by public relations in sociocultural transformation, particularly in relation to consumption and identity.
Culture and Public Relations: Links and Implications might be compared with Bardhan and Weaver’s (2011) Public Relations in Global Cultural Settings: Multi-paradigmatic Perspectives in that both books include contributions from scholars geographically located across the world and seeks to explore the interrelationship between PR, globalization and culture and help readers ‘better understand how public relations is constituted by and constitutive of global flux’ (Bardhan and Weaver, 2011: ix). Indeed, the work of Lee Edwards and Mohan Jyoti Dutta features in both edited collections. However, Bardhan and Weaver’s edited volume perhaps offers a more defined critical cultural orientation. Sriramesh and Verčič’s book will be useful reading for students and scholars of public relations and related disciplines but advanced researchers may look for a volume offering a more clearly defined ontology.