BledCom 2018 25th International Public Relations Research Symposium July 5 - 7, 2018 | Bled, Slovenia Organized by: University of Ljubljana Faculty of Social Sciences A World in Crisis: The Role of Public Relations Proceedings of the 25th International Public Relations Research Symposium BledCom July 5 - 7, 2018 | Bled, Slovenia EDITORS: Dejan Verčič, Ana Tkalac Verčič and Krishnamurthy Sriramesh A World in Crisis: The Role of Public Relations Proceedings of the 25th International Public Relations Research Symposium BledCom July 5 - 7, 2018 | Bled, Slovenia EDITORS: Dejan Verčič Ana Tkalac Verčič Krishnamurthy Sriramesh PUBLISHED BY: University of Ljubljana Faculty of Social Sciences Kardeljeva ploščad 5 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia COPYRIGHT: University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences AVAILABLE AT: http:/www.bledcom.com/knowledge Ljubljana, 2018 Kataložni zapis o publikaciji (CIP) pripravili v Narodni in univerzitetni knjižnici v Ljubljani COBISS.SI-ID=301667840 ISBN 978-961-235-890-7 (pdf) 3 CONTENTS 1. Editors 5 2. BledCom 2018 Program 6 3. BledCom 2018 Papers 11 PR Memes: Communicators’ Perceptions and Reflections of Their Practice and Role ...................................................................................................... 12 Ana Adi Erasing the Limits. When Companies Impose Themselves Between State and People. ..................................................................................................... 28 Carolina Andrea Carbone Maximiliano Ortner Effects of Astroturfing in Non-Profit Organizations: Two Competing Hypotheses .................................................................................................................. 44 Loarre Andreu Perez Bugil Chang Fake News, a Construction of Reality .............................................................. 53 Andrej Drapal Climate Change and Urban Youth Crisis Alertness ................................... 65 Zoltán Ferencz Gábor Sarlós The Fit To Partner Test: Practical Considerations for Establishing Corporate and NGO Partnerships in an Uncertain World ...................... 77 Nicky Garsten Kevin Read Caroline Diehl Teflon Reputations and Glass Jaws: Managing Reputations in the Public Sphere .............................................................................................................. 93 Farah Latif 4 CONTENTS Evaluating Crisis Responses on Twitter: Perspectives from Situational Crisis Communication Theory and Person-Centered Messages ........ 104 Jennifer Owlett Soo-Kwang Oh Kyung-Hyan Yoo Activist groups and Public Relations: examples from two Portuguese collapsed banks and their clients .................................................................... 116 Sónia Pedro Sebastião Daniela Vila Verde Crisis communication during a national fire disaster ............................ 136 Sandra Pereira Paula Nobre Nonprofits and theirs communication professionals – their role in today’s world ............................................................................................................ 153 Ana Raposo Mafalda Eiró-Gomes Co-Creating More Citizen Involvement in Mäntsälä Municipality .... 165 Harri Ruoslahti Jungian Brand Therapy. Could the new model help find brand solutions in a post-branding world? ................................................................................... 173 Ira Vince Difference of CSR activities and communication between B2B and B2C companies .................................................................................................................. 186 Masayoshi Yamasaki Yusuke Ibuki 5 1 EDITORS Dejan VERČIČ, University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) He is professor and head of Centre for Marketing and Public Relations at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. He received his PhD in social psychology in 2000 from the Lon- don School of Economics and Political Science. He is a former Fulbright scholar. He has published over 200 articles and book chapters and 12 books. He is a member of the European Communication Monitor research team, a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (UK), a honorary member of the Croatian Public Relations Association, and a past president and a current member of the European Public Relations Education and Research Association. In 2016 he was awarded the Pathfinder Award, the highest academic honour bestowed by the Institute for Public Relations (IPR) in New York. Ana TKALAC VERČIČ, University of Zagreb (Croatia) She is a Professor of Marketing communications and Public Relations at the University of Zagreb, Croatia. She has authored, co-authored and edited numerous books, book chapters and article and is a member of the editorial committee of the „International Journal of Strategic Communication“, and a regional editor of „Public Relations Review”. She is a former Fulbright scholar. Her research focus is oriented towards reputation and image building which she studied through various scientific projects such as “Develop- ment of strategy for building the image of the Republic of Croatia” and “Improving the capacity of the civil society”. Krishnamurthy SRIRAMESH, Purdue University (USA) Professor and University Faculty Scholar, Purdue University, USA, is recognized for his scholarship on global public relations, corporate social responsibility, and culture and public relations. He has advocated the need to reduce ethnocentricity in the public re- lations body of knowledge and practice in 7 books, over 75 articles and book chapters and over 100 conference presentations around the world. His rich teaching experiences include teaching at 10 universities in four continents. He has won several awards for teaching and research at different universities. In 2004 he was awarded the prestigious Pathfinder Award from the Institute for Public Relations (USA) for “original scholarly re- search contributing to the public relations body of knowledge.” 6 2 PROGRAM THURSDAY, 5 JULY 2018 Nobody hears their cries: Weak signals in media 14.00-15.00 REGISTRATION narratives and crises development 15.00-17.00 PRE-CONFERENCE Leanne Glenny, University of South Australia (Australia) Launch of The Global Public Relations Handbook: Collette Snowden, University of South Australia (Australia) Theory, Research, and Practice (3rd Ed.) 11.00-12.00 PARALLEL PAPER SESSION 1B | Chair: Jon The launch of the third edition will include a White symposium on global public relations with each An Issues Management Approach to Artificial of the participating authors providing a brief Intelligence (AI) and Ethics: A Crisis with the Rising synopsis of their chapter. The session will also Machines? engage in a discussion of the current state and Shannon A. Bowen, University of South Carolina (USA) the future of global public relations. This session Sleeping with your enemies – and what happens is open to all BledCom attendees and so we wel- day after come you to join and participate. Jacek Barlik, University of Warsaw (Poland) Openness and transparency practices of social 19.00-21.00 DINNER (at Skipass Restaurant in Kranjska media influencers and their impact on follower Gora, departure at 18.30) trust and relationships: Insights from the United Arab Emirates FRIDAY, 6 JULY 2018 Gaelle Picherit-Duthler, Zayed University (U.A.E) 8.30-9.30 REGISTRATION Ganga S. Dhanesh, Zayed University (U.A.E) 9.30-10.00 OPENING SESSION Fake News, My News, Real News. Source credibility crisis and the rise of PR professionals as indirect PROGR1TTEE gatekeepers Michal Chmiel, University of the Arts London (UK) Dejan Verčič, University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) Seeking Shared Meaning of NPOs’ Reputation in Ana Tkalac Verčič, University of Zagreb the Post Period of a Social Crisis (Croatia) Selin Metin Turkel, Izmir University of Economics Krishnamurthy Sriramesh, Purdue University (Turkey) (USA) Sema Misci Kip, Izmir University of Economics (Turkey) Ebru Uzunoglu, Izmir University of Economics (Turkey) 12.00-12.45 PARALLEL PANEL SESSION 1A WELCOME ADDRESS EUPRERA President’s Panel Prof. Dr. Monika Kalin Golob, Professor and Betteke van Ruler, University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands) Dean of the University of Ljubljana Faculty of Inger Jensen, Roskilde University (Denmark) Social Sciences (Slovenia) Günter Bentele, University of Leipzig (Germany) 10.00-10.45 KEYNOTE SPEAKER Ansgar Zerfass, University of Leipzig (Germany) A World in Crisis: The Role of Public Relations Moderator: Sue Wolstenholme, Ashley Public Dejan Verčič, University of Ljubljana & Relations Ltd & PRCA (UK) Stratkom (Slovenia) 12.00-12.45 PARALLEL PANEL SESSION 1B A world in crisis: The role of public relations Partner: Zavarovalnica Triglav Craig Fleisher, Aurora WDC (USA) Sarah Hall, SarahHallConsulting & CIPR (UK) Barbora Maronkova, NATO Information and Documen- tation Centre Kyiv (Ukraine) Stephen Waddington, Ketchum Worldwide (UK) 10.45-11.00 COFFEE BREAK Moderator: Krishnamurthy Sriramesh, 11.00–12.00 PARALLEL PAPER SESSION 1A | Chair: Danny Purdue University (USA) Moss 12.45-14.15 LUNCH Scansis as a Unique Crisis Type: Theoretical and 14.15-15.15 PARALLEL PAPER SESSION 2A | Chair: David Practical Implications McKie Timothy W. Coombs, Texas A&M University (USA) A public relations discourse of remote aereality: Elina Tachkova, Texas A&M University (USA) The case of the UK’s Reaper drones Sherry J. Holladay , Texas A&M University (USA) Gareth Thompson, University of the Arts London (UK) Crisis Nearby or Faraway: Exploring the Influences Optimization of spokespersons’ use of voice in of Psychological Distance of Crisis organizational crisis communication Sungsu Kim, University of Georgia (USA) Yan Jin, University of Georgia (USA) Aurélie De Waele, KU Leuven (Belgium) Bryan H. Reber, University of Georgia (USA) An-Sofie Claeys, KU Leuven (Belgium) Verolien Cauberghe, Ghent University (Belgium) Rationality and Emotions: A Stakeholder-Oriented Computational Propaganda and Social Bots – An Crisis Communication (SOCC) Model in Global Old Dog with New Tricks Crises Markus Wiesenberg, University of Leipzig (Germany) Hongmei Shen, San Diego State University (USA) Ralph Tench, Leeds Beckett University (UK) Yang Cheng, North Carolina State University (USA) Journalism and Media in Times of Crisis: Who are Crisis communication during a national fire the Key Stakeholders and how are they Portrayed? disaster Marie-Eve Carignan, Université de Sherbrooke (Canada) Sandra Pereira, ESCS IPL (Portugal) Marc David, Université de Sherbrooke (Canada) Paula Nobre, ESCS IPL (Portugal) Olivier Champagne-Poirier, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (Canada) Tracey O’Sullivan, University of Ottawa (Canada) 7 2 PROGRAM Integrating Character Assassination into Crisis 15.15-16.15 PARALLEL PAPER SESSION 3B | Chair: Ronel Communication Curriculum Rensburg Sergei A. Samoilenko, George Mason University (USA) Activist groups and Public Relations functions: 14.15-15.15 PARALLEL PAPER SESSION 2B | Chair: Julia examples from two collapsed banks and their Jahansoozi clients The Relational Turn in Public Relations Research: Sónia Pedro Sebastião, University of Lisbon (Portugal) Signs of a Digital-Era Paradigm Shift in Daniela Vila Verde, University of Lisbon (Portugal) Communication Studies Headwind in sports sponsoring: the effects of crisis Yi-Hui Christine Huang, The Chinese University of Hong response messages on sponsor credibility and Kong (Hong Kong SAR, China) team credibility Qing Huang, Zhejiang University (People’s Republic of Pytrik Schafraad, University of Amsterdam (The Neth- China) erlands) Agility in strategic communication research: Joost Verhoeven, University of Amsterdam (The Neth- Historical roots, conceptual specification, and erlands) implications for theory and practice From promoting liberal democracy and free Lisa Dühring, University of Leipzig (Germany) market to the necessity of defending them: Sophia Charlotte Volk, University of Leipzig (Germany) challenges for the PR industry Sense-Making in a Postmodern World: Embracing Ryszard Ławniczak, Military University of Technology Paradox Theory for Managing Organizational (Poland) Tensions and Building Reputation among Hybrid- The Fit To Partner Test: Theoretical and Practical Identity Organizations Considerations for Establishing Corporate and Ruth Avidar, The Max Stern Yezreel Valley College NGO Partnerships in an Uncertain World (Israel) Nicky Garsten, University of Greenwich (UK) Critical coverage: The impact of responsibility Kevin Read, Pembroke and Rye (UK) attribution on attitude, (dis)identification and trust Caroline Diehl, INSEAD (UK) Jens Seiffert-Brockmann, Universität Wien (Austria) Implications of the paracrises on the companies’ Sabine Einwiller, Universität Wien (Austria) stock prices Christopher Ruppel, Universität Wien (Austria) Marko Selaković, S P Jain School of Global Management Redefining the Field: The Institutional Logics of (U.A.E.) Crisis Management and Crisis Communication Nikolina Ljepava, American University in the Emirates Finn Frandsen, Aarhus University (Denmark) (U.A.E.) Winni Johansen, Aarhus University (Denmark) Miroslav Mateev, American University in the Emirates Partner of Parallel Paper Session 2: Pošta (U.A.E.) Slovenije 16.15-17.00 ICED TEA WITH EDITORS Come meet the journal editors and get 15 tips on publishing your research, followed by infor- mal Q&A. 15.15-16.15 PARALLEL PAPER SESSION 3A | Chair: Terry Journal of Public Relations Research, Bey-Ling Sha, Flynn editor-in-chief Corporate Communications: An International Jour- Difference of CSR activities and communication nal, W. Timothy Coombs, editor between B2B and B2C companies International Journal of Strategic Communication, Yusuke Ibuki, Kyoto Sangyo University (Japan) Ansgar Zerfass, editor Masayoshi Yamasaki, Aichi Sangyo University (Japan) Journal of Public Affairs, Danny Moss, editor Teflon Reputations and Glass Jaws: Managing Journal of Communication Management, Ganga Reputations in the Public Sphere Dhanesh, co-editor Farah Latif, George Mason University (USA) 19.00-21.00 DINNER (at Vila Podvin in Radovljica, departure A World in Denial: Understanding Antecedents at 18.30) and Perceptual Consequences of Climate Change Denial Attitudes SATURDAY, 7 JULY 2018 Arunima Krishna, Boston University (USA) 8.30-9.30 POSTER SESSION Public Reactions to CSR 2.0: A Cross-National Study on Creating Shared Values in the World of Stalling the regression in human rights triggered Crisis by political polarization: The new frontier of Yi-Ru Regina Chen, Hong Kong Baptist University (Hong corporate social responsibility Kong SAR, China) Ganga Dhanesh, Zayed University (U.A.E) Ansgar Zerfass, University of Leipzig (Germany) Making PR Great Again: Global Agencies Respond Chun-Ju Flora Hung-Baesecke, Massey University (New to the Trump Presidency Zealend) Elina Erzikova, Central Michigan University (USA) Shannon A. Bowen, University of South Carolina (USA) Shannon A. Bowen, University of South Carolina (USA) Don W. Stacks, University of Miami (USA) Crisis narratives of #Harvey and #Irma: Ben Boyd, Edelman (USA) Conversations on Twitter and Instagram Developing Participatory CSR in a Time of Distrust: Jeanine D. Guidry, Virginia Commonwealth University Authenticity, Organizational Listening, and (USA) Dialogue Lucinda Austin, University of North Carolina (USA) Chun-Ju Flora Hung-Baesecke, Massey University (New Seoyeon Kim, University of North Carolina (USA) Zealend) Baobao Song, Virginia Commonwealth University (USA) 8 2 PROGRAM Enacting mediatization in public sector Social Media Research, Measurement, Evaluation organizations: The role of communication in the Public Relations Industry: A Ten-Year managers Longitudinal Analysis Sandra Jacobs, University of Amsterdam (The Nether- Donald K. Wright, Boston University (USA) lands) 9.30-10.30 PARALLEL PAPER SESSION 4B | Chair: Ryszard Anke Wonneberger, University of Amsterdam (The Neth- Ławniczak erlands) Experts’ perception of the influence of cooperation The impact of emotional crisis communication between PR agencies and organization on on stakeholders’ empathy with an organization in stakeholders’ relationships – results of a Delphi crisis and post-crisis reputation Lieze Schoofs, KU Leuven (Belgium) study with Croatian practitioners An-Sofie Claeys, KU Leuven (Belgium) Petra-Marija Jelčić, Agency IMC & Quadriga University Climate change and urban youth crisis alertness of Applied Sciences (Croatia) Gábor Sarlós, RMIT (Vietnam) The Crisis Manager in Popular Crisis Management Zoltán Ferencz, HAS Center for Social Sciences (Hun- Books (PCMBs) gary) Winni Johansen, Aarhus University (Denmark) Understanding corporate values in a crisis-prone Finn Frandsen, Aarhus University (Denmark) environment: A comparative study between Turkey Immigrant labor in the context of liquid and USA modernity: An analysis of discursive strategies of Nilüfer Geysi, Bahcesehir University (Turkey) Sindacato Cinese Nazionale Selin Turkel, Izmir University of Economics (Turkey) Zhuo Ban, University of Cincinnati (USA) Ebru Uzunoglu, Izmir University of Economics (Turkey) Alessandro Lovari, Università di Cagliari (Italy) Nonprofits and theirs communication Co-Creating More Citizen Involvement in Mäntsälä professionals – their role in today’s world Municipality Ana Raposo, ESCS IPL (Portugal) Harri Ruoslahti, Laurea University of Applied Sciences Mafalda Eiró-Gomes, ESCS IPL (Portugal) (Finland) The intersection of Litigation, Reputation & Brand Intellectual ecology in the age of disturbing social Trust: The High Cost of Low Trust relationships Shih-Chia Wu, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Kaja Tampere, Talinn University (Estonia) (Hong Kong SAR, China) Jungian Brand Therapy. Could the new model help 10.30-10.45 COFFEE BREAK find brand solutions in a post-branding world? 10.45-11.45 PARALLEL PAPER SESSION 5A | Chair: Ganga Ira Vince, Bijeli zec d.o.o. (Croatia) Dhanesh Reflexivity on contradictions. Self-definitions of PR Memes and communicators’ perceptions and PR-people, journalists, v-/blogger and instagramer reflections of PR facing the climate crisis Ana Adi, Quadriga University of Applied Sciences Franzisca Weder, Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt (Germany) (Austria) Larissa Krainer, Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt Fake news, a construction of reality (Austria) Andrej Drapal, Consensus (Slovenia) Agenda Setting in the Dialogue of Community of Fake news and the crisis of public communication: Human Shared Destiny How organizations are affected by false Hui (Peter) Zhang, Shanghai Polytechnic University information and prepared to handle it (People’s Republic of China) Ansgar Zerfass, University of Leipzig (Germany) Xialoin Zhu, Shanghai Polytechnic University (People’s Dejan Verčič, University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) Republic of China) Ángeles Moreno, University Rey Juan Carlos (Spain) 9.30-10.30 PARALLEL PAPER SESSION 4A | Chair: Piet Piet Verhoeven, University of Amsterdam (The Nether- Verhoeven lands) Ralph Tench, Leeds Beckett University (UK) Erasing the limits. When companies impose Strategic Church Communication in Times of themselves between State and People Religious Pluralism in Western Europe. Some Carolina Andrea Carbone, Universidad de Belgrano (Argentina) Comparative Evidence Maximiliano Ortner, Universidad de Belgrano (Argen- Markus Wiesenberg, University of Leipzig (Germany) tina) Missing the good old days? PR in the era of online How Big Is Public Relations (and Why Does It misbehavior Matter) Deniz Maden, Ege University (Turkey) Toni Muzi Falconi, Methodos (Italy) Özgür Köseoğlu, Ege University (Turkey) Frank Ovaitt, Institute for Public Relations (USA) Nahit Erdem Köker, Ege University (Turkey) Managing in a volatile, complex, and ambiguous 10.45-11.45 PARALLEL PAPER SESSION 5B | Chair: Ruth world: A systematic review of 25 years of Avidar management research in communication and Evaluating Crisis Responses on Twitter: public relations Perspectives from Situational Crisis Danny Moss, University of Chester (UK) Communication Theory and Person-Centered Barbara DeSanto, Kansas State University (USA) Jennifer Owlett, William Paterson University (USA) Addressing academic and social neglect: Soo-Kwang Oh, Pepperdine University (USA) Narratives of progress involving discipline Kyung-Hyan Yoo, W illiam Paterson University (USA) disruptions, financial communication, and a new role for PR David McKie, University of Waikato (New Zealand) 9 2 PROGRAM Adoption and Impact of Internal Social Media use Challenges in enhancing disaster communication in Organizations through spontaneous stakeholder communicative Joost Verhoeven, University of Amsterdam (The Neth- self-organisation erlands) Tanya Le Roux, Bournemouth University (UK) Youri Dechesne, ISM Consultancy Evolve (The Nether- Dewald van Niekerk, North-West University (South lands) Africa) Peter Haan, ISM Consultancy Evolve (The Netherlands) 12.45-14.15 LUNCH Maria Franken-Farag, ISM Consultancy Evolve (The Netherlands) 14.15-15.00 PARALLEL PANEL SESSION 2A Real-time Social Media Engagement and What university student leaders expect for Millennials’ Event Experience practicing PR in a turbulent world, and how global Kyung-Hyan Yoo, William Paterson University (USA) networking can assist their needs Gabriela Mera, Today’s Business (USA) Andrew Cook, PRSSA & Brigham Young University (USA) Signs of trust. Investigating social media as Jan Jamšek, Student Section of Slovenian Marketing connective enablers between municipalities and Association & University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) Carolina Falcão, UFAM & Federal Justice of Amazonas digital publics (Brasil) Alessandro Lovari, University of Cagliari (Italy) Daniel Ziegele, Leipzig University (Germany) Letizia Materassi, University of Florence (Italy) Social Media and Crisis Communication Practices: Ideas, Ideals and Nightmares of Our Time Moderator: Robert Wakefield, Brigham Young Ulfet Kutoglu Kuruc, Eastern Mediterranean University University (USA) (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) 14.15-15.00 PARALLEL PANEL SESSION 2B Baruck Opiyo, Eastern Mediterranean University (Turk- PR measurement & evaluation: the compass to ish Republic of Northern Cyprus) navigate a VUCA (volatile / uncertain / complex / 11.45-12.45 PARALLEL PAPER SESSION 6A | Chair: Wim ambiguous) world – and providing users with the Elving skills to use it Public Relations for Peacebuilding: Case Study Ilia Krustev, A Data Pro (Bulgaria) from Colombia Hans Ruijgers, KWR Watercycle Research Institute (The Krishnamurthy Sriramesh, Purdue University (USA) Netherlands) Ivana Monnard (Switzerland) Fraser Likely, Likely Communication Strategies (Canada) Market-oriented relations in the digital era: A study of public relations and marketing professionals in Moderator: Ana Adi, Quadriga University Hong Kong of Applied Sciences (Germany) & Thomas Suk Chong Tong, Hong Kong Shue Yan University (Hong Stoeckle, The SmallDataForum (Germany) Kong SAR, China) Fanny Fong Yee Chan, Hang Seng Management College 15.00-15.50 PARALLEL PAPER SESSION 7A | Chair: Finn (Hong Kong SAR, China) Frandsen Turkish press coverage of the Syrian conflict and How actors shape issue arenas on Twitter: Food the possibilities of peace journalism issues in the Netherlands Aysun Akan, Izmir University of Economics (Turkey) Sandra Jacobs, University of Amsterdam (The Nether- The Role of Public Relations in Building the lands) Bridges: Rethinking the Communication Strategies I.R. Hellsten, University of Amsterdam (The Nether- lands) in Negotiation Process in Cyprus Anke Wonneberger, University of Amsterdam (The Neth- Münevver Çağın Bektaş, Near East University (Cyprus) erlands) “The people have spoken” - listening to the nation’s NGOs’ visibility in conflict news coverage – on the voice on corruption and state capture in South relevance of evidence-based communication Africa Marc Jungblut, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Mu- Ronel Rensburg, University of Pretoria (South Africa) nich (Germany) Andrea Gevers, Ask Africa (South Africa) Romy Fröhlich, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Mu- Melani Prinsloo, Infusion (South Africa) nich (Germany) 11.45-12.45 PARALLEL PAPER SESSION 6B | Chair: Winni Effects of Astroturfing in Non-Profit Organizations: Johansen Two Competing Hypotheses How publics respond during infectious disease Loarre Andreu Perez, University of Oklahoma (USA) outbreaks: Blame and information seeking Bugil Chang, University of Oklahoma (USA) Lucinda L. Austin, University of North Carolina (USA) The role and impact of Public Relations on Brooke Fisher Liu, University of Maryland (USA) enhancing the visibility of non-profit organisations. Yan Jin, University of Georgia (USA) Case study: foundation “Croatia for children” Seoyeon Kim, University of North Carolina (USA) Nataša Cesarec Salopek, IMC (Croatia) Public Relations and Behavioral Insights Mirela Polić, IMC (Croatia) Nudging: How Grunig and Hunt’s Domino Model 15.00-15.50 PARALLEL PAPER SESSION 7B | Chair: Betteke of Communication Effects Lies at the Center of van Ruler Successful Behavioural Change Managing Reputational Costs Via Internal Issues Terence (Terry) Flynn, McMaster University (Canada) Management: Testing the Effects of Employees’ Supporting the evolution of emancipative values: a Issues Perceptions and Informational Leak new purpose for public relations Katie Haejung Kim, University of Oklahoma (USA) Piet Verhoeven, University of Amsterdam (The Nether- Yeunjae Lee, Purdue University (USA) lands) Jeong-Nam Kim, University of Oklahoma (USA) Model of Strategic Public Relations – MSPR: the PR and society: The generative power of history in role of PR in a VUCA world the present and future Susana de Carvalho Spinola, University of Lisbon Julia Jahansoozi, Royal Roads University (Canada) (Portugal) Virginia McKendry, Royal Roads University (Canada) 10 2 PROGRAM Renegotiating the non-social license to operate: Natural gas extraction from goldmine to controversial business Wim J.L. Elving, Hanze U. of Applied Sciences (The Netherlands) Roel van Veen, Hanze U. of Applied Sciences (The Netherlands) Julliette Jansz, Hanze U. of Applied Sciences (The Netherlands) Carina Wiekens, Hanze U. of Applied Sciences (The Netherlands) Crisis communication consulting: The (new) role of PR agencies in solving organizational crises Damir Jugo, Edward Bernays College of Communication Management (Croatia) Ivan Pakozdi, Edward Bernays College of Communica- tion Management (Croatia) Zdeslav Milas, E dward Bernays College of Communica- tion Management (Croatia) 15.50-16.20 CLOSING SESSION PROGRAM COMMITTEE Dejan Verčič, University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) Ana Tkalac Verčič, University of Zagreb (Croatia) Krishnamurthy Sriramesh, Purdue University (USA) 19.00-21.00 DINNER (at Gostilna Krištof in Predoselje, de- parture at 18.30) 11 3 PAPERS BledCom 2018 Papers 12 3 PAPERS PR Memes: Communicators’ Perceptions and Reflections of Their Practice and Role Ana Adi Quadriga University of Applied Sciences, Berlin, Germany Purpose: This study explores communicators’ perceptions of their profession, something so far insufficiently explored by academic and professional research. In doing so, it uses more than 80 self-generated PR memes to report on emerging themes and commonalities with existing literature and it then compares them to van Ruler’s (2004) 7 PR roles. Design/Methodology/Approach: Students of Quadriga University of Applied Sciences enrolled four MBA and MA programs and taking the Applied Communication Course during 2015-2018 have been asked to create their own PR meme. They have been presented with a blank 6 ques- tions model: “What my friends think I do”, “What my parents think I do”, “What the other side thinks I do”, “What society thinks I do”, “What I think I do”, and “What I really do” and asked to fill it in prior to being presented with existing online PR memes using the same model or prior to discussing PR definitions, perceptions and history. As all the students enrolled in Quadriga University’s programs are communication professionals with a minimum of two years of full- time experience in the field (PR/marketing/public affairs departments or agencies), this study is reflective of communicators’ perceptions, something that the literature is consistently missing. A qualitative content analysis of the entries was carried out aiming to identify common themes and associations. The analysis is then completed with another qualitative content analysis com- parison with van Ruler’s (2004) 7 PR roles. Findings: All in all, the reported perception of practitioners of their own profession is generally negative, repeating many of the characteristics both literature, media and pop culture have accustomed us with. This is a clear indication that the practitioners are aware of the percep- tions or misperceptions of their profession, yet this is no indication of their taking any action towards addressing this gap. Perhaps more telling in this sense are the responses in the cate- gories “what I think I do” and “what I really do” with many practitioners reporting too often of having an operational focus writing, answering emails, calling, “work long hours”, “struggling to be heard”) rather the desired strategic one (“consult senior management”, “inform internal and external publics”). Practical Implications: Public relations as a profession continues to carry along its negative connotations and practitioners in the field, according to this study, are well aware of them. Despite the negative connotations, public relations continue to be an appealing, growing and lucrative field. The question thus emerges of whether these negative perceptions are going to harm in the long term the profession or stick around regardless. Their perpetuation however points out to the need of a deeper and more meaningful discussion about the role of public relations in society as well as to the boundaries within which the professionals can operate within their organization and putting the public interest first. This points out not only to the 13 3 PAPERS need of universities and training centers to address the issue in a wider context (including eth- ics, debating history, inviting and including critical perspectives) but also to organizations and professional associations to continuously check and challenge the existing perceptions. It might be “good fun” for a class to joke and discuss in a light-hearted manner the ups and downs of the profession, but the downs in this case are a warming and telling sign as of why PR continues to struggle to be taken seriously. Originality/value: At a time when discussion about the capabilities for PR practitioners is in-tensifying, discussions about the role practitioners perceive they play or they believe others as- sign to them should provide scholars and practitioners alike with a the benchmarking element needed in identifying gaps to be filled. A study into practitioners’ perspectives and perceptions of their role are also important in identifying historical connections, lingering stereotypical bag- gage as well as concerns. Keywords: PR perceptions; PR memes; PR image; PR profession 1. Introduction 2.1 PR portrayals in the media Recent developments in the media, commu- Over the years, researchers have confirmed nication and political arenas from fake news what practitioners have often reported no- to decrease in trust and coping with digital ticing: a difficult relationship with journalists, transformation, have renewed and perhaps whereas the latter respect them as individu- intensified attention over communication als and practitioners but lack credibility as a professionals with questions ranging from group. In fact, studies have shown that the identifying their competences, mapping out journalists’ expectation often was that PR their competences, defining their role and practitioners would mislead them or with- clarifying their ethics. Using a sample of com- hold information from them (see Aronoff, 1975; Brody, 1984; Ryan & Martinson, 1994; munication professionals, this study identi- Sallot & Johnson, 2006; Frolich & Kerl, 2012). fies the professional’s self-perceptions about DeLorme and Fedler (2003) track some of this the profession and maps them out to their hostility to the past and to the difference in described roles. In doing so, it fills a gap in ethical standards and professional goals be- current research and professional debate, tween journalist and PR practitioners, as well where perceptions about the profession are the contrast between the two fields. explored only with categories of public com- ing in contact with the profession rather than This antagonism has however spilled into practitioners themselves. media and news reports. Bishops’ (1988) in- vestigation of 16,000 stories shows that jour- nalist conflate public relations with the at- 2. Literature review tributes and duties of a spokesperson. This is perhaps justifiable as journalists mostly Public relations have a contested history and, interact with spokespeople and media rela- arguably, a continuously contested image, its tions people, but it also shows a limited un- function within organizations as well as role derstanding of the wide range of activities in society being often discussed by profes- the public relations professional would un- sionals and academics alike. dertake. Spicer’s (1993) study noted that the term “public relations” was almost pejorative- ly used. His analysis of 84 journalistic texts identified seven recurring themes associated 14 3 PAPERS with PR: distraction (as in the practitioner try- agentry, confirming and at the same time ing to move a journalist’s attention away from contributing the perpetuation of the associ- a line of questioning), disaster (references ation of PR with media relations and press here are to PR disasters and thus image and agentry. reputation harming effects), challenge (as in PR as challenge, “a ‘genuine’ public relations Picking up from Keenan’s (1996) PR link to difficulty as opposed to a one-time disaster Grunig and Hunt’s (1984) models, Kinsky and or distraction”), hype (as in overstatement Callison 2009 study proposes an extended and exaggeration), merely (as in “merely PR” list of PR-related terms which they used to suggesting that “that public relations tech- analyze a random sample of 530 stories pub- niques are often used in place of substance”), lished in the media during 1997 to 2005 and war (as in “an ongoing battle or fight to gain found by searching Lexis Nexis’ database. positive public opinion”), and finally, PR as While “PR” is found to be used more often schmooze, “a still prevalent stereotype of than “public relations”: the glad-handing, smooth-talking, personally charming front man or woman” (Spicer, 1993, Significant differences were found when pp. 53–57). comparing the valence of the use of the term to the network where it was used. ABC had In Spicer’s study only 17% of the codable ma- a less harmful framing (more positive and terial referred to practitioners in terms of neutral uses) than the other networks, while someone who is NOT “trying to distract, de- CBS had more harmful framing (62%). Also flect or avoid an issue, or event but is honest- significant was the fact that politics/govern- ly attempting to deal with” (p. 55). ment story topics had the highest number of negative valence uses of PR terms (38.2%). Pincus et al’s (1993) study links to Grunig Another significant result was found based & Hunt’s (1984) situational theory of pub- on who said the term and what the focus of lics. Their survey of 166 business, news and the story was. PR terms were more often spo- sports editors at daily newspapers in Califor- ken by reporters in war/government stories nia confirmed the negative perceptions of PR (59.9%) (Kinsky and Callison, 2009 cited in practitioners and the materials they supply, Kinsky, 2011, p. 110). with significant differences in these percep- tions being noted when the editor has com- Sterne’s research into media perceptions of pleted a university course in PR. public relations in New Zealand bring a new Keenan’s (1996) investigation of a census of geographical perspective (2010). Yet, despite network television news stories about PR the new setting, media perceptions are large- identifies two distinct themes: that of exper- ly (but not exclusively) negative Sterne finds, tise of PR practitioners, where practitioners the relationships described ranging from were usually positively referred to and their sworn enemies, to traditional rivals and in knowledge and/or opinion of a topic, and between featuring close collaboration or par- that of the role and perception of PR in so- allel existences. ciety where the associations were generally Antagonism from media practitioners is negative, classing PR as a stressful occupa- largely based on experiences with public re- tion with “little job security and elements of lations practitioners but also on self-created criminality”. In his study politicians and for- identities. Variations are due to power differ- eign governments are the most likely users of entials such as self and other definition, real- PR expertise. Spicer’s themes of war, disaster ities in the media landscape, and perceived and distraction find their way into Keenan’s misalignment of interests. study as well, the addition here being that considering Gruning and Hunt’s (1984) four While the hostility and competition between models of PR, most PR is classed as press journalism and PR is partly inherited and his- 15 3 PAPERS torical (Seidenglanz, 2018), the portrayals on extreme of a spectrum: either comic to seri- their relationship (whether in the mass-me- ous, either the “good guy” or the “bad guy”. In dia) will resonate beyond these two spheres his 2009 study, Lee extended his analysis to with long-term effects: on the perceptions an additional seven movies released during and credibility of the profession, on the ap- 1996 and 2008 noticing the similar character- peal of the profession to future generations, istics. In these movies as well, the PR “guy” on the relevance of the profession to orga- was working for the federal government or a nizations, institutions, companies, govern- police department (before it used to be more ments and nations. It is thus, just a natural military) and “sometimes their work was of step, to seek to identify the images and por- questionable truthfulness or helpfulness”. trayals of public relations in film, television (pop culture) as a means to understanding Negative portrayals of the profession and public but also professional’s perceptions of rather drastic gender differences are not- the profession. ed by Kinsky (2011), Yoon and Black (2011) and Saltzman (2012). Echoing Spicer’s (2009) 2.2 PR portrayals in pop culture findings of associations of public relations in media reports with disaster, distraction, Larry Tavcar’s (1993) might have been the hype and schmooze and using Miller’s (1999) first with his list of 17 movies to watch which archetypes, Kinsky’s focus on the West Wing either depicted PR or had a PR dimension ex- series emphasizes the portrayal of profes- cluding though the plots where manipulation sionals as “accomplished” with some notable of the media is a central part of the plot. Tav- gender differences with women being por- car’s list was published in the hopes that it trayed as “silly” more often while male char- could provide “an extra flair to PR education” acters were more likely to be included in the focusing thus on how the profession is por- decision making processes but also to be dis- trayed in pop culture (and would thus per- ciplined on the job. Saltzman’s (2012) review haps attract younger talent). of 222 movies and 105 TV programs cover- ing the period between 1901 and 2011 also But it is Karen Miller’s (1999) study of depic- uses Miller’s (1999) job descriptions (press tions of PR and its practitioners in films and agent; business/private sector/publicist; gov- fiction in the USA from 1930 to 1995, includ- ernment/politics; military/police) but clusters ing print images, that seems to have inspired them according to positive or negative por- an entire body of study into portrayals and trayals. depictions of PR in films and television series. Showing “woefully inadequate” these rep- The two most prominent areas ― press resentations were in “explaining who prac- agents (71) and public relations professionals titioners are and what they do” (p. 1), Miller working in the private sector (189) ― usually notes that practitioners are often portrayed end up at the opposite ends of the spectrum, in rather negative terms from ditzy and obse- with the image of press agents as grasping, quious to cynical, manipulative, money mind- I’ll-do-anything-for-publicity, stunt managers ed, isolated, accomplished or unfulfilled. Her labeled as one of the worst, and the image of categories have been included in later stud- the professional public relations practitioner ies (Kinsky, 2011; Yoon & Black, 2011; Saltz- working for his client gradually becoming one man, 2012), each confirming her findings of the more positive images (although with a while adding new insights. few glaring exceptions) (Saltzman, 2012, p. 6) Lee’s 2001 study analyzing 20 films released Yoon and Black (2011) also find similar asso- from 1944 to 2000, identifies several consis- ciations of PR with negative and “silly” actions, tent attributes: the characters are almost all confirm gender barriers and confirm that the men and conduct primarily media relations. specifics of the work are hardly shown or Moreover, PR practitioners are always at the discussed; they also point out that television 16 3 PAPERS has a tendency to focus on practice areas understanding of a profession with serious dealing with the rich and powerful elements repercussions on its development, whether of society. Moreover, Yoon and Black’s anal- professionalization, legitimacy and credibility ysis discussed at large about what they call or choice of career path. The low regard for “the unbearable lightness” of public relations PR maintained by business managers (Sterne, practices (p. 95), where the tasks and activi- 2008) and to a lesser degree by members of ties they are involved in, although successful, the general public (White and Park, 2010) are “so trivial and nonessential to public re- seems to confirm this. lations practice that they are almost embar- rassing” (p. 95). What these studies usually start with is also the premise of disgruntled practitioners or Some positive improvements are noted by concerned academics that the field is misrep- Ames’ (2010) extensive follow-up of Miller’s resented and misunderstood (Keenan, 1996; study. While Ames also concluded that the Ames, 2010; Kinsky, 2011; Saltzman, 2012). images of PR practitioners popularize ste- This concern with PR’s image seems to have reotypes that usually underscore the prac- hit the professional milieus in 2014 when titioners’ role and practice, she also pointed several blogs posts and media articles were out that the job description of the practi- published considering the question. tioner displays more variety and complexity while the practitioners are portrayed more Writing for the Huffington Post in 2014, Molly often as a credible, influential and respected Borchers reflects about her exhilarating yet individuals and not as not bitter ex-journal- exhausting new career in PR (she used to work ists or isolated anti-social novelists who have in journalism before), but she reports being gone into PR for the money. Public relations sick of having to defend herself for it. She is now presented as a profession in its own refers to crass misconceptions of the profes- right, not a desperate, fallback position (p. sion as a “pink collar ghetto” mainly due to its 169). overwhelmingly female workforce and harsh generalization of the professionals as being This shift is also noted by Everidge’s (2010) “stupid”. Although she does ask others what content analysis of four films and two tele- they think, she does come short to offering vision shows, her sample indicating a preva- any solution. Mark Banham (2014) writing for lence of neutral portrayals. Everidge’s study PRWeek the same year embarks on a simi- results also indicate that there is a higher lar quest. Referring to entertainment media number of portrayals of the management portrayals of PR practitioners as “a mixture function in comparison with event planner or of ruthlessness, self-centeredness, incompe- planning functions, something reflecting re- tence, entitlement and mendacity“, Banham ality more closely. However, the gender dis- continues to report about the results of a PR- parities noted by other studies is maintained Week commissioned poll where more than in Everidge’s findings, with males being por- 66% of the 1,000 respondents indicated that trayed positively and in managerial positions they believe that the UK public relations in- more often. dustry has a reputation problem, while more than 77% said that they believe that most PR 2.3 Public relations status campaigns are “spin” which he then discuss- es with several industry representatives. Public relations are consistently portrayed in negative terms both in the mass-media “Obviously PR clearly does have an image and in entertainment (series, movies) with a problem”, he concludes, the solutions being move towards neutrality in recent years. Irre- the professionalization and continuing pro- spective of their findings, the premise of all fessional development of practitioners by research reviewed is the same: that media validating their skills, experience, and quali- (in whatever form) has an influence on the fications as well as by permanently changing 17 3 PAPERS the way the industry talks about itself. While mass-media and entertainment do play a role in shaping perceptions of the pro- However, good as the suggestions are, this fession, it is unrealistic to focus only their dis- might seem currently even more difficult courses. Moreover, while the models present- considering Bell Pottinger’s recent demise ed by Broom and Smith (1979), Dozier (1984) (see Czarnecki, 2017 and Segal, 2018 for the and Grunig and Hunt (1984) are useful, they New York Times) and the raising concerns too, as Van Ruler (2004) also points out do about manipulative practices (see Julie Gray’s not permit firm conclusions about how prac- 2017 post of Huffington Post) which revive titioners perceive their practice. What Van old, historical, weak points of public rela- Ruler’s study adds, beyond her thorough re- tions: duality of role but faithfulness to the view of previous research, is the analysis and client, unethical, manipulative practices and clustering of PR roles into 7 typologies (town more (see Seidenglanz, 2018). Looking at crier, steward, traffic manager, conductor, what makes PR a profession and what com- creator, facilitator, seat-of-the-pants) and her petences practitioners (see Global Alliance, comparison between their emergence from 2015 and 2016 or Gregory et al, 2016) might literature and job descriptions and practi- need to cope with the challenges of the 21st tioner perceptions. century doesn’t address (in the short term at least) PR’s problem either. This study therefore, aims to address the lack of focus on practitioner self-perceptions. In What would help is a more thorough interro- doing so, it aims to address the following re- gation about what practitioners think about search questions: their profession as this would hold the clues as to what can be addressed and changed. RQ1: What do practitioners reflect/believe As of now however, academics and practi- others describe their profession? tioners are more concerned with what oth- ers say about them than about what they say RQ2: How do practitioners reflect/describe about themselves. And when they do discuss what they do? about public relations, the focus is mostly on RQ3: How do practitioner depictions map out the role practitioners play or ought to play in to current metaphors and images of the pro- society or in their organizations. A lot of this fession? body of literature has been inspired by Broom and Smith’s (1979) of the four dominant roles (expert prescriber, communication facilita- 3. Methodology tor, problem-solving process facilitator and Students enrolled in four programs (MBA communication technician), later summa- Communication and Leadership, MA Com- rized by Dozier (1984) into two roles: manag- munication and Leadership, International er and technician and into Grunig and Hunt’s MBA Communication and Leadership and (1984) four models of PR where roles typical MBA Public Affairs and Leadership) at Quad- of practitioners for every models (publicity, riga University of Applied Sciences, a private public information, two-way asymmetrical university in Berlin, Germany and taking the and two-way symmetrical) are described. In- Applied Communication Course during 2015- deed, recent literature exploring the role of 2018 have been asked to create their own PR public relations reverts to either one or the meme (piece of content - whether video, im- other (i.e Dozier or Grunig and Hunt) as do age or catchphrase – generally using a similar Lauzen (2009) when speaking about PR en- structure that is spread by Internet users of- croachement (1992), Diga and Kelleher (2009) ten with slight variations). when discussing decision-making or Creedon (1991) when proposing a feminist analysis. Usually “tied to linguistics, psychology, and philosophy, the contemporary meaning of 18 3 PAPERS meme is much different. Its current meaning this is a limitation of the study (as differences describes a genre, not a unit of cultural trans- for instance between traditional categories mission” (Wiggins and Bowers, 2015, p. 5) and like role, specialism focus, years of experi- is understood mostly as “iterated messag- ence or gender cannot be made), this is also es which are rapidly spread by members of a benefit of the study as it unites all students participatory digital culture for the purpose under the wider umbrella designated by the of continuing a conversation”. It is particular- term “communicators”. ly for its potential to spark and contribute to conversations that memes were chosen as a While online memes usually present a com- the medium and methodology of exploring bination of an image (or moving image – a practitioner perceptions of the profession. gif) with text, for the purposes of this exer- cise the students were given blank sheets Students thus have been presented with a of paper and asked to use the blank meme blank 6 questions model: “What my friends structure and add their own, hand-written think I do”, “What my parents think I do”, text. This ensured that for the purpose of this “What the other side thinks I do”, “What soci- research, their identity remained anonymous ety thinks I do”, “What I think I do”, and “What while for the class discussion the focus was I really do” and asked to fill it in prior to being on what was written rather than the person presented with existing online PR memes us- writing. ing the same model or prior to discussing PR definitions, perceptions and history or being Memes submitted using drawings instead of introduced to academic and practitioner pa- text were excluded from the analysis as they pers discussing the issue. This 6 box format were leaving too much space for interpreta- is rather common online, usually associated tion. with professional depictions. A total of 90 memes have been collected The categories, more than any other meme during 2015-2019, with 88 of them being structure, provided students with a frame- subjected to qualitative content analysis work for their reflective exercise. Moreover, aiming to identify common themes and as- the 6 questions enabled comparison with the sociations. The researcher’s notes on the results of previous studies exploring the per- class discussion following the exercise have ceptions and portrayals of public relations also been included where the context needs (whether media, entertainment or public) clarification. The categories of “what I think with the practitioners’ own perceptions, por- I do” and “what I really do” have then been trayals and reflections. compared with van Ruler’s (2004) 7 PR typol- ogies (town crier, steward, traffic manager, The students were verbally informed that conductor, creator, facilitator, the seat of the their entries could be used for research pur- pants), helping thus identify the differences poses, however first and foremost they were between declared and perceived roles. After used as discussion teaser for the class. careful reading of the entries, it was decided to allow for multiple typologies to be cod- As all the students taking the Applied Commu- ed per entry. This potentially helped reduce nication course are communication profes- bias: instead of leaving it up to the researcher sionals with a minimum of two years of full- to take a decision about which category was time experience in the field (PR/marketing/ most and best represented, the most often public affairs departments or agencies), this referenced typology would emerge from its study is reflective of communicators’ percep- frequency. tions, something that the literature is consis- tently missing. Students completed only one As the sample is small (88 coded memes), meme each. The memes collected included this content analysis is qualitative and explor- no further details about the students. While atory. The results therefore make no claim of 19 3 PAPERS reliability, validity or replicability, elements “things that everybody could do”. Only a few specific to quantitative research. On the con- mention terms like “propaganda”, “manipula- trary, the results and discussion will focus on tion” and “bribe”, the latter usually encoun- the richness of data and the emergence of tered in the public affairs groups reference. common themes. The research however and its setup, could be applied in other contexts, Ames’ (2010) underscored role is evident in with bigger samples which would enable a all these depictions as in Yoon and Black’s more structured approach. (2011) unbearable lightness of the profes- sion. Unlike Miller’s (1999) and Ames’ (2010) results, professionals believe their friends do 4. Results and discussion not see much variety in their activities and roles. 4.1 Practitioners believe that, in general, others have either a neg- A lack of understanding of the profession or ative view of their work or do not confusion is most prevalent in the “family” category, where family has most often been understand it interpreted as “parents” (most likely, in this The practitioners’ descriptions of what their sample’s case - Baby Boomers and the Silent friends, families and society think they do are Generation). Here, there are two prevalent similar yet telling. themes emerging: either parents have “no clue” (and in doing that confuse the industry In the “what friends think I do” category, about the communicators activate with their work a half of the memes include associations (and – “working as a medical doctor”, “protecting confusion) of communication tasks with me- the environment through recycling”, “work- dia relations including references such as ing with farmers”, “ruling the country”, “CEO/ “writing press releases”, “writing articles”, “I’m COO”, “big stock dealer”) or associate the the one staging the press conference”, “get- work with media relations but in this case the ting our research output into media”, “speak emphasis is mostly on writing (“something with journalists”, “writing press releases and with words”, “work with the press”, “write ar- bossing around with my employees”, “pro- ticles”, “writing texts”, “write stuff and create ducing and selling yellow press/information”, pictures/images”). “drinking coffee and talking to good looking female journalists”, “communicate with the While it could be argued that the entertain- public, especially with the media” “something ment media and mass-media portrayals find with media”. resonance in the practitioners’ depictions of what their parents think they do, it is the “no Another third sees friends associating PR/ clue” that should be of more concern. While Comms with events management “red carpet some practitioners added endearing smileys + confetti”, “being with important people all to their “they really have no clue” messag- day”, “organizing parties”, “talking to VIPs”, es, they tell a story of struggle (and at times “going to parties to meet celebrities”, “dinner inability) to explain to others what it really parties”. means to work in PR/Comms. This is perhaps why associations like “something with me- Other associations include marketing (“some- dia”, “something with marketing”, “something thing with marketing”), advertising (“promo- with advertising” or “something with politics” tions; draw nice pictures, write claims and are often encountered as these fields and slogans”) journalism, social media manage- their principles of practice are better known. ment or nothing specific “Bla Bla Bla”, “colour- ing books”, “drinking coffee all day”, “sitting in The association by proxy with other, arguably meetings, chatting on events including drink- more specific communication areas, could ing & eating, meeting interesting people” or also be indicative of PR/Comms perpetuating 20 3 PAPERS image problem, or better said lack thereof, The “other side” category interpreted either which an unspecialized public like family and as “my boss”, “journalists” or “politicians” re- friends allude to. In this sense, the areas that flects the contentious relationship also pre- academics and professionals believe give sented in previous studies (see Pincus et al, strength to PR/Comms, advising and com- 1993; Sterne, 2010; Seidenglanz, 2017). The municating on behalf of organizations, are category “other side” was initially picked up what students report that most family mem- from some of the existing memes that in- bers, and parents in particular, find the most spired the exercise but had to the amended confusing. The duality of the PR/Comms role in class, as students asked for guidance. For with its loyalty directed to the organization is the purpose of the in-class exercise, students what is pointed out as being the crux of the were presented with a choice of focusing on problem: if one is loyal to the organization, it the parties that they would define as being cannot by default serve and support others. their couterparts. This is how “my boss”, “jour- nalists” and “politicians” emerged. Had this Additionally, discussions with various cours- been a quantitative endeavor, this post-cat- es, prompted observations from practi- egorization would have been problematic. tioners that the term of “public relations” and for that matter “public affairs” as well did not However, since this research is qualitative, have a direct equivalent in other languages the students demand for clarification is indic- and that at times the direct translation made ative of the variety of settings they work in as them easily confused with client services and well as of the variety of actors that they per- personal assistants. ceive and define to be the “other side” and thus are at the core of their persuasive focus. Other associations related to writing are also present. These include speechwriting, attend- Regardless of who the other side is, the strug- ing events and networking with important gle of the practitioners’ double loyalty to the people. Unlike the “friends” category howev- public and the organization emerges here as er, where the relationships are assumed to well. References thus to telling half-truths or be more egalitarian, the students’ entries re- to manipulating and putting pressure on oth- flect tacitly a need to clarify and justify what ers are often recurring: “just caring for the they do: benefit of my company”, “a lot of shit”, “sell • high flying career in government com- stuff”, “be a threat to democracy”, “hiding munications. At least that’s what I’ve told information”, “not saying the whole truth”, them to tell their friends. “she is a trusting source but filters messag- es; <> (sometimes) ugly truths”; This category also displays answers that are “talking about pros never about cons”, “hid- mostly reflective of the workload of the prac- ing information/trying to create a company titioner rather its nature, students reporting image/trying to force them to publish infor- that their parents think that either “work mation created that they (sometimes) don’t 24/7”, “do a 9 to 5 job” or even “relax at work”. regard so important”. Judging from these answers, one could ar- References to propaganda are present in gue that the entertainment media portrayals about a quarter of the cases, highlighting the of PR/Comms as being mainly about media/ ethical dilemma that the dual loyalty to the press relations are echoed into the practi- public and the organization entail: “I lie all the tioners’ memes and what they think others time”, “covers the dirty secrets with colorful would describe their jobs in such terms as confetti”, “fascist and capitalistic propagan- well. Equally, the practitioners’ sense that da”, “public service broadcaster; soul-seller”, their job is misrepresented and misunder- “propaganda/soul seller”. The idea of “selling” stood is also echoed here. something unwanted is also recurrent, the milder version of it being “deliver informa- 21 3 PAPERS tion” or “deliver content”. people by using illegal/dubious methods”. As with the previous categories, the biggest de- Overall, “the what others think I do” is nega- tractor to the professional’s credibility seems tive with two only two instances referring to to stem from the duality of their allegiances, journalists being appreciative of PR’s work: or perhaps better put, from their loyalty to “local journalists – thankful for providing in- their contractors (organizations/institutions) put” and “give them information about our (Seidenglanz, 2018). While Miller’s (1999) ma- group and free cars to test”. While empha- nipulative, cynical and money-grabbing char- sizing the uses practitioners have for journal- acteristics are in part found in these state- ists, these answers perhaps depict a different ments, what strikes the most is the sense of scenario – one of local and smaller scale col- uneasiness that stems from them, and thus laboration rather than mass, national/inter- the indirect questions about the role of the national, global struggle for attention. PR/Comms practitioners and the means and The negative connotations are even stronger methods they use to carry out their work that in the “society” category where strong words they are raising. like “bribing”, “lying”, “spinning” and “propa- ganda” are often present. Other association, 4.2 Communication practitioners more tongue-in-cheek include “money laun- report a big difference between dering”, “flying around with Darth Vader”, what they think they do (a more “Being evil. Abusing power”, “do the work for strategic role) and what they really evil forces”, “Telling fairytales” or “help hip- do (focused on completing specific pies to make policy”. These account for about a half of the references. tasks) Another theme recurrent here is that of time The practitioners’ own depictions remain and money waster: “as a civil servant they negative, however not to the levels described think we don’t work hard (enough) & spend in the previous categories. The “what I think I their money on irrelevant issues” states one do” is indeed filled with more nuance, show- student while the other writes “research that ing the variety of the tasks undertaken, the the world doesn’t need”. “Annoy the public. strategic role, the stakeholder orientation: Waste money”, “Drinking coffee and being on “currently convincing the CEO”, “communi- Facebook 24/7”. These references to a job too cate science”, “managing communications”, easy to be taken serious account for about a “responsible for communication strategy & CEO positioning”, “counselling senior man- quarter of the references. agement strategically”, “inform internal and With regards to information (what Van Rul- external audiences; consult with/advise the er, 2004) would associate with the “traffic top management”, “professionalizing com- manager” role, there are clearly two different munication and build up a good image for groups: those who state it in a “matter-of- the company”. fact” manner that society thinks they “Inform The entries on this category also show at the public. Contribute to transparency about times the practitioners’ aspirations (and at the public” and the one where the profes- times, doubts too): “working to build a better sionals’ taking of sides (usually the compa- world”, “making the world a better place (for ny side) is emphasized “speak or write what my company)”, “doing honest and important somebody prepares and is showing the com- PR”, “working hard with little success”, “show- pany in the best way”, “help large enterprises ing my boss the importance of PR power”. to realize their (dirty) interests!”, “represent- ing one side of a multisided/multi-perspec- Another emergent theme is that of the com- tive topic”, “set a good light on our workers municators’ power struggle either to increase and offers for patients”, or “liar; influencing credibility and legitimacy of the position or to 22 3 PAPERS see their advice adopted and implemented: representation of the organization. Writing (of “helping my boss to further his pet projects; any sorts from internal materials to speech- too many presentations”, “struggling with my es) implies a more complex set of activities boss about next strategy steps” or “I put to- than just meeting with representatives of the gether the mess made by my colleagues to media. Moreover, research activities (also re- create a perfect image”. Finally, another lim- ferred often as “reading” and “monitoring”) ited number of references indicate that prac- move the practitioners more towards a stra- titioners see themselves as translators: of tegic and planned type of activity. jargon, of stakeholder demands, of company strategy while only -3-4 references depicting This is in stark contrast to the other portrayals a general, and underscored, profile such as of practitioners captured both in mass-me- “keeping the office running”, “everything all dia and entertainment and even with those the time”. reported in the previous categories of this study. Even in these short statements, practi- The comparison between “what I think I do” tioners manage to encapsulate both purpose and “what I really do” is really stark, with ref- and reflection of their work (whether by ex- erences in the second category moving away pressing frustration or by expressing hopes from the role and purpose of the profession and aspirations). The fact that aside from and into the daily tasks and struggles. This is managing (whether projects and/or people), in fact something that playing with this kind practitioners undertake analytical and cre- of exercise enables: the reflection and inter- ative tasks is encouraging. pretation of the same issue from different perspectives. In the case of “what I think I do” 4.3 Dream vs Reality? Creators vs and “what I really do”, the interpretation of Traffic Managers each course has been always closer to “what I’d like to do” vs “my daily reality”. The roster Going back to the interpretations of “What of activities depicted in “what I really do” is I think I do” and “What I really do”, entries long from “representing interests + contrib- have been compared to Van Ruler’s (2004) ute to society”, “communicate with different typologies, as her work reviews both explic- stakeholders in the company and negotiate it and implicit definitions of public relations, on how to put things into words” to “coordi- theories necessary for PR action, criteria of nate expert teams for different policy issues; success in PR and typical catchwords and try to deliver good information; meeting in- provides a more varied as well as updated teresting people”, “organizing events; writing approach compared to the other typologies statements”. available (see Broom and Smith, 1979; Doz- ier, 1984; Grunig and Hunt, 1984). In this There are plenty of references to PR/Com- case the researcher has revisited the entries ms as a rescue party: “trying to sort out the and assigned them to closest typology the mess my company creates every day and es- statement reflected. As the entries were var- pecially IT”, “do the things for journalists that ied and included more than one statement, they should do themselves but are too lazy”, sometimes more than one typology was as- “expect the unexpected; solve other people’s signed to one entry. Equally, there were en- problems; deal with personnel administra- tries that could not fit into any of the typolo- tion”, “struggling with my boss instead of do- gies described. ing my job”, “fixing my boss’ tie”. As pointed out earlier, the benefit of the “what The most frequent references however are to I think I do” and “what I really do” categories in the act of managing (whether referred to as the memes used is dual: it helps capture the “project management” or “managing teams” potential definition of the practice together or in the sense of “kind of everything”) fol- with the ideal (or idealized format of the pro- lowed by writing, research and presentation/ fession) while identifying daily routines, frus- 23 3 PAPERS trations and potentially perceived misgiving. groups, much like the logistic manager in the A comparison of the two categories encap- automotive industry. The traffic managers sulated (albeit qualitatively) in a numerical look after the means of communication, the form, helps provide insight into the highest targeting, timing and reach. Unlike the town discrepancies, the closest associations and crier and the steward, the traffic manager’s the highest frequencies. Table 1 captures all main concern is the planning and control these elements. of the distribution process to target groups and it’s evaluation. However, a traffic manag- The typology recurring the most in “what I think I do” category is Creator, what Van Ruler er’s gospel is “reach equals effect.” In other (2004) describes as: words, control over the transportation of in- • the type of public relations professional formation is their core business. The traffic who aim to create agreement between the manager’s claim to fame is based on success organization, or its members, and its con- in bringing the right information to the right stituencies. They are responsible for creat- people at the right time. Their business is ing mutually beneficial relationships. They making the organization’s positive presence inspire parties to look for connection po- felt within selected target groups (Van Ruler, tential in surfacing interdependencies. To 2004, pp. 132-133). achieve this, they set out to explore each While Van Ruler indicates that research plays party’s agenda. To this end, they monitor a big role in the Traffic Manager’s job, this is the track records and interests of publics only partly reflected in the PR memes studied and screen standpoints on issues, to find here, a much greater preoccupation being points of mutual interest. They will never given to the act of transmitting information talk about target groups, since these rep- (at the right time, to the right parties). One resent categories to be exploited. They could, of course, argue that the research el- prefer to talk about publics as “the more ement in self-understood and therefore not aware and active stakeholders” (…) Their directly stated but discussions about evalu- claim to fame will be based on the produc- ation and measurement of communication tive creation of partnerships. To achieve following the exercise revealed that this was this, influence on strategic decision-mak- not necessarily the case. ing is essential. That is why they claim a position in the dominant coalition. (p. 136). The difference reported here does reflect the struggle captured and reported consistent- This is followed by Facilitator of dialogue ly in previous PR research and professional (managers of communications) and then by thinking (see the blog posts and literature re- Conductor (“responsible for pleasing the eyes viewed earlier), the contrast between PR as a and ears of their target groups, thereby in- ducing positive feelings towards the organi- persuasive function that serves the business zation, p. 134). No reference to “PR as art” and PR as a business, strategic function me- was found. diating between the organization and its pub- lics. What is perhaps more important is that The “what I think I do” category on the other this struggle reflects PR’s ethical dilemma hand shows the Traffic Manager as the stron- at its best, a dilemma partly inherited from gest choice, typologies like Facilitator (12), history, partly from the business relate to Conductor (11) and Steward (11) following at a the practice and in part to how practitioners big distance. Van Ruler (2004) describes Traf- depict their role. This also revives the ques- fic managers as the type of public relations tion of training and development, of who and professionals who see to it that messages are how could one become a communicator and distributed efficiently and effectively. They more importantly a professional communi- are responsible for the physical transporta- cator, a strong reminder of Grunig’s life-time tion of information carriers to selected target work to promote “the excellence theory”. 24 3 PAPERS Table 1: “What I think I do” and “What I really do” mapped against Van Ruler’s (2004) typologies including the original cartoons Typology/ Category What I think I do What I really do Town Crier: PR is broad- 12 8 casting his master’s voice Steward: PR is pampering 11 11 Traffic manager: PR is 12 35 transfer of information Conductor: PR is harmonic 13 11 performance Creator: PR is about creat- 26 6 ing a bond Facilitator: PR is hosting the 16 12 dialogue 25 3 PAPERS 5. Practical and social implica- References tions, and Conclusions Ames, C. (2010). PR goes to the movies: The This study’s sample is small and therefore image of public relations improves from the study makes no claim of representation 1996 to 2008. 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Carolina Andrea Carbone Universidad de Belgrano, Argentina Maximiliano Ortner Universidad de Belgrano, Argentina Purpose of the study: The purpose of this paper is to determine the power struggle and ten- sion between three different voices in conflict in this case study: Barrick Gold’s, the Govern- ment, and the people. Methodology: This study uses content analysis of online media appearances in a range of time from March 29th to April 8th, 2017 after the third toxic spill in the Veladero Mine operated by Barrick Gold in the province of San Juan, Argentina. The interpretation of the results should bring light to the way each party involved use their influence and appearances in the media. The way PR works in each case and how the access to PR practices and professionals could tip the balance between each party. Results: Results show that the asymmetry between the active voices is not coincidental but often the result of active lobbying and communications strategies to avoid public dissent and a turn of heart from the local government. These differences occur mainly because of access, either to monetary resources or network, or both. Discussion: Implications of this analysis are a first in communication matters referring cases of public opinion versus powerful companies in lieu with the Government. It would also provide some light to how to make the voices of the less powerful be heard when the company’s lobbying get them the upper hand before the governmental officers. However, the use of PR techniques might be inferred in some stages sifting through the journalistic material. Limitations and the future: This analysis could provide practitioners with a view of the professional scenario between two powerful and resourceful parties and one with less reach, leaving different courses of action for further analysis. These study contributes to the knowledge of PR practice in asymmetric circumstances in terms of media attention and in disparity in resources. There are no previous papers about this per- taining this situation in Argentina. Keywords: Journalism; Crisis Communication; Public Affairs; Public Relations; Mining; Contam- ination 29 3 PAPERS 1. Introduction 2. Literature Review Publicly notorious cases such as Infrastruc- Much has been written about communica- ture contracts, fracking in Vaca Muerta or tion in crisis situations and of course they Barrick Gold Veladero mining operation are focused on and for the organization. echoes within the public opinion from dif- Many core concepts of Public Relations also ferent countries in South America. The cost have their eyes on the organization. But what seems steeper from the environmental and would happen if the focus switches to the social point of view tan from the financial stakeholders? or better still on those groups side. Also, there is a growing perception of a that have no voice? weak State and co-opted local Governments in the hands of lobbyists and negotiators Public relations professionals may emerge as working for these mega corporations. “social intermediaries” in a new economy (Pi- ore, 2001), in which collaboration is the core From all the voices participating, a question value that guides the development of rela- rises as a starting point for large scale discus- tionships between organizations and their sion: What is the limit that has to be reached, publics (Grunig, 2000). Many public relations in abuse of the land, resources, social envi- scholars believe that this collaborative social ronment and governmental controls, for the role is essential in societies with dispropor- State to set a hard limit? What is the role of tionate rates of inequality, such as are found PR in these kind of conflict? Does it level the in most Latin American countries (Molleda & playing field or just accentuate the power Fergusson, 2004). According to Coombs and imbalance towards the one who possesses Holladay (2014) “The role of public relations more financial resources? should be to facilitate participation and coop- In every case, there is always a party that eration in order to allow the various groups pays the higher price: The people. This oc- to co-create meaning”. curs for several reasons. In the first place, the From the original definitions of public rela- Government faces the company as the one tions to the most current (including those of who owns the country’s resources and limits the critical perspective), the dialogue, the in- the inherence to negotiate, adjudicate and, if teraction with stakeholders, the social func- it’s necessary, admonish the company for its tion of public relations have always been ill operation. Secondly, the exploitations are mentioned as a primordial characteristic. shown as a way to develop these secluded ar- The question is whether this really happens eas and as bringers of wealth. Theses notions in practice or how do groups that do not have vanish when all the photos have been taken PR support to make their voices heard espe- and the news releases are out. cially in developing countries. It is impossible The research focus is set on the case of Bar- to talk about symmetry when the commu- rick Gold’s operation in the province of San nity does not have access to the media or Juan. During the last few years, there have economic means to spread their word about been several media reports focusing on what is happening to them. abuses over the land and other operational “problems” such pipeline leakage. Spillages, According to Heath: containing highly toxic materials like arsenic and other heavy metals, reached the Jáchal “Society is a complex of collectivities engaged River, the main source of water to the mine in variously constructive dialogues and pow- and to the neighboring communities. But er resource distribution through meeting so- what happen in the media when a spillage cially constructed and shared norm-based occurs? expectations whereby individuals seek to make enlightened choice in the face of risk, 30 3 PAPERS uncertainty, and reward/cost ambiguity” is the direction towards which a thing moves (mentioned in Coombs and Holladay, 2014, or a social agent or actor behaves” (Ruiz Bal- p. 125). za & Coppola, 2011, p.35). In this regard, the people in Argentina want to have their place No one doubts the role of public relations in in the conversation. society. According to Coombs and Holladay (2014), society does not function properly The political, economic and social context of if there are broken relationships among its Argentina at the time Barrick was established members. “Public Relations provides valu- in the country (1993) has changed. The ten- able societal benefits; it helps to maintain dency in the country is to take greater care the relationships necessary for the effective of the environment. That is why the citizens functioning of society” (Coombs & Holladay, pressure the authorities so that there are 2014, p. 140) laws that place limits on the organizations in terms of their impact on the environment. 3. Risk perceptions, crisis and “Public policy is the consensus of stakehold- ers’ attitudes towards a particular public is- power sue” (Ruiz Balza & Coppola, 2011, p.36). There are former cases involving Barrick Gold For Elizalde, (2011) dissent is the objective or- in other countries, which were made public igin of the crisis. “The crisis is not only a situ- by local journalists denouncing in detail how ation that bothers or harms. It is a situation these mining operations go against the right that will provoke as a consequence the loss of of the people living in neighboring areas of relative power. And therefore, the crisis is the the mine. Also, there are several similar cas- result of dissent” (Elizalde, 2011, p. 34). The es researched by academics in Peru, Ecuador situation that arises in the province of San and Australia. These cases have been taken Juan is complex given that as long as there into account in order to check if there are be- are concordant relations between the com- havioral patterns in these kind of operation pany and the provincial government (and if affecting each of parties involved. (Bebbing- necessary the national government) the cri- ton, A. et al., 2008; Solomon, F., Katz, E., & sis situation will not arise. There may be sit- Lovel, R., 2008; Hajkowicz, S., Heyenga, S., & uations of cooperation, accommodation and Moffat, K., 2011 and Lust, J., 2016). Bebbing- assimilation, but there will be no conflict and ton demonstrates that these exploitations therefore no crisis. In order for there to be a significantly shake the way in which the sur- crisis, a disjunctive balance must be struck. rounding communities live and how they are This “equilibrium” occurs in the consent pro- unable to find answers to their claims from cess. “Without consent, one cannot escape the governmental authorities (Bebbington, A. from the state of instability, insecurity and et al., 2008). The only viable way for them is uncertainty caused by the crisis” (Elizalde, to revolt or to raise the issue through mass 2011, p. 39). media. These methods, according to Coombs & Holladay (2012) have been well established There are several definitions for crisis. Eliz- as the most harmful to public image for com- alde (2011) establishes that the meaning of panies and state officials. crisis states a social situation that passes through different levels such as personal and When this happens, the turmoil turns conflict psychological, and it might happen either in a into crisis. Elizalde (2011) establishes that public or private context. It produces a state there are differences between conflict and cri- of change in the balance of power, may it be sis processes and therefore there should also relative or absolute. He establishes that “It is be differences in resolution methodologies. a change happening in a work position, a per- It is for this reason that Ruiz Balza & Coppola sonal relationship, or the possibility of losing (2011) suggest being alert to trends. “A trend a certain position in a given market. It could 31 3 PAPERS involve a possible sanction from the State or munities showing there is a way to resonate an employer with the cancellation of a con- among them building a win-win relationship tract, etc.” (Elizalde, 2011, p. 17). (Canel & Luoma-aho, 2019, p.148). “Those af- fected by a crisis situation are always the pri- Moreover, Losada Díaz (2018) lists govern- ority. They are the priority at all levels, both ment authorities and regulators as special in the management of the facts and in their publics. This is due to the fundamental role communication” (Losada Díaz, 2018, p. 151). they often play in crises, either because they An analysis of the facts will be carried out may be involved as those responsible for with the aim of contrasting theory with prac- the origin of the crisis or in its development. tice. Especially when facing a crisis, where “They may be accused of failing to regulate or “media relations are central to crisis commu- monitor certain actions, but, above all, of fail- nication” (Coombs & Holladay, 2012). Then, ing to act when the crisis has been triggered establishing clear paths of communication and, therefore, how they can contribute to and statements makes the process of deliv- reducing it” (Losada Díaz, 2018, p. 149). ering a message not only easier but looking more responsible and reliable in the face 4. License to operate of the media. In fact, the absence of official comments from spokespersons may present In a state of crisis certain cards appear on the organization as evasive, unresponsive, the table such as interdependency and rela- or unconcerned about the community. Leav- tionships o the levels of consent or dissent ing a space for others to “supply information an organization. To continue its operation in about the crisis could be dangerous as it may Argentina, Barrick needs an express authori- create the perception that the organization is zation from the National and the local Gov- not in control of the situation and/or is con- ernments. Also they need a “Social license cealing information. Hence, an organization- to operate”. This one is given by the people, al spokesperson should meet with the media citizens residing in locations near the mine. in the early stages of the crisis to disseminate “The level of interdependence achieved with information and participate in framing crisis” others by cooperation opens the path to do (Coombs and Holladay, 2012, p.162). more things.” (Elizalde, 2011, p. 26). Stating that power in reality is relative. Also the issue of defensive strategy from one of the parties involved in the case of crisis “The relative positions of power are structured could be seen as less transparent or a tactic and organized in a process of balance, more for self-preservation. Questions on the eth- or less stable, between those who control re- ics of PR practices during a crisis might be sources and rules to satisfy their own needs and raised. Jin, Pang and Smith (2018) proposed those of others, and those who control neither this while explaining the role PR plays and resources nor rules to gratify desires, needs and how it could influence on image and reputa- interests” (Elizalde, 2011, p. 27). tion levels. This relativeness of power is clear in the con- fluence of parties with different positions of 5. The role of the media power and control among each of them. “The license to operate exists when stakeholders Literature on the influence of PR in the work- accept that an organization has a right to ex- ing of the journalism involved in the mate- ist and be a part of a community or society” rial taken for this study raises issues about according to Coombs and Holladay (2014). PR-ization (Jackson & Moloney, 2015) –where PR practitioners provide a closed package This “license” can also be understood as le- “deal” to the journalist saving him/her of do- gitimacy. Where companies establish ways ing most of the work. Described as “churnal- of communication with its surrounding com- ism” (Davies, 2008) —the use of unchecked 32 3 PAPERS PR material in news— this practice can be tivities. Authors such as Hazlett (2001) sug- seen in plain sight along the sample taken for gest that those responsible for editing the this study. media avoid social alarm, avoid politicization of information, facilitate cooperation, pro- For an organization “The initial communica- vide spaces for debate and opinion (quoted tion about the crisis is critical” according Hol- by Pont Sorribes, 2013). laday (Coombs & Holladay, 2010). It is known that public opinion is largely formed from the In a research carried out in England by Mur- information they receive from the media. “Ex- dock, Horlick-Jones and Petts (quoted by amining the contents of media reports is one Pont Sorribes, 2013), NGOs are assigned a method of tracking information the public re- very important role in changing risk percep- ceives about organizational responses to cri- tion, among other factors. “In the case of risk ses” (Coombs & Holladay, 2012) because “the areas or communities, it is risk communica- way information is framed in news reports tion that has to act as the vertebral centre of can affect public perceptions”. the discourses of the different actors and in- stitutions involved in risk management” (Pont In the last decades the perception of risk and the increase of fears in the population have Sorribes, 2013, p. 30) including NGOs. increased by influence of the mass media. In theory, those crises that involves public What you read in the newspapers, what you health issues, such as the chemical accidents see on television, what you hear on the radio, analysed by Holladay (Coombs and Holladay, and everything you get on the Internet influ- 2012) demand a response from the organiza- ences how people perceive risk. tion. According to the author: “These crises “The media are sources of social amplification are not insignificant for the communities af- of risk perceptions, whether through their fected by them”. People want to know, even commitment to negativity, dramatization, if this is not news for the national media. distortion or the exaggeration of themes” “Community members must know how they (Pont Sorribes, 2013). When the communi- should respond,” adds Holladay. ty discovers through the media that “some- The purpose of this case study is to exam- thing” is happening very close to them, it is ine the media reports in order to identify the logical that fear will grow. If in addition what different voices reflected in the media. The happens has antecedents that put in risk the aim is to find out whether the media give the health of the population and they perceive same hierarchy to the information provided that there are interests that could leave them by the different actors involved: government, aside before the minor suspicion of another company and society. On the basis of the incident the panic appears. literature reviewed, the following research “Fear is an emotion, while risk is a cognitive questions are posed: judgment that alerts to the possibility of dan- ger. This alert is amplified daily in today’s so- • RQ1 What kind of media coverage does a ciety by the proliferation of the number of local incident have? media and by the occupation of these in pub- • RQ2a What is the place of all actors in the lic spaces” (Pont Sorribes, 2013). media? And the organizations? • RQ2b Are their voices reflected? In any situation perceived as risky by some • RQ3 What is the intensity of each party dis- of the actors, the role of the media in trans- course? mitting information is fundamental. The risk • RQ4 What is the tendency of media from is the possibility that something will happen the community standpoint? and leave consequences. All human activity carries a certain risk, and so do business ac- 33 3 PAPERS 6. Methodology the people, there is a complete asymmetry in the volume of their voices – capacity to make As a sample for this paper, a narrow scope themselves heard according to media refer- study has been made taking media coverage ences. of the third toxic material spill in the Velade- ro operated by Barrick Gold. Coverage anal- ysis will serve to understand the dynamics in 7. Hypothesis the relationship between the Government, The media, in addressing the issue of the Barrick and the people of San Juan (and the media). third spill at the Veladero mine, stand in fa- vor of Barrick and/or the Government, leav- Content analysis ing the people aside. The data were collected and analysed from Measurement criteria four media in their online format. Two na- tional media: Diario Clarín and Diario La Na- Each piece of news has been taken as a unit ción and two local media: Diario Los Andes of analysis. Also each information item un- and Diario de Cuyo. derstood as a unit for analysis. Each item analysed has a variable length made up of Media reports were measured and an anal- several sentences, we will seek to capture as ysis of quantitative and qualitative content much information for the study. was carried out (N=29). Coding categories The time span for the analysis consist of the interval between March 29th, 2017 and April, For QR 1 there is clearly quantitative informa- 8th, 2017. A total of 11 days were scanned tion such as: from the day of the third spill until the news • Amount of news appearing in each media. disappeared from the media. There are no National and local media were analysed. immediate records after April 8. • Section of the media in which the news ap- pears. Objectives In the case of qualitative information, a code Identify media trends in the dissemination of is needed for content analysis. It was coded all the voices of the different stakeholders in- as follows: volved. The presence or absence of an element in a Secondary objectives for this research are text can be important. stated as follows: In this study it may be important, for exam- 1. To identify every active voice involved ple, not to mention some of the actors or or- in the media discussion and its levels of ganizations involved in the spill. (RQ 2a) presence • Protagonists. Main actors mentioned in the news. 2. To describe of the power struggle be- • Organizations. Main organizations men- tween each sector (Government, People tioned in the news. and the Company) The importance of a recording unit grows 3. To identify the role of the media with its frequency of occurrence. (RQ 2b) • Frequency of appearance of the actors This objectives are directly oriented to the and organizations in the news. focus of this research. However, there is a question concerning the role of PR in these The intensity of a news item could also deter- type of cases. With parties defined as a mega mine an enumeration system (RQ 3). company, like Barrick, the government and • Intensity of the actors’ discourse in the 34 3 PAPERS media. To judge the degree of intensity of for the community. the coding taking into account the time of the verb (conditional, future, imperative or 8. Results perfect past) will be its degree of intensity (1 less intense and 3 more intense). The The data were collected over 11 days from following coding will be used: 1. Condition- the day of the crisis 29th of March until the 8th al 2. Future 3. Imperative or past perfect- of April. In this period they were 29 newspa- Direction. per articles. It is necessary to establish a coding system RQ1 What kind of media coverage does a local where the bi-directional sense of the text is incident have? reflected (RQ 4). • Direction or trend of the news. In favour, The study revealed the following data: 13 neutral or contrary to the interests of the mentions in national media (44.83 percent) community. Thus, in an analysis of the and 16 mentions in local media (55.17 per- content of a news item, it could be posi- cent). The first national newspaper to raise tive or negative. News about a spill will be the issue was Clarín, but the local newspaper considered positive when, for example, it Diario de Cuyo published more articles than is mentioned that work is being done to the others during the period (n=11, 37.9 per- avoid a spill or its consequences (code +1) cent). and negative when the spill occurs (code As for the sections in which the news appear, -1). the following data was recorded: Order. The order is established according to • 48.27 percent in Society/Environment the temporary appearance, importance, or (n=14) function of the registration units, for exam- • 13.80 percent in Economics/Business (n=4) ple, if only the current spill is mentioned or • 37.93 percent without section. El Diario de if another or other previous spills are also Cuyo is not organized in sections. (n=11) mentioned. Previous crises. Mention (or not) RQ2a What is the place of all actors in the me- of previous crises that the company had in dia? the area. RQ2b Are their voices reflected? Even though, the sample taken for this anal- ysis may be reduced, the repercussions were The main actors mentioned in the news are: mostly muffled by different participants of Members of the provincial government: Ser- the story. There was, at the time, pressure on gio Uñac, current governor of the province of every side involved in the spillage: the Com- San Juan (n= 60), Alberto Hensel, Minister of pany, facing its third spillage in one year and Mining of San Juan (n= 23), Eduardo Machu- a half. The local Government, in allowing Bar- ca, Secretary of Environmental Management rick to continue operating the mine. Some (n=13) total 96 mentions; members of the social activist like Asamblea Jáchal No Se national government: Sergio Bergman, Min- Toca (AJNST)1 demanding the closure of the ister of Environment (n= 13) and Juan José mine altogether. The Assembly is composed Aranguren, Minister of Energy (n=12), total of residents of the city of Jáchal who called 25 mentions; members of Barrick Gold: Kel- themselves against mining in the region. Of vin Dushnisky, President (n=12) and John L. course, not all of the neighbors agree with Thornton, Executive Chairman (n=4), total 16 the closure of the Veladero mine because, in mentions. Enrique Viale, lawyer of the neigh- spite of everything, it is a source of income bors grouped in the assembly Jáchal No Se Toca, only 1 mention (See figure 1). 1 AJNST: Asamblea Jáchal No Se Toca. (Assembly Jáchal shall remain untouched) 35 3 PAPERS Figure 1 Figure 2 36 3 PAPERS Organizations and stakeholders 65.52 percent). Two news items are consid- ered negative (n=2, 6.90 percent) in which the Barrick Gold (n=132) and Veladero Mine company in one of them admits the incident (n=107), total 239, were mentioned an aver- and in the other it says that it did not cause age of 8.24 times per article, while the provin- any damage. Finally, there are 8 news items cial government (n=68), the national author- (n=8, 27.58 percent) that were considered ities (n=16), the national government (n=5), neutral because they do not express an opin- in general they were mentioned a total of 89 times, an average of 3 times per article. ion on the incident. The NGO Jachal No Se Toca (n=5), the word Other data obtained from the analysis neighbors (n=4) and the word people (n=2) were mentioned in total 11 times, less than 1 Of the 29 newspaper articles analysed in the mention per article (0.37 times). Greenpeace scanned time period almost all articles re- (n=3) and the Argentine Association of Envi- ferred to the spill (n=27, 93.1 percent), only ronmental Lawyers (n=3) were mentioned two articles do not mention the crisis (6.9 in total 6 times, all of them when the articles percent). Of the 27 articles that address the talked about past spillages (See figure 2). crisis, 17 (62.96 percent) mention previous incidents: 14 refer superficially to them and RQ3 What is the intensity of each party dis- 3 relate in detail how and when each of the course? previous spills occurred. Intensity of the actors’ discourse in the me- Findings dia from 1 (less intense) to 3 (more intense) 24.13 percent of articles found no textual The analysis of RQ1 provided insight of how phrases (n=7). In the other 22 newspaper ar- the media presented and assigned relevance ticles the following results were found: to the subject at hand. Several appearances in different media, both local and nation- The greatest number of textual phrases come al, showed that the topic has a place in the from the governor of San Juan, Sergio Uñac agenda. Notwithstanding, national interest in (n=14). Of these phrases 3 were categorized the subject declined quicker than in their lo- with level 1 (less intense), 3 with level 2 and 8 cal colleagues. with level 3 (more intense). Also, the news was published with divided Hensel, Minister of Mining of San Juan, has 5 interest, between the social/environment textual phrases all of them of level 2. section and the economic/business. In the Among the actors of the national govern- Diario de Cuyo (local) news spanned in the ment, there is Bergman with 2 textual phras- main part of the newspaper (it is not divid- es of level 3 and Aranguren with 2 textual ed in sections but maintained a place in the phrases of level 2 and one of level 1. first part of it). It is worth clarifying that in Ar- gentina the media economy section is more There is a single level 2 textual phrase from relevant than the section called society. The Barrick in which the actor is not quoted. The name of the company Barrick was “moved” to paper mentions “a spokesman said in his the economy section when the media began email response.” to talk about the possible purchase of 50% RQ4 What is the tendency of media from the of the Veladero mine by the Chinese mining community standpoint? company Shandong. Distraction strategy? In a country where foreign investment is wel- Most of the news is considered positive for come because it is necessary for its econo- the community in that they mention actions my Barrick announces the sale of 50% of the to repair the situation or require changes to mine just 4 days after the spill. This generat- the company to avoid new incidents (n=19, ed a traffic of journalistic news not only to the 37 3 PAPERS Economy section but also reduced the news vin Dushnisky, Barrick highest authority about the incident (RQ 1). worldwide” is the headline. Later in the news it is said that the meeting lasted two Clearly who dominated the public sphere of hours but did not transcend what they communication in the media was the cur- talked about. rent governor of the province, Sergio Uñac • On April 7, John L. Thornton, CEO of the (as will be seen below was also the most in- Toronto, Canada-based firm, announced tense in his speeches). Among the findings it that Barrick sold 50% of the Veladero mine is worth mentioning that in spite of the fact to a Chinese company. that he has not been in government for four years, the media mentions former governor Other groups such as Greenpeace and the José Luis Gioja more than Barrick’s Executive Argentine Association of Environmental Law- Chief. For the people of San Juan, according yers are mentioned when references were to one of the local newspapers, the previous made to past spills; there are no statements Governor of the province José Luis Gioja, was in the articles of these NGOs linked to the “controlled by Barrick” (Diario de Cuyo, 2017). spill analysed in that paper (RQ2). . This newspaper conducted a poll among its readers to corroborate their title. The results Governor Uñac’s sayings are more intense, were that 77% thought it was, in fact, true and he mentioned six times that he “Suspended extended their suspicion to include the actu- the company’s activities” and twice that he al Governor Uñac. That is why José Luis Gioja “Dismissed the work plan presented by Bar- is mentioned 6 times. On the other hand that rick”. As well as those of Minister Bergman the legal representative of the NGO, Enrique who said he “presented an action of protec- Viale, has only one mention is alarming. tion”. Hensel said sentences like: “We are going to suspend the company” and Minis- There are three groups clearly identified in ter Aranguren said: “I’m going to make a de- this study. Government (provincial and na- cision that is to take away Barrick’s conces- tional), the company and the people. Also in sion”. These phrases written in future tense the Government we add to all the authorities are less intense than the previous ones that from different Offices such as Environment, were said in past tense. Barrick has a single Industrial Production, Energy, Public Health textual phrase: “we are going to work with and up to the President’s Office. Also mem- the authorities to understand their concerns bers from the provincial and local administra- and adjust accordingly,” a spokesman said tion. Barrick shows itself in a conglomerated in his email response. There’s no mention of front, speaking in Barrick’s name without any the spokesman’s name. It is only mentioned particular name or spokesperson. Lastly, the that this reply was received by email which people living in the neighboring communities implies that there was no face-to-face com- to the Veladero mine. Their voice sometimes munication, not even telephone communica- is heard through the NGO Jáchal No Se Toca. tion. The strongest arguments come from the current governor Uñac and national authori- The media do not give the names of the ties, especially Minister Aranguren (RQ 3). people involved by the company when the information is contrary to it. However, they The position of the provincial government are named when the investments that the changed throughout the days. In September company will make in the future are men- 2016 (second spill) the Governor says he will tioned. In the period of time analysed the be relentless with the company next time. He only journalistic articles that are mentioned says the same thing during the first 48 hours with name, surname and position to officials of the third spill and changes his position af- of the Barrick are: ter the meeting he had on April 4 at the San • Barrick’s CEO is mentioned, for example, Juan government house with Barrick’s CEO. on April 4. “Veladero: Uñac met with Kel- The day after the meeting, the media report- 38 3 PAPERS ed on the new investments that the compa- Jáchal and 9,000 in the department of Igle- ny will make in the next three years and the sia in the surrounding areas of the mine. The benefits that the population will have, not a Barrick Gold Company in the area currently word is mentioned about the spills or about employs more than 3,800 people, including the suspension that the company had from both own and contracted personnel (20 per- March 31 to June 16, 2017. It is worth noting cent of the population around the mine). The that mining production grew by 2,200% be- presence of the NGO or the community in tween 2003 and 2013 according to an article the media is almost non-existent. dated July 12, 2013. It also mentions that ex- ports from the province reached 2,036 mil- However, in February 2015 the activities of lion dollars, which implies 80% of all exports the Assembly Jáchal No Se Toca (AJNST) be- from the province. The first private employer gan. According to Larreta (2017): “With the in San Juan is Barrick (El Cronista, 2013). passage of time, and an apparent victory, when the project was suspended, the strug- The trend of the news analysed is positive gle continued over other mining projects, but insofar as it mentions actions to repair the suffered a wear and tear until it resurfaced situation and prevent future events, led in September 2015 after the (first) spill in the these speeches especially on the part of the leach valley, in the Veladero mine”. government. The attitude of the company is one of minimization and even denial of the In the speech of the Assembly (AJNST) its main facts, which has been considered as negative objective is the defense of water; “...but with news for the community. In addition, news a meaning not only as a natural resource but was found that did not mention the incident, also as a source of life, as a substratum from which has been considered neutral (RQ 4). which the territory is built and where history passes. Another point in which the territorial It must be taken into account that when an sense of the assembly is made visible is in its incident occurs the press will refer almost au- objective: closure, remediation and prohibi- tomatically to previous incidents, whether it tion of the Veladero mine, not expliciting an- is simply listing the number of incidents the other objective” (Larreta, G. et al., 2017). company has had previously or dedicating several sentences to give a detailed account This might raise an issue on transparency of everything that happened previously. This and ethics for the PR practise from differ- was also observed in this study, 63 percent of ent sides. Although transparency is not one the articles mention previous incident. of the vectors taken for this analysis, from a PR perspective an emergent issue on its lev- 9. Conclusions els would affect the company’s public image and its reputation. So, in a crisis situation and Throughout the analysis of every publication, applying the contingency theory standpoint, there was a clear confrontation between the identified situational factors include the un- company and the Government leaving the certainty of the timing for releasing informa- social voice muffled. tion and the level of information, to balance being transparent and also strategic. Pre-cri- Regarding the way in which some newspa- sis reputation is a factor as are organization- pers take position in favor or against the al culture, support from senior management company, it is notorious how the majority of and PR leadership (Yin, Pang et al, 2018), the the countries newspapers is set against the fact that this was the fourth spill in the same company but when the article is based on a province clearly does not help the company. press release from Barrick, they turn their tendency to favor them. This study shows some limitations, especial- ly in the temporal frame. However, in rede- Around 10,000 people live in the region of fining it to include all four spills and even a 39 3 PAPERS number of years since the mine started in meaning, as a mix of relevant voices, Heath Argentina, the results could be, while main- (2010) proposes that PR can work for individ- taining the same research focus, much more ual advantage (as the engineering of consent) explicit in the way this company co-opts the or seek a fully functioning society whereby in- public opinion with lobbying and mass media dividuals collaborate to manage risks. Is the actions. emergence and enactment of any vocabulary driven sense of mind, self, and society best In spite of the short time frame of this study, conceptualized as the empowering pursuit of an amplified scope will only show a wider gap one interest or the collective need for mutu- in the actual discussion while leaving the so- al benefit? Here is the rationale for a dialogic cial actors further behind. approach to Public Relations (Pearson, 1989; In depth research of these kind of cases, Kent & Taylor, 2002, Motion, 2005). along with their publication, would provide a In this study, the argument of resources ded- more equitable share of voice for each inter- icated to PR definitely will tip the scale being ested party. More so, using PR to amplify the an important outlet for companies to com- voice of those with fewer access and resourc- municate to the public via PR practitioners. es. They are also a primary information source Practical and social implications for citizens seeking to learn about the posi- tions of their governments. Together, they Social implications may come by motivating share a critical role in co-creating an enlight- to investigate more into these cases and to ened citizen (McCollough, 2014). Also, a rein- provide tools that will help to empower those forced check on the releases and other infor- communities that reside adjacent to this mation provided by the organization o even exploitations and that many times are not the Government could end situations where heard in their claims for justice and equality. the PR practitioner acts as a sort of “pre-re- Situations like the one described in this case porter” for the journalist (Supa & Zoch, 2009). show PR practitioners with different kinds of Taking the words from Jackson and Moloney leverage and resources. This is the case of (2015) “Churnalism” is widely spread, good the social actors, like NGOs and public as- PR practices need strong PR professionals semblies. They work in a David against Go- and journalist with checked information and liath manner that leaves them in bad tactical sources. position. 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Nevertheless, non-profits normally aim to achieve goals beneficial for the common good. The image of the organization can be damaged because of the intentionality of the hoax. In this context, it is worth to question whether the effects of astroturfing for non-profits will or will not differ from the effects that astroturfing has on marked oriented organizations. Keywords: astroturfing; non-profits; credibility; attitude towards the brand; megaphoning 1. Introduction strategies are not new, in fact they have exist- ed for over a century (Lee, 2010), the Internet Astroturfing practices damage the organiza- enabled these actions. tion and public relations discipline’s reputa- tion and credibility (Avery, 2010). Recovering The Internet works like a mask, hiding the from the consequences of revealed astroturf- organization who spreads the information ing requires efforts to build up strategies that (Peng et al., 2016). The information arrives to can restore public trust (Avery, 2010). Astro- the audience, but they do not know who the turfing is relevant since it is both more gen- source of such message is. Then, spreading eralized because of the Internet expansion, astroturfed information on the Internet is and secondly because of its great impact in easier, because of the characteristics of this the public relations field. channel or tool and the affordability for both organizations and audiences. Fallin (2014) defined astroturfing as the “movement that appears to be grassroots, Astroturfing is a practice which seeks for or- but it is either funded, created or conceived ganization benefit rather than a common by a corporation or industry trade associa- benefit or common good (Demetrious, 2008). tion, political interest group or public rela- Organizations engage in this type of practic- tions firm” (p. 322). Although this deceptive es because of the potential benefits of the 45 3 PAPERS spread of their crafted message. Neverthe- followers. less, there are specific organizations that look beyond own-profit. Non-profits normally aim Astroturfing techniques are utilized today to achieve goals beneficial for the common using social media as a tool, however, they good. have been used since the early 1900s (Lee, 2010). It was 1909, when a businessman dis- The image of the organization can be dam- seminated pamphlets to warn people about aged because of the intentionality of the the health risk of using normal cups – since hoax (Cox, Martinez & Quinian, 2008). In this he identified them as a potential source of in- context, it is worth to question whether the fection. The businessman did not disclose his effects of astroturfing for non-profits will or real identity (he produced cups not made of will not differ from the effects that astroturf- paper) when recommending paper cup use ing has on market oriented organizations. instead of standard cups (Lee, 2010). Therefore, the aim of this study us to examine But astorturfing also happens in cases oth- the possible effects of astroturfing when this er than commercial products. An example bad practice is operated by non-profit organi- of this is a lobbying related astroturfing case zations, as well as protecting the discipline of which happened in 1992. This case involves public relations by advising the organizations the use of astroturfing by two organizations in the pursuit of excellent practices. involved in the issue. Citizens for Free Kuwait was a pseudo-orga- 2. Literature review nization funded by the Kuwaiti Government. The organization aimed to convince the Unit- Astroturfing concept ed States to join in a war against Iraq. Citizens As previously cited, astroturfing is the “move- for Free Kuwait hired a communication agen- ment that appears to be grassroots, but it is cy, Hill & Knowlton, to manage their public either funded, created or conceived by a cor- relations in the States. Both the Kuwaiti Gov- poration or industry trade association, polit- ernment and Hill & Knowlton committed as- ical interest group or public relations firm” troturfed actions. (Fallin, 2014, p. 322). The firm brought the Kuwaiti Ambassador’s Grassroots are all of the supporters or move- daughter in the States to testify in the Con- ments that were naturally originated. As it gressional Human Rights Caucus. Her iden- happens with real grass, the weed has roots tity was not revealed when she told a story underground. Other followers of the move- of Iraqi soldiers killing babies in a hospital in ment gather around this first supporters, cre- Kuwait, which happened to be a fake story. ating activist groups, active groups of follow- This testimony, was broadly displayed by me- ers or well- develop movements. However, in dia and repeated by politicians, and shaped both public opinion and polititians opinion, the case of astroturfing, such roots do not ex- convincing a country to go to war. ist. The grass is visible, but it is artificially cre- ated. In fact, this metaphor gives the name to The first astroturf action comes from the de- this type of tactics. cision of Kuwait’s Government, since the Gov- ernment founded and supported financially When astroturfing happens, an organization Citizens for free Kuwait, with the purpose is giving the impression of the existence of of influencing the American public opinion an early adopter or follower of a policy, or- (Basen, 2009). ganization, product, … where in reality, such support did not exist. It is the organization, The second astroturf action is on the side of not disclosing their identity (Boulay, 2012), Hill & Knowlton, since they did not disclose providing such message, trying to “hook” real the identity of the lady who testified in the 46 3 PAPERS caucus. As Roschwalb (1994) explains “it was conversations or two-way communicative in- not that Hill & Knowlton created Citizens of teractions among organizations and publics Free Kuwait as a pseudo organization to rep- (DiStaso & Bortree, 2012). resent a questionable cause. It is the use of the Kuwaiti Ambassador’s daughter in Con- Transparency is chosen as the normative or- gressional testimony without full disclosure ganizational behavior (Holland et al., 2018). that comes in for censure” (p. 272). It implies not only truthful information, but also disclosure. Astroturfed content, which The case was made public and heavily criti- violates principles of transparency and dis- cized by media, so that public relations as a closure, has effects for the overall organiza- profession got damaged as a result. Most of tion. According to previous research astro- the criticism focused on Hill & Knowlton ac- turfing has effects in terms of credibility (Lock tions, rather than on the Kuwaiti Government & Seele, 2017; Andreu Perez, 2018), attitude actions. While it is true that a controversial towards the brand and megaphoning for the client has right to be represented, as Hill & organizations which develop such tactics (An- Knowlton alleged (Roschwalb, 1994), one sid- dreu Perez, 2018). ed public relations that uses a deliberated action of shading should be criticized (Basen, Andreu Perez (2018) conducted an experi- 2009), and the public relations agency should mental study that differentiated among real assume responsibility of the consequences life situations; successful astroturfing, failed of lying (Basen, 2009). astroturfing and situations in which there is disclosure. The latest of this situations im- 3. Transparency plied that there was an intent of achieving transparency, while still spreading the infor- Astroturfing is then almost always based on mation with the intended organizational pur- a hoax, a deception that affects the organiza- pose. tion’s stakeholders. It is dangerous because it has the power to influence people (Mathews Disclosure statements enable transparency Hunt, 2015). People will form their opinions and avoid many of the risks posted by the based on lies or hidden truths. use of astroturfing, although the information spread may still be biased, however, because The development of astroturfing strategies of the transparency intent and truthfulness implies an effective lack of transparency on on the source disclosure, it can be consid- the side of the organization. “Transparen- ered an approach closer to the normative ac- cy in organizational communication is often tion and an approach to ethical action (Lahav viewed by public relations practitioners, and & Zimand – Sheiner, 2016). as well among journalists, as access to infor- mation and openness to the process through All type of organizations can develop astro- which this information has been collected, turfed strategies. Market oriented organiza- organized, and disseminated” (Vujnovic & tions such as Walmart and Coca Cola (Andreu Kruckeberg, 2016, p. 123). Perez, 2018), political organizations like the Government of Kuwait (Basen, 2009), and While astroturfing strategies are easy to im- even market oriented organizations with plement, because of the availability and low political purposes (Fallin, 2010). But there cost of the Internet use, transparency can are more types of organizations, for exam- use the same cheap tools to be implemented ple, non-profits. Non-profits normally aim (DiStaso & Bortree, 2012). The Internet op- to achieve goals beneficial for the common erates like a double edge sword: on the one good. hand, it is the organizations’ mask to hide the identity when they spread their interest- The own name of non-profits collides with ed messages, on the other hand it enables the purpose of astroturfing. Astroturfing 47 3 PAPERS purpose is to benefit the organization using 4. Methods this kind of practices (Demetrious, 2008), dis- regarding the effects of the misinformation Sample or the fake information to the organization’s A sample of 250 participants completed the publics. The influence of these practices has study, but 13 cases had to be removed be- effects in publics attitudes and behaviors, and cause of incomplete data, hence 237 cas- also posts effects for the organization (Lock & es were analyzed. Participants were 57.8% Seele, 2017; Andreu Perez, 2018) and for the ( N=137) male, 41.8% ( N=99) female, and .4% public relations discipline (Boulay, 2012). ( N=1) did not identified with these binary cat- Non-profits are expected to work for the egories. Ethnicity wise, 66.2% of the partici- pants ( N=157) were White, 18.1 were Black common good and not for the organization’s ( N=43), .8% ( N=2) were American Indian or own good. Hence, two difference possibil- Alaska Native, 8.9% were Asian ( N=21), 3% ities arise in the case of astroturfing tactics were Latin American ( N=7) and 3% of them being used by the organization. First, since belonged to other ethnicities ( N=7). non-profits purpose is the pursuit of the common good, astroturf strategies will show About their education background, 11% lesser negative effects than cases in which ( N=26) participants reported to have com- astroturfing was utilized by mrket-orient- pleted up to the high school graduate, 19.8% ed organizations. Second, in contrast, since ( N=47) did some college, 10.5% ( N=25) got a non-profits are expected to act according to two-year degree, 43.5% ( N=103) a four-year higher ethical standards, publics will react degree, 14.3% ( N=34) a professional degree, more negatively to them than in instances and .8% ( N=2) a doctorate. where the organization that used astroturf- Procedure ing was market oriented. Participants were recruited through Amazon Two competing hypotheses arise. To be able Mechanical Turk, and each were paid $0.75 to understand which one of these cases cor- for their participation. The only restriction respond to reality, it is necessary to post sev- applied in M-Turk was country of residence. eral research questions. Given that all participants must be familiar with two organizations (Save the Children RQ1: Will people exposed to astroturfing op- and Habitat for Humanity) for the experi- erated by a non-profit organization show ment, this study limited the area of residency a higher or lower credibility than those ex- to the United States. According to Dibble et posed to astroturfing operated by market al. (2016), MTurk is more representative than oriented organizations? United States Colleges and convenience sam- RQ2: Will people exposed to astroturfing op- ple, and closer to general United States pop- erated by a non-profit organization show a ulation. more positive or negative attitude towards Participants were randomly assigned to one the brand than those exposed to astroturfing of the three possible conditions: astroturfing, operated by market oriented organizations? failed astroturfing or disclosure. Since it is a 3x2 mixed experiment, each participant got RQ3: Will people exposed to astroturfing op- assigned to one condition but to both brands erated by a non-profit organization show in each condition. Participants had to read variations in their megaphoning intentions the text given to their condition. After read- compared to those exposed to astroturfing ing, all participants answered questions that operated by market oriented organizations? measured credibility, attitude towards the brand and megaphoning about both orga- nizations they had read texts about. Partici- 48 3 PAPERS pants exposed to the condition “disclosure” Megaphoning. Megaphoning roots are word had to answer an extra question to verify of mouth. Megaphoning can be positive (Save they read the manipulated phrase. the Children: M=2.97, SD=1.18, α =.90; Habi- tat for Humanity: M=3.32, SD= 1.11, α =.94), Design when people are willing to speak well and The study uses a 3 (astroturfing conditions) give positive reviews about an organization, x 2 (organizations) mixed design experiment. product, person or policy. It also can be neg- Astroturfing condition is the between- sub- ative (Save the Children: M= 2.22, SD= 1.27, α jects factor. Every participant was assigned =.93; Habitat for Humanity: M=2.08, SD= 1.29, randomly to one of the three possible as- α=.88), when people are likely to share their troturfing conditions. Organizations are the bad opinions and discourage use of a prod- within subjects factor, since all participants uct, organization, policy or person. Both pos- were exposed to messages about two orga- itive and negative megaphoning items come nizations. from Kim & Rhee (2011), and these items were rated through a 5-point scale that when The astroturfing conditions were successful from agreement to disagreement. astroturfing, failed astroturfing and disclo- sure. The two organizations that appear on Positive megaphoning included the following the stimuli are Save the Children and Habitat items: writing positive comments on the In- for Humanity. ternet, arguing against prejudices about the organization, praising the organization to Instruments people they meet and making efforts to per- Credibility. Participants answered a total of 6 suade angry publics in favor of the compa- items from the organization-public relation- ny. Negative megaphoning included posting ship assessment (OPRA) measures for trust negative comments on the Internet, second- (Grunig & Grunig, 2001) by assessing their ing negative comments, criticizing the orga- agreement or disagreement in a 5- point item nization to people they know, and talking scale. Data was collected for both Save the to friends about how the organization does Children (M= 3.45, SD=.94, α=.92) and Habi- more poorly than other companies. tat for Humanity (M=3.85, SD= .84, α=.90). It included the following aspects: if participants 5. Results felt they have been treated fairly, concern of the organization about people, confidence In order to answer the research questions, it about the organization’s skills, ability of the was necessary to compare the results from organization to accomplish what they say Andreu Perez (2019) to the results achieved they will do, and if the organization can be following the same experimental study design relied on to keep its promises. with non- profit organizations. RQ1 aimed to compare the results in terms of credibility. Attitudes towards the brand. Participants an- swered whether they agreed or disagreed in An ANOVA test was conducted to compare the a 5 point Likert scale with five items referring effects of the three astroturfing conditions on to attitude towards the brand retrieved from credibility, for both organizations. The main Spears and Singh (2004). They answered effect for credibility of Save the Children was these questions for both brands, Save the significant (F(2,237)=9.15, p=<.001, η2=.073). Children (M=3.72, SD= 1.00, α= .93) and Hab- A post hoc Tukey test showed that there is itat for Humanity (M=3.95, SD= .84, α=.81). a significant difference between failed astro- Items include liking, finding the company ap- turfing and disclosure (p<.001) in which par- pealing, considering that the organization’s ticipants perception of credibility in the failed actions are done for good among others, and astroturfing condition (M= 3.11 SD=.79) was considering if their opinions were favorable. lower than the scores for credibility in the 49 3 PAPERS disclosure condition (M= 3.58 SD=.83). The troturfing (p<.001), with more negative atti- post hoc test also showed there is a signif- tude towards Save the Children in the case icant difference between failed astroturfing of failed astroturfing (M=3.98 SD=1.34) when and successful astroturfing (p=.002), with compared to successful astroturfing (M=5.02 lower credibility in the case of failed astro- SD=.97). turfing (M= 3.11 SD=.79) compared to suc- cessful astroturfing (M= 3.69 SD=.79). How- For Habitat for Humanity, failed astroturfing ever, disclosure and successful astroturfing showed a difference (3.68 SD=.87) in compar- did not show significant differences in terms ison with instances in which the organization of credibility (p=.70). disclosed the source (M=4.11 SD=.79). Failed astroturfing result was different when com- For Habitat for Humanity there was also a pared to successful astroturfing in terms of significant difference (F(2,237)=5.72, p=.004, attitude towards the brand (p=.019), publics η2=.047) when comparing the three condi- being more negative when they learn about tions. The difference between failed astroturf- the hoax (3.68 SD=.87) in comparison with ing and disclosure was significant (p=.018). instances where astroturfing was successful Participants’ credibility towards Habitat for (M=4.05 SD=.79). Disclosure and successful Humanity when astroturfing failed (M= 3.60 astroturfing did not show significant differ- SD=.86) was lower than the credibility per- ences (p=.89). ceived by those in the disclosure condition (M= 3.94 SD=.81). The difference between These results for attitudes towards the or- failed astroturfing and successful astroturf- ganization coincide in significance of these ing was significant (p=.007), with lower credi- three conditions and the directions with bility in the case of failed astroturfing (M=3.60 those found in Andreu Perez (2018) regarding SD=.8) compared to successful astroturfing two commercial brands. The main difference (M= 4.02 SD=.77). However, disclosure and is that all of the means displayed throughout successful astroturfing did not show signifi- conditions for non-profits are higher than cant differences in terms of credibility (p=.87). those in the market oriented organizations. These results coincide in significance of these Regarding positive megaphoning, main ef- three conditions and the directions with those fect of conditions on positive megaphon- found in Andreu Perez (2018) regarding two ing for Save the Children was significant commercial brands. The main difference is (F(2,237)=3.79, p=<.05, η2=.031). A post hoc that all of the means displayed throughout Tukey test showed that there is a marginal conditions for non-profits are higher than difference between failed astroturfing and those in the market oriented organizations. disclosure (p=.07) in which participants in- tent of positive megaphoning in the failed In the case of attitude towards the brand, astroturfing condition (M=2.68 SD=1.24) was there is significant difference for both Save lower than the scores for credibility in the the Children (F(2,237)=20.40, p<.001, η2=.14) disclosure condition (M=3.07 SD=1.17). The and Habitat for Humanity (F(2,508)=9.27, post hoc test also showed there is a signif- p<.001, η2=.03) when considering the three icant difference between failed astroturfing conditions. In the case of Save the Children, and successful astroturfing (p=.03), with low- failed astroturfing and disclosure situations er credibility in the case of failed astroturfing showed a significant difference (p< .001). (M=2.68 SD=1.2479) compared to successful Participants exposed to failed astroturfing re- astroturfing (M= 3.16 SD=1.07). However, dis- ported a more negative attitude towards the closure and successful astroturfing did not brand (M=3.98 SD=1.34) than those exposed show significant differences in terms of cred- to disclosure situations (M=3.99 SD=.83). ibility (p=.88). Also, there were significant differences be- tween failed astroturfing and successful as- In the case of Habitat for Humanity, the 50 3 PAPERS same result was found. There were main ef- hiding the source of information, hence the fects of conditions on positive megaphoning risk of losing credibility and the attitude be- (F(2,237)=3.19, p=<.05, η2=.027). Only the coming worse is real, both for market orient- difference between failed astroturfing and ed organizations and non-profits. In all of the disclosure was significant (p=.04), with peo- cases, there were not differences when com- ple less likely to participate in positive mega- paring successful astroturfing and disclosure. phoning in instances of failed astroturfing Taking into account the lack of control in as- (M=3.07 SD=1.18) in comparison to instances troturfing situations, disclosing the source of when the organization discloses the source information will not produce different out- (M=3.47 SD=1.11). The differences among comes that successful astroturfing, and since failed astroturfing and successful astroturf- disclosure do not allow failed astroturfing, it ing (p=.13) and successful astroturfing with becomes a safe bet for organizations. disclosure (.94) were not significant. However, differences among types of orga- RQ3 questioned the differences in the effects nizations were found in terms of megaphon- of megaphoning when comparing profit and ing. First, in the case of positive megaphon- non-profit organizations in astroturfing sce- ing, people showed higher intent of speaking narios. Andreu Perez (2019) reported mar- positively throughout the three conditions ginally significant main effects, in comparison in comparison to market-oriented organiza- with this study, in which main effects were tion. In the case of the non-profit study, the significant. Nevertheless, the differences be- differences among situations was significant, tween conditions were more similar in both repeating a similar scheme to the effects of case. credibility and attitude towards the brand, Still trying to answer RQ3, ANOVA tests were with the exception that successful astroturf- conducted in regards of negative megaphon- ing did not report substantial differences ing. As a result, there were no differences with fail astroturfing, making disclosure the found among the conditions when measuring best option in terms of effects in positive negative megaphoning neither for Save the megaphoning. Children F(2,237)=2.56, p=.08, η2=.021) nei- In the case of negative megaphoning, the ther for Habitat for Humanity F(2,237)=.97, means for all of the conditions for both p=.37, η2=.008). non-profit organizations are very low, which This is different to the results achieved in means people are not willing to speak neg- Andreu Perez (2018), where there were sig- atively about non-profits, despite of the kind nificant differences among conditions. It is of situation the organizations are facing. worth to mention that the means for all of the The differences were significant in the case conditions for both non-profit organizations of market-oriented organizations, but no are very low, which means people are not differences were found among non-profits. willing to speak negatively about non-profits, Non-profit publics avoid negative informa- despite of the kind of situation the organiza- tion about the organizations. tions are facing. Both attitudinal variables repeated the re- sults, but both behavioral variables showed 6. Discussion different results. The extent to which publics speak well or good about the organization is The results found in this experimental study determined by type of organization and the support most of the findings from Andreu Pe- expectation to such, rather than by the con- rez (2018). In terms of credibility and attitude ditions. towards the brand, failed astroturfing dam- ages the organization. Organizations do not Nevertheless, this research highlights in the control to what extent they fail or succeed in strength of disclosure as a preferred strate- 51 3 PAPERS gy to avoid the possible negative effects of Ballantine, P. W., & Au Yeung, C. (2015). The failed astroturfing, while it does not impede effects of review valence in organic versus the achievement of the results that would be sponsored blog sites on perceived cred- achieved in cases of positive astroturfing. ibility, brand attitude, and behavioural intentions. Marketing Intelligence & Plan- 7. Conclusion ning, 33(4), 508-521. Basen, I. (2009). Counter-spin: A Response to This research contributes replicating previ- Boyd Neil. Canadian Journal of Communica- ous research about the effects of astroturf- tion, 34(2). ing, achieving similar results for many of the variables used. The differences found among Boulay, S. (2012). Exploration du phénomène the two experiments comes from the nature d’astroturfing: Une stratégie de communi- of the organizations used in the stimuli. cation usurpant l’identité citoyenne dans l’espace public. Communiquer.Revue De This study also advances the knowledge Communication Sociale Et Publique, (7), 61- about the behaviors of non-profits’ publics, 84. doi:10.4000/communiquer.487 which often behave differently in the cases in which organizations work for good or for the Cox, J. L., Martinez, E. R., & Quinlan, K. B. common good, in contrast to market-orient- (2008). Blogs and the corporation: Man- ed organizations, where the solely purpose is aging the risk, reaping the benefits. Jour- to benefit the organization. nal of Business Strategy, 29(3), 4-12. doi:10.1108/02756660810873164 All the consequences and effects described Demetrious, K. (2008). Corporate social re- are the reflection of public’s perceptions sponsibility, new activism and public rela- once they have been deceived, but there are tions. Social Responsibility Journal, 4(1), 104- other effects that go beyond the organiza- 119. doi:10.1108/17471110810856875 tion. The discovery of astroturfing can car- ry consequences for both practitioners and Distaso, M. & Bortree, D. (2012). Multi-meth- the discipline of public relations (Tsetsura & od analysis of transparency in social me- Kruckeberg, 2011). Therefore, developing as- dia practices: Survey, interviews and con- troturfing strategies has consequences not tent analysis. Public Relations Review, 38(3), only harmful for the organization, but harm- 511-514. ful to public relations as a field. It is worth Fallin, A., Grana, R., & Glantz, S. A. (2014). mentioning that astroturfing especially af- ‘To quarterback behind the scenes, third- fects public relations, more than other fields party efforts’: The tobacco industry and such as marketing, because of the extension the tea party. Tobacco Control, 23(4), 322. of the application of astroturfing practices doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2012-050815 (Boulay, 2012). Grunig, J. E., Grunig, L. A. (2001). Guidelines for formative and evaluative research in public References affairs (A Report for the Department of En- Andreu Perez, L. (2018). Risk too much to gain ergy Office of Science). University of Mary- too little: Astroturfing strategy, its presumed land, 3- 18. effects and limitations. (Unpublished Mas- Holland, D., Krause, A., Provencher, J., & Selt- ter’s Thesis). University of Oklahoma, Nor- zer, T. (2018). Transparency tested: The man, OK. influence of message features on public Avery, E. J. (2010). 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Public Relations Inquiry, 5(2), 121-143. 53 3 PAPERS Fake News, a Construction of Reality Andrej Drapal Consensus, Slovenia The purpose of this paper is to critically assess the common presupposition that fake news is • a threat to contemporary civilization; • something that appeared only recently or at least that recent examples of fake news present a more serious threat for civilization than those from the past. It appears the fast and global spread of fake news widens the gap between objective reality and what is then reflected through fake news. It is thus accepted, especially by the so called liberal media, but also by the wider intellectual community, that we are living in a post truth era. The causes of such an apparently negative shift are found mainly in a strong anti-scientific movement of which one of the more important consequences is agnotology, which is then un- derstood as one of the major causes for inefficiency of democracy. The Assessment rests on the principle difference between the so called objective and subjec- tive reality (e.g., Aristotle, Steven Pinker, Steve Austen, Ferdinand Saussure, Claude Levi Strauss, Daniel Dennett, Jacques Lacan), genetic and memetic evolution (e.g., early Richard Dawkins, Susan Blackmore, Stephen Jay Gould), and quantum and Newtonian mechanics (e.g., Stuart Kauffman, Robert W. Ulanowicz). It is also represented by opposition between the scientism of Richard Dawkins from 2002 onwards and his work from 1976 to 2002. Not all mentioned sources are explicit in this paper, and not all implicit influences on the author can be mentioned in theory, or even in practice. The Methodology of this paper rests on the only possible empirical study within memetics: thought experiments, argumentations and consistent reasoning based on neuroscience, phys- ics and philosophy of evolution. Furthermore, the methodology underlying this paper is tacitly revealed through the paper itself as it becomes a subject of the paper: a multiple draft scenario. The result comes as an emergence of multiple drafts each lying on the top of another. Daniel Dennett as the author of the multiple draft scenario for the explanation of how consciousness emerges from the physical reality of brains (Dennett, 1991) might not have envisioned such an extrapolation, but as much as I do not possess memes created here anymore, neither does he. Results: If “fake” relates to a speech act that contradicts or does not comply with reality, the nature of reality should be clarified first. Is reality as solid and predictable as defined by Newtonian mechanics, or does it follow a more quantum-like principle of uncertainty? Human neural activity resembles quantum more than Newtonian reality. Memetic reality as one of the end results of neural physical activities does not belong to physical (genetic) reality. Memetic relates to physical reality only as a creation of its own reality. Memetic activity is poetic (constructive). Poetic reality is as strong as descriptive (explaining physical reality) is weak and imperfect since the real of physis is impenetrable for memes. We, as all living creatures, live in physical reality (it hurts if we hit a wall with our head regardless of any memetic theory), but at the same time we as human beings execute our specific human nature in memes only. Memetic reality cannot but be constructed, fake in relation to objective reality. 54 3 PAPERS Practical implications: Since public relations (PR) targets deals with memetic reality only, it is necessary to understand ontology of that reality also for PR practitioners. Only then can truth, post truth or fake news be understood. Originality: Elements of reasoning are to be found in the work of authors mentioned in citation and many others, but the merger and end result is fully original. Keywords: gene; meme; truth; fake news; reality; real; objectivity; intersubjectivity While we generally accept evolutionary truth, but they primarily construct reality. mechanisms on the biological level, level of Politicians serve only as the most vivid exam- nature (gene interaction and replication), it ples, but the mechanisms explained in this seems that for human nature/nurture evolu- paper apply to all fields of human activity. tion rarely comes into play. Public relations research is especially prone to avoiding cross Leaving origins aside, this paper focuses on fertilization of not only natural sciences, but the widespread notion that fake news is bad, also evolutionary theory and philosophy in and as such something that we as conscious the wider sense of the term. It is one of the people (and especially media) should eradi- aims of this paper to point to various fields cate to make this world a better place to live of knowledge that not only could but should in. Such a notion rests on the intuitive notion serve as an important mental tool for any that reality is simple, one dimensional, and PR practitioner, not to mention researchers. can be objectively proven or falsified. Reality Since we are confined to a memetic world, as is in fact complex, multidimensional and can- it is going to be proven later, there are no ob- not be neither proven nor falsified. It can only stacles for researchers of any field in under- be lived. standing the findings from other fields from What is even more interesting is that the fact the (necessary) perspective limited by his so that the term fake news has appeared recent- far acquired discourse. ly induces the notion that also the behaviour The main aim of this paper is to challenge the that it describes is something fairly recent. most widely accepted malicious nature and It is partly due to the disassociation of fake consequences of fake news. This paper does from lie, but mostly due to the global cata- not limit fake news to media news, which strophic nature of intellectuals that always were originally branded with that name, see reality of today as much worse than that but to all instances of communication when of yesterday. This phenomenon was precise- some news/information is taken and defined ly explained by Steven Pinker (Pinker 2018). as fake. Intellectuals tend to see the past as bright, the present as dark and the future as hell. So, It is not the purpose of this paper to go deep- if fake is bad, then one should not find it in er into the genealogy of the term, which is the past as much as today, and even more so interesting because fake is mostly assigned in the future “if we don’t counteract”. to opinion leaders. When public anonymous would say something that would be defined If one wants to be a critical thinker, then it as fake if uttered by Donald Trump, we call is necessary to ask what a negation of fake this a lie. Already this curious distinction news is. What is non-fake news? The com- points into a direction of this paper. We might mon sense answer would be: Non-fake news/ not define a “lie” of an opinion maker as a lie, information relates to something that really as we might unconsciously accept that opin- is, that really happened, to something that ion makers do not only communicate about is reality. But if fake relates to reality, what 55 3 PAPERS is the reality that the truth should be truth shifted the original meaning of poiesis from about? “creation as such” to mere poetry. Not that that would be his intention (who knows what The method used in this paper is associative. his intention really was), but later interpreta- Each of the seven steps briefly unveils one of tions dragged poiesis into the realm of art. the possible (possible=actual) drafts related What we now understand as poiesis is thus to memes of reality and fake news. quite far from its original meaning that took The thesis is: The objective world (both as poiesis as a principle related to all possible physical and memetic real) is at the same realities. Consequently, there is no surprise time auto creative (genetic evolution, post that a new term with almost the same mean- big bang evolution…) and impenetrable. The ing replaced poiesis in the midst of the 19th memetic world as an emergence of mind and century and full elaboration in the 20th: emer- consciousness is auto creative as well, but gence. Emergence is going to be put into the such an emergence is not subjective but in- context of this paper later on. tersubjective, meaning it is not objective. As What makes the legacy of Plato and Aristotle already said, objectivity is impenetrable re- important for this purpose is the question of gardless of fact, that it is auto created and truth. According to Plato, truth (matter, objec- co-constructed. tivity) is created after the idea. According to What does that mean for truth, post truth Aristotle, on the other hand, poiesis reflects and fake news? objectivity implying that better or worse re- flections can co-exist. It is thus Aristotle that opened the option of news that is fake in re- First draft: Poiesis / Plato and Ar- lation to objective reality. istotle What is the nature of such reality? Poiesis as a concept (meme) was widely elab- orated on in Ancient Greece, especially by Second draft: The Real / Jacques Plato and Aristotle. In its essence, the mean- Lacan ing is quite straightforward: “activity that brings something into existence, that did not There are many that entered the conundrum exist before”. opened by idealists, like Plato, and realists or It is important to keep this simple meaning even materialists, like Aristotle. In both cas- in mind, while already in the very beginning a es, dualism of matter and spirit is baffling. controversy entered this apparently straight- The great German philosopher Immanuel forward meme. The fact that Plato consid- Kant was the one that once forever (at least it seemed so until recently) fixed the duality ered physis as the result of poiesis, Aristotle of ”thing in itself” as something unknowable took poiesis as mere reflection/imitation of in contrast to “thing for us”, perceived by us. physis. This controversy is still alive today, though reformulated many times through But Kant still did not really resolve this dual- different newly developed concepts. The ism for he thought that one should not as- question whether mind creates matter or sume the existence of a thing in itself as nec- matter creates mind still persists to this day. essary since it is unknowable. Although there It is not the aim of this paper to dig deeper are many philosophers that dug into this sub- into this subject. What is of interest for this ject after Kant, it was perhaps Jacques Lacan paper is only that both Plato and Aristotle ac- who precisely differentiated “the real” from cept one sort of poiesis as non-controversial. “reality”. What is also interesting is that the most in- According to his writings and lectures, all per- fluential philosopher of all time, Aristotle, ceivable phenomena emerge from the Real 56 3 PAPERS (“objet petit a” in Lacan terminology) . The bumps into the wall despite bumping into Real is impenetrable for humans, but at the the wall. It is of course wrong to make anal- same time real and objective. With that shift ogies between elementary particles and hu- he strongly tied together the Real and reality man sized particles and it was not my point albeit the former is inaccessible for us. The to speculate about quantum mechanics. The Real can only be “perceived” through symp- point is that the deeper we go into reality, toms, through reality; much alike to elemen- meaning the more we dissect particles into tary particles as described by quantum me- smaller and smaller, the more they are eva- chanics, can only be perceived by traces they sive, and less they are penetrable. They can leave on detectors since it is impossible, in only be presented to us by abstract mathe- principle, to see them directly. matical formulas or computer interpreta- tions. We can never see this real behind re- The conclusion that Lacan placed the agent ality in which we indulge daily. We only see of poiesis in physis as Aristotle, would be emergent properties, traces on a computer wrong. Physis is not the Real. Physis is al- screen that are results of something behind ready a symptom, reality. Reality according to which we do not and cannot see, hear or feel. Lacan is a result of poiesis/emergence. There Nothing solid (behind) creates the beauty of is no basic difference between physical or here. Reality is literary created ex nihilo. psychical reality; both are emergencies. But even more, quantum reality is in fact cre- Is real really impenetrable? ated by observation. The famous Schrödinger thought experiment explains that while the Third draft: quantum mechanics quantum cat unobserved can be both death / by many and alive, the observation only really makes her dead or alive. The observation only col- It is very difficult for the common mind to ac- lapses quantum probabilities into physical cept the impenetrability of real after a painful reality. The real is nothing but probability un- bump into the wall. If reality is “only” a symp- til it collapses into reality. tom of something that we cannot grasp, what is the “bumped reality” when a head hits the What is also important for contemporary wall? physics and mainstream science is that what comes out from quantum mechanics is its Contemporary physics in a way proves La- demise of reductionism. Although the term can’s philosophical thesis. In search for the has many parallel meanings its basic pre- smallest particle of matter/energy, physicists sumption is that it is possible to single out found that what constitutes reality evades one principle that the Universe rests on. Re- our everyday experience of reality. ductionism states that the whole of reality can be explained by knowing all its parts, for Elementary particles or fundamental parti- instance, our mind/consciousness can be ful- cles evade common perception of physical ly deduced from neural activity of our brains. reality very much like Jacques Lacan’s phil- osophical interpretation did. Among many If reductionism as a theory was valid, then its spooky features like entanglement (two par- consequence would completely disprove La- ticles behaving like one in cosmic distanc- can and quantum mechanics. Then the reality es, nonlocality), probabilistic nature of their would be reduced to Real. The Copenhagen “place” is perhaps the most interesting for interpretation of quantum mechanics, taken our case. Since elementary particles behave as the best possible interpretation for more both like particles and waves, we can only than three quarters of a century, literary de- draw probability densities of their position. nounced the possibility of final reduction. But In the world of human size, that would mean even for human sized bodies, reductionism that it is more or less probable that my head poses some serious troubles. If everything 57 3 PAPERS would be predestined in the moment of the concludes that memes became more and Big Bang, there would be no place for poiesis, more important for human evolution and or creation. The idea that the whole is big- that they are even becoming more import- ger than its parts would not make sense any ant than genes and physical reality. Consider more. Surprisingly, the results that various fashion for instance: fashion trends not only social entities produce, like families, compa- spread around “mysteriously” by memes, but nies and states, could be derived from the as such change us, sometimes even our bod- sum of individuals. Nothing could possibly ies directly. Take foot binding in China or the emerge as a novelty from any social institu- long neck tradition in northern Thailand for tion as everything produced would be pre- instance; although it is wrong to search for defined by characteristics of each individual fast changes in evolution, the influence of constituting such a social entity. memes on genetic material is apparent tak- ing longer periods of time into account. But then how do we understand the fact that a majority of the scientists that, through With the help of Susan Blackmore (Black- quantum mechanics, proved the evasiveness more, 1999), we can now understand memes of reality, believe in reduction? It seems that and the mechanisms that run them much the whole scientific community is searching better. She made a coherent story about the for a single principle, aligned forces under second replicator: memes. one rule that will clearly define all events from the Big Bang on. Take androgyny for instance. Androgyny was known and described many thousands Both reductionism and quantum mechanics of years back, but after the discovery and ad- cannot hold. Either smaller and smaller par- vancements in genetics was understood as ticles have to be more and more precise, or a result of genetic mutations. While genet- reductionism fails. But if reductionism proves ics certainly play a role in androgyny, its fast itself, then we have a problem (at least) of mutations clearly point to memetic causes. how to explain emergencies that happen in In contrast to genes, memes namely mutate social structures, clear and observable results much faster. The mutation of the androgyny of social entities that cannot be explained by meme, which became really fast and furious the potentials. recently, is easy to see. While we still survive with two or at most three sexes on the genet- Either quantum mechanics holds or reduc- ic level, genders inflated to 63 or even more tionism. Both cannot be valid. So far there recently. Androgyny is one meme that pre- is much greater scientific support for the vailed so long in history that it is nowadays non-reductionist explanation of the Universe already old fashioned. Androgyny in relation that at least, for the sake of this paper, this to contemporary reality is like the Ford range dilemma is already solved. Poiesis should not of cars in 1908 in comparison to the diversi- be understood on the memetic level, but on ty one hundred years after. Henry Ford pro- the physical level as well. The physical realm claimed then that their only model should is autopoietic as much as the memetic one. come in any colour, but only if that colour What about memetic reality? was black. Something similar is happening with genders. It will soon be possible to tai- Fourth draft: Susan Blackmore lor-make your own gender as much as you can tailor-make your own car. and memetics Memes, and their nature of being a second According to Richard Dawkins (Dawkins replicator, are crucial for the case of poetic 1976) memes evolved as a second replica- nature of our reality. If bodies of living crea- tor after genes. They are co-created in rep- tures are creation/emergence of genes, as lication and mutation like genes. Dawkins Dawkins elaborated in many books, espe- 58 3 PAPERS cially in The Extended phenotype (Dawkins, person was accordingly to the then valid me- 1982), our culture is created by the emer- metic context described as gay while we now gence of memes. In accordance with evolu- “know” that being gay denotes not much that tionary theory, it then follows that in relation would make sense nowadays, since now we to physical reality, all cultural reality is pro- have many modalities of being gay? Does this duced (evolved), and thus fake. Not that it make E. M. Forster’s “gay novel” Maurice writ- comes from nothing, but it comes from the ten in 1913 fake? selfishness of memes to survive. It is their sustainability that produces us and our cul- I deliberately went a bit too far with the nov- ture. We are, as Susan Blackmore claimed el. A novel is fiction by definition so every- by the title of her book, “Meme machines” thing in a novel is fake in relation to reality? Is (Blackmore, 1999). it really? We will come back to this issue later. Memes do not reflect reality but produce re- The rest of the introduced cases in this draft ality; they produce that what happens in our are myths. Most of them were elaborated in mind. Memes put under question both Aris- written form as well, but they are and were totelian and Platonistic ontology. Both Aristo- spread around in oral tradition most of the telian objectivity producing mimesis, and the time of their existence. Answers to the ques- Platonistic one with a rigid copy of an idea tion of whether they are fake in relation to as the only truth, gets dissolved by quantum reality or not have to be developed by first mechanics and memetics. understanding the function of a myth. But does that mean that reality is subjective? Let me address this question by using my per- Does that mean that nothing holds true? sonal case, my personal myth. I am repeating Does this bring into play the absolute relativ- a “story” of me writing my first business plan ism in which A can equal B or C or D that Aris- on ZX Spectrum quite often. So far no one totle fought against so vigorously? Does this repeated this story, so it does not match the mean “whatever”? most important criteria for myth: self-prop- agation. But it has many other features of a No. But it will take us a couple of additional myth. First of all, I do remember that I cer- drafts to drag out the truth from apparent tainly performed writing action on ZX Spec- relativism coming from autopoietic nature of trum, but I do not remember if I have deliv- our memetic nature. ered the final version as a print. If no print version was produced, does the claim that Fifth draft: Myths I had written something reflect reality? Do I the fake reality if I keep repeating this story? I Is the burning bush seen by Moses fake am certainly not lying. And what is even more news? Is Penelope pretending to weave a important: it does not really matter. No one burial shroud for Odysseus’s fake news? Is gains or loses in either case. Some historian Newton observing a falling apple fake news? might investigate this story while research- Is Coca Cola fake news? Is me writing my first ing computer literacy advancement in the business plan for Radio Student on ZX Spec- last years of Slovenia as a socialist country; trum around 1985 fake news? Are 63 genders though I doubt that such an insignificant fake news? event can really draw any attention. In any case, the explained personal myth performs Let’s be precise: there are not 63 genders. If exactly the same function as any cattle myth genders are creations of memes (in contrast of the Maasai people of Eastern Africa. to sexes as a creation of genes) then only the sky is the limit regarding how many of them My case that opens the question of reality a can exist in theory. If not yet existent they will bit more than 30 years ago makes all other, evolve sooner or later. So, is it fake news if a real myths, including Coca Cola, a bit easier. It 59 3 PAPERS is not historical or physical reality that myths plained how and why observation changes are related to. They are in fact related to noth- reality. ing since they create their own reality each time they are repeated. The well-known blind Among many implications coming from the taste test of Coca Cola known as Pepsi Chal- now more than 100 years old turnaround of lenge (https://www.businessinsider.com/ Newtonian predictability and the apparent pepsi-challenge-business-insider-2013-5) objectivity produced, there is one that is par- proves that physical reality of liquid called ei- ticularly important for our case. If objectivity ther Pepsi or Coca becomes only important of the observed depends on subjectivity of the as memetic reality for humans. It is a myth (a observer, then not only every objectivity can brand) that makes this or that liquid real for be changed, but it should even be changed us. Some liquid exists for sure. So, the Coke by definition. Changed by the observer. Does myth cannot be subjective in a sense that it that disapprove the law of identity? Does that would be completely detached from physical mean that A does not equal A? If both of us reality. But this physical reality makes literal- observe A, your observation changes A differ- ly no sense without the brand, the story that ently than mine, so A is not only the same for makes that physical reality something mean- both of us but is also changed for each of us. ingful for us, humans. Not that myths/brands Is such radical subjectivity necessary? This would exist in no relation to their physical re- question is important not only because ality, they construct that reality. Coke is made both philosophers, but even more scien- in some specific production facility, but Coke tists emerging from the Renaissance on per- is created each time anew as an experience sistently, fight against similar subjectivisms. If of taste and myth/brand. there exists namely even the slightest possi- And as much as Coke is constructed all other bility of A not being A, then there is no place mentioned myths are as well. What for? What for science any more but for alchemy and oc- is the purpose of myth creation and repeti- cult only. tion: our fitness. What my personal myth is Can we in practice, or at least in theory, rec- about is only about me and my actual and fu- oncile quantum uncertainty and the law of ture fitness. I “use” this story from the past to identity? constitute my future being. All myths serve one purpose only: to make Easily: with the introduction of intersubjectiv- us fitter in the fitness landscape (Kauffmann, ity and the peculiar nature of memes. 1993) we are living in. The purpose is to pre- The theory and practice of branding, espe- pare us for the future reality, not to make cially the standard branding model (Drapal, us sure of what happened in the past. Who 2016, and before in practice), offers a fast cares if Newton really got his grand gravity track towards resolution. It has long been idea while sitting under a tree seeing an apple known in marketing literature that brands falling. It is the story about the importance of belong both to the brand “producer” and to observation in the process of scientific explo- the brand “consumer”. Unfortunately, brand ration that makes this myth important. There co-ownership was taken more as a metaphor are other important lessons “included” in the pointing to the necessity of the measurement Newton myth, but nevertheless all what is of potential customers’ preferences and in important are lessons, not reality. the fact that the image of the brand in the What is then the nature of truth? customers’ heads can be, and in most cases is, quite different from the one imagined by the producer. Sixth draft: intersubjectivity The standard branding model takes brand The quantum mechanics draft already ex- shared ownership totally seriously and lit- 60 3 PAPERS erary. We shouldn’t even talk about shared a particular smartphone found place among ownership since such a notion implies that my personal sack of memes (“aufbildung”), it there was a time in which a brand was owned is very much objective regardless of not being by the producer only. A brand does not exist universal. Each interaction makes a specific until it is co-created by a user. Surely there user experience, specific meme “shape” that is a period, pre-launch period, when a brand is “agreed upon” between my sack of memes cannot be co-created since the real users do and the brand’s sack of memes. not exist yet. But then such a brand is only brand potential. Such a brand is like a water Such agreements occur not only when brands behind a fully sealed dam. The water there are involved, but in every human interaction. only has potential energy. Only after the With each exchange of memes, with each water is released does the potential energy interaction (communication) we establish transform in kinetic energy that moves and agreed upon new reality. In this sense each shakes. Only after a brand is released it re- communication is a kind of myth creation. If veals its real nature, its usable energy. Only we disagree, no common truth is established. after it is co-created by users, only after it is In such case memes fail to reinforce each “changed by observation”, does it receive a other in agreement, but also each of us stay unique identity. Identity is created each time socially (memetically) disconnected at least anew with each use. But how? for this particular case. With a little help from memes. The memetic explanation of how reality is construed explains also the human need for A brand is objectively co-created with each social cohesion, social interaction and the user interaction as much as reality is objec- need of memes (and humans) to develop tively co-created by each human observation. larger social units like companies, nations This co-creation, in the realm that is usually and states. Selfishness of memes that use us described as human culture, happens as (Dawkins 1976) literally forces us to enter all memetic replication and sometimes as mu- kinds of social entities, many of them fully al- tation. Brand memes occupy our brains. For truistic. that reason, it would be equally right to say that we are co-created by brands. We should But since social construction is not the main thus take the saying that the “clothes make topic of this paper, let us conclude this draft the man” literally, as long as we understand with couple of points: that both clothing and a man is such for us only memetic entities. As much as it is true All memetic reality is construed (co-con- that man (the author of this paper does not strued). That means that poetry has no worse obey gender political correctness by principle relation to reality than science for instance. and by theory explained in this paper!) cre- If all memes would be agreed upon multi- ated smartphone, it is true that each smart- phone creates its user anew. laterally (by all), only then would fake news cease to exist. Fake is everything that is not Coming from the brand example that helped agreed upon. Fake news is thus the bread us to explain the crucial role of memes in hu- and butter of human existence. The conclu- man interactions, it is not difficult to make at sion, which has nothing to do with relativism, least semi-final conclusions about the nature has already been explained and is going to be of reality that leads to resolutions about truth proven later in this paper. and fake news. I am here at this moment (as a memetic crea- Although brand is of memetic nature, it is ture), but am also anywhere where remains very much objective in the sense that after of memes created or co-created by me can the particular meme (meme-complex) about be found. 61 3 PAPERS So much human reality is intersubjective, and Let me explain less elliptically. Consciousness nothing but intersubjective. Reality is objec- happens as an emergence on the top of mul- tively co-created with each human interac- tiple layers of brain activities. No single ac- tion. Such reality is not subjective (arbitrary), tivity has any sense for us. Sense “happens” but objective, real. Since we co-construct (again that verb!) as a sort of “not intended” reality with each interaction, no outside au- effect of multiplicity of activities. Conscious- thority can exist that would prove or disprove ness emerges on the top of complex physical such a reality. Only you and me can say: this activities of brains. No one “runs” this emer- is fake. But we cannot say that something we gence. Consciousness happens to humans. created is fake, since we created it. And there Similarly, the message of this paper does not is no third body that can falsify our creation. happen on the level of each specific draft, Reality is poetic, unfalsifiable. Fake news as a or even sentence, but happens as an emer- social construct is such a co-constructed re- gence of all drafts being one on top of anoth- ality; but as any other social reality denotes er as when a full colour happens when lay- nothing. As such, fake news exists from the ers of monochromatic films are put one on very beginning of social creations and will ex- top of another. Each draft has a certain point ist as a constituent part of our identity forev- (meaning), but no single draft represents the er. message of the paper. Even if an additional draft that would try to summarize all other Conclusion? drafts would be put on the top of previous drafts, that additional draft would be “blind” Seventh draft: No place for fake about all other draft meanings. For instance, in blockchain? the draft about myths gets a completely dif- ferent colour if put on top of the quantum Approaching the last draft of this paper, it is mechanics draft and so much more if put on perhaps time to pay some attention to mul- top of all other drafts. tiple drafts and how to read and understand But the use of the multiple draft scenario them, in this paper at least. in this paper has also another tacit conse- Daniel Dennett described his theory of how quence in the support of the initial thesis consciousness “happens” in his book Con- about what is fake and what is reality. This sciousness Explained (1991). I used the verb methodology not only explained, but also “happens” deliberately for I find it as the most displayed the in vitro poetic principle of re- proper entering point into the realm of mul- ality creation through superposition of many tiple drafts. There are many interpretations “stupid” drafts. Reality happens by default, by of Dennett’s theory and even his own elab- autonomous memetic activity of humans. No oration is not easy to understand in its full outside authority neither produces nor in- potential. Theory, as expected for any theory terprets meaning. Meaning happens; as we of any use, provoked quite some criticism. It have seen meaning happens between two is not the intention of this paper to provide memetic creatures sharing memes. interpretation of the multiple draft scenario This method applied for the sake of this pa- theory. Dennett’s theory is not there to be per has its limitations, of course. Seven drafts understood, but to be used! are not enough to “produce” considerable emergence of additional meaning on the top Why the author of this paper takes Dennett’s of each draft’s meaning. But it should be illus- theory extremely seriously? Because it was trative enough. practically proved. Where? In this very paper. How? By applying it as methodological back- Is it then possible to avoid blockchain as a fi- ground. Is not that circular argumentation? nal draft in respect to reality, construction of Yes; and for that reason, the theory is proven. reality and truth? No. 62 3 PAPERS Blockchain technology entered our lives as, but collective organizations only. So, if certain at the moment, the highest intersubjective governmental organization, agency, NGO or and poietic social activity. It is so blatantly some supranational collective organization intersubjective and auto creative that it is says that the sky is blue, then this is true by almost not worth explaining it. Each of us definition, but if some individual claims the (those that participate in various blockchain same, that has to be approved by some col- activities) create a part of a blockchain that is lective authority first. But such fear should then approved by another block, by another go exactly in the opposite direction. There is public key. Interaction of personal construc- much higher probability that any collective tions (personal keys) with the help of a public organization falls into the trap of the lowest key creates objective reality of global block- possible denominator caused by the fact that chain. Personal construction becomes real no one in such a collective has “skins in the (objective) only after approved by another game” (N. Taleb, 2018) than the individual blockchain member. As such, blockchain is who can directly suffer from misinterpreta- 100% intersubjective and an irrevocable ob- tion of reality. jective. When approved block becomes ob- jectively unchangeable. If no one replies to Saying this peer review is the method of how my block (approves it in this or another way), scientific results are approved or disproved it becomes orphan. should be mentioned as the closest to block- chain method. Science has expelled outside In blockchain only orphan blocks are fake. All authority a couple of hundreds of years ago other blocks represent intersubjective reality. with rationalism and enlightenment. One sci- That means there exists no outside authority entist approves another scientist’s block only. that would have privileged access to what is But one has to recognize that scientific peer true and what is fake. Fake is all that is not review still rests on the assumption of some approved. In such a world, fake is not even kind of scientific community. Only a member news any more. Fake in fact does not exist of that community can then serve as peers anymore. But from another point of view, all to distributed scientific memetic complexity. that information (news) that is considered as fake by any outside authority like the State, This fact provokes the question whether media, political organization or even indi- outsiders are to be allowed to peer scientif- vidual that tries to put himself on the top of ic blocks. According to the present state of blockchain’s multiple drafts, loses its fake na- affair not. The scientific community is tight- ture. ly sealed. Public debate ends immediately when a certain participant is not recognized NB that blockchain is used both as an exam- as “one of them”. And due to the fact that ple of intersubjectivity of memetic reality and science developed so very much that even as analogy (it is both wave and particle at the particular scientists understand only a very same time!). As analogy, blockchain must not particular part of total science, such a rule be confused with memetic reality. For exam- seems good. But then: I do not know much ple, blockchain has to be understood as a more about baseball than about quantum memetic creation that follows the principles mechanics. Why would I be more allowed of memetic evolution. (by whom) to co-define baseball reality than any other reality. Even if I would dare to fake One could perhaps still object this picture some part of quantum mechanics, my block with the claim that it may well describe block- would not be approved by enough peers as chain/digital reality, but that there is no guar- much as my fake of baseball. antee that digital would not fake somehow analogue reality. Such fear rests on suppo- Blockchain thus opened not only a new draft sition that one should not trust individuals of reality conception, but also a new view on in their respect toward analogue physicality, how and who approves any kind of reality, 63 3 PAPERS even scientific. of new reality of fear about fake news. Lesson for public relations and democracy? Another conclusion should then also come as trivial. It is not antiscientism that produces Yes. We will have to start to live without out- fake news, since fake news has been a neces- side authority that would play an arbitrator sary part of human existence from the very of truth. There are experts in certain fields, beginning. It is in fact quite the opposite. Fake and there are scientists that employ falsifi- cation principles to explain reality. But it was news as a meme is used as a kind of protec- our false presumption (fortunately only in the tion of the scientific community against un- western mechanistic world for only the last willing outside peers. As much as any com- 600 years) that any kind of outside authority munity has all rights to use all available legal exists. It cannot exist in principle. No outside resources for its own protection, so does all help thus exists for PR practice either, and other communities to understand and guard even less for what is fake. against such acts, such creation of reality. From this we can conclude that we have only And finally, after historical and evolutionary entered the field of Democracy. If all partici- consequences are comprehended, it is trivi- pants depend on any kind of outside authori- al to understand that the produced memetic ty, so long they perform anything but democ- reality is objective and as such unavoidable racy. It is only when there is no outside point within democratic or any other society. On of reference there is a chance to relate to one the contrary; blockchain as a prime exam- another without obstacles. Only then each in- ple of decentralized, intersubjective reality dividual has not only full responsibility to ap- introduced an important upgrade of social prove reality, but also to construct it. mechanisms that can enforce individual free- doms and responsibility and thus upgraded It is not hard to understand blockchain tech- democracy; as the result of created memetic nology as a prime example of a system with- reality and/or fake news. out a fixed background, without a third party authority; completely intersubjective. But to have it does not mean that we understand it Bibliography and to accept it. It is not easy to live without a Blackmore, S., (1999) The Meme Machine, godfather. It is not so easy to live without an Oxford University Press, New York, NY option to blame this one or that one for trans- mitting fake news, for such option makes an Dawkins, R., (1976) The Selfish Gene, Oxford illusion of us as not necessarily responsible. University Press, New York, NY Dennett, D.C., (1991) Consciousness Ex- Conclusion in respect to this the- plained, Little, Brown & Company, New sis York, NY Drapal, A., (2016) Brandlife, Andrejdrapal. Apparently the fast and global spread of fake com d.o.o., Ljubljana, Slovenia news is a result of memetic trends (ideology). Causes of the widespread fear about fake Kauffman, S., (1993) The Origins of Order, Ox- news was not addressed in this paper, but ford University Press, New York, NY they are definitely worth a closer look. What Pinker, S., (2018) Enlightenment Now, Pen- can be concluded from this paper is that the guin Random House LLC, New York, NY fear about fake news as a memetic activity clearly produces a new reality (of fear). Fake Schrödinger, E., (1967) What is Life and Mind news is thus not a story about the gap be- and Matter, Cambridge University Press, tween objective reality and that what is then New York, NY reflected through fake news, but production Taleb N., (2018) Skin in the game, Random 64 3 PAPERS House, New York, NY Ulanowicz, R.E., (2009) A Third Window, Tem- pleton Foundation Press, West Consho- hocken, PA 65 3 PAPERS Climate Change and Urban Youth Crisis Alertness Zoltán Ferencz RMIT, Vietnam Gábor Sarlós HAS Center for Social Sciences, Hungary The research provides a critical analysis of climate change awareness among urban youth of Budapest, Hungary and Hanoi, Vietnam. Understanding of attitudes can contribute to a more precise definition of clusters, sophistication of stakeholder management, and formulation of targeted communication strategies. The research design is based on a comparative analy- sis of actual and relevant European Social Survey (ESS 8) data with the findings of a similarly designed online research in Vietnam. Key findings indicate significant differences in climate change awareness among youth sub-segments. Age, gender, occupation and location of living are significant factors in influencing individual perceptions. A prominent cluster is composed of those demonstrating low level of climate change awareness, attributing it primarily to natural processes, and scepticism in relation to possible individual, group and government actions. Another cluster is formed by those who manifest a significant level of climate change alert, and believe that both the problem and its solution are human-related. They are ready to take their share in the change process, and believe others would do the same. Both in Budapest and Hanoi, as well as their agglomeration, women and students tend to belong to the latter cluster. Limitations of the research include matching findings of structured interviews in Hungary with those of similarly designed, but online questionnaires in Vietnam, the need to change the scales during the research process itself, the misconceptions in relation to the basic term of climate change, and the small sample size in the Budapest agglomeration. The research contributes to creating localised strategies based on local differences in climate change perception, attribution and the need and responsibility of actions in fighting it. Keywords: Climate change; youth; Budapest; Hanoi; global warming; communication strategy Introduction and in what form can awareness be raised and possible future actions prompted. Young people are critically exposed to urban climate change risks. They are the ones who Findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on will play an essential role in driving adapta- Climate Change, under the umbrella of the tion. It is imperative to understand clearly United Nations stated that with over 95 per- what their perception of climate change is, cent probability, human activities over the 66 3 PAPERS past 50 years have warmed our planet in a tion from agricultural to urban areas, lack of significant manner (IPCC, 2014). The Panel appropriate waste management structures made its claim based upon the work of 1,300 to stop concentration of increasing waste independent scientific experts globally. Con- production, inadequate drainage and sew- sequently, it can be claimed that changing the age systems, as well as specific urban conse- trend is primarily in the hands of mankind. quences of climate change test the resilience Understanding the attitudes of future gener- of these cities. They find that governance of ations therefore is of special significance. local authorities is essential in building adapt- ability and resilience of urban populations. The current research contributes to the un- A combination of individual responsibility, derstanding of the importance and level of a level of autonomy in urban planning and public alertness, and support the public be- funding, engagement of the participation of coming better prepared for climate change the public in urban planning and in related hazards. Through sharing of best practices, decision-making, together with access to a this research aims to contribute to building unified information center, as well as assist- a global body of knowledge and practice ing crisis prevention and risk mitigation, are regarding urban youth adaptation. Under- all deemed essential. standing the motivations, attitudes and be- liefs of young people can develop input to Bulkeley and Betsill (2003) claim that urban devise strategies and impactful campaigns to local authorities have a further important fight climate change. role in directing energy supply and manage- ment, transport regulations and building re- The main focus of the comparative analysis quirements of their cities. They might also be was to research the differences and similari- lobbying the national legislation and govern- ties in Vietnam and in Hungary in relation to ment for creating an appreciation of the spe- urban youth climate change awareness. cific climate change related risks of the the cities. Literature review Admittedly, Vietnam is among the most di- Climate skepticism focuses on differentiating saster-prone countries in the world (GFDRR, along two dimensions – problem and solu- 2017). The World Bank has ranked Vietnam tion definitions (Corry and Jorgensen, 2015). as one of five countries most likely to be af- However, public opinion agrees that ‘the fected by climate change. People from Viet- balance of evidence suggests that there is a nam for centuries have been used to a range discernible human influence on the global cli- of natural catastrophes, such as tropical mate’ (Houghton et al.1996: 5). According to storms, floods and droughts, landslides, for- the majority of climate models, this change is est fires and sea-water intrusions. Extremi- accelerating. Urban populations increasing- ties of changing weather patterns have lead ly face a number of climate change related to further extremes in the field, bringing in risks, including flooding, flash floods, heat years where droughts would significantly stress, water and air pollution (Wilbanks et al. damage agricultural production, including 2001; Parry et al. 2007). Climate change haz- rice production in the country’s agricultur- ards together with a range of logistical and al powerhouse, the Mekong delta. Due to operational issues make cities of developing increased vulnerability and loss of security, countries especially vulnerable (Tanner et agricultural workers and fishermen in grow- al, 2009). Their comparative research on 10 ing numbers abandon their original jobs and risk-prone Asian cities claim that due to a set move, temporarily or permanently, to urban of interrelated issues the resilience of these settings. Some maintain their ‘dual identity’ cities is tested significantly. High density of and every year spend a number of months population, often further fueled by migra- working in cities before returning to the agri- 67 3 PAPERS cultural production work. As for Hungary, 98% of the population have already heard of climate change (Baranyai In a survey among the Hanoi population cli- and Varjú, 2015), and 92% claim to actually mate change and global warming, consid- know exactly what that means. The distribu- ered by many as synonym expressions, are tion of people who have heard about climate perceived as an increasingly frequent occur- change shows correlation with the type of lo- rence of storms, floods, deep cold and long cation they live in: people living in Budapest heat waves (Toan et al, 2014). In relation to and other large cities know about climate climate change, most prominently, by 92% of change in the most significant proportions. the population, its negative effect on the hu- 75% of respondents who have not heard of man health was mentioned. Hot weather was climate change before, belong to the age most frequently connected with symptoms group of 15-39, a third of them are younger such as headaches, fatigue, and dizziness, than 24 years old. Half of the people lacking while hypertension and other cardiovascu- information have finished elementary school lar diseases were also reported significantly. only, or less. On the list of concerns for young In cold weather conditions cough, fever, and people (Fazekas and Nagy, 2016) climate influenza, together with cases of pneumo- change does not appear. The list is dominat- nia and emerging infectious diseases, such ed by existential concerns: material uncer- as Dengue and Japanese encephalitis were tainty, social differences, unemployment and mentioned. poverty. Topics related to the physical envi- While 58/% of the Vietnamese have heard ronment (environmental concerns, transport about climate change and another 16% have issues), together with youth life style issues, heard about it but are not sure of its mean- rank among the last on the list of concerns. ing, following an explanation as ‘change in climate that persists for decades or longer”, Methodology 74% agreed in total that climate change is taking place (Copsey et al, 2012). In this na- The research is built on the comparison of the tionwide survey many of the Vietnamese actual European Social Survey (ESS 8) data people demonstrated a high level of sensi- with the findings of a similarly designed piece tivity towards the issue, without specifically of research in Vietnam. For the purpose of knowing what exactly they could or should the survey, climate change related questions do in respect to mitigating the risk and dam- were selected of the ESS 8, and repeated in ages of climate change. Urban youth were Vietnam, to develop data for a comparative mentioned among the 3 core target groups climate change awareness research among as priority audiences, due to their desire to the selected population. participate in community initiatives, their The 18-39 years old inhabitants living in se- perception of collective social actions be- lected large urban areas (Hanoi, Budapest) ing effective, and being themselves trusted and their surroundings were selected as the sources of information and opinion to their specific target group of the research. parents and peers. Hungary In cities and rural areas various models prevail for handling climate change related In Hungary the subsample was created of effects on the human environment. Com- the ESS 8 Round data collection, through se- munication structures and raising of public lection of the data for the above mentioned awareness are critical to prepare public ad- subsample. The ESS 8 Hungarian data collec- aptation practices and behavior (Filho et al, tion contained 1500 respondents of whom 2016). Communication plays a critical role in 350 were appropriate for the comparative creating an adaptive environment and atti- dataset. In case of the Hungarian dataset the tude. Census of 2011 was used for weighting. Sex, 68 3 PAPERS age and the residence of the respondents Vietnam was considered for this purpose through the application of a multi-criteria weighting. The In Vietnam the data collection was organised Hungarian dataset contained 101 responses through the involvement of Hanoi students from Budapest and 50 from the suburban re- of RMIT University Vietnam, participating in gion. the undergraduate course of Contemporary Public Relations Research. The students, In the eighth round, ESS covered 23 coun- working in groups of 4, had the task to devel- tries and involved strict random probability op and execute research in Hanoi and its sub- sampling, a minimum target response rate of urban region on the topic of climate change 70% and rigorous translation protocols. The and its consequences. The first part of their hour-long face-to-face interviews included questionnaires was identical to those of the questions on a variety of core topics were re- selected questions of the ESS survey. Follow- peated from previous rounds of the survey, ing the first 8 questions each of the 4 groups and also two modules developed for Round had the possibility to develop and add fur- 8, covering public attitudes to climate change, ther 6-8 questions for the specific purpose of energy security, and energy preferences and the course they attended. The 8 comparable welfare attitudes in a changing Europe. questions and certain demographical data were applied for the analysis. The data were The objective of the ESS sampling strategy is collected through online questionnaires. The the design and implementation of workable period of the data collection was 8-17 May and equivalent sampling plans in all partic- 2018. ipating countries. Sampling on the ESS is guided by the requirements outlined in the The target group was young male and female Survey Specifications and the following key urban population (18-39 years old) living in principles: Hanoi and its suburban region. A combina- • Samples must be representative of all per- tion of random, convenience and snowball sons aged 15 and over (no upper age limit) methods was selected for doing sampling. resident within private households in each The survey was launched on the group mem- country, regardless of their nationality, cit- bers’ social media platforms,. After having fin- izenship or language ished the survey, respondents were asked to • Individuals are selected by strict random share the questionnaire with their friends on probability methods at every stage social media to further increase the sample • Sampling frames of individuals, house- size. Due to the lack of sufficient responses holds and addresses may be used from the age groups especially in the range • All countries must aim for a minimum ‘ef- of older than 25, and to further enhance fective achieved sample size’ of 1,500, or the diversity of the sample, the team inten- 800 in countries with ESS populations of tionally sent the survey to other age groups less than 2 million, after discounting for through Messenger. In total, a sample size of design effects 495 responses was reached. • Quota sampling is not permitted at any Multiple choice and checkbox questions were stage used to establish respondents’ perception The field work period was in Hungary 14 May landscape on certain aspects such as climate 2017 to 16 September 2017. change itself, while ranking questions ad- dressed identification of individual priorities. Following the weighting procedures, a data- Among the additional questions short text set for both territories was created, repre- questions were added to reveal why people sentative for the population aged 18-39 by chose specific means of transport over oth- sex and residence (big cities and suburban ers, as well as sharing insights on their deci- regions). sion-making process. Initially, all scales used 69 3 PAPERS in the survey had been set at 1 to 10, but due could be formed based on deviations from to display issues (certain digital screens were group averages. not suitable to show the full scale), had to be converted to 1-5 scales. Within the group of Budapest residents, 2 major groups could be identified: one sensi- As most of Hanoi youngsters have access to tive and active in relation to climate change, the Internet daily (Copsey et al, 2012), the on- and another one demonstrating less interest line survey turned to be the most appropri- in the topic. The active group believes that ate and convenient way to collect the data. the climate is definitely changing. The basis of Of the possible online survey tools, Qual- this segmentation was that they had thought trics was chosen to create the questionnaire more about climate change before today with. The survey was distributed through than others. Members of this cluster share e-mail, Forum and several Facebook groups most dominantly the view that primarily hu- for youngsters. As the form could potential- man activities are behind climate change. In ly be reached through social media, screen- their view, the limitation of people’s energy ing questions were created to make sure the use is likely to be feasible. They are the most results were from the right target group of satisfied with government measures in tak- this research. The first two questions served ing action to reduce climate change. They are screening by asking about age and demo- relatively optimistic by expressing that large graphic location of the participants. Partici- numbers of people will actually limit their use pants from the selected target group could of energy and see the most opportunities to continue responding to the survey. limit their own energy use to try to reduce cli- mate change. In this group people older than For the Vietnam data base 480 question- 26 years, women and students were overrep- naires were completed. Following refinement resented. of the databases 358 questionnaires from Hanoi and 113 from outside of Hanoi were Contrary to this, there was a group of men used for the final data base. The data source and employed people in Budapest, thinking of the 2009 Vietnam Population and Housing that the climate is probably not changing, Census was used for creating weights for the and, if it is, then that is caused mainly by nat- database. ural processes. They did not show concern The research process was overseen by Ga- for climate change. In the agglomeration a bor Sarlos, one of the authors of this article, gender confrontation could be identified on a seasoned researcher, by supervising each certain issues. The typical thinking of men element of the process: research design, was that climate change is caused by human elaboration of methodology, development of activities. Women seemed very much wor- questionnaires, data collection and report- ried about climate change. The personal re- ing. sponsibility to try to reduce climate change could be detected at the group of employed. Findings - Hungary The general opinion of Hungarian respon- dents is that climate is changing. One third There were significant differences in percep- of the respondents said „definitely” and more tion of climate change between the people than a half believed „probably changing”. A in the capital and the agglomeration. For significant difference existed between the in- the inhabitants of the agglomeration, due to habitants of the capital city and the agglomer- the low number of respondents, there were ation. 41,7% of the agglomeration residents fewer questions about any correlation. By believe the climate is definitely changing, contrast, the opinion of the people of Buda- while only 30,4% are of similar view in Buda- pest is diverse, allowing for the identification pest. One sixth of the capital city inhabitants of special patterns. Special opinion groups actually believe that the climate is probably 70 3 PAPERS not changing, while only 6,5% of the subur- ence can be noted between Budapest (8,9%) ban population share this view. and the suburban region (33,3%). In the cap- ital city the opinion of students differ in a In Budapest, people thinking the climate is negative direction most significantly from the definitely changing were overrepresented average (15,5%). in the age group 26-30 (47,8%), among the 31-39 year olds (40,8%) and the students The majority of the Hungarian sample (54%) (45,6%). The share of those was who believed worried somewhat about climate change. that the climate was probably changing was Differences occurred between the score of significantly higher among young people (18- Budapest (50,5%) and the agglomeration 25 ages, 50%). (61,7%). Women are the largest group that is somewhat worried about climate change In terms of gender, men and women see (66%). People not being very worried about the situation differently in and outside of climate change have a higher proportion in Budapest. Women in Budapest are thinking Budapest (32%), where the 18-25 years old in higher proportion the climate is chang- (50%) and the men (46%) are overrepresent- ing (68,6%) and in the suburban region that ed. it is definitely changing (58,3%). In contrast, men in the capital are thinking in higher pro- People living in Budapest thought less about portion the climate is probably not chang- climate change before today (2,22) than those ing (32,7%) and in suburban region that it is living in the suburban region (2,57). The gen- probably changing (64%). eral evaluation shows a negative opinion. In In relation to occupations, 44,1% of the em- Budapest the less interested are in this prob- ployed consider the climate is probably lem the youngest, 18-25 years old, (1,67); changing. however the elderly (26-39 years old) and the students (2,47) are overrepresented. In No respondent in the Hungarian subsam- the suburban region the situation is the op- ple thought that climate was definitely not posite: the evaluation of the youngest is the changing. highest (2,83), and the age group of the 26-30 years old is relatively low (1,96). A minority of the Hungarian respondents believe that climate change is caused entire- Hungarian respondents especially agreed, ly by natural processes (1,3%). 22,8%, of the with a mean score of 2,95 to feeling person- people living in Budapest share the opinion al responsibility in trying to reduce climate that climate change is caused mainly by nat- change. People living in Budapest share ural processes, opposite to 4,2% in suburban this less (2,78); in the suburban region re- region. In this group in Budapest, the young- spondents feel this more (3,3). In Budapest, est – 18-25 years old (66,7%); men (34%) and the 26-30 years old (3,21) and women (3,04) employed (58,5%) are overrepresented. share this responsibility above the average. In the suburban region the evaluation of the One fourth of Hungarian respondents are of youngest inhabitants (3,84) and of the em- the view that climate change is caused equal- ployed (3,56) are above average. ly by natural processes and human activity. In the capital city this proportion is higher Hungarians were relatively pessimistic by (38,6%) than in the suburbs (18,8%). Students expressing that people would actually limit in Budapest have the most solid opinion their use of energy. The evaluation is more in this view (39,7%). The majority of the to- pessimistic in Budapest (2,65) and somewhat tal subsample (55,7%) consider the climate optimistic in the agglomeration (3,42). The change mainly (38,9%) or entirely (16,8%) due evaluations (2,95; 2,82) of two age groups to human activities. Among those „entirely” (26-30 years old and the 31-39 years old) are agreeing to this statement a significant differ- higher than average in Budapest. In the sub- 71 3 PAPERS urban region there are no differences based suburban population shows a similar pattern, on age, but women demonstrate a more pos- with 91% of the 31-39 years old confirming itive thinking (4,03) than men (2,9). that the climate is definitely changing, while only 30% of the 26-30 years old agree to this, In relation to governments in enough coun- and 21% of the 18-25 years old believe it is tries taking action to reduce climate change, not changing at all. the inhabitants in the capital are more pessi- mistic (3,01), than those living outside of the In terms of gender, men and women see city (3,47). The 26-30 years old respondents, the situation quite similarly both in and out- sharing that governments will take action is side of Hanoi. In terms of professions, 63% higher (3,34) than the average; but older re- of community and military service people, spondents (31-39 years old) are more critical and 52% of students see the climate definite- (2,71). In the suburban region a similar view ly changing, and 28% of the employed con- is shared but with higher evaluations. The sider it probably changing. These 3 groups youngest are the most optimistic (4,77) and see climate changing definitely or probably the „oldest” (31-39 years old) are the most changing in significantly higher proportions pessimistic (2,83) in relation to this question. than the self-employed or housework doing Women evaluated the governments’ actions Hanoians. 75% of students of the Hanoi sub- above (3,9) the average; but evaluation from urban area share the view that climate is defi- students evaluation (3,29) fell behind. nitely changing. Finally, as to their individual roles in limiting Possible reasons of climate change were re- their own energy use, people living in Buda- searched in the next stage. 71% of the Ha- pest foresaw it the least (2,79), while people noians and 73% of the suburban population in suburban region (3,21) saw the most op- agree that mainly, or entirely climate change portunities to limit their own energy use. In is caused by human activity, while about a fur- Budapest the 31-39 years old and women, in ther quarter in each case credits this equal- the agglomeration both the youngest and the ly to natural and human activities. In Hanoi, women expressed readiness the most to lim- the 18-25 years old consider climate change it their own energy use. mainly and 13% entirely due to human activi- ties. The 26-30 age group is overrepresented Findings - Vietnam within the group who believe entirely human activities are behind the changing climate. A significant difference emerges in percep- The 31-39 year olds tend to grant a bigger tion of climate change between Hanoian role to natural processes, with 39% of them people and the suburban population. 67% of seeing an equal weight of natural processes the Hanoi agglomeration residents believe and human activities behind the changes. climate is definitely changing, while only 48% The suburban population has a similar per- are of similar view in Hanoi. 27% of the Ha- ception, where the older target groups, age noians actually believe that the climate is not 31-39 (42%), are the main supporters of the changing at all, while only 10% of the subur- view that nature and human activities play ban population share this view. an equal role, while the youngest, 18-25 age (84%), identify mainly or entirely human ac- Within the Hanoi population, most signifi- tivity behind the climate change. cantly the people of the age of 31-39 agree (56%) to the fact of climate definitely chang- In Hanoi, 75% of men and 67% of women ing, while only 40% agree with this claim support the view that mainly human activities among the 26-30 years old. 33% of the rela- are the reason for climate change. In the Ha- tively youngest population, age 18-25 see the noi agglomeration the view is opposite: 81% climate definitely not changing, while only of women and 65% of men see it happen as a 18% agree to this among the age 31-39. The consequence of human activities. 72 3 PAPERS 71% of community and military service peo- concern. 43% of employees and 32% of stu- ple and 66% of students see climate change dents agreed to being extremely worried happen mainly due to human activities in Ha- about climate change. noi, a significantly higher than average ratio of the employed people see a balanced set of Hanoians seem to demonstrate a higher than causes of both natural and human processes average awareness in seeing their own role behind the changes (37%). In the Hanoi ag- in the possible steps to fight climate change. glomeration, community and military service On a scale of 1-5, with a mean score of 3,83 people, together with students share most they especially agreed to being personally dominantly the view that mainly human ac- responsible to try to reduce climate change. tivities are behind the climate change (100% In Hanoi, community and military service and 81%, respectively), while here again, the people almost unanimously agreed (4,08) employed, with 38% agreement, have a more to have personal responsibility in reducing balanced view in perceiving what is behind effects of climate change, while those in the the changing climate. households expressed the least personal re- sponsibility (3,25) In the agglomeration, self Across all segments, support to the view that employed people (with a 4,3 score), shared climate change is entirely or mainly due to most concern about having personal respon- natural processes, is minimal. sibility in changing the current situation. Men and women in Hanoi both feel the role of per- 36% of the suburb population, and 28% of sonal responsibility, while in the agglomera- the Hanoi population are extremely worried tion, women demonstrate a higher level of about climate change. Among Hanoians, own responsibility (4,25) than men do (3,42). people age 31-39 are most worried, with 41% Both in Hanoi and the agglomeration the age of them expressing this in the research, while group of 26-30 identifies least, and the 31-39 the generation of 26-30 year olds seem the years old the most with their responsibility of least concerned, by only 21% of them agree- reducing climate change. ing to being extremely worried. In the sub- urbs, 65% of the 31-39 year olds are extreme- Hanoians were relatively optimistic that large ly worried, while 72% of the 26-30 year olds numbers of people will actually limit their use express being somewhat worried only. Both of energy (3,42). Also, an equally significant in Hanoi and in its agglomeration females part of them would be ready to limit their are significantly more worried about climate own use of energy, both in Hanoi and in the change than males. An especially large split agglomeration. Of the Hanoians, employed exists in the agglomeration, where 53% of people shared the optimism the most, while women and only 21% of men agree to the people doing housework and the self-em- statement of being extremely worried. ployed were the least optimistic. In the sub- urbs there was a more even spread of views As to occupation, employees in Hanoi demon- across all the categories of occupation. Fe- strate the biggest concern: 39% of them are males were more optimistic in Hanoi as well very worried and 35% of them are extremely as in the agglomeration about a large num- worried. Students dominantly reflect a cer- ber of people changing their pattern of ener- tain level of concern only: both in the cate- gy use. In Hanoi, the target group age 18-25 gories of being very worried and extremely was the most sceptical and the 31-39 year worried they are present in significantly low- olds the most optimistic in terms of envisag- er proportions only (28% against 32% among ing change, while in the agglomeration this the very worried, and 22% against the 27% was just the opposite: least optimistic were among the extremely worried). Data shows the 31-39 years olds (2,75). a similar situation in the agglomeration, with employees being the most concerned about In Hanoi, as to their individual roles in limit- climate change and students showing less ing their own energy use, the people in com- 73 3 PAPERS munity and military service saw the least ly to human causes and are somewhat con- (mean score 2,83), while the employed peo- cerned about that. Those doing military and ple (mean score 3,67) saw the most opportu- community service have dealt with climate nities to limit their own energy use. Hanoians change above the average and express feel- of 31-39 years old and agglomeration people ing of personal responsibility in its reduction. of 26-30 years old expressed least readiness to limit their own energy use, while the sub- Discussion urbans of the age bracket 31-39 were ready for action the most (3,75). Comparison of the findings demonstrate sig- nificant differences climate change percep- Hanoian men and women shared a similar tions between the various sub-segments of view on whether governments in enough the Budapest and the Hanoi population. countries would take action to reduce climate change. Outside of the city, women were sig- For Budapest, in case of the evaluation ques- nificantly more optimistic: their mean score tions (using the 5 degree scale) all of the re- of 4,08 significantly surpassed the views of sults remained below the average in general. men (2,75). The distribution among the age brackets was again quite even in Hanoi, while It is primarily the Hanoi agglomeration pop- in the agglomeration, the generation of the ulation that agrees the climate is definitely 26-30 years old was significantly more scep- changing (49,4% of all Hanoians). The catego- tic (2,92) about the role governments would ries of probably changing and probably not take. Data analysing the split according to changing were most frequently chosen by the Budapest respondents (52,5% and 14,1%, professions did not show any distinct pattern respectively). Notably, Hanoi respondents of distribution in Hanoi or in the agglomera- (25%) were in agreement the most that the tion. climate was definitely not changing. In overall terms in Vietnam the self employed To the question about to what extent they and the housework people believe most that had thought about climate change, Buda- the climate is not changing. However, those pest respondents showed the lowest level of who do, attribute this solely to human activ- awareness (2,27) ities. They do not seem concerned about cli- mate change and have shared little thought In relation to the cause of climate change, on the topic of climate change until now. 19% of the Budapest population attributed it mainly to natural processes. The Hanoi pop- The employed believe in significant numbers ulation identified a much stronger causal re- that the climate is probably changing, it is lation to human activities: 48,3% credited it caused by both natural processes and hu- mainly, and 20,1% entirely to human activi- man activity, and are very worried about this. ties. The youngest generation, the 18-25 year olds Personal responsibility was shared higher believe the most that climate is not changing, than average by the Hanoi (3,85) and lower that it is the result of human activities and than average by the Budapest respondents are somewhat worried about this. The 26- (2,78). 30 year olds attribute climate change clear- ly to human activities, however they do not Budapest habitants expressed lower than av- express concern about this. Until now, they erage concern: 31,3% were not very worried, have spent the least amount of time on deal- 50,5% were somewhat worried. Interestingly, ing with the issue, and they feel their person- both among the least worried (9,8%), as well al responsibility the least. as the very worried (33%) and the extreme- ly worried (30,2%) the Hanoi population was Students attribute climate change primari- represented in outstanding proportions. 74 3 PAPERS Hanoi population manifested an overall clusters, which is then important for the for- more positive perception regarding possible mulation of possible communication strate- actions. They expressed agreement (3,45) gies. about large numbers of people likely to lim- it their energy use, while Budapest respon- 1. Personal identification with climate dents viewed this more skeptically (2,69). In change remains a challenge Hanoi, government actions were perceived significantly above the average (3,52), while all other groups considered them less like- For a significant part of the respondents, con- ly (2,98). The Hanoi respondents agreed necting changes in their personal life with the the most that limiting their own energy use concept of climate change is difficult. Iden- would help reduce climate change (3,37), tifying a range of issues related to extreme while Budapest respondents were the least weather or personal health issues seems in agreement with this statement (2,81). easy, however, fitting that into the broad- In overall terms geographical differences are er context of climate change is difficult. The significant. In the case of Budapest, 5 out of difference in terms between global warming the 8 questions significant negative differ- and climate change is not widely understood, ences emerged, and Budapest responses and relating these phenomena with for ex- did not show any positive deviation to any of ample environmental pollution or extensive the questions. The Hanoi case is exactly the forestry practices proves difficult. People opposite: answers to 5 questions showed a identify with climate change the most if it di- positive deviation, and in only 2 questions rectly influences their personal life parame- showed negative deviations. In the Hanoi ters, including for example the place where agglomeration the higher than average, pos- they live, how they commute to work or the itive responses dominated, and only 1 nega- changing difficulties in making their living. tive deviation was noted. 2. Sub-segmentation is critically important As for the sub-segments, in Hungary the neg- to create clusters ative relations primarily occur in the case of The significant differences in climate change the employed and the men. Positive correla- tions were noted in the case of women, stu- perceptions indicate that in order to raise dents, the 26-30 and and the 31-39 year olds. awareness, even within the group of urban Especially women and the 26-30 year olds youth, differentiated strategies need to be fol- demonstrated significant positive attitude. lowed. Age, gender and occupation, in com- bination with place of living create variations In Vietnam, responses of the self-employed of individual life situations. In overall terms it and the household people demonstrate neg- can nevertheless be claimed that women and ative correlations. The employed, the military students are the two major groups with rela- and community service people as well as the tively high awareness of the issue, are sensi- students manifested the most positive cor- tive to its affects and share that a responsible relations. Both the 18-25 and the 26-30 year approach should be followed by individuals, olds appeared in negative as well as positive groups and governments alike. Most of the correlations. respondents of the age groups 26-30 and 31-39 indicated similar sensitivity to climate Conclusions and implications change. Hypothetically it can be stated that families with small children form a further Analysis of the findings indicate significant important cluster. A detailed analysis of the differences in the various sub-segments. sub-segments can lead to the creation of Breakdown of findings by age, gender and clusters, that can then provide input to the occupation of respondents help creation of development of differentiated strategies. 75 3 PAPERS 3. Ideals, health and family are the main This mental climate change, meaning change trigger to climate change alertness of the imprint of this phenomena people have in their mind, can play an important role The first step of clusterization show that cer- in shaping future attitudes and actions. The tain patterns exist that contribute to higher current study can contribute to the formula- level of alertness and responsibility. Indica- tion of such future strategies. tively, it might be claimed that 3 driving forc- es can be identified: the following of strong ideals, most notably being the case with stu- Limitations of the research dents; personal health considerations, where respondents create a direct link between Limitations of the research include matching their personal situation with the information the findings of the structured ESS interviews and experience on climate change; and fam- in Hungary with those of similarly designed, ily considerations, where especially mothers but online questionnaires in Vietnam, the with small children develop a further level of need to change the scales during the re- sensitivity and alertness to external issues search process itself, the misconceptions in that can possibly effect the life prospects of relation to the basic term of climate change, their children. In the current stage these are and the small sample size in the Budapest ag- hypotheses that need to be looked into fur- glomeration. ther. 4. Viable communication strategies are Bibliography needed Baranyai, N. and Varjú, V. (2015), A lakosság klímaváltozással kapcsolatos attitűdjének To garner identification with the issue and empirikus vizsgálata; in.: Czirfusz, M., joining in with individual strategies, effec- Hoyk, E. and Suvák, A. (eds) Klímaváltozás tive awareness raising strategies are need- - társadalom - gazdaság: Hosszú távú terüle- ed. These need to be strongly differentiated, ti folyamatok és trendek Magyarországon. bearing in mind the above mentioned differ- Pécs: Publikon Kiadó, pp. 257-284. (ISBN: ences. Most notably, two major directions 978-615-5457-62-3) (in Hungarian) need to be taken. One is in the case of that cluster where a low level of climate change Copsey, T., Nguyen Y. and Pham, P. H. (2012) awareness is demonstrated, it is primarily at- How the people of Vietnam live with climate tributed to natural processes, and scepticism change and what communication can do, prevails in relation to possible individual, BBC Media Asia, Climate Report, Retrieved group and government actions. In this case on 3 November, 2013 awareness raising communication can con- Fazekas, A. and Nagy, Á., (2016) Kilátástalan- tribute to people realising the validity of the ság? A fiatalok legégetőbb problémái. in.. issue. The other possible direction is aiming Magiszter 2016/4. 5-19.o. (in Hungarian) at those who have manifested a significant level of climate change alert, believe that it Filho, W.L., Adamson, K., Dunk, R.M., Azei- is primarily caused by human activities, and teiro, U.M. and Illingworth, S. (2016), Fati- individuals, groups and the governments all ma Alves, Alves eds. Implementing climate have a role to play in handling the problem. change adaptation in cities and communities In their case communication can focus on : integrating strategies and educational ap- call to action and provide practical support in proaches, SpringerLink, Springer eBooks what each individual can do. GFDRR, Global Facility for Disaster Reduction Lacking knowledge and awareness, inactivity and Recovery (2017), https://www.gfdrr. and missing guidance can all contribute to org/vietnam, accessed 26 August 2018, the worsening of climate change perception. Gonzalez, G.A., 2006. Cities and climate 76 3 PAPERS change: Urban sustainability and glob- ment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel al environmental governance, Envi- on Climate Change, Cambridge: Cambridge ronmental Politics 15, 135–137. Doi: University Press: 357-90 10.1080/09644010500418845 Houghton, J. T., Meira Filho, L. G., Callender, B. A., Harris, N., Kattenberg, A. and Mas- kell, K. 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IDS Working Papers 2009, 01-47. doi:10.1111/j.2040- 0209.2009.00315_2.x Toan Do Thi, T., Kien Vu, D., Bao Giang, K., Van Minh, H., Wright, P., 2014. Perceptions of climate change and its impact on human health: an integrated quantitative and qualitative approach, Global Health Action 7, 23025. doi:10.3402/gha.v7.23025 Wilbanks, T.J.; Romero Lankao, P.; Bao, M.; Berkhout, F.; Cairncross, S.; Ceron, J.-P.; Kapshe, M.; Muir-Wood, R. and Zapa- ta-Marti, R. (2007) ‘Industry, Settlement and Society’, M.L. Parry, O.F. Canziani, J.P. Palutikof, P.J. van der Linden and C.E. Han- son (eds), Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assess- 77 3 PAPERS The Fit To Partner Test: Practical Considerations for Establishing Corporate and NGO Partnerships in an Uncertain World Nicky Garsten University of Greenwich Kevin Read Pembroke and Rye Caroline Diehl Social Founder Network The range of corporate-charity partnership types are becoming increasingly diverse. Whilst there are benefits associated with partnerships to both parties, there are also risks. To assist practitioners working in the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) and in the Corpo- rate Social Responsibility (CSR) spheres, Read and Diehl (2018) devised a ‘Fit to Partner’ test for strategic partnerships of 3-5 years. This five-step model was created to help NGOs and corpo- rates explore such partnership fits. The ‘Fit To Partner’ test was put out to consultation with nine experts with experience of devel- oping partnerships in the UK. Through in-depth qualitative interviews the relevance, or not, of each of the five principles was explored; together with the overall usefulness, or not, of the test, and the eliciting of further considerations. Findings. Each element was considered relevant. The overall test was considered not only a potentially useful tool for strategic partnerships but also for on-going planning. A stronger em- phasis on the relationship between the NGO and corporate teams managing the partnerships and the need for trust, honesty and expectation management, was recommended by the in- terviewees. Challenges to working through test were also identified which included time and resource; and the power gaps between some corporates and NGOs. 78 3 PAPERS 1. Introduction aligning brand values and delivering mutual benefit. Furthermore, he suggests that whilst The importance of corporate and Non-Gov- businesses can cause problems for society, ernmental Organisations (NGOs) partner- they can also help deliver solutions to solve ships was declared by Kofi Annan in 1999 them. (UN 1999). “Markets are global whilst govern- ments remain local”, he said. There is a ris- Conservation specialists Jessica Dempsey ing number of strategic partnerships to solve and Daniel Suaraz (2016:667) go further sug- problems (Cooney 2017; Barrell 2018). gesting, NGOs, ‘must now court, rather than confront, entrenched power structures, es- Charities are investing more money in part- tablished regimes of capital accumulation, nership arrangements (Cooney 2017). Never- and private capital itself.’ As more partner- theless, the amount of money raised through ships are formed, the NGO-Corporate col- corporate donations is relatively limited in laborative world is becoming more complex. the UK. According to recent National Council Anselm Schneider, Christopher Wickert and of Voluntary Organisations data (NCVO 2017) Emilio Marti (2017:186) submit, ‘To create the voluntary sector has a collective income collaborative complexity, organizations may, of £45.5 billion, of which £1.9 billion comes for instance, form strategic alliances or set up from the private sector. initiatives to create new industry norms and standards.’ Hence, the motivations for partnerships re- 1.2 Partnership Critiques main strong. Nevertheless, there are associ- ated risks and critiques about such alliances. Differing cultures and values have been at 1.1 Motivations for Partnerships the centre of studies (Seitandini and Ryan, 2007; Adams 2017) on the effectiveness and desirability of NGO-corporate partnerships. There are myriad reasons why corporate-NGO A major worry is that both sides develop partnerships continue to grow. The view of relations that are too close (Muthuri, 2008) Friedman (2007), who argued that business- and run the risk of making unplanned cul- es have no role in supporting society or the tural and behavioural changes. Compromis- work charities, has been robustly challenged. es can run the risk of diluting, especially for The foundations of the critique lie with Porter the NGO, established principles and practic- and Kramer (2002). They argue that competi- es. The issues of authority and accountability tion and a commitment to bettering society can also prove difficult (Rivera-Santos, Ruffin can go hand-in-hand in providing NGOs and and Wassmer, 2017; Shumate, Atouba, Coo- corporations with the opportunity to consid- per and Pliny, 2017). er collaborative perspectives. Concerns also arise about the NGO being During the first decade of the 21st century the the subordinate partner (Kelly, 1991). NGO’s number of NGOs continued to grow world- involvement with commercial partnerships wide. Concomitant with growth was the re- and agreements has also led to the UK’s lentless need to fundraise, often in challeng- Charity Commission being explicit about its ing economic circumstances, with less state expectations. In recent guidance they require resourcing available. This backdrop also pro- trustees to review “any current arrange- pelled many charities to reconsider a rethink ments to satisfy themselves they remain in around partnerships. Pattberg (2005) not the charity’s best interest” (Charity Commis- only argued that NGOs had to cope with low- sion, 2017). Previous advice also makes clear er levels of state support but that NGO-cor- that charities should not endorse commer- porate partnerships should focus more on cial products. It can become a major issue for 79 3 PAPERS a corporate or NGO if either party is accused, in the conservationist world, relationships or is shown to have behaved, in an unethical between NGOs and Corporates are not eq- or insensitive manner. Negative PR can have uitable. He argues, “Businesses are able to far reaching consequences. For example, Age carry forward their work with only margin- UK’s partnership with E.ON led to long-run- al changes to corporate strategies” (Adams ning and mutually damaging PR (Landen 2017:252). 2017). In addition, there are many reasons, occur- There is also a concern that powerful, ring either separately or in combinations, why high-funding corporates may pressurize partnerships fail. Ida Berger, Peggy Cunning- NGOs directly, or otherwise, to ensure that ham and Minette Drumwright (2004) char- projects continue to fit with their agenda. De- acterize these failings as ‘a series of misses’. livering a new programme, especially with a These include: a breakdown of trust, misun- fresh partner can lead to challenging cultural derstandings, the misalignment of costs and or values issues but can come to represent a benefits, and the mismatch of power. difficulty for an NGO if the corporate resourc- es of know-how are making a difference to the beneficiary of a campaign. Equally, when 2. Fit to Partner Test funds are donated by corporates for specific purposes the corporate may also seek to in- Jan Jonker and Andre Nihoff (2006); John fluence the delivery of the programme and Peloza and Loren Falkenberg (2009) look at seek public acknowledgement for their in- a range of criteria that could help or hinder volvement (Kelly, 1993). the development of partnerships. Kevin Read and Caroline Diehl (2018), build on this to de- NGO campaigns, and the values that un- velop a five part ‘Fit to Partner’ checklist to derpin them, can be comprised if the or- aid NGOs, and corporates, decide whether ganisation find themselves taking on the a partnership should be pursued. The test is corporate’s outlook and mindset (Baur and not designed for short term partnerships nor Schmitz 2012; Shiller 2005). There is also the is it aimed at corporate link-ups that are pri- risk that NGO employees and volunteers may marily fundraising focused. struggle to work with corporates who see and understand the world in different ways There may be an imbalance between how a from themselves. Schiller (2005: part 1) adds, corporate, rather than an NGO, uses these ‘NGOs having for years campaigned against tests because as Noel Hyndman (2017) states companies, find it difficult now to trust their a charity’s work will be consistently subject motives.’ Neubaum and Zahra (2006) suggest to higher levels of scrutiny when it comes to that direct and vocal, confrontational activ- accountability, legitimacy and transparency. ism (Aminzade and McAdam, 2002) previous- NGOs face, (Hyndeman, 2017:5). ‘higher eth- ly directed at corporates has diminished with ical standards than that expected from busi- the growing number of partnerships. A wider ness.’ The authors also note the increased concern is that corporations may gain special scrutiny by the media of charity activity, in- access to discuss sensitive issues or may ap- cluding charity-corporate partnerships. ply pressure to an NGO to take a lighter or more neutral stance on issues that might be The five areas covered in the test are outlined business critical. below as they were originally published (Read and Diehl, 2018). The authors of the test rec- Hence, the balance of power in relationships ognise that is the first iteration of the model. is an issue. It is argued that the corporate rather than the NGO is often the winner (Kasland, 2016). According to Adams (2017), 80 3 PAPERS Fit to Partner Test (Read and Diehl adhered to, and consideration given to any 2018:75-76) other regulatory areas. 1. Need and Understanding 5) Commitment on Communications NGOs and Corporates to identify why the A final decision needs to be taken about partnership is needed and whether mutual whether and how details of, and progress on, understanding can be established and sus- the project can be confidently and transpar- tained. Both parties need to explore and re- ently communicated to internal and external spect each other’s vision and values. Commit- audiences. Throughout a partnership there ment from both senior teams is vital. Both will be the need to explain, educate, illustrate parties must acknowledge the potential so- and evidence the benefits arising. Both par- cial and commercial value. The integrity and ties therefore need to be committed to ef- independence of both parties needs to be fective communications, both internally and sustained. externally. Advance planning for the com- munications journey across the length of the 2. Cultural Fit proposed partnership, both proactive and re- There is a need to establish whether there can active, is imperative, and should be mapped be a strong cultural and working fit. Agree- out before the partnership is committed to.” ments need to be established around com- mon working practices, the style of working and how learning can be shared, and where relevant, knowledge transferred in both di- 3. Methodology rections. This is especially important among sub-groups working together on delivery. 3.1 Overall Approach Consideration should be given to the person- alities associated with the partnership, such The potential usefulness of the Fit for Partner- as the faces, known or unknown, of the cor- ship test in assessing potential partnerships porate’s advertising campaigns, or the lead- was explored through exploratory, qualita- ership team and board, alongside the chari- tive research with expert practitioners. ty’s celebrity supporters, or royal patrons, or more disadvantaged beneficiaries. 3.2 Research Questions 3. Scope and Benefits Research questions rather than hypotheses The tangible benefits, outputs, timings and were used. This was because the research outcomes of the partnership need to be un- was exploratory. The Research Questions derstood Financial dealings, including tax were: arrangements, need to be transparent. Re- • RQ1 How relevant, or not, are each of the sourcing must be mutually agreed for the five elements of the Fit to Partner test, to whole period of the partnership. Potential assessing new partnerships? access to new stakeholders, for either party, • RQ2 How helpful, or not, is the Test overall must be mapped out and mutually agreed, in assessing new partnerships? including clarity on data acquisition. • RQ3 Are there any other considerations? 4) Reputational Risks 3.3 The sample Reputational impact, for both parties, needs to be considered, alongside an in-depth anal- There were eight interviews conducted with ysis of brand fit with stakeholders. The right nine highly experienced leaders, brokers and levels of governance, and accountability, executers of corporate-NGO partnerships. needs to be put into place by both parties. Consultants and industry body figures were Charity Commission regulations need to be identified through the networks of the re- 81 3 PAPERS searchers. In addition, the Charity Business ery main principle of the test was explored in Awards, run by Third Sector Magazine, were turn with all interviewees in semi-structured used to identify some leading corporate and interviews. After the first two interviews, charity partnership managers. the questioning became increasing detailed about each aspect of the five elements. There 3.4 Data collection and analysis was also one question focused on the overall usefulness, or not, of the test. The interview- Each interviewee was given the Fit for Partner ees were also asked to identify other con- test to read just before the interview so that siderations. The interviews were conducted their immediate response was captured. Ev- face-to-face or over the telephone. Table 1: Interviewees’ roles and relevant experience to NGO-Corporate Partnerships *One interview was conducted with two corporate fundraisers from the same charity (interview 6) P a r t i c i p a n t Type of organi- Role Relevant Other experi- Primarily corporate Interviewee sation ence or charity experience Number brought to interview P1 Fundraising Director Formerly headed fund- Charity 30 Consultancy, UK raising a large charity with an income of over £250m P2 National Regu- Senior Execu- Relevant board experi- Charity 25+ lator tive ence from a corporate perspective P3 PR Consultancy, Business Head Honorary position on in- Brokering NGO-Corp 5+ UK of NGO unit dustry body partnerships for FTSE NGO communications ex- 100 corporates pertise P4 Charity, UK Deputy Direc- Charity Business Award Charity 10 with income tor of Fund- Winner. b e t w e e n raising Previous fundraising ex- £5m-£10m perience at national char- ities. P5 Corporate (FTSE M a n a g e r Charity Business Award Corporate 3+ 100) HQ in US based in US Winner. P6 Charity Manager Charity Business Award Charity 5+ with income Winner. over £5m Previous fundraising ex- perience at other charities P7 Charity Officer Charity Business Award Charity 5 with income of Winner. over £5m Fundraising experience in other charities P8 C o r p o r a t e Director Charity Business Award Corporate 10+ (small) Winner. P9 C o n s u l t a n c y MD Previous relevant consul- Corporate.Brokering 25 specializing in tancy experience. NGO-Corp partnerships NGO-Corporate for corporates partnerships NGO communications ex- pertise 82 3 PAPERS 3.5 Limitations other was a co-editor of the book (Garsten and Bruce 2018) in which the test was pub- There were interviews with nine experts. Nev- lished. Nevertheless, this author had played ertheless, all the interviews were in-depth no part in the creation of the test. Hence, she and were conducted with expert interviewees conducted the interviews and analysed the who collectively had nearly 100 years of expe- data. rience. All the interviewees had either been recognized with national awards or worked 4. Findings in a leadership role in consultancies operat- ing at national and/or international levels. 4.1 Introduction There were no fundraisers of small charities that were interviewed. Nevertheless, inter- Participants related their experience to set- viewees did come from NGOs of varying siz- ting up new partnerships to each area of es. One interviewee had worked for a charity the Fit to Partner Test and then to the Test with an income over £250m and others rep- overall. Their responses were categorised resented charities with incomes over £5m. into three themes. Firstly, where they identi- Other interviewees had also worked for FTSE fied relevance with the Test. Secondly, where 100 firms, and in one case, for a small family they critiqued the Test or indicated that fur- business. The latter had partnered with small ther specification was needed. Thirdly, where local charities. they offered other comments or suggestions. In the anonymised the research, each of the Two of the authors of this paper (Read and nine participants is given a number. For in- Diehl) had devised the Fit to Partner test. The stance, Participant 1 is referred to as P1. 83 3 PAPERS 4.2 Fit to Partner Test Relevance and Critique: Needs and Understanding Needs and Under- Relevance Critiques/Further specifications standing: Dimen- sions i) Need for partner- Establishing the overall need for a partnership is Agreeing partnership goals takes ship identified crucial (P1, P6, P7, P9); especially as there is a move time (P9). Whilst an aim is needed away from just financial giving (P1, P3, P4, P6, P7, P8, at the start, goals can later become P9). more detailed (P7) or even broader Yet, “Charities often don’t think enough about what (P5). they want” (P2). ii) Establishing P2 stated it was crucial that understanding is mutual Specification that partnership goals mutual and is not too weighted to the corporate. Whilst P5 need to be shared, but that part- understanding and P6 commended that NGOs needed to under- ners’ objectives can be different (P6, stand what corporates prioritized. P9) Charities could have overly high financial expecta- Specific references made to the im- tions of corporates, observed P1 and P9. portance of honesty P7 Specific references made for the need to understand expectations P1, P7, P9 iii) Check mutual fit The importance of understanding (P2, P7) and shar- Shared values may not always be between vision and ing (P3, P4, P9) each other’s values was widely agreed. there, especially if NGO is trying to values P2 pointed out that charities can assume that their change corporate behaviour P7. values are obvious and therefore not articulate them Not all NGO have identified their val- clearly enough. ues (P3) Only one participant spoke about shared mission (P5) Brand fit also considered (P4) iv) Senior team Some participants stated that senior support was The senior leadership fit was men- commitment present in highly successful partnerships (P1, P5). tioned Others felt that senior support essential. P4, said, “Without commitment from senior teams, [a part- nership] won’t go anywhere.” v) Ensure integrity This was key (P2, P5, P6, P9). Power gaps felt by some NGOs. and independence There is often a lack of corporate understanding of the independence of NGOS observed P2. 84 3 PAPERS 4.3 Fit to Partner Test Relevance and Critique: Cultural Fit Cultural Fit: Relevance Critique/ Further Specifications Dimensions i) Culture fit Partnerships are more likely to be successful Assessing a cultural fit takes time (P9) and with a strong cultural fit, (P6) is hard to assess pre-working together, Potential partners can be identified through a (P1, P4, P5). perceived culture fit. P4 said, “Cultural fit is very P3 observed that many corporates work important with our dream partner list”. on their culture but many NGOs haven’t done this which means that “alignment can be difficult”. ii) Working styles A sense of how the two parties would work to- Difficult to assess pre-working together. and practices gether was important (P5, P8, P9). The style of partnership meetings can be Working practices mentioned by participants determined by corporates (P7) included campaigning, social media communi- cations (P3) and volunteering models (P5). iii) Scope for mu- The importance of sharing learning about was Important but this is something that tual learning and wasn’t working was highlighted by P2 and evolves, P7 P5. Honesty facilitated shared learning. iv) Opportunity for Not discussed by most participants This was rarely discussed in early stages, knowledge reflected P3, yet there was potential for transfer in both di- two-way knowledge transfer. rections v) Fit of personali- The only fit that was considered was senior Participants did not always initially underties associated management fit (not celebrities or faces associ- stand this question. with both parties ated with advertising campaigns). Other Consider- The importance of trust between teams em- ations phasized (P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P9). Honesty was essential in relationship building (P4, P5, P7) Team members needed to like each other and respect each other (P1, P2, P5). “Do we like each other? Do we get on?” asked P2. “Never forget that people buy people, people that they like, that they think will deliver”, stated P1. Partici- pant 6 highlighted the importance of putting the ‘right person on the right account’. The competence of team members was key. Both parties “have to be really good at what they do and hard working”, observed P5 The skills and knowledge of those working on the partnership to be relevant to the delivery of the partnership’s goals (P9). There’s a need “to get the right people together” to solve a prob- lem which “does not happen very often”. P9 85 3 PAPERS 4.4 Fit to Partner Test Relevance and Critique: Scope and Benefits Scope and Bene- Relevance Critiques/ Further Speci- fits: Dimensions fications i) Define mutual The mutuality of benefits to the two partners important (P4). ‘Value’ of the partnership benefits Two NGO participant stated that the benefits to the corporate rather than the benefits partner had to be clear (P4, P7). In P4’s charity, the amount of to either partner was dis- benefits given to corporates were linked with different levels cussed by P9. of donations. Not always easy to quanti- fy all benefits, (P6) ii) Clarity on timings, All were considered important (P2, P3, P6, P9). P3 felt this was ‘Impact’ important and outputs and out- the most important element of the framework. should be added (P3, P8 comes Timings. “It’s critical to think of timing”, said P9. These were and P9) phased around beginnings, middles and end (P9). Participant 5 Exit strategies important observed that timings were put into legal partnerships agree- to include because they ments in the US. “saved lots of future prob- Charities need to be clear about what they want delivered be- lems” P9. cause they are ‘very often not as specific as [they] might be”, P2. iii) Commercial and The amount of money to be donated needs to be clear (P5, P6 financial transpar- and P9). P5 and P9 said that financial commitments were spec- ency ified in legal agreements. Issues arose about changes. P6 reported that companies could reduce projected donations if their financial positions changed. P5 said that legal documents should outline what should hap- pen if changes were needed. P9 observed that partnerships could suffer if charities ask for “more and more”. iv) Mutual agree- Having a detailed understanding of the commitments on both Some NGO participants ments over re- sides for different activities was considered important (P4, P6). found it difficult to resources This was covered in Partnership Agreements (P6). source partnerships be- cause often they had so many partnerships. v) Clarity over ac- Importance raised with vulnerable stakeholder groups cess to stakehold- Data sharing is, “top of mind … because of reputational risks” ers and data and is part of legal agreements, according to P5, who works in the US. 86 3 PAPERS 4.5 Fit to Partner Test Relevance and Critique: Reputation Risk Reputation Risk: Relevance Critique/ Further Dimensions Specifications i) Clarity over Brand fit was considered (P4, P5) and sometimes, more specifically in brand fit relation to beneficiaries’ interests (P6). ii) Assessment of Risk assessment crucial (P1, P2, P3, P5, P6, P9). Some considered this reputation impact the most important element of the Test (P5, P6). Participants reported that ways they investigated reputational risk included looking at: pre- vious negative media coverage (P3) and the reputation of the poten- tial partner’s leaders (P6). NGOs had ethical policies, procedures or rules about whether a po- tential commercial partnership should be accepted or declined. iii) Relevant gover- P2 recommended: Relevant gover- nance and account- a record should be kept of decision-making process for taking on a nance and accountability put in place partner or not. ability procedures all partnership agreements should include a complaints process, as could be specified. this was, “good process and governance”. Companies were interested in charity governance observed P3, P4. Trustees of charities were checked (P4). Charities needed to do due diligence of corporates, warned P2. Part- ners’ finance needed to be checked. Directors should be checked at Companies House to see if they have been disqualified (P2). NGOs’ lack of systematic checking of corporate partners was observed by, P4. iv) Regulatory From the NGOs perspectives, internal policies concerning trustees’ in- The relevant regu-frameworks ad- volvement in declining potential partnerships was discussed. latory frameworks hered to Work with vulnerable stakeholders and stakeholder risks was consid- could be specified. ered in light of safeguarding. Other consider- Taking risks was also associated with successful, ambitious partner- ations ships although this was not discussed in the context of reputation (P5, P9). Trust and honesty important in reputation management (P2, P3). ‘Will they tell us if something has happened? Would we tell them if some- thing has happened?” asked P2. 87 3 PAPERS 4.6 Fit to Partner Test Relevance and Critique: Commitment to Communi- cations Commitment to Com- Relevance Critique munications: Dimen- sions i) Decisions about Clarity was needed about what is and what isn’t public how internal and ex- (P6) ternal communica- This included in Memorandum of Understanding. tion can be transpar- What was communicated externally was in part deter- ently and confidently mined by the company’s sustainability report (P5). conducted ii) On going explana- Right message was needed about what was being Importance of conducting is-tion, education about, achieved (P2). sues management for partner- illustration and evi- The importance of on-going internal communications, ship itself highlighted, P3 dencing of partnership particularly for corporate partners was raised (P4, P6, Communications should reflect benefits P7). “A lot of the motivation for a partnership is going the charity’s values raised by P2. to rely on communications to achieve its goals” ob- served P9 iii) Advance planning Good to plan communications for length of the part- It takes confidence to plan com-of communications nership (P6) with the milestones (P2). munications over 2-3 year peri- across the partnership “Quite often people do not consider communications od, P6 journey enough”, said P9. Often communications not well There was on-going learning enough thought through, P3 about communications. Other considerations The issue of how communications was resourced was raised by some participants. Some felt it should be managed by the corporate, others felt it should be shared, and other felt it should be managed by the charity. Important that internal communications looked like they came from host organization and not the partner (P6) The issue of which party spoke on behalf of the part- nership also raised. P2 felt it should be the NGO. Use of NGO’s brand, and other aspects of communi- cations, covered in Memorandum of Understanding documents (P4) Agreement was needed about vocabulary used to de- scribe the charity’s values and beneficiaries (P2). 88 3 PAPERS 4.7 Fit to Partner Test Relevance and Critique: Overall Helpful Limitations Other Considerations Helpful for longer term, “Not always possible for this framework to be Length of partnership at not always strategic partnerships applied at the beginning because sometimes clear at the start. Sometimes short- (P1, P2, P3, P4, P6, P8, partnerships evolve” P4 term partnerships can evolve into lon- P9) The test would not be useful for shorter term ger term ones, P6; the best partner- The test could help pre- partnerships – not all the elements of the test ships grow organically, P5. vent partnership prob- are relevant to short term partnerships (like lems P6 cultural fit) P4, P6 as it would take too many resources for short- term partnerships. All parts of the model Time limitations. ‘This [test] is a detailed con- ‘One word that sits behind [the differ-important (P4, P8, P9) versation. You could spend a year on these ent elements of the model] is trust. “All elements are im- stages’ This didn’t negate the need for the These elements are critical for trust to portant; if you did stages, but the shortlisting would need to be evolve.’ P9 all [the partnership] considered carefully. P9. “At first I was a bit scared by the docu- would be perfect. Any ment” P8 on their own wouldn’t work.” P4 The test could aid NGO decision making about resource allocation to partnerships, P6 5. Discussion partner. 5.1 Relevance, or not, of five ele- Furthermore, some criteria could be more ments of test specific about whether the interests of the partners, or the partnership itself, need con- All five main elements of the test were con- sideration. For instance, in the ‘Needs and Understanding’ Section, tparticipants com- sidered important. There were some aspects monly associated the ‘need for partnership’ dimensions of each of the five elements that criterion with the partnership goals, and the could be enhanced, that could benefit from ‘mutual understanding’ criterion with the greater specificity, that could be enhanced NGOs’ and corporates’ separate objectives. with guidelines or that did not seem immedi- ately relevant to the participants. There are aspects of the test where addition- al guidance might be provided. For instance, Some elements of the test could be expand- in the identification of values. ed accorded to the participants. For instance, the ‘Scope and benefits’ section could have In addition, there were some criteria that par- a stronger emphasis on ‘impact’ and also ticipants did not discuss. This may be because the planned ending of partnerships. In the the criteria did not seem relevant or because ‘Reputation’ section the reputational issues the meaning of them could have been assist- associated with partnership could be as pro- ed with further explanation. nounced as the reputational risks for each 89 3 PAPERS 5.2 The Overall Response to the fit in with their corporate partners in terms of Usefulness, or not, of the Test ‘working styles’. Specifically, they had “to mir- ror what the corporate wants” when it came Participants considered the test would help to meeting formats. This resonates with the NGOs and corporates establish solid foun- critiques of partnerships discussed in this pa- dations for strategic partnerships. However, per’s Introduction and with Bruce’s observa- there were substantive challenges to imple- tion that corporates often have more negoti- menting the full test. ations experience. However, this power gap was less relevant to large NGOs with strong Usefulness of the Test brands, noted Participant 1. The respondents stated that the Test would be helpful in assessing new long-term stra- There was an issue with the length of time tegic partnerships. The thoroughness of the such a test would take to complete. One par- test could help partnerships to succeed, said ticipant estimated that the test could take Participant 2, as it would help parties know about a year to conduct. Such aspects includ- “why” and “what” they would get out of the ed ‘cultural fit’ which was considered hard partnership. The respondents confirmed that to be assess prior to working together and the test is not suitable for short-term partner- ‘working styles and practices’. ships stating explicitly that they only saw its value in longer-term strategic partnerships. Resourcing was also an issue in terms of pre- paredness for different elements of the test Barriers and the need to prioritise which partnerships There were challenges though that included warranted the investment of time in the test. power relations and resources. A power gap, Several participants observed that more cor- between corporates and non-large charities porates were likely to have some criteria of was raised in relation to different elements the Test in place than some NGOs. For in- of the Test. Notably, several criteria in the stance, several participants stated that corpo- Test have the word ‘mutual’ in them either rates were more likely to have identified their explicitly, as for instance with ‘mutual under- values and to have formally worked on their standing’ or implicitly. Whilst such mutuality culture. Further, the NGO participants spoke is crucial it may also be challenging. Partic- about the number of corporate partners they ipant 2 stated, “I don’t think corporates un- had. For instance, Participant 4 was at a char- derstand what a charity or foundation is…. ity that had three and half team members That is a sovereign body. The responsibility working on a portfolio of 40 company part- for a charity lies with the trustees. The corpo- ners. This effected the amount of time they rate’s mindset is transactional. …Charities are could dedicate to each. Bruce (2011) has ob- not furry, cuddly things. Charities do …diffi- served that corporate partnerships take con- cult things that [corporates] wouldn’t touch.” siderable resource for charities to service. Some charities could feel pressurised to com- ply with corporates’ objectives. Participant 5.3 Other considerations for the 6 observed, “Some NGOs are too scared to Test say ‘no’” to corporates that wanted to involve staff in volunteering tasks that were not par- The participants highlighted the importance ticularly helpful to charities. When develop- of the relationships between the people in- ing the scope of partnerships, Participant 2 volved in the partnerships and the skills of observed charities needed to be clear about team members. They primarily focussed on what they want delivered because they are the personnel who would potentially deliv- “very often not as specific as [they] might be”. er the programmes. They also included the Another interviewee said that they felt had to senior managers who sometimes helped set 90 3 PAPERS up partnerships. Further, some considered 5.4 Next steps in the development different aspects of the test of varying impor- of the Test tance. Overall, the test was found to be useful by There was consensus that the partnership the participants in the survey. Application of teams potentially executing projects had to the test through consultation with industry trust and like each other. Participant 9 said bodies will be considered. Before this, the a potential partner would assess the shared next step in the development of the test is to commitment to a cause when establishing expand the number of interviewees so that whether or not to trust a potential partner. decisions can be made about potential adap- “Looking at the whites of your eyes is it [the tions to the test. societal/environmental problem] something you really want solved?” Considerable schol- arship exists on measurement variables for References trust (Ki and Shin 2015). Nevertheless, given the context of Test, trust is at a very early Adams, W.M., 2017. Sleeping with the ene- stage when partners are considering estab- my? Biodiversity conservation, corpora- lishing partnerships. tions and the green economy. Journal of Political Ecology, 24, pp.243-257. The honesty of partnership team members was seen as crucial, for example in the ‘Needs Aminzade, R. and McAdam, D., 2002. Emo- and Understanding’ and ‘Reputation’ dimen- tions and contentious politics. Mobilization: sions. Notably this value helps build trust. an international quarterly, 7(2), pp.107-109. Austin, J.E. and Seitanidi, M.M., 2012. Collabo- Highly competent team members were need- rative value creation: A review of partner- ed. The creation of bespoke teams to achieve ing between nonprofits and businesses: partnership goals could be helpful. Partici- Part I. Value creation spectrum and col- pant 9 observed that sometimes employees laboration stages. Nonprofit and Voluntary who had relevant knowledge skills to work on Sector Quarterly, 41(5), pp.726-758. specific issues related to partnership goals, were not necessarily from corporate partner- Barrell, J. (2018) INGO communications: glob- ship teams. al strategic planning. In N. Garsten and I. Bruce (2018) Communicating Causes: Stra- Some participants referred to some aspects tegic Public Relations for Non-Profits. Abing- of the Test being ‘ideal’ which implies that don and New York: Routledge. pp185-199. they are not essential. This opens the ques- Baur, D. and Schmitz, H.P., 2012. Corpora- tion of whether every element of the Test is tions and NGOs: When accountability equally important or not. In addition, differ- leads to co-optation. Journal of Business ent participants volunteered viewed about Ethics, 106(1), pp.9-21. which of the five elements was the most im- portant. 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(2018) Communicat- and Bruce, I. eds., Communicating Causes: ing Causes: Strategic Public Relations for the Strategic Public Relations for the Non-Prof- Non-Profit Sector. Abingdon and New York: it Sector. Abingdon and New York: Rout- Routledge. ledge. pp71-84 92 3 PAPERS Rivera-Santos, M., Rufín, C. and Wassmer, U., Shiller, B, Ethical Corporations Report: Busi- 2017. Alliances between firms and non- ness-NGO Partnerships (December 2005) profits: A multiple and behavioral agency Shumate, M., Atouba, Y., Cooper, K.R. and Pil- approach. Journal of Management Stud- ny, A., 2017. Interorganizational Commu- ies. nication. The International Encyclopedia of Schiller, B., 2005. Ethical Corporation Report Organizational Communication. Business-NGO Partnerships. London: Ethical Third Sector (2017) Business Charity Awards. Corporation.2-16. Available at URL: https://www.thirdsector. Schneider, A., Wickert, C. and Marti, E., 2017. co.uk/business-charity-awards-2017. Ac- Reducing complexity by creating complex- cessed 30th January 2018 ity: a systems theory perspective on how UN (1999) Secretary-General Calls Partner- organizations respond to their environ- ship of NGOs, private sector, international ments. Journal of Management Studies, organizations and governments powerful 54(2), pp.182-208. partnership for future. Available: http:// Seitanidi, M.M. and Ryan, A., 2007. A critical www.un.org/press/en/1998/19980714. review of forms of corporate community sgsm6638.html involvement: from philanthropy to part- nerships. International Journal of Nonprof- it and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 12(3), pp.247-266. 93 3 PAPERS Teflon Reputations and Glass Jaws: Managing Reputations in the Public Sphere Farah Latif George Mason University, USA There is a paucity of existing literature and research on reputation management of individuals perhaps because there are no two cases of reputation attacks are similar. Further complicat- ing the landscape is that some reputations seems to endure attacks while others succumb to attacks. The Internet has provided new information that makes ordinary individuals more rele- vant in the public sphere. The author contends that declarative public support (DPS), a concept that describes sharing support in the public sphere has gone unrecognized; DPS has become more prominent and observable on social media. To explicate this concept, the author provides evidence that it is observable, fills some gaps in literature and understanding of other closely related concepts of support, and may be a useful area of research in reputation management of individuals. Finally, the author discusses the antecedents and consequences of DPS. The author hypothesizes that individuals are influenced to increase acts of DPS when they observe others and especially those in their social networks that exhibit DPS for an embattled person. The author expounds on this in the context of scandals, for example when an individual is targeted with character assassination attempts, and posits that better understanding of this concept will better equip reputation management teams to manage and repair reputations of their clients. Keywords: reputation management, character assassination attacks, declarative public sup- port (DPS), public censure (PC), social media, social support, public opinion, social movements Character is like a tree and reputation like a #MeToo movement that has brought down shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the powerful American celebrities such as Har- tree is the real thing. —Abraham Lincoln vey Weinstein and Russell Simmons, others such as Roy Moore and Donald Trump have Reputation management expert Eric Dezen- been less affected by character attacks. hall compares reputation to a glass jaw, a boxing term meant to explain that a well-ex- While corporate reputations are extensively ecuted punch to the jaw can drop even the studied in economics, marketing, organiza- largest and most formidable opponent. tional communication, and business studies, While it might often be the case that reputa- individual reputation is a much-neglected tions are fragile and difficult to repair, a puz- field of study and often only discussed as zling phenomenon is that some reputations case studies. Individual reputation is often appear indestructible. For example, amid the addressed with what Robinson (1969) called 94 3 PAPERS a gut feeling approach to PR. A quick Internet when one notices others inside or outside of query or a look in the self-help section of a their social networks model DPS for a person bookstore will show that the paucity of liter- involved in a scandal, they are more likely to ature in individual reputation management show DPS for that person. has resulted in an overreliance on unproven methods of individual reputation manage- The author will identify the characteristics of ment and advice from so-called reputation DPS that one may show during a scandal, the gurus. role of subjective norms, and the role DPS may play in forming norms. Reputations earned by individuals are con- sidered valued yet intangible assets that Theoretical Argument speak to their credibility as viewed by others. Reputations of celebrities and politicians are Reputation serves as a financial asset for commercially valuable and thus bolstered in corporations that influences their ability to the media and on the Internet to predict the attract employees, investors, customers, news value of stories (Galtung & Ruge, 1965). and business partners (Bouchikhi & Kimber- However, reputations are constantly at risk ly, 2008). Similarly, a well-known individual’s of damage and require active management. good reputation often speaks to their cred- But more importantly, when a crisis strikes, ibility and thus, also acts as a relational and their reputation becomes particularly vulner- financial asset. An opponents’ deliberate ef- able; the degree to which the public supports fort to damage a good reputation puts them them will influence the likelihood that their at risk of character assassination (Icks & Shi- reputation will remain intact or swiftly recov- raev, 2014), and thus, at risk of losing an as- er. set. This paper discusses the resistance of some Individual reputation management often reputations to harsh treatment, like Teflon; arises as conflicts that involve two or more while other reputations are like glass jaws parties. During these situations two types of that can be shattered with one well-executed dichotomies immediately emerge. First, there blow. The author contends that during a per- is a public perception of a protagonist and an sonal reputation crisis when highly-regarded antagonist; second, the dichotomy of a simul- people publicly declare support for an em- taneous public approval and disapproval of battled person, other people in their net- the protagonist and the antagonist. Individu- works are more likely to do the same, there- als often make a public gesture to show ap- by increasing the odds of a growing cascade proval or disapproval. These declarations of of public support, which increases the likeli- approval or disapproval are often expressed hood that the embattled person’s reputation in words, attending town hall meetings, will remain intact despite the crisis. demonstrations, writing editorials, making comments on social media, liking and shar- Moreover, the paper introduces and expli- ing social media comment, and other forms cates a new construct, declarative public sup- of public displays. port (DPS) – a formal or an informal act of non-relational and non-reciprocal public act In many ways, the public show of approval of support of a perceived protagonist during (public show of support) and the public show a public debacle who often lies outside of of disapproval (public censure) are similar each other’s social support systems and so- and occur simultaneously. Therefore, the dis- cial networks. For purposes of the current es- cussion of one concept cannot be complete say, the paper is interested principally in DPS without the other, but in this paper public at the individual level – one person’s tenden- censure will be introduced only when neces- cies to issue a DPS. The author contends that sary. 95 3 PAPERS Support in the Public Sphere Social support In this section, I will first introduce sever- “The exchange of verbal and non-verbal mes- al types of support that exist in the pub- sages conveying emotion, information, or lic sphere that are closely related to DPS. referral, to help reduce one’s uncertainty or However, these supports differ in the level stress,” (Walther & Boyd, 2002, p. 154). Social of formality/organization, level of emotions support involves individuals’ intimate interac- involved in providing support (relational or tions in one-on-one and small group interac- non-relational), and whether they are recip- tions to maintain and develop relationships, rocal or non-reciprocal relationships. cope with illness and stress, reduce commu- nity crime, and overcome individual and so- Elections, referendums, and the public cial issues (Sarason, Sarason, & Pierce, 1990). opinion polls Will and Cohen (1985) contended that when individuals have more social contacts with These are formal and systematically gathered other individuals, they are mentally happier snapshots of the level of public support in a and healthier than those individuals with lim- time and place. Democracies hold elections ited social contacts. More researchers have and referendums, and corporations and gov- studied the role of social support in psycho- ernments rely on public opinion to measure logical distress, size and structure of a social the pulse of popular sentiments (Key, 1961). network, and individual differences such as For decades, scholars of public opinion re- attachment, motivation, and relationship search have realized a gap in the research commitment (Vaux, 1988). that described and explained actions such as letter writing campaigns, rallies, and demon- Social networks strations (Ginsberg, 1986, Glasser & Salmon, 1995; Herbst, 1993). Lee (2002) noticed that One’s social networks play an important role the “alternative modes” in the political envi- in receiving social support. Gross et al., (2002) ronment that are often linked “more direct- and Turner et al., (2001) discuss strong ties ly to actions and, as a consequence, can be (family and friends) and weak ties (others often more politically salient and influential,” such as listserv, chat room, and discussion (p. 7). Mutz (1998) termed these actions “im- group acquaintances). Despite the possibility personal influences…. [which are] brought of some ties being loose, scholars such as Cu- about by information about the attitudes, be- trona and Russell (1990), Goldsmith (1994), liefs or experiences of collectives outside of and House (1981) agreed that social net- an individual’s personal life space,” (p. 4). works are inherently a relational approach. Therefore, it is plausible that one provides Collective action social support with the expectation of reciprocity. Moreover, social support exists These are formal and informal organized in physical and online spheres with a greater actions of groups. These have existed in dif- possibility of anonymity in the online sphere. ferent forms in different eras and in differ- ent social and political environments. Social Online social support systems movements can be defined as collective action triggered by the need for improved Mounting evidence suggest that individuals treatment of or defense of a group (Becker, often extend their intimate relational sup- 2012a) or their identification (Iyer & Ryan, port systems to online forums to cope with 2009) in the public sphere. Collective action is physical, emotional and psychological ail- driven by high emotions, efficacy beliefs, and ments or aid the behavioral changes. Eastin perceptions of threats to the group’s identifi- and LaRose (2005) suggest that increasingly, cation (Becker, 2012b). individuals are seeking online social support 96 3 PAPERS and indeed finding it in online forums. Fur- tures the “pulse” of the popular sentiment thermore, White and Dorman (2001) suggest (Key, 1961), then DPS is the echo of the pub- that individuals often seek online support lic’s prevailing sentiments. to remain anonymous; equally observable is that often support-givers can also remain Empirical evidence of DPS anonymous. Thus, the Internet is proving to be a dependable avenue to seek out and give The evidence of DPS exists throughout histo- emotional and relational social support both ry and across nations and culture, which has anonymously and openly. However, when resulted in significant historical events. Peo- individuals seek and provide support in on- ple go to great lengths to support an ideolo- line forums, for example, anonymously or to gy, mission, ideas, persons or a combination those outside of their networks, this does not of all or some of these. Greeks gathered in fall in to the conceptual understanding estab- the Agora to publicly show support regarding lished by the concept of social support. religious, political, judicial, social, and com- mercial affairs. Similarly, the Internet has Declarative Public Support (DPS) proved to be a befitting pulpit for DPS, and social media has provided convenient plat- Declarative public support (DPS) is a formal or forms for quick and easy acts such as liking, an informal act of non-relational and non-re- sharing, commenting, and so on. Such open ciprocal public support of a perceived protag- displays of support may often initiate with onist during a public debacle, and who often one’s social support network and is eventual- lies outside of each other’s social support ly followed by individuals outside of that net- systems and social networks. A similar act of work in greater numbers. Thus, the author public censure (PC) can occur when the public contends that when one notices those whose expresses disdain for a perceived antagonist opinions they highly regard model DPS for a who is outside of their social network or re- person involved in a scandal and others even lational contact so there is no expectation of outside of their social networks, they are reciprocity. For example, when Roy Moore, more likely to show DPS for that person. the Republican nominee for Alabama senate seat was accused of sexual misconduct, so- Characteristics of DPS cial media blew up with support for him from his constituents and non-constituents, while Unlike social support, DPS is a one-sided at the same time, he received public censure support from others in the public sphere; from others. therefore, DPS is not relational in nature, and even if one’s social networks partake in DPS, The ever-advancing digital and social media it is not reciprocal. Interestingly, DPS may be platforms have given the public the ability solicited or unsolicited by those looking for and the swiftness with which they can share support. Moreover, those who provide DPS their opinions. For example, the term alterna- usually act out of non-threatening situations; tive facts became a searchable hashtag mere- unlike in social movements, supporters usu- ly seconds after it was uttered by Kellyanne ally have a relatively low level of emotional Conway, the counselor to President Trump. attachment to the issues and loose beliefs Collective opinions in the form of public opin- around the issues. ion polls, referendums or elections are con- siderably impactful, and increasingly, indi- DPS is a unique concept as it explains an ob- viduals’ opinions are considered relevant as servable phenomenon in society. For exam- the more declarations of public support one ple, DPS helps understand the motivation be- receives, the more likely they are to survive hind supporting protagonists whose ordeals a reputational crisis with their reputation affect the supporters in insignificant ways, unharmed. Thus, if a public opinion poll cap- such as, supporting an individual during a 97 3 PAPERS scandal. Another interesting aspect of DPS, tus by online communities when a post or a which is more observable on social media, video goes viral or when individuals are well- is that sentiments reverberate through one’s known only among pocket communities or social networks and will influence them. For ‘niches’ or only for temporary periods. Such example, a story that is shared in support of individuals also possess “celebrity capital,” a a public figure will influence other’s opinions concept that describes the Gertz public figure in one’s network. doctrine in colloquialism (Barrie, 2014). Thus, the new-age celebrity is formed and when a An important characteristic of DPS is that it person’s celebrity capital helps them get sup- explains the supportive environment where port in the public sphere. It is important to social movements can thrive. For example, clarify that United States law is grappling with increased DPS for women who come forward how to limit or delimit the concept of a public with allegations of sexual misconduct against figure, but there seems no plausible reason powerful perpetrators is motivating more to put these limits on the definition of a pub- women to come forward with allegations lic figure, which vastly increases the bound- against other perpetrators. ary of who is considered a public figure. DPS can be expressed for both, traditional and Characteristics of Declarative Public Sup- non-traditional public figures. port (DPS) in Reputation Management Distinguishing the two types of public figures A central characteristic of DPS in the context helps us understand why some non-celebrity of reputation management is that it address- individuals can garner DPS in public, for ex- es a widely-known scandal or a character as- ample, through one’s LinkedIn connections sassination attack concerning a public figure or Twitter followers who are often nonsocial who possesses some celebrity capital. The networks. public declares support for the public figure often by comparing them to a rival. Because The author now discusses DPS in the context so much of the discussion surrounds public of reputation management. figures, it is important to review what consti- tutes a public figure who has celebrity capital. Antecedents of DPS Celebrity capital and public figures There are four situational social drivers or antecedents that determine the degree of Public figures can be of two types: a tradi- DPS or public censure that an individual will tional public figure or a new-age public figure. receive. These are fame or infamia, perceived The United States law uses the Gertz public melodrama, the resonance of the character figure doctrine to define a public figure: One, attack, and finally the expectations surround- did the individual willingly engage in activities ing the social contract with those involved in that advanced their public profiles; second, a scandal. does the individual have “significantly greater access to the channels of effective commu- Figure 1. Antecedents of Declarative Public nication,” (Lafferman, 2012, p. 199). This is Support a dated test and understanding of one’s ce- lebrity capital and the idea of what a public figure is. Aside from their immediate physical sphere, public figures can garner support in the digital sphere. Traditional public figures are celebrities, politicians, and so on. Some- times, individuals who are not traditional celebrities may be thrust into celebrity sta- 98 3 PAPERS Perceived fame/infamia of the attacked The perceived expectations of social con- tract An individual whose name, image, livelihood, pastimes, or other activities elicit public scru- Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s famous opening tiny is generally considered famous. There- in The Social Contract, “Man is born free, but fore, in this context, fame and infamia are everywhere he is in chains” explains the im- synonymous terms, as “infamia of course plicit agreement man has with his social sur- has the connotation of ‘negative fame,’ rath- roundings. Thus, social contract refers to the er than non-fame or ‘obscurity,’” (Hollander, moral obligations or the social expectations 2003, p. 1063). The more famous or infa- that one is expected to fulfill and unspoken mous an individual is, the more humanized rules to abide by. These obligations and rules they are in the context of a character attack; may or may not be mutually agreed on by in- whereas, an obscure individual may not be dividuals. For example, mutually-understood readily humanized and may receive negative rules may be those based on culture, matters DPS in public. Sometimes, an obscure indi- of guilt and shame according to the law, and vidual who is thrust into fame after a scandal, generosity and charity, and are often mu- may not immediately receive DPS until they tually agreed upon; whereas, rules around are more recognizable. gender, religion, and biases are those that are not mutually agreed upon. Public figures Perceived melodrama of the issue are held responsible for the social contract that they are perceived to have, to determine The more extraordinary, interesting, and whether they defied expectations of the cul- intriguing the individual, their wrongdoing tural, political, and religious norms of the so- and the accusation, the more an excitable ciety. For instance, an accusation of sexual response in public can be expected. This so- deviance in the Duggar family elicits a high cial driver is highly contextual. For example, degree of disapproval because of the family’s some scandals that may be considered out- claims around moral high grounds; whereas, rageous, may not be out of the norm in an- Charlie Sheen, who was open about his sex- other time, context, and culture. ual deviance after a scandal involving drugs and “moral turpitude,” now thrives in the Resonance of the issue public eye as the brand ambassador for Lelo Hex, a London-based condom brand (O’ Reil- Resonance refers to an individual’s experi- ly, 2016). Social contract also describes the ences and their networks’ experiences. When cultural and religious norms that often affect a scandal or a character attack triggers a the nature of public discourse in these situa- memory of a past experience, the more likely tions. In a country of Confucian influence, an it is that the attack will resonate with the pub- attacker in a scandal might expect to receive lic to prompt a reaction. For example, isolat- more public censure and be harshly criticized ed incidents outside of the context of one’s for disrupting the social order. Similarly, in surrounding, no matter how outrageous or south Asian countries where an attack on an melodramatic, will not induce a reaction be- opponent’s sexuality can seriously backfire. cause they fail to resonate with the public. An existence of a phenomenon is only rele- Similarly, in an online setting, the more infor- vant if it has some impact or effect. Now the mation about a scandal is liked, shared, and paper provides a theoretical framework that retweeted, the more the scandal will reso- supports DPS and reviews some individual nate deeply with the public. and social consequences. 99 3 PAPERS Theoretical Framework that the more we perceive a behavior as nor- mative, the more likely we are to perform the Scholars have frequently used the theory of behavior ourselves. planned behavior (TPB) to explain and predict an individual’s intentions to act. TPB suggests Operationalizing DPS that one’s behavior is influenced by the fol- lowing: subjective norms, the social pressure Individuals show DPS by making their opin- to act or not act in a certain manner; attitude, ions known through speeches, writing an op- a positive or a negative evaluation of the act; ed, signing a petition, having a public debate, and perceived behavior control, the potential attending gatherings such as conferences, to perform a behavior (Armitage & Conner, and so on. Public censure can be expressed 1999). similarly. An individual act of DPS can be mea- sured by collective DPS or public censure. In When one shows support for the target of a the net sphere, these behaviors are easy to scandal on social media by sharing, liking or exhibit because they are less constrained by commenting on posts, there is an enduring one’s time and space. For example, one can effect of doing so on others in their networks easily and quickly like a comment on Face- and even outside of their networks. DPS cre- book and reply to a comment; therefore, ates a presence of subjective norms that may making two distinct acts of DPS. influence other’s behaviors formed by the at- titude of those significant others, the norma- Like public opinion polls, DPS measures the tive referents, whose opinions are highly re- collective sentiment of a group, community, garded (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). Often, we demographic, or a nation. Behavior that com- rely on different normative referents based prises DPS is observable both at the individ- on the person’s behavior in question. For ual and the societal level. However, it is most example, one’s motivation to join a parent efficacious at a group level. The collective teacher association (PTA) may be induced by DPS of a physical or digital community can be neighbors and friends, but one’s decision to measured at the individual level. join the military might be influenced by teach- The author also argues that DPS is driven by ers and family. Thus, all things being equal, the simultaneous evaluation of the oppo- one will increase DPS for a person when the nents in a scandal. Therefore, support can normative referents model a similar DPS. For come in the form of DPS or censure, com- example, individuals often follow the religion pared to the support received by the oppo- or the political parties of the families in which nent. they are born. DPS may be an even more prevalent and effi- cacious phenomenon in collectivistic cultures where individuals have a greater desire to conform to norms. Cho and Lee (2015) find in their study of individuals’ intentions regard- ing H1N1 flu pandemic that subjective norms in a Korean sample (a collectivistic culture) is a far stronger predictor than in a U.S. sample. Therefore, it is safe to suggest that subjective norms may even be predictors of long-term behavior maintenance as seen in Cho and Lee’s study. Similarly, the social norms theory suggests 100 3 PAPERS Figure 2. The Model of Net DPS or Public Censure Endorsement Individual-level consequences for receiv- ers of DPS An endorsement occurs when a high-profile person provides DPS which may lead to more It is helpful to review the literature on social significant effects than an ordinary person’s support to understand the individual-level DPS. For example, when individuals with high consequences of DPS. House (1981) classified celebrity capital exhibit DPS, this in turn, in- social support into four main dimensions. fluences the melodrama, the fame or the These are: Emotional support such as em- infamy of the situation, and resonates with pathy, trust, and love; instrumental support, the public to a greater degree. An important which is tangible support such as equipment, effect of endorsements is that they may even transportation, and money; informational sup- change the unspoken rules of the social con- port such as advice or suggestion, and lastly tract, gathering more support or censure. For appraisal support such as information to help example, the Black Lives Matter campaign increase self-evaluation and social compari- gathered more fame and infamy, melodra- son. In essence, DPS works in a similar way as ma, and resonance when pro football play- the appraisal support with which individuals er Colin Kaepernick demonstrated DPS by use to gauge their social-evaluation and so- taking a knee during singing of the National cial comparison to their opponents (Berkman Anthem. As a result, more athletes are ex- et al., 2000). During a scandal, the sentiments pected to show support for the Black Lives expressed through DPS allows individuals to Matter campaign. Moreover, it also has a address these concerns through more strate- significantly higher impact on the perception gic crisis responses. Moreover, receiving so- of DPS because of the increased melodrama cial appraisal through DPS helps the targets associated with it. Such endorsements tend of a scandal manage their image and take to change the antecedents of the DPS and its steps toward damage control. consequences. Individual-level consequences for contrib- Consequences of DPS utors of DPS The consequences of DPS exist on two planes, Expressing DPS for a person or an idea can at the individual level and the societal level. make one vulnerable to becoming a target themselves. For example, Colin Kaepernick’s 101 3 PAPERS support of the Black Lives Matter campaign Conclusion sparked a controversy about whether his ac- tions are unpatriotic, and he eventually re- Reputation management teams often rely on ceived a great deal of DPS and censure. The gut feelings or intuition to perform their job. controversy over Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling There needs to be active research on how during the National Anthem no longer has reputations are created and maintained. This much to do with the Black Lives Matter cam- paper provides a conceptualizing DPS to fill paign. present gaps in literature as a step toward solving the mystery surrounding Teflon repu- Societal consequences tations and glass-jaw reputations. Explicating a concept that has not been recognized or On a societal level, DPS can have an impact measured before may take some time. Qual- in three significant ways. One, DPS can drive itative and quantitative studies are needed change of social norms. The way in which a to test the antecedents and consequences person perceives norms about DPS for an in- of DPS and to thoroughly capture all possible dividual will impact the person’s motivation dimensions of the concept. The dichotomous accordingly. Therefore, over time DPS can relationship between DPS and public censure change social norms. For example, in 1929, should be explored further and measured women’s cigarette smoking was promot- simultaneously to get a better grasp of the ed by Edward Bernays, the father of public relationship between the two concepts. Fur- relations, despite the social taboos at the ther, exploring the non-reaction of those who time. Over time, cigarette smoking in wom- remain unaffected during a scandal can also en became popular after the slogan Torches be helpful in understanding how individuals of Freedom helped changed societal norms manage and garner public support. about how women who smoke are perceived. Second, social movements comprise individ- uals who are connected by sheer virtue of References collective action and if that collective action is a sense of self-preservation, DPS can initiate Armitage, C. J., & Conner, M. (1999). Dis- social movements. 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Review and Criticism, 4, 276-287. 104 3 PAPERS Evaluating Crisis Responses on Twitter: Perspectives from Situational Crisis Communication Theory and Person-Centered Messages Jennifer Owlett William Paterson University (USA) Soo-Kwang Oh Pepperdine University (USA) Kyung-Hyan Yoo W illiam Paterson University (USA) The goal of this study is to understand the types of crises that U.S. airlines experienced with stakeholders and their responses on Twitter. We applied situational crisis communication the- ory (SCCT; Coombs, 2007) and person-centered messages (constructivism; Delia, O’Keefe, & O’Keefe, 1982) in our analysis. We examined 318 Tweet responses from 18 different crisis issues using content analysis. Findings suggest that contemporary U.S. airlines experience a variety of crisis types (accidental, victim, and preventable), but medium-person centered messages are most frequently used in online settings. Collectively, these findings suggest that airlines should tailor their responses to crisis events with attention to crisis type and perceived responsibility. Keywords: social media, crisis communication, person-centered messages A Person-Centered Approach to Crisis Re- should respond to online crises (Roshan, sponses on Twitter Warren, & Carr, 2016). We posit that how the public perceives an organization’s crisis re- An increasing number of organizations are sponse stems from message quality. currently facing crisis threats on social me- As such, we consider these issues in light of dia (Coombs & Holladay, 2012). These is- a theoretical concept that was introduced in sues are often further exacerbated because interpersonal communication: person-cen- few guidelines exist for how crisis managers tered messages (PCMs). Part of constructiv- 105 3 PAPERS ism (Delia et al., 1982), person-centered mes- Literature Review sages “reflect an awareness of and adaptation to the subjective, affective, and relational as- Service industry crisis pects of communicative contexts” (Burleson, Any organization can face a crisis. Organiza- 1987, p. 305). These messages are personal- tions within the service sector are especially ized to the receiver’s experiences and emo- vulnerable to potential crisis issues because tions (High & Dillard, 2012; Jones, 2004). Con- of the nature of the service sector (Smith, sequently, highly personalized messages are 2005): 1) Service organizations are highly en- most often evaluated as providing support to gaged with consumers and are active in the recipients (Burleson & MacGeorge, 2002). Us- production process as co-producers; 2) Ser- ing person-centered messages can also have vices are often intangible and abstract which implications for the relationship between the makes them difficult for the service providers support provider and recipient. For example, to explain and for the customer to assess; 3) Samter, Burleson, and Murphy (1987) found Many non-standardized services are closely that support message quality, (i.e., level of related to the individual service providers’ person-centeredness), predicted recipient ability like knowledge, behavior, and commit- liking and attraction toward the support pro- ment; 4) Service quality depends on how the vider. customer perceives the whole. We argue that this theoretical framework can Due to these features, service providers can- be applied to crisis communication. That is, not control service quality. Consequently, corporations should pay attention to pub- consumers are often an integral part of the lics who have been affected by the crisis and service system and help to shape the organi- generate messages that are tailored to their zation’s reputation (Edvardsson, 1992). This, experiences. The case for PCMs in crisis com- in turn, increases the potential for an orga- munication is gaining more importance with nizational crisis because of the variable and the emergence of social media. This is es- changing nature of consumers’ perceptions pecially salient given that public relations in (Smith, 2005). the digital age is becoming increasingly two- way and symmetrical (Grunig, 2009). In other The advent of social media has added anoth- words, the affected publics have become di- er challenge for service organizations. The rect receivers of communication, somewhat service encounter, the moment when the resembling the structure and format of inter- company’s employees meet and interact with personal dialogue. customers, has occurred increasingly online. How customers perceive these encounters In the field of crisis communication, situa- are critical factors in how service quality is tional crisis communication theory (SCCT) evaluated (Czepiel, Solomon, Surprenant, & (Coombs, 2007) is often used to understand Gutman, 1985). Service encounters on social the organization’s crisis management. This media highlight interactions between em- study integrates SCCT with PCMs to investi- ployees and customers but can also be dis- gate how airlines use PCMs when responding played to external stakeholders. If the service to different crisis types. In so doing, this study provider fails to meet the customer’s service brings together two theoretical frameworks expectations, the customer can easily chal- that have traditionally been in distinct areas lenge the organization on social media and of communication. We believe this merger other stakeholders can potentially view the will provide both theoretical and practical challenge. This increased visibility raises new benefits for organizations that are respond- strategic and tactical concerns for crisis man- ing to crisis. agers (Coombs & Holladay, 2012). Given this situation, understanding social 106 3 PAPERS media crisis management is critical for ser- Following this, the organization should then vice sector organizations. Although there is select appropriate crisis response strategies considerable research attention in the crisis that correspond to the identified crisis clus- management area, previous research has ter. Previous crisis history and relationship focused on two larger areas. First, most re- reputation should also be considered with search on this topic has examined offline cri- response strategy. More accommodative sis settings. Second, these studies have pre- crisis response strategies should be used dominately examined service recovery rather when reputational threat increases, as these than the processes through which each crisis strategies demonstrate greater concern for is generated (Smith, 2005). Coombs (2004) victims (Coombs, 2007). Stakeholders are explains that crisis management is com- also more likely to perceive the organization prised of four interrelated factors: preven- is taking greater responsibility when these tion, preparation, response, and revision. strategies are selected (Coombs & Holladay, Smith (2005) argues that service organiza- 2004; 2005). Taking responsibility is especial- tions need to consider both prevention and ly important for accidental and preventable response within their crisis management crisis categories. These crisis types often gen- strategies. Crisis communication is especially erate strong feelings of anger and decreased critical during the response phase as it marks sympathy toward the organization (Coombs the beginning of the crisis and when organi- & Holladay, 2005). These negative emotions zation managers should enact appropriate can cause stakeholders to negatively evaluate action (Coombs, 2004). the organization in public settings, which can affect an organization’s reputation (Coombs Crisis communication: Situational crisis & Holladay, 2004). communication theory (SCCT) Social media has now transformed how Situational crisis communication theory stakeholders and organizations commu- (SCCT; Coombs, 2007) provides one way to nicate during crisis. For example, it is now better understand the organization’s crisis much easier for stakeholders to challenge response. SCCT advances that an organiza- organizations that are engaged in crisis sit- tion’s reputation can be protected during uations (Oh, Agrawal, & Rao, 2013). On the crisis if appropriate communicative crisis other hand, social media also enables orga- response strategies are selected (Coombs, nizations to directly respond to stakeholders 2007; Kiambi & Shafer, 2016). This process during crisis (Schultz, Utz, & Goritz, 2011). occurs in two-steps. First, the organization However, many studies show that organiza- should identify the crisis type and determine tions still need guidelines when responding the initial crisis responsibility. SCCT posits to these challenges via social media (Eriksson, that crisis types can be grouped into three 2012; Veil, Buehner, & Palenchar, 2011). SCCT clusters ( victim, accidental, and preventable) provides guidance for understanding how which are based upon attributions of crisis organizations can respond to crisis through responsibility (Coombs, 2007; 2011). In the social media (Roshan et al., 2016), but addi- victim cluster, the organization has low crisis tional insight is needed for understanding responsibility because stakeholders view the how other factors, such as message quality, organization as a victim of the event. Crises can influence crisis response. in the accidental cluster occur when events are viewed as unintentional or uncontrolla- Person-centered messages ble. Stakeholders expect the organization to Message quality is particularly relevant to two take minimal crisis responsibility for events areas in public relations: crisis communica- in these settings. The preventable cluster con- tion and social media communication. Com- tains very strong attributions of crisis respon- municating in ways tailored to the receiver’s sibility. situation(s), experiences, and needs holds 107 3 PAPERS value for successful outcomes (e.g., service In the age of social media, it is increasingly evaluations). Person-centered messages important to consider PCMs when examin- provide one avenue for assessing message ing communication strategies. As social me- quality. Burleson (1982) includes a nine-level dia empowers individuals with more speed, hierarchy for differentiating messages across accessibility, and interactivity (Wei, Lo, Lu, & their level of person-centeredness. These Hou, 2015), audiences have become more nine-levels are further split into three larger easily and directly reachable. Especially with areas based on how customized the emo- abbreviated, high-speed platforms such as tional support message is. The first level, low Twitter, communication between a corpo- person-centered messages (LPC), often deny ration and its key publics have also become the recipient an opportunity to express feel- more dialogue-based (Wei et al., 2015). In ings. LPCs might also indicate how the recip- other words, this provides a more up-close, ient should react in response to the distress- personal, and direct level of communication ing event. The second level, moderate levels that introduces new means of branding and of person-centered messages (MPCs), recog- relating to audiences (Wojdynski, 2011). nize emotional distress, but offer distraction as a solution. These messages might also of- We suggest that these characteristics can be fer an explanation about why the distressing approached from an interpersonal communi- event has occurred and express sympathy. cation perspective, as well. Social media con- The third level, high person-centered mes- versations are often manifested in constant sages (HPCs), demonstrate involvement and two-way dialogue, so characteristics of inter- are listener centered. These messages en- personal communication receive more spot- courage the recipient to elaborate on their light (Greer & Ferguson, 2011; Holt, 2016). In feelings (Burleson, 1994) and consider how this regard, PCMs could be an important con- their emotions fit in a larger context (High & cept for online discourse (Ham & Lee, 2015; Dillard, 2012). St. John, 2014), and useful in evaluating the nature and effects of public relations efforts. Message quality, specifically, person-cen- With this in mind, we pose the following re- tered messages, holds potential for how cor- search questions: porations could better communicate with • RQ1: What types of crises do service in- key publics. Crisis requires a focus on prob- dustry organizations, in particular U.S. air- lem resolution, credibility management, and lines, encounter on Twitter? appropriate public communication (High & • RQ2: How do U.S. airlines use person-cen- Dillard, 2012). With this in mind, Sellnow and tered messages when responding to cri- colleagues (2015) emphasize a receiver-based ses on Twitter? approach, even though many current studies • RQ3: Do the airlines use accommodat- focus on senders. Such approaches should ing person-centered messages when re- be considered with person-centered mes- sponding to different crisis types? sages because highly person-centered mes- sages can illustrate a sense of understanding Method and support for key publics. This could yield increased liking, as the PCM literature sug- This study conducted quantitative content gests (e.g., Burleson, 2007). Therefore, from analyses to examine three research ques- an organizational perspective, crisis commu- tions. Data were collected from five major nication in its reactive (message formation U.S. airlines’ Twitter accounts in May 2017. and distribution) and recovery (evaluation of The detailed data collection process is dis- the success of crisis communication) phases cussed below. can benefit from adding a receiver- or per- son-centered focus. 108 3 PAPERS Sample then assigned a level to each tweet from 1 (lowest) to 9 (highest). The PCM levels were To understand the airlines’ crisis communi- further categorized into three larger groups cation on Twitter, we selected five airlines ( low: level 1 – 3; medium: 4 – 6; high: 7 – 9) af- that had the highest number of followers as ter data collection was complete. of May 2017. The airlines included Southwest (2.12 million Twitter followers), JetBlue (2.09 For person-centered message strategies, we million Twitter followers), American (1.45 adopted works of Burleson (1982) and Sell- million Twitter followers), Delta (1.34 million now and colleagues (2015). Our six-category Twitter followers), and United (923,000 Twit- typology included mention of other, sympa- ter followers). From these airlines’ Twitter thy/apologetic, responsibility, explanatory, accounts, we collected a total of 421 tweets blame, and support/solutions. Coders again involved in crisis issues. After data cleaning, evaluated the content quality to identify the the final sample included a total of 318 tweet PCM strategies used in the messages. Some responses across 18 different crisis issues. tweets used more than one strategy and cod- ers identified all strategies used in the tweets Twitter was selected for this study because (Gurman & Ellenberger, 2015; Kim, Miller, & of its instant and fast-paced nature (Bastos, Chon, 2016). Raimundo, & Travitzki, 2013). Twitter is also the key communication channel that organi- Data collection zations have used to respond to crises today (Schultz et al., 2011). Using Twitter is helpful We first conducted an exhaustive search of because it highlights the communication ap- all issues that occurred for each of the five proaches taken by the airlines immediate- airlines between January 2016 and May 2017. ly following each issue’s occurrence (Chen, We began by reviewing the airlines’ corpo- 2011). rate newsrooms and searching news stories. We then extracted the airlines’ tweets that Coding instrument and measurement responded to each issue over a one-week timeframe. This duration was selected with We developed a codebook to assess crisis the goal of thoroughly identifying all respons- type, qualities of person-centered messages, es from the airlines. In most cases, relevant and person-centered message strategy. For tweets could only be found within three days crisis type, we adapted the crisis type cate- of issue occurrence. Thereafter, we select- gories suggested by Coombs (2007; 2011). ed issues based on the order of the number While Coombs’s studies identified 12 (2007) of associated tweets and selected random and 10 specific crisis types (2011), our study tweets from a list of the top tweets until we combined the similar types of crisis (e.g. tech- reached 60 tweets per airline (for the random nical-error product harm and technical-error sampling objective of N = 300). accident) into one crisis type (e.g. techni- cal-error). This resulted in 8 crisis types: natu- Intercoder reliability ral disaster, rumor, hacking, workplace issue, challenges, technical- error, human-error, Prior to data collection, we trained two inde- and organizational-misdeed. pendent coders. Once we established coding consensus, the two coders independently an- To measure the qualities of person-centered alyzed 70 common tweets (22% of dataset). messages, we assessed how person-centered Comparison of the two coders’ agreement each Tweet is based on Burleson’s (1982) yielded a Krippendorf’s Alpha of .806, which 9-category typology. Coders were trained to suggests high agreement. An additional cod- evaluate the degree of person-centeredness er training session was then held for coders using Burleson’s (1982) guidelines. Coders to compare their results, discuss discrepan- 109 3 PAPERS cies, and reach an agreement future coding cated in our data. Delta ( n = 28) shared the decisions. Each coder then independently highest frequency of LPC messages, followed analyzed half of the remaining 248 Twitter by United ( n = 23), American ( n = 17), and posts. Southwest ( n = 9). Highly person-centered messages were fairly infrequent ( n = 9; 2.8%). Data analysis JetBlue ( n = 4) created the most HPC messag- es. Southwest ( n = 3) and United ( n = 2) also Descriptive analyses were used to examine provided HPCs, while Delta and American did the crisis types the airlines encounter on not provide any. Twitter ( RQ1) and if person-centered messag- es were implemented ( RQ2). Descriptive and The PCM strategies (mention of other, sym- chi-squared analyses were employed to test pathy/apologetic, responsibility, explanato- the associations between the crisis types and ry, blame, and support/solutions) that air- how airlines used person-centered messages lines used when responding to crisis were when responding to crises on Twitter ( RQ3). also explored. Some tweets used more than Results one strategy. For the tweets, we identified all strategies. All five airlines included at least Crisis types on Twitter one example of each strategy across their tweets. For example, mention of other was Our first research question ( RQ1) assessed implemented with United ( n = 63), Delta ( n = the crisis types that U.S. airlines encounter 51), American ( n = 38), JetBlue ( n = 38), and on Twitter. Our sample included 18 issues Southwest ( n = 33). In comparison, sympathy/ that airlines encountered on Twitter between apologetic was used with Delta ( n = 35), Amer- January 2016 and May 2017. Of the 18 is- ican ( n = 33), United ( n = 26), Southwest ( n = sues, our results indicated that accidental ( n 13), and JetBlue ( n = 11). Explanatory was ad- = 8; 44%) was the most frequent, followed opted frequently for Southwest ( n = 50), Unit- by equal numbers of victim ( n = 5; 28%) and ed ( n = 49), and JetBlue ( n = 39), but not for preventable ( n = 5; 28%) crisis types. All but American ( n = 15) or Delta ( n = 11). Support/ American experienced accidental crises. Vic- solutions was not frequently used with any of tim-type crises were found with only Amer- airlines, including Delta ( n = 33), JetBlue ( n = ican and JetBlue. Finally, preventable crises 30), American ( n = 27), and United ( n = 22). Re- were found only for three of the six airlines: sponsibility was also a less frequently applied American, United, and Delta. strategy for Southwest ( n = 26), United ( n = 16), JetBlue ( n = 13), American ( n = 7), and Del- Airlines’ use of person-centered messages ta (n = 6) . Blame was used the least frequently for all airlines including JetBlue ( n = 15), Unit- We also examined how these airlines use ed ( n = 10), American ( n = 4) and Delta ( n = 1) person-centered messages when responding (See Table 1). to crises on Twitter ( RQ2). To examine this, we analyzed Tweets across message quality Crisis type and person-centered messages (degree of person-centeredness) and PCM strategy. Our third research question ( RQ3) examined whether person-centered messages varied The airlines most frequently used medium across different crisis types. Similar to our person-centered messages ( n = 232; 73%) previous findings, medium-person centered across all crisis types. United ( n = 60) provid- messages (MPCs; n = 232; 73%) were used ed the most MPC messages, followed by Jet- the most frequently across all three crisis Blue ( n = 56), Southwest ( n = 48), American clusters (accidental, n = 108; victim, n = 60; ( n = 36), and Delta ( n = 32). Low person-cen- preventable, n = 64). Low person-centered tered messages ( n = 77, 24.2%) were also lo- messages (LPCs; n = 77; 24.2%) were also im- 110 3 PAPERS Table 1. Use of PCM strategy in crisis responses on Twitter by airlines Note: values are in frequencies (% within airlines) Airlines American Delta JetBlue South- United west Mention of Other 38 (71.7%) 51 (85.0%) 38 (63.3%) 33 (55.0%) 63 (74.1%) Sympathy/Apologetic 33 (62.5%) 35 (58.3%) 11 (18.3%) 13 (21.7%) 26 (30.6%) Responsibility 7 (13.2%) 6 (10.0%) 13 (21.7%) 26 (43.3%) 16 (18.8%) Explanatory 15 (28.3%) 11 (18.3%) 39 (65.0%) 50 (83.3%) 49 (57.6%) Blame 4 (7.5%) 1 (1.7%) 15 (25.0%) 0 (0.0%) 10 (11.8%) Support/Solutions 27(50.9%) 33 (55%) 30 (50.0%) 10 (16.7%) 22 (25.9%) plemented (accidental, n = 48; preventable, sage strategies to respond to three different n = 16; victim, n = 13), but high person-cen- crisis clusters. The results showed significant tered messages (HPCs; n = 9; 2.8%) were not associations between crisis cluster type and often used (victim, n = 4; accidental, n = 4; PCM strategies for the following: sympathy/ preventable, n = 1). Figure 1 illustrates that apologetic (χ² (1, n = 318) = 8.022, p =.018, V the MPC (4 – 6) level contained a majority of = .16), responsibility (χ² (1, n = 318) = 7.239, p the Tweets, regardless of crisis cluster type. =.027, V = .15), explanatory (χ² (1, n = 318) = Furthermore, a chi-square analysis did not 35.7, p =.000, V = .34), blame (χ² (1, n = 318) yield any significant results. These findings = 25.119, p =.000, V = .28), and support/solu- suggest that the airlines did not modify the tions (χ² (1, n = 318) = 19.291, p =.000, V = .25). person-centeredness of messages in light of The sympathy/apologetic strategy was more differing crisis clusters. frequently used in victim and preventable cri- sis situations than accidental, while there was We further analyzed the airlines’ crisis re- no significant difference between victim and sponse tweets in terms of PCM strategies to preventable. Responsibility was used more see whether the airlines used different mes- often in accidental crises in comparison to Figure 1. PCM levels by crisis cluster type 111 3 PAPERS victim and preventable crises. No significant Additional chi-square tests were conducted difference was found between victim and to analyze how the airlines varied the per- preventable crises. As for explanatory strat- son-centeredness of tweets when respond- egies, they were used more often in victim ing to specific crisis types. Since no rumor, and accidental cases, with no significant dif- hacking, and workplace issues were iden- ference between the two types. Significant tified in our dataset, only five crisis types differences were found across the three cri- were analyzed. The crosstab results showed sis cluster types for adoption of blame strat- that the airlines generally used medium per- egies, while support/solution strategies were son-centered (MPC) or low person-centered used more often in victim and preventable (LPC) messages when they responded to crisis situations. crises on Twitter, regardless of crisis type. However, significant differences were found The findings also show that mention of other, in the airlines’ responses to the challenges (χ² explanatory, and support/solutions were the (1, n = 318) = 26.822, p =.000, V = .29), tech- most frequently used PCM strategies. When nical-error (χ² (1, n = 318) = 6.253, p =.044, V the victim crisis cluster type was experienced, = .14) and organizational-misdeed (χ² (1, n tweets from airlines frequently displayed = 318) = 6.976, p =.031, V = .15) crisis types . mention of other (71.4%), explanatory (55.8%), When the airlines responded to challenges, and support/solutions (54.5%) characteristics. only low person-centered (45%) or medium In cases of accidental crises, mention of other person-centered (55%) messages were used. (65.6%) and explanatory (63.8%) character- When responding to technical-error and or- istics were used most often. Finally, in pre- ganizational-misdeed issues, the airlines pro- ventable-type crises, mention of other (77.8%), vided some high person-centered tweets, sympathy/apologetic (48.1%) and support/ but the total percentage was only 5 percent solutions (45.7%) strategies were used most for technical-error and 2.2 percent for orga- frequently. This is especially noteworthy be- nizational-misdeed. For both situations, more cause sympathy/apologetic was among the than 95% of responses were low or medi- frequently used strategy in this crisis cluster um-centered messages. (See Table 3). type (See Table 2). Table 2. Cross-tabulation of PCM strategies in relation to crisis cluster types Note: values are in frequencies (% within crisis cluster type); * = p < .05, ** = p <.01, *** = p < .001 Crisis Cluster Type PCM Strategy Victim ( n = 77) Accidental ( n = Preventable ( n = 160) 81) χ² df Mention of Other 55 (71.4%) 105 (65.6%) 63 (77.8%) 3.873 2 Sympathy/Apologetic 31 (40.3%) 48 (30.0%) 39 (48.1%) 8.022* 2 Responsibility 11 (14.3%) 44 (27.5%) 13 (16.0%) 7.239* 2 Explanatory 43 (55.8%) 102 (63.8%) 19 (23.5%) 35.700*** 2 Blame 18 (23.4%) 11 (6.9%) 1 (1.2%) 25.119*** 2 Support/Solutions 42 (54.5%) 43 (26.9%) 37 (45.7%) 19.291*** 2 112 3 PAPERS Table 3. Cross-tabulation of PCM Level Category in relation to Crisis Types Note: values are in frequencies (% within crisis type); * = p < .05, ** = p < .01, *** = p < .001 PCM Level Category Crisis Type LPC ( n = 78) MPC ( n = 233) HPC ( n = 9) χ² df Natural Disaster 13 (16. 9%) 60 (77.9%) 4 (5.2%) 4.606 2 Challenges 36 (45.0%) 44 (55.0%) 0 (0.0%) 26.822*** 2 Technical-error 12 (15.0%) 64 (80.0%) 4 (5.0%) 6.253* 2 Human-error 12 (33.3%) 24 (66.7%) 0 (0.0%) 2.763 2 Organizational-misdeed 4 (8.9%) 40 (88.9%) 1 (2.2%) 6.976* 2 Discussion communication is occurring (Burleson, 2007). It is valuable to note that while medium per- Our results illustrate three valuable findings son-centered messages can be helpful, they regarding how stakeholders and organiza- are not appropriate for every interaction. The tions interact on Twitter during crisis. First, strategies also offered unique insights. For we found that U.S. airlines encounter a vari- example, our analyses indicate that relatively ety of crisis types (victim, accidental, and pre- few tweets contained sympathy and responsi- ventable) ( RQ1). The majority of the analyzed bility. The airlines in our sample instead pro- Tweets contained accidental crisis types, but vided relatively high numbers of explanatory preventable and victim were also represent- messages. While the airlines did not attempt ed. These findings indicate that airlines often to use blame as a strategy, they could have encounter accidental and preventable crisis modified their crisis response messages so types on Twitter, which stakeholders expect that they were more in line with stakehold- organizations to take moderate and high ers’ needs. For instance, while an explanatory levels of responsibility. How organizations approach might appear to be a factual and respond to these crises is increasingly im- informative strategy, this does not necessar- portant as these levels of perceived respon- ily provide comfort for stakeholders. Given sibility also elicit moderate and severe rep- that emotional support is also considered an utational threats (Coombs & Holladay 2004; ethical responsibility for organizations during 2005). Consequently, organizations should a crisis (Coombs, 2007), we suggest that or- be aware of different crisis types they could ganizations go beyond explaining a situation encounter on social media and prepare a cri- and instead provide support to the negative- sis communication plan accordingly. ly affected publics. Many of the airlines that we analyzed includ- Our final set of analyses considered how cri- ed person-centered messages and strate- sis type influenced the use of airlines’ per- gies. Interestingly, most of the crisis response son-centered messages. Interestingly, we messages contained medium person-cen- found that the majority of our airlines’ re- tered messages qualities ( RQ2). Prior re- sponses did not vary by cluster type ( RQ3). search that has examined person- centered Victim, accidental, and preventable crisis types messages in interpersonal contexts would all included high frequencies for medium suggest that competent communicators pro- person-centered messages. Overall, these vide attention to the contexts in which the findings suggest that airlines are not cur- 113 3 PAPERS rently implementing a range of person-cen- is possible that the private conversations in- tered messages that correspond to issue cluded more person-centered message qual- type. SCCT (Coombs & Holladay, 2004; 2005) ities than the openly posted information. We would suggest that these airlines should vary are hopeful that more of the crisis events their crisis response messages based on lev- that we identified in our data were able to els of responsibility. Our findings (see Fig. 1 be resolved in private, rather than through and Table 3) showcase that message quali- the large-scale discussions that often took ty (e.g., person-centered messages) is often place on Twitter. Second, we selected Twitter under-emphasized in current applications as our sole platform for understanding how of crisis communication. For example, high- message quality varies during organization- ly person-centered messages were found al crises. Notably, Twitter limits the length of relatively infrequently across the three crisis types. SCCT could potentially benefit from in- posts. Other platforms, such as Facebook, cluding message quality as part of the model. hold potential for users and organizations to While speculative, we suggest that perhaps interact without these constraints. In other some of the negative outcomes that are as- contexts, social media users might be able sociated with ongoing crises (e.g., David Dao) to implement more of the person-centered could be lessened with increasingly per- strategies that we advance in our analyses. son-centered responses. For example, Facebook might provide a dif- ferent domain that could encourage more Moreover, several points can be raised from “mention of other” or “sympathy/apologet- the airlines’ use of PCM strategies. First, rel- ic” responses for preventable crises than on atively few tweets showed sympathy and re- Twitter. Additional research could examine sponsibility in response to crisis situations. how different social media platforms can in- Compared to the higher number of explan- fluence how person-centered messages are atory messages, perhaps our findings indi- provided in response to crisis. cate that airlines chose to explain themselves in order to emphasize responsibility and an Lastly, our data only reflects the crisis events apologetic stance toward the affected pub- that were discussed on social media. Each of lic. Less than a majority of the tweets had the organizations that we examined provid- support/solutions as a PCM strategy. Since ed responses using a variety of formats (e.g., support is a significant factor in PCMs (Jones, press releases, press conferences, blogs). 2004; Spottswood, Walther, Holmstrom, & Our analyses were specifically attuned to the Ellison, 2013), we emphasize the importance mediated support messages (i.e., Tweets) of incorporating more supportive messages that these organizations provided. Future when responding to crisis. studies can examine the ways in which con- Limitations and future directions sumers and organizations make decisions about when and how they respond to crisis Future examinations that investigate how on social media. airlines and other service organizations re- spond to crisis can be guided by our study’s We are hopeful that organizations and rele- limitations. First, our analyses only included vant stakeholders will strongly consider how publicly available Tweets from January 2016 they interact with each other on social media. to May 2017. 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Comforting conversations: The ef- 30(1), 1-20. 116 3 PAPERS Activist groups and Public Relations: examples from two Portuguese collapsed banks and their clients Sónia Pedro Sebastião University of Lisbon, Portugal Daniela Vila Verde University of Lisbon, Portugal Activists seek to build sources of legitimacy, power and advocacy that increase their likelihood of being heard by whomever may decide in their favor. These actions allow them to restore the power imbalance of unequal access to resources. PR may be critical in this process as shown in previous research (e.g. Smith & Fergusson, 2001, 2010). This study aims to understand how activist groups have turned to media in order to gain legiti- macy and public visibility, as well as to the government as the authority that could listen to the problem and take decisions to solve it. We have used clipping and a simplified content analysis and interviewed six intermediaries, including journalists, activists’ spokespersons and govern- ment representatives on negotiations. Our main conclusion shows that the creation of activist associations involved a significant num- ber of people. Also, several actions were taken to solve a problem - situation of the defrauded clients - including ensuring communication with the media and negotiating with the govern- ment in order to resolve the situation. This publicly active organization has made defrauded clients newsworthy and relevant to the negotiation process and therefore empowered them. Keywords: critical public relations theory; activism; intermediaries; financial crisis; Portugal Introduction country began to be fragile, with the need for external aid from the International Monetary The banking system collapsed in the United Fund (IMF) in 2011, which resulted in a finan- States in 2008, with the bankruptcy of Leh- cial bailout for the country. The crisis that man Brothers Bank. However, as we live in affected the entire country brought conse- a globalized world, the crisis quickly spread quences for the reputation of financial insti- to other countries, including Portugal. The tutions, leading to a general disbelief and de- 117 3 PAPERS crease of confidence in the banking system. center of a financial problem and victims’ This can also be tied to banks malpractices, visibility in the media seems enforced by PR. embezzlement, corruption and ultimately to Therefore, we try to understand how activists bank insolvency, as exemplified by the cases (victims of BPN and BES malpractices) are of the two institutions under study: Banco organized to attempt to recover from power Português de Negócios (BPN) and Banco Es- imbalance; highlighting the relationship es- pírito Santo (BES). tablished with the media, representatives of the government and supervising authorities The communication of these bank insti- and defrauded clients movements (interme- tutions with their clients was considered diaries), pinpointing the role of public rela- non-existent. There was no attempt at all to tions in the claims of these activist groups. negotiate, which forced the defrauded clients Both activists and the government have used to find alternative solutions. Having invested intermediaries for the negotiation and the their money in high-risk bank products with activists have used media to gain access to the promise of high profit, bank clients lost the public arenas. their savings when the bankś insolvency occurred. This strain has led to their mobili- Mainly, our intention is to focus on the actions zation in activist associations. These associa- regarding activist groups and their use of the tions were created to promote conflict to at- media to frame the issue, in the perceptions tract media attention; gain legitimacy among of the actors involved (journalists, intermedi- public opinion; negotiate with authorities aries and journalists) and in the process that and ultimately, resolve the issue by recover- led to the resolution of the conflict. ing the invested money. The article is organized according to three Activism studies tend to focus on public af- main subjects. We start with a theoretical fairs and corporate practices, shared respon- framework about activism and public rela- sibilities amongst public and private sectors tions; secondly, the interrelation between regarding the government, regulators and the concepts of citizenship, civic engagement companies (e.g. Smith & Fergusson, 2001, and activism are analyzed and related to the 2010). Our approach moves away from a cor- research model; and finally, the empirical porate-centric view of PR. The banks under study is presented and discussed. study bankrupted and could not act to cor- rect malpractices. A critical media and infor- 1. Activism and Public Relations mation studies approach, emphasizing “the dialectics of media and society, opportunities Theory and risks, dominant groups and dominated In a world flooded with means, messages groups”, outline this study (Fuchs, 2011, p. and images, visibility is a central resource. 323). Traditionally, those who possess resources Moreover, the problem occurred from a such as money, influence, power and repu- poor choice of bank clients who did not have tation, gain and accumulate visibility in the enough knowledge about the high-risk finan- media, including the internet (Fuchs, 2011). cial product they purchased. In this sense, Although everyone may produce and diffuse the way in which activist groups framed the information, not all information is visible to issue with the support of the media, under- the same degree. Dominant figures, such as mining legitimacy and the performance of corporations or governments, tend to have the failed organization, eventually became a more control and therefore receive more at- determining factor for the existence of nego- tention regarding their side of the story. As tiations with authorities and their outcome. such, there is a ‘resource imbalance’ as the media usually tend to highlight the corporate In this article, public engagement is at the interests and convey with external pressures 118 3 PAPERS derived from those interests. But does this nity-based response, and holistic, strategic critical view stand when we look at social ac- campaigns conducted with the minimum of tivism phenomenon? Or can differences and resources” (Demetrious, 2013, p. 2). The the- diverse patterns of power control be accom- oretical approach to this movement tends to modated in the public arena, as postmodern be co-creational, seeking to understand the public relations scholars argue? communicative and relational processes in the creation of meanings for the legitimation The studies on activism have been ap- of activists’ action in limiting the power of proached in public relations, mainly, from dominant groups (e.g. Coombs & Holladay, a functionalist point of view centered in the 2012; Smith & Fergusson, 2010). Those, usu- organizations. Activist groups are considered ally single-issue groups, tend to disappear undesirable in the relation between orga- with the resolution of the matter. They have nizations and the public. Public relations is limited resources to go through with their usually used to appease their demands or campaign. to create discourses to legitimize the orga- nizations’ performance in order to maximize Therefore, activism research involves the profits (Demetrious, 2013). By legitimizing functional and co-creative perspectives of organizational actions and discourses, public PR studies, and both approaches are not ir- relations have contributed to lessening the reconcilable (Taylor, 2010). Interaction be- influence and power of activist groups. tween activists and organizations helps to create and frame issues. Focusing on their The theory about public relations develops tactics assumes communication as having an with social change and conditions of thought. instrumental function in supporting organi- Critical and postmodern currents emerge zations in pursuit of their goals, regardless associated with the emancipation of publics of whether they are prevaricating organiza- and the complexity of the communicative tions or activists groups. In a co-creational needs of the markets. The functionalist ap- approach, groups are co-creators of mean- proach, linear in its nature, does not follow ing and PR makes it possible to agree upon the understanding needs of a postmodern, shared meanings, interpretations and goals. fragmented, relative, complex and chaotic As stated by Taylor (2010) “public relations society (e.g. Baudrillard, 2007; Bauman, 1992, uses communication to help groups to nego- 2000; Lash, 1990). The theoretical models do tiate meaning and build relationships” (p. 6). not allow the explanation of the social trans- formations provoked, to a certain extent, by Studies about activism tend to focus three the acceleration and technological evolution interrelated concepts: issues, legitimacy and of the communication channels, by the ex- power. Besides the contribution of these acerbation of risks and problems, by an in- concepts on the understanding of activism, creasing sharing of information and knowl- research also contributes to the public rela- edge (e.g. Castells, 2009/2013). tions (PR) theory development and provides some guidance for understanding “public re- Dialogue has to be developed in order to pro- lations role in shaping civil society” (Smith & mote the co-creation of meanings (e.g. Smith Ferguson, 2010, p. 400). & Fergusson, 2010), that is, to search for a new solution through the perspectives of the The critical view of activism challenges the different parts in the negotiation (author- normative view of the PR discipline (e.g. ities and activist associations). This makes Coombs & Holladay, 2012; Ciszek, 2015; Be- us challenge the dominant public relations necke & Oksiutycz, 2015; Wolf, 2018). Accord- theory of excellence and approach activism ing to critical theory (e.g. L’Étang, 2005), PR from the grassroots point of view (Demetri- use communication to gain power and it is ous, 2013; Wolf, 2018). Grassroots activism is through this power that organizations man- seen as “a strand characterized by a commu- age to dominate publics. However, activists 119 3 PAPERS with the help of an activist PR (postmodern the cause. As Hallahan (2010, p. 624) points design) can use power to transform their out, “major public media help create broad relationship with the organization. Consid- public awareness of topics” and setting the ering power as “sociopolitical influence that public agenda of discussion. Following Halla- evolve from interests expressed in compet- han’s proposal of an Integrated Public Rela- ing vocabularies” (Heath, Motion & Leitch, tions Media Model (2010, p. 626), we consid- 2010, p. 191), it is up to the public relations er that activist groups tend to use: practitioner (and other professional commu- • Public Media to build awareness and en- nicators) to use communication to allow in- hance credibility; helps competing for dividuals, groups and organizations to earn public attention and includes media in- leverage in a complex web of issues and terview. Selection criteria includes: reach, events. audience expectation, salience, frequency and credibility Critical scholars argue that this advantage • Events to motivate participants (victims) tends to be earned by dominant groups reinforce existing beliefs and attitudes. It through the use of media agendas as well includes demonstrations, protests and se- as silencing less powerful voices, in order to lection criteria includes: salience, media maintain their privileged position in society attention and agenda-setting capability (Edwards, 2009). As such, PR tends to favor • One-to-one to obtain commitment, frame those who use it in a professional approach, negotiation and the resolution of prob- since earning advantage may require compe- lems. Selection criteria includes: personal- tencies acquired in academic education and ization and attention-setting ability practice (e.g. Demetrious, 2013). Media social representation of activist groups The issues defended by the activist groups is paramount for meaning making and “helps are in the interest of civil society and can be to understand how public relations affects seen as legitimate by citizens. Activist issues the agency of activists to act independently of tend to contradict installed political and eco- social constrains” (Demetrious, 2013, p. 32). nomic powers. When properly framed by the media and by communicative actions that In this research we intent to pinpoint how ac- clarify and denounce the issues that cause tivist groups have used public media (main- disagreement, activist groups’ causes can stream Portuguese media) and events to gain win the sympathy of the public opinion. With legitimacy and public visibility. We also focus the development of mass-self communica- how they negotiate with the government as tion and personal media channels (Castells, the authority that could listen to the problem 2009/2013) activist groups find other ways and take decisions to solve it (one-to-one me- to “tell their story”, gain media relevance and dia). create discourses that legitimize their caus- Our research question is: How did publicly ac- es. In addition, these groups also realize that tive organizations make defrauded clients news- they can use communication and public rela- worthy and relevant to the negotiation process, tions as tools for framing issues and gaining therefore empowering them? advocacy power. As other types of organizations and publics, 2. Citizenship, civic engagement, activist groups make media choices to devel- and activism op their communicative action and draw the attention of the public opinion. These choices Societies co-create and share their meanings are crucial to the success of their cause and taking into account the structures of power, are made considering a practical perspective, the fundamental systems, and the commu- associated with the volume of audiences, the nication flows that enable and impede the credibility of the medium and the affinity with common good. “Activism, as a process of so- 120 3 PAPERS cial change, remains grounded in individual will spend their time “managing information, and groups identifying conditions in society meaning and content, as well as perception” as problematic and then organizing to rectify (Kalu, 2017, p. 82). them” (Hallahan, 2010, p. 638). In the last decade, we have witnessed an The ability to engage in social movements - increasing number of activist movements. to get organized in interest, dissension and These groups organize and plan strategies vindicating movements - is tied to a political to pressure the dominant groups to solve is- environment of citizenship (Kalu, 2017, p. sues they consider problematic. To achieve 13). The possibility to struggle for individual their purpose, they tend to engage in sce- rights, justice, and compensation for damag- narios of crisis and conflict, promoting dis- es caused is related to a contingent dimen- sension, protest actions and discourses. The sion of citizenship and to citizenship-in-ac- main claims are associated with rights and tion with the intention of promoting social change of unfair policies or situations. There- change, check the power of the state and fore activism is about the strategic use of the build a social structure (Hauser, 1998). For tools of change: “person-to-person organiz- most people, participation - in order to affect ing, employment of mass media, economic decision-making, promote justice and fair- pressuring, public actions, skillful oratory, ness - is choice-driven, and the extent of this legal weaponry, quiet persuasion, education, participation depends on how they feel that steady vigilance, and even prayer” (Cieri & addressing a particular issue will make a dif- Peeps, 2000, p. 10). ference in their lives. Activist movements are social networks, The average citizen has limited knowledge about the issues and the political-administra- gathering individuals with shared prob- tive context that informs them: “citizens lack lems and purposes. Using Wasserman and ‘inside’ knowledge of how most bureaucra- Faust’s (1994) conception, Sommerfeldt and cies work, the internal challenges they face Kent (2015) support that these organizations or the political imperatives they have to se- “comprised of discrete actors or nodes that cure” (Kalu, 2017, p. 90). As a consequence, are tied together by specific relations. Rela- citizens suffer from information asymmetry tional ties are the connections among actors and their participation tends to be superfi- that describe an activity (time spent together, cial. Asymmetrical communication patterns collaboration), a form of affection (affinity/ may lead to distortions, so it is important to liking), bonding (trust), or type of exchange remove restrictions on communication as (resources/information)” (p. 239). well as creating communication opportuni- By analyzing the relational ties it is possible ties. As argued by Habermas (1979), there is to identify individuals that manage to con- the need for “publicly, unrestricted discus- nect other’s that otherwise would not be able sion and communication” because it is “such to have an active voice regarding their issues, communication at all levels of political and “providing leverage and access to informa- repoliticized decision-making processes” that allows a rational action (pp. 118-119). tion and resources that the individual parties being connected do not have” (Sommerfeldt Civic engagement desirably embraces discus- & Kent, 2015, p. 240). As such, these individu- sions of legitimacy, access and communica- als, whom may also be called intermediaries, tion. When people engaged in communicative help to promote a well-developed network action, while decision-making processes are that will be able to accomplish tasks not eas- taking place, they tend to acquire an intuitive ily (or impossible) attained alone. Frandsen grasp of reciprocity and moral consciousness and Johansen (2014) proposed a general the- about the discussed problems. As a conse- ory of intermediaries in strategic communi- quence, political and administrative leaders cation defining the intermediary as an actor 121 3 PAPERS whose primary function or mission is to me- demonstrations) and legalistic activities to diate, that is, to represent an organization seek solutions to the issues (negotiations and/or a specific stakeholder group, and/ with government intermediaries). or to intervene in the relationship between them either by furthering or by impeding the In short, the defrauded clients who lost their interests and activities of the organization in savings have come together forming associ- question and/or its stakeholders in a specific ations to claim their rights and participate in situation or over time (p. 320). the negotiation with the dominant groups in order to change policy, force the recognition Activism includes civic engagement that may of an injustice and recover their money. De- go beyond organization, having macro, mez- frauded clients’ organizations can be seen as zo and micro level consequences. Although, activist movements, a network of organized according to Jelen-Sanchez (2017), there is a and institutionalized people gathered by a lack of attention from academia to the web common issue, competing for attention in of publics, participatory culture and publics’ public arenas (Sommerfeldt & Yang, 2017) engagement. In the same vein, Sommerfeldt and opposing the dominant groups (gov- and Kent (2015) argue for the need of ex- ernment and supervising authorities). How tending strategic communication and public can we characterize the activist movements? relations theories from business and man- What kind of PR actions they develop in or- agement to civil society organizations. It is, der to be heard in the public spheres? These therefore, necessary to understand activism, are both complementary questions we wish identify activist publics, as well as to highlight to answer. the actions they develop to be heard in the public spheres. 3. Method Activist groups use media to call attention in order to frame and advocate their issue. In Critical public relations theory and a strategic this process, public relations is essential for communication general theory of intermedi- three purposes: aries frame the theoretical model of analy- sis used in this study. The research question 1. To convince that the activists’ claim has is: How did publicly active organizations make legitimacy. That is, to persuade public defrauded clients newsworthy and relevant to opinion that BPN and BES victims have the right to recover their invested mon- the negotiation process, therefore empowering ey despite the fact that they freely sub- them? scribed the high-risk bank products with Using a mixed approach, this study aims to: the promise of higher profit; 1. identify and characterize the defrauded 2. To maintain cohesion of the activist clients of the banking institutions under group and sustain mobilization un pub- study (BPN and BES) lic gatherings; 2. understand what motivates the media 3. In the negotiations and advocacy efforts coverage of the actions developed by towards government intermediaries, those activist groups; being them the ones with the power and resources to help resolve the issue, 3. highlight how the activist groups relied meaning, to recover the invested money. on PR (played by representatives - inter- mediaries) to accomplish their goals Considering Smith and Fergusson’s model (2010), these purposes were achieved using Data collection and analysis were done using informational activities to educate publics clipping and in-depth interviews, as well as about issues (mostly media relations and following the procedure explained below: 122 3 PAPERS a) Clipping (collection, systematization, quan- conflict); the intensity or magnitude of the tification and analysis of news): the clipping event; the clarity of the event; personaliza- technique is carried out on the digital plat- tion (public figures; economic and political forms of the Portuguese newspapers: Públi- elites); proximity; the consonance (with the co, Jornal de Notícias and Correio da Manhã, prejudices); the surprise; continuity (“nov- since they were the most visited platforms in els”); composition (balance of news); and the February of 2016 as demonstrated by Mark- sociocultural values; and Harcup and O’Neill test (2016). News search was made using the (2016): coverage of power elite stories (sim- terms “BPN” and “BES” in combination with ilar to personalization); celebrities (similar the terms “defrauded”, “protests” and “man- to personalization); entertainment; surprise; ifestations”. This option has allowed the col- bad news (similar to negativity that can be lection of purposeful news avoiding reports tied to conflict); good news; magnitude (in- only focused on the bank crisis. Also, all the volving large numbers or extreme behaviors news found about the defrauded publics or occurrences); relevance perceived by au- mentioned the collapsed bank institutions. diences; follow-up (similar to continuity) and newspaper agenda (usually constrained by The period of analysis is variable since the in- sociocultural values and external pressures). stitutions under study have collapsed at dif- ferent periods. Thus, in the case of BPN, the The clipping data are subject to partial con- data collection period runs between Novem- tent analysis fulfilling the pre-analysis phases, ber 2008 and November 2009; in the case of which includes the exploration and treatment BES, the data collection takes place between of the material; coding and categorization. July 2014 and September 2015. The period Categories definition follows the criteria of of analysis last for about a year in the case mutual exclusion, homogeneity, pertinence, of BPN, as the defrauded victims only inte- objectivity, fidelity, and productivity (Bardin, grated the media agenda in September 2009 1977). The inferences phase was not done and little attention was given to them. In re- since statistical analysis of the information lation to BES, the case made the media agen- was not carried out. Nevertheless, a simple da more intensely in July 2014, but it was not categorization and the frequency of occur- until August 2014 that the defrauded public rences are presented. began to be mentioned in the news, having suffered a more intense coverage between b) In-depth semi-structured interview with February 2015 and September 2015. the purpose of looking for quality information studied in depth. By analyzing the news col- Date, publication, title, author, source, jour- lected, journalists’ contacts and names of the nalistic genre, mentioned actors and insti- intervenient in the cases under study were tutions, newsworthiness criteria and tone identified and contacted via email. Snowball (positive, negative or neutral) classify the col- procedure was also possible after a first pos- lected news. The news framework follows a itive interview with Lusa’s journalist. She pro- deductive approach because it is intended vided access to key contacts in order to reach to verify the frequency of presence of cer- a positive interview outcome. Consequently, tain categories in the news. The news is also six interviews were conducted with the fol- analyzed according to the newsworthiness lowing qualified informants (table 1): criteria in order to understand which criteria The choice of informants has followed the were used in the selection of events to per- five-part model of intermediaries (Frandsen meate the media agenda. A selection of news & Johansen, 2014) – figure 1. criteria was made considering the works of Galtung and Ruge (1965): the moment of the We have transcribed the interviews in full and event (breaking news is more likely to be dis- to comply with the ethical interview protocol, closed); the negativity (that we have tied to we have sent the transcriptions to all inter- 123 3 PAPERS Table 1. Interviewee and rationale of choice Interviewee Justification Isabel Vicente Expresso journalist who covered the BPN case. António Henriques President of BPN’s national customer rights association (ANDDCB- PN). Irina Melo Lusa journalist who covered the BES case. Ricardo ngelo President of the association of the defrauded clients of BES (AIEPC). Nuno Vieira Legal strategist of the defrauded clients of BES (AIEPC). Diogo Lacerda Machado Negotiator of the government for the case BES. Figure 1. Five-part model of intermediaries in Strategic Communication. Adapted from Frand- sen & Johansen (2014, p. 319) 124 3 PAPERS viewees. Isabel Vicente, Irina Melo and Dio- The clients that consider their selves de- go Machado made minor corrections to the frauded by BES are represented by the AIEPC transcript; António Henriques agreed with (Association of the Indignant and Deluded of all the transcribed text; Ricardo ngelo and Commercial Paper) chaired by Ricardo An- Nuno Vieira did not respond to the emails gelo, whoś also a victim. According to the sent with the transcript. interviewee, “a group was created, initially, with about 8 people who did not know each The interviews were subject to an interpre- other... after about 15 days we had about tive analysis, in order to understand the real- 70 people”. Taking into account the propor- ity around the groups of activists resorting to tions of the case and the number of people extracts considered important to exemplify involved, it was decided to create an associa- the results of the investigation. tion that could defend them. Both Diogo Machado (Government interme- 4. Results Analysis and Discus- diary in the BES negotiations) and Irina Melo sion (journalist) support that the creation of the association was an added value (figure 2). This point is divided into three sub-points considering the study’s objectives. In each The intermediaries of AIEPC are the president sub-point, the results are presented consid- Ricardo ngelo and the lawyers Nuno Vieira ering the reading of the news collected and and Luís Miguel Henrique (figure 3). Nuno the in-depth interviews. Nevertheless 4.1. Vieira appears in the association because of and 4.3. are mainly based on the interviews the existing need to hire “a litigation lawyer, since there was little information about the to protect the deadlines of the people and topics in the analyzed news. the legal actions that have to enter in court” and Luís Miguel Henrique, for his experience 4.1 The activist movements from since he had already been involved in previ- BPN and BES ous bank insolvencies. AIEPC currently has 1200 anonymous mem- The defrauded clients are a group of citizens bers, mostly aged over 65 and belonging to who have somehow been harmed by the ac- a middle-low social class. As said by Ricardo tions or goals of the banks under study. In ngelo, “the biggest fringe of associates is this context, BPN and BES left a number of people with less money because those with defrauded clients due to an alleged non-cor- more money do not expose themselves this rect sale of commercial paper. Activist groups easily”. With regard to the invested amount, have framed the issue stating that the com- he adds that “about 95% of people have less mercial paper was introduced to the bank than 500,000 euros invested”. Nuno Vieira customers as if it was a long time deposit, also points out that the victims have a par- that is, a very safe investment. With the in- ticularity in common: “they subscribed prod- solvency of the two banking institutions, the ucts that were not suitable to their investor clients lost their invested money. profiles, they are people characterized by be- The defrauded clients of the BPN are repre- ing unskilled investors”. sented by ANDDCBPN (National Association According to the testimonies received in both for the Defense of the Rights of Customers cases, it is possible to summarize that: the of BPN), an association chaired by António defrauded bank clients have low financial lit- Henriques. According to the president of the eracy and belong to a middle-low aged social association, the defrauded people of the BPN class. Despite the different impact of the two “are from a middle-low class” aged between associations, the characterization of their 55 and 85 years of age. members is quite similar. 125 3 PAPERS Figure 2. Declarations about the Associations’ importance Figure 3. Intermediaries in BES case Figure 4. Number of news by considered publication 126 3 PAPERS The profile of the victims reinforces the way idence highlights the possibility to use PR to the issue is framed by the associations and equalize power control and to co-create new promoted by media coverage. Bank defraud- meanings in the public sphere. ed clients are presented as having low finan- cial knowledge and being vulnerable to less The newsworthiness criteria guided the se- ethical persuasion for high-risk investment lection of events that should compose the products. The reality of the victims under- media agenda (table 2). In the BPN case, the mines the discourse of banks, authorities and criterion that stands out the most is related even the real fact that they willingly adhere to to conflict (11), which refers to events that in- the investments. If the global financial crisis duce the practice of acts related to physical had not worsened and the institutions had or symbolic violence. In the analyzed piec- not failed, these clients would benefit from es of news, there were expressions such as high gains from the investments. “confrontation” and “conflict” that referred to a direct association with violence. This cli- 4.2 The news coverage of the activ- mate of tension was generated mainly in the ist movements demonstrations. In addition, relevance (8) and personalization (7) constituted values As illustrated in figure 4, the BPN defrauded that directed the media coverage. clients movements barely integrated the me- dia agenda (13 news items). Concerning the BES case, the criterion that most oriented the media coverage was also Considering the critical theory of PR, there related to conflict (132), while the second may have been economic and political in- most commonly found criterion was person- terests pressuring for a more “silenced” me- alization (116). Another present criterion was dia coverage, regarding the BPN case. News relevance (56), making it important to cover reading shows focus on financial and political the events related to the BES victims because issues, bank crisis and collapse, as well as the there was a need to explain to people the cri- absence of attention to the defrauded clients. sis in BES as well as its implications. Amongst the reasons for low media coverage The tone was judged against the text of the of the BPN defrauded clients situation, the news. News pieces defined as negative the interviewees have outlined the existence of use of expressions such as confrontation, a strong political class and organizational fo- conflict, protest, invasion, police intervention, cus of journalists attracted by the bank man- threat and aggression, while on the other agers malpractices (figure 5). The actions of hand they considered as positive the refer- the activist groups did not reach a high media ral to the rights of the defrauded clients and profile, therefore they have not considered the whole scenario involving the negotiation newsworthy. Besides, there was the belief towards a solution of the situation. Finally, amongst public opinion that the state itself news with a neutral tone tend to use a de- and the European supervising authorities notative language, which does not reflect any would be able to solve the problem. position, being irrelevant in this case. Taking this into account, it is understood that both In the BES case, the activist association of cases represented in this article were faced defrauded clients was able to make its voice mostly with news of a negative tone (BPN: 11; heard in the public arena thanks to a strong BES: 132). In each case, only one news item media coverage (177 news items) - figure 4 can be classified as having a positive tone. – resulting of the use of events and main- stream public media (Hallahan, 2010). The Isabel Vicente reveals that interest in cover- interviewees stated that the media presence ing the events related to the BPN wrongdoers in the BES case was justified by the propor- arose because it was necessary to “explain tions of the situation itself (figure 6). This ev- what had been done wrong, giving voice to 127 3 PAPERS Figure 5. Motives for low media coverage of the BPN defrauded clients Figure 6. Motives for the high media coverage of the BES defrauded clients Table 2. News values found in the analysis Galtung and Ruge (1965) Harcup and O’Neill (2016) Found in the analysis Moment of the event Negativity Bad News Conflict Magnitude Magnitude Magnitude Clarity Personalization Power elite stories Personalization Celebrities (power elite and intermediaries) Proximity Consonance Surprise Surprise Continuity Follow-up Follow-up Composition Sociocultural values Newspaper agenda Sociocultural values and external pressures Entertainment Good news Relevance perceived by audiences Relevance perceived by audiences 128 3 PAPERS the people who had been deceived”. Regard- release notes that have useful and substan- ing the tone used by the news, the journalist tive information but then many times... what says that it is important to look at the con- seems more interesting is the worst side, the text of the events in order to see if they are so called perspective from the next door”. negative or positive. Isabel Vicente believes that the image was positive, however “in all Irina Melo believes that the media image of cases there are immoderations. The context the victims was essentially positive because in which the defrauded public was protesting the dominant group has tried to blame the was a context of whom had lost everything or defrauded for their misfortune, regarding the almost everything, so it was enough to exalt bad investment in risky financial products. themselves for others to be exalted”. Howev- For the journalist, “what contributed positive- er, António Henriques says that the political ly was the fact that politicians and governors power also had an influence on the coverage came out to say that the problem had noth- and on the victims’ media image. According ing to do with BES, but with the group of de- frauded clients”. These actions created an ef- to the president of the BPN victims associa- fect that may have been of empathy with the tion, “we bothered the instituted power; we defrauded clients. In the journalistś words, must not forget that the former President of the general public may react with: “Poor the Republic had advisers that were involved ones, it could have been me investing my in the scheme that brought prejudice to the money there”. She also notes that there are clients of the bank”. Isabel Vicente corrobo- some constraints to reporting events related rates this view by saying that she has never to BES: “until almost the eve of the BES clash, felt any embarrassment in publishing any it was one of the largest banks; BES was an news about the BPN case. historical enterprise with economic and po- In the case of BES, Ricardo ngelo said that litical power and journalists are people, it is it was the conflict that brought to the victims a deadlock”. the media attention they needed. According BES, as evidenced by Marktest’s report on to the president of the association “what was Portuguese advertising investment in July important was to make some noise and hit 2009, was one of the largest advertisers hard at 12:58 (…) to be in the news” Nuno Vie- (Marktest, 2009) and this leads to a constrain ira points out that the conflict did not exist, on the journalistic activity that relies on ad- it was mostly created by the media. Never- vertising to stay in the market. In the case of theless, the presence of defrauded clients in Lusa (Portuguese news agency), the pressure demonstrations was already considered to is not so evident because it has no advertis- be conflicting due to their degree of activism. ers. However, there was a close relationship Irina Melo said that the importance of cover- between the bank’s administrator (Ricardo ing the events related to the defrauded pub- Salgado) and some journalists, which made lic of BES arose because “it is the defrauded it difficult to publish some news due to exter- ones that demonstrate the impact that the nal pressures. As Irina Melo points out, “the fall of a bank with the size of BES has in per- more reputation and more political and busi- sonal lives.” ness strength companies have, the harder it is to do this work”. Nuno Vieira also said that there were some inaccuracies in the news that may have con- From our analysis, news appear to have a tributed to a misleading image of the victims. non-corporate bias despite the power and Opinion makers often expressed misguided influence of BES as an advertiser. On one and misleading opinions about BES’s wrong- hand, this may be due to the sympathy about doers. Diogo Machado, referring to what hap- the way the issue was framed by the activ- pened in the working group, revealed that ist group. On the other hand, the corpora- “there is some malicious journalism (…) we tion collapsed and its owner was charged for 129 3 PAPERS fraud and corruption. As such, information ing the activists story and serving as an inter- about malpractices and the lack of legitima- mediary type II in the process. cy of the corporation behavior seem to favor the “victims” claim. Regarding the role of a PR or spokesper- son representing the victims, Isabel Vicente As evidenced previously, the media are vehi- states that in the BPN case, the existence of cles used by the defrauded clients to frame a PR to handle the communication was not their claim within public opinion. The me- needed. In her words: “is not worth it be- dia agenda is composed of a set of events cause there are a lot of PR people wanting selected considering newsworthiness crite- to communicate product for example, and ria (Galtung & Ruge, 1965; Harcup & O’Neill, we do not write, althought they stay very 2016). The spokespeople of the associations professional but still, we do not write ... So (intermediary) acknowledge, to some extent, I think it does not make any difference”. For the criteria that guides the selection of news. António Henriques, the spokesperson does By acknowledging this, it allows them to pro- not have the power alone, as he says, “I am mote themselves within the media space a spokesperson but behind me, there was an (intermediary type II). At the same time, the association and we always had the associates objectives of the activists with promotion in who accompanied us in the demonstrations”. the media space are aimed at drawing pub- António Henriques was responsible for orga- lic attention and pressing some dominant nizing the actions taken by the victims and groups (McCombs, 2005; McQuail, 2000). By for establishing the relationship with the me- conquering media space, defrauded clients dia. He said that the support of the media is could gain symbolic power and raise aware- an added value since it gives a voice to the ness about the relevance of their issue (Ed- group. wards, 2009b). As he had no training in public relations, the It is important, however, to remember that president of ANDDCBPN contacted commu- media coverage is significant while the is- nication agencies to assist him in handling the sue is new. When the issue reaches a dor- communication. However, these required mant stage and appears resolved - or there large costs that were simply not bearable for is clearly no solution - resources and media the association. attention diminish. In this sense, the activist associations and their visibility tend to have a There were some constraints that António short duration. Henriques had to overcome. To deal with the difficulties of mobilization, the representative 4.3 Activist groups and PR of the victims of the BPN adopted a simple strategy. In addition to creating the associ- External to business and state, activist groups ation that gave the defrauded more power have a “bottom up” positioning, since their and mobilization force, he organized sever- power arises from it and from their capacity al demonstrations. António Henriques at a for protest. The mission of the activist asso- general assembly of the ANDDCBPN told the ciations in this case was representation and victims access to the negotiation table. As under- dogs, they needed to create a particular view we do not go to the villages, we go to the dis- for society built with the journalists help, be- trict capitals. As we did a demonstration in cause their cause would certainly gain visibil- Leiria, we understood that we could have a ity by going mainstream. lot of people there because of the proximity... eight days later I staged another demonstra- In this point, we analyze how activists use tion in the same place and... this the second communication and PR to frame their issue time, I was able to speak with the Secretary and gain legitimacy; the role of media in tell- of State. 130 3 PAPERS For the president of ANDDCBPN, the reso- not have the funds to pay the communication lution of the case was achievable by the ne- agencies”. For Nuno Vieira, this relation with gotiation issue tied to the willingness of the agencies was never established because, in government to negotiate. his opinion, there were people in the associ- ation with the capacity to perform this func- Irina Melo states that the fact that the move- tion. In addition, Ricardo Angelo adds that ment’s spokesperson was not a PR had no impact on the media coverage of the BES we have not worked with any communication victims. According to the journalist, “it was a agency because we have a limited duration, very strong movement by itself; it represent- we do not have the capacity to feed a com- ed many people”. munication agency and of course, communi- cation agencies are always loyal to those who The magnitude and relevance perceived from guarantee them during years. the activists’ claims was enough to assure media coverage. Still, notable individuals (e.g. Diogo Machado also said that there was no political party leaders) and institutions (e.g. means to engage a media advisor, howev- supervising authorities, government) were er, there was a group of people who did the also involved, increasing the relevance and work. In this sense, “Manuel Magalhães is a adding the personalization news value. Insti- lawyer for the BES liquidation committee, tutions such as the Bank of Portugal (14), the who did an immense and absolutely extraor- political party CDS-PP (11) and political par- dinary work from a technical point of view, ty leaders like Pedro Passos Coelho (10) and and which was always very available” to Paulo Portas (5) were mentioned in the news produce info notes for the journalists. He fur- related to the victims of BES. The presence ther states that “if we could have disposed of these political party leaders and relevant of the means of someone very experienced, institutions made the media appointment we probably could have had a fuller, more more likely to meet the newsworthiness cri- in-depth, assured communication”. Howev- terion of personalization. This criterion can, er, after the formation of the working group, therefore, be considered a strategy used by communication with the media was always the activists to assure their presence in the safeguarded by written notes. According to media space. Diogo Machado, Ricardo ngelo, Nuno Vieira and Luís Miguel what we agreed upon was that when it was Henrique were the spokespeople for the useful to give some general information, we AIEPC, representing the defrauded clients of would produce a handwritten note... and we BES in the negotiations with the authorities also agreed that the disclosure of the note and answering to any media inquiries. would be done through Lusa [Portuguese news agency] to avoid discriminatory and un- According to the president of the association, equal treatment. “it was a process in which we made many mis- takes in the beginning because, of course, we In terms of media promotion strategy, the did not have any type of media experience or group of victims took advantage of the polit- communication ... this lesson was learned by ical campaign period since, at the time, legis- force and later learned also with some help”. lative elections were taking place in Portugal, Despite the difficulties sometimes felt, AIEPC and therefore the rallies were used by the de- never appointed communication agencies frauded public to protest and claim. In addi- services. tion, a planned strategy was designed at the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Social- As said by Ricardo ngelo “there were initially ist Party (PS), these being the two main par- several approaches from various communi- ties aiming for the win in the elections. The cation agencies, the problem is that we did strategy was to present a proposal for a solu- 131 3 PAPERS tion to the case of the victims, as described strations) and informational actions (e.g. by Nuno Vieira. The strategy took effect and, written notes), sent to Lusa (Portuguese news although the PSD did not accept it, António agency) aiming at informing public opinion of Costa - leader of the PS - took advantage of what was happening in the BES-related work- the proposal in his political campaign to ob- ing group. For these actions to gain public tain votes. With his appointment as Prime attention, it was important that the group of Minister, Antonio Costa did not leave aside defrauded clients developed relations with the situation of the defrauded and nominat- the media. The relationship established with ed Diogo Machado as a government inter- the media was sometimes forced by the ac- mediary in the negotiation with the activist tivist group, as they planned their actions ac- group. cording to the newsworthiness criteria. The most commonly used criteria were conflict In addition to these actions, Nuno Vieira says, and personalization. The conflict occurred “we used the idea that the government was whenever there were demonstrations and compromising, whenever the government the personalization occurred whenever the committed we immediately tried to be ahead, victims attempted to increase media atten- using an amplification strategy to have more tion through important individuals or insti- impact”. Ricardo Angelo said that commu- tutions (e.g. Bank of Portugal – supervising nication was his best strategy, anchored in institution; political leaders such as António “simple voices” with effective communication Costa) – figure 7. skills and low rhetoric complexities. The use of public relations by the activist Several studies point to the PR as an inter- groups under study did not have profession- mediary of the communication between the al status. They were not developed by profes- organization and its publics. However, this sionals with knowledge and expertise in the perspective is unidirectional because or- field, framed by professional associations or ganizations make decisions without public conventions (Demetrious, 2013, p. 8). Those involvement. Moving away from an organi- who developed the communication and pub- zational-centric vision of PR, postmodern lic relations actions were individuals with public relations theory has shown that public training in other areas (e.g. dental medicine, activists can also play public relations roles, law) with influential personal networks. using communication and building strategies to achieve their goals (Ciszek, 2015, Benecke & Oksiutycz, 2015). Conclusions Activists may use public relations strategies To answer the research question: How did with two objectives: to influence public opin- publicly active organizations make defrauded ion in order to correct situations they consid- clients newsworthy and relevant to the negoti- er problematic and to maintain cohesion in a ation process and therefore empowered them? structured and organized way. To do so, they We have analyzed the communicative prac- use a set of conflicting strategies - boycotts, tice from the activists point of view, trying demonstrations, events with dramatic projec- to understand the perceived importance of tion - and other information that aims at the their contribution in the discussion of the public’s understanding of the activists’ prob- subject and search for a solution to the prob- lems. These strategies involve relations with lem that led to the creation of activist asso- the media in order to gain public attention. ciations as well as the appointment of their This attention may give the activists greater spokespersons in the process of mobilization mobilization force and amplify their voices. and negotiation. In the cases under study, the activist groups Research have traced the public relations developed conflicting actions (e.g. demon- goals of activist organizations and the means 132 3 PAPERS Figure 7. Summary of communication and PR actions developed by groups of defrauded Por- tuguese bank clients by which they pursue those goals. In this nization was high; however, the degree of study, activist groups defined and addressed knowledge was low. The defrauded clients the issue of having lost their savings due to only realized their deception when they lost bank malpractices. In a first moment, the their saving. Their knowledge of the risks victims started to gather in activist organi- only increased after the formation of activist zations. These organizations were helpful to associations who focused on active commu- strategically create conflict and conditions for nication, between the victims and the general conflict (in demonstrations); engage in media public, through the media. relations providing information about the vic- tims’ situation, testimonials and nominating From our analysis, it was possible to see that spokespersons for media interviews and for the leaders of the activist groups played PR the negotiations with the authorities. roles. The creation of the associations in- volved a significant number of people; ac- The defrauded clients of BPN and BES are a tions were taken to solve a problem (situation group of aged people belonging to a low-mid- of the defrauded clients), including ensuring dle-income social class with little schooling communication with the media and dialogu- who were deceived by BPN and BES. They ing with the government in order to resolve had been wrongly advised to buy high-risk the situation. This publicly active organization bank products and therefore lost their mon- has empowered the defrauded publics to ey when the bank collapsed. The degree of make them newsworthy and relevant in the involvement of these publics with the orga- negotiation process. It is concluded that pub- 133 3 PAPERS lic relations is important for communicative high-risk investment that went wrong. If it action that assures media attention (organi- had gone right, they would be wealthy today. zation and mobilization of manifestations; in- With the bankś bankruptcy, every taxpay- formation notes elaboration and dissemina- er in Portugal have paid the bill of the ones tion; knowledge and newsworthiness criteria who have “gambled” their money. Therefore, usage) without its practice being effectively maybe the real victims are the taxpayers. developed by professionals in the area. Considering that the problem of defrauded Some of the interviewees contended that publics of BPN and BES is not closed (BES ne- communication agencies are too expensive gotiation has fixed installments of the money) and in these cases unnecessary because it is important to finalize the analysis trying to the activists’ cause was already considered understand if the agreements are fulfilled. high-profile and newsworthy, easily being able to create empathy within journalists It would be interesting, in future researches, and audiences. Following Harcup and O’Neill to try to apprehend at a more comprehensive (2016) the cases under study were perceived level the activist groups’ way of acting and the to be relevant to the audiences. From the in- organizations’ responses to them. It would termediaries’ point of view, communication also be relevant to apply a network analysis agencies are not interested in working with model to understand the relations between a short period time association and some the activist groups’ leaders, intermediaries members of the association had the needed and structural holes. Another interesting knowledge and personal influence to main- study would be to appreciate what character- tain profitable media relations. istics these leaders have to make them arise amongst the defrauded publics. Besides understanding the role of the media as promoters of participatory democracy and the importance of media relations within this References context, we present an alternative vision to Bardin, L. (1977). Análise de Conteúdo [Content the normative approach of public relations Analysis]. Lisboa: Edições 70. where activist publics are perceived as an or- ganizational problem. By adopting a critical Baudrillard, J. (2007). 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Doi: 10.1016/j.pubrev.2018.03.004 136 3 PAPERS Crisis communication during a national fire disaster Sandra Pereira ICML-ESCS, Portugal Paula Nobre ICML-ESCS, Portugal This paper combines two topics: “government public relations and public crisis communication” with the “erosion of trust in (public) authorities”. It is difficult to discuss public crisis communication without considering the damages and implications to people’s trust in public and gov- ernmental institutions. Purpose: Study a particular severe situation that forced the Portuguese government to react and communicate with the public to then draw conclusions about the consequences of that re- action/communication. Mainly, establish a correlation between the government’s performance, its response strategy to the crisis that followed a big fire and the growing lack of trust in political bodies. Methodology: This research followed two sequential procedures - a stakeholder analysis and a content analysis applied to information materials collected from the Portuguese government official portal, between 17 June and 12 October 2017. Findings: The results point out for a crisis response strategy that tries to avoid the citizen’s distrust emphasizing the government’s competence dealing with the fire issue and its consequences. Research limitations: Being a sensitive issue, there were difficulties in the direct access to even- tual goals and strategies behind the crisis management in the reported situation. In addition, because this is an exploratory study the citizen’s opinion is not yet included in this research stage. Originality/value: Looking at the links between the issues of ‘crisis communication’ and ‘trust’ the study intends to bring awareness to the important role that public relations function can play in helping governments to manage communication in a crisis context, providing enlighten- ing for future crisis that may harm the trust in political institutions. Keywords: Government Public Relations; Crisis Communication; Political Trust; Digital Commu- nication Platforms 137 3 PAPERS Introduction and their capacity to take decisions and deal with the various problems that have arisen. The present study intends to identify the re- At the same time, it is difficult to clearly sep- sponse strategy of the Portuguese govern- arate the responses to the disaster situation ment during a major fire that caused the and the political crisis due to criticisms and death of many people and relate it with the accusations about the government’s action political crisis that followed with the resigna- during this disaster management. tion of the Internal Affairs Minister and sever- al other national authorities. In this scenario This paper adopts the definition of crisis public authorities and ministers were severe- from Boin et al. (2005:2) that use this con- ly criticized and even the President of the cept “when policy makers experience a se- Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, demand- rious threat to the basic structures or the ed for a rigorous assessment of the juridical fundamental values and norms of a system, contours of what happened, with a civil ac- which under time pressure and highly uncer- countability of the public administration. tain circumstances necessitates making vital decisions”. In their view there are three key In the origin of this analysis was the assump- components addressed: threat, uncertainty tion that there is a link between the respons- es given by political authorities during diffi- and urgency. This means we are in presence cult situations and the lack of trust in political of a crisis when “core values or life-sustaining institutions. This assumption made it pos- systems of a community come under threat” sible to combine the topic of ‘government (Ibidem, 2005:2-4), which was true in the case and public crisis communication’ (subsumed of Pedrógão fire where occurred serious life- in the main theme of the 25th edition of the threats that resulted in severe losses that the Bledcom Symposium) with the ‘erosion of authorities were not able to address proper- trust in (public) authorities’. ly. This ultimately caused structural and func- tional changes both in practices and policies It is important to begin by clarifying the con- making; also “the perception of threat is ac- text of the crisis under analysis in this work. companied by a high degree of uncertainty” First, ‘crisis’ and ‘disaster’ are seen as two dif- which in the situation in study had a partic- ferent concepts, more so because the situa- ular impact on the victims who felt helpless tion that underlies the study refers firstly to a to act and did not know what was going to natural disaster that arose unexpectedly and happen to them nor how they would be res- which has gradually been aggravated in such cued or how their situation would be solved. a way that exceeded the community and the But also a great deal of uncertainty by the authorities responsiveness (Jeggle, 2001, p. security authorities and political leaders that 318 in Yin and Jing, 2014:98). It was in the face were not able to fulfil their main duty to pro- of the events caused by the consequences of tect citizens; finally the urgency of the whole the Pedrógão Grande fire that the nation- situation has to do with time comprehension al authorities were confronted with a crisis, making the crisis real and in need of immedi- as they faced a “threat in their structure and ate attention and action. values, given the uncertainty and pressure imposed by the disaster and were forced to Coombs also defines crisis as “the percep- take critical decisions” (Rosenthal, Charles tion of an unpredictable event that threat- and Hart, 1989, p. 10, in Yin and Jing, 2014:98), ens important expectations of stakeholders which turned out to be strongly contested related to health, safety, environmental, and and resulted in the departure of various gov- economic issues, and can seriously impact an ernmental elements and senior officials who organizationś performance and generate had the political confidence of the govern- negative outcomes” (Coombs, 2015:3). In this ment. Thus this political crisis resulted on a understanding there is a larger correspon- lack of confidence in the authorities’ actions dence to the reality of private organizations, 138 3 PAPERS although the focus of the concept lies in the In a text proposing a new agenda for crisis same arguments. management research, Hart, Heyse, and Boin make their point by listing a set of observa- There has been a wide discussion about cri- tions attesting that all these challenges stem ses, crisis management, disasters and ca- from three core trends in crisis manage- tastrophes, whether in a prevention perspec- ment practice: the evolution from an indus- tive or in a solution / outcome perspective trial towards a risk society; the development (Bundy, Pfarrer, Short and Coombs, 2017) from a heroic to a besieged crisis response; and resilience post-crisis. However the pic- the change from episodic to continuous cri- ture of crises and disasters is changing not sis management (Hart, Heyse, and Boin, only in its nature and consequences, but also 2001:182). in its frequency, as Arjen Boin (2009) warns in his introduction to a special issue in the There is clearly a paradigm shift that crisis Review of Policy Research focused on the new communication must follow to enable a more challenges of public crisis, risk and disaster effective response to disaster and crisis man- management. The case is also addressed by agement. Donald Macrae (2014) presents an Patrick Lagadec and Benjamin Topper (2012) innovative vision that proposes the develop- in their article on “How Crises Model the ment of a ‘concern assessment’ done in par- Modern World.” Of course, this change “pos- allel with the more technical traditional risk es new challenges to political-administrative analysis. In essence, what is proposed is that elites” and forces us to rethink the research politicians take into account the public’s anxi- agenda in the public sector (Boin, 2009:367). ety and demonstrate knowledge and concern about the issues that embarrass the public Boin specifically refers three types of chal- at the time of giving their answers. This is a lenges for crisis management and policy more humane and close understanding of making: political-administrative challenges the concerns of citizens and victims involved related with the development of structures in disasters and crises. This is relevant be- and bodies able to face sudden adversity; the cause preparing a response to a disaster can challenge of resilience where governments become in itself a political problem. have to be competent in re-establishing As already noticed, this paper focuses specif- some normality; the challenge of deep-think- ically on a crisis that affects a political body ing to innovate and cope with newer threats that manages a wide range of public entities, (Boin, 2009:370). Facing the job to deal with managing public interests and wills. Interest- crisis and disasters in a successful way seems ingly, this is a poorly explored sector when impossible, so five executive tasks are pre- it comes to research crisis management and sented to deal with the difficulties: 1. pre- crisis communication, being more common paring for indifference; 2. making sense of to find studies and theories that address the an emerging and evolving crisis; 3. managing crisis from a perspective of private corpora- large response networks; 4. offer credible tions or NGOs and their “efforts in sustain- answers; 5. learning under pressure (Ibidem, ing and restoring image and trust” (Olsson, 2009:371-374). 2014:113). Even so the assessment of the effectiveness Due to this trend in the Crisis Communica- in crisis management is possible: “if things tion research, less attention has been paid happen with actions that minimize the im- to the differentiated nature of public com- pact of a threat; if the job gets done with munication and corporate communication cooping entities; if work arounds when rou- in response to crises (Liu and Horsley, 2007; tines hamper; if authorities and political lead- Tracy, 2007 in Olsson, 2014:113), which in it- ers fulfil the symbolic need for direction and self justifies the contribution of the present guidance” (Boin et al., 2013:81). study. Boin et al. (2005:70) also notice that 139 3 PAPERS much of the literature in crisis communica- politicians have no more power to meet the tion is “embedded in management and pub- guidelines demanded by global markets and lic relations analysis in the corporate sector” international institutions. They also demand and is “missing a systematic understanding for more “accountability of authorities” and of the specific challenges of crisis communi- watch the “raise of the citizen consumer” cation in the public sector”. whose interactions with the public services is seen only as a way to fulfil his needs faster Given the particular interest of the govern- and with higher quality, narrowing the exer- ment sector vis-à-vis its large-scale crisis and cise of authority from those who represent disaster management responsibilities and us (Hurenkamp et al., 2012:43). the need of complex communication struc- tures able to address issues in times of crisis, All of this leads to resentment and disen- it is relevant to further develop studies on chantment that causes lack of trust in polit- new approaches within crisis communication ical elites and institutions (Bradley, 2017:on- research beyond its traditional focus (Olsson, line). Michel Crozier, Samuel Huntington and 2014: 113). Joji Watanuki first brought this issue to atten- tion when they claimed the “increasing delegit- Political Trust in a Crisis Context imation of authority” in their 1975 report “The Crisis of Democracy” . Distrust in democracy and in democratic in- stitutions it is not a recent phenomenon but “Dissatisfaction with and lack of confidence due to recurrent economic crises and also be- in the functioning of the institutions of dem- cause of the increasing delegitimation of the ocratic government have thus now become national political authorities regarding inter- widespread in Trilateral countries. Yet with national decision bodies, we’ve been facing all this dissatisfaction, no significant support a collapse of trust in government and public has yet developed for any alternative image institutions (van der Meer, 2017; Edelman, of how to organize the politics of a highly in- 2017; Randeria in Bradley, 2017). There are dustrialized society” (Crozier et al., 1975:158– many studies and analysis that point out to 159). democratic systems all around the world fac- This dissatisfaction with political bodies was ing pressure and countercharge. Today with recently introduced by Jean-Claude Juncker, more transparent societies, more informed former president of the European Committee, citizens and growing distrust in politicians and when he stated that one of the biggest problems government regulations there are some voic- of the EU is precisely the “public negativity about es fearing we reached a tipping point where politics and politicians” (Juncker, 2014 in van der “liberal democracy may be coming to an end” Meer, 2017:2). In the same way, a study from (Bradley, 2017:online). For the director of the Portuguese Society Observatory pointed the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy, out that almost 60% of Portuguese citizens Simon Bradley, this may be a quite radical distrust the government for solving both na- statement. He believes that in a certain way tional and international problems (Vale and “the spread of democracy has turned into a Moreira, 2016). This is why different politicians crises of democracy” due to different factors and researchers have appealed to the political like: (1) new media and modern communi- class moralization in order to recover peo- cation, (2) memory failure of totalitarian re- ple’s trust. gimes (what he calls ‘historical amnesia’), (3) overpromising of political bodies, (4) inequal- The narrative about the so-called ‘democratic ities with failure of the welfare state (Ibidem, recession’ (Bradley, 2017) has prevailed over 2017:online). More troubling is that citizens several decades leading to research and de- now may feel that their vote doesn’t deliver bate worldwide (Citrin and Luks, 2001:25 in social or economic improvements because van der Meer, 2017) and it is based in the as- 140 3 PAPERS sumption that political trust is fundamental is very difficult to meet consensus about its for democracy and political order (Schneider, definition and measurement (Levi and Stok- 2016:964; Zmerli and van der Meer, 2017). er, 2000:475; Schneider, 2016:964). In the present research, political trust is considered Without trust in democratic governance we “a basic evaluative orientation toward the may risk the stability, efficiency and quality government founded on how well it oper- of representative governance and its institu- ates according to people’s normative expec- tions - whether being the parliament, politi- tations” (Hetherington, 1998:791). Listhaug’s cal parties, local or central government struc- (1990) definition of trust also conforms to tures, courts, law enforcement bodies and this setting: individual actors (Dalton, 2004; Tebaldi and Calaresu, 2016; van der Meer, 2017; Zmerli “Trust ... reflects evaluations of whether or and van der Meer, 2017). not political authorities and institutions are performing in accordance with normative ex- Also professor Russell J. Dalton in his book pectations held by the public. Citizen expec- “Democratic Challenges, Democratic Choic- tations of how government should operate es: The Erosion of Political Support in Advanced include, among other criteria, that it must be Industrial Democracies” worries that the po- fair, equitable, honest, efficient, and respon- litical distrust in the democratic system may sive to society’s needs” (Listhaug, 1990:358 in “undermine the democratic process itself” Levi and Stoker, 2000:498). (Dalton, 2004:157 in van der Meer, 2017:2). Such concerns have echoed through many What sustains public trust in political authori- researches, public speeches and opinion ties is a relationship between those who gov- makers although is yet to be presented an al- ern and those that are governed – wherein ternative vision (van der Meer, 2017; Zmerli the first reach out for public support to their and van der Meer, 2017). programs while the second respond by voting and maintaining the status quo of the elites In a theoretical approach, van der Meer that govern. Therefore, trust can be defined (2007:4) considers three variant perspec- as the “citizens’ support for political institu- tives of this narrative that ties the lack of tions such as government and parliament in political trust with the “democratic malaise”: the face of uncertainty about or vulnerability (1) the survival of democracies is at risk with to the actions of these institutions” (van der lack of political trust, a concern originated in Meer, 2017:1). the 1970s when scientists feared for the sta- bility of regimes; (2) the predicted failure of Margaret Levi and Laura Stoker both refer the democratic system didn’t happen and it the importance of distinguishing between is possible that representative regimes can the objects or targets of trust (2000:498). In perpetuate themselves with low rates of trust their article ‘Political Trust and Trustworthi- provided that they can undergo a reconfigu- ness’ they explore the meaning of these two ration, an argument that was set out in the multi-level concepts (Weatherford, 1992 in 1990s; (3) the assumption that distrust in pol- Levi and Stoker: 2000:475) and relate them itics does not cause a severe rick or crisis to with the notions of ‘participation’, ‘coopera- democracy but simply calls the attention for tion’ and ‘vote’. For them political and social something that is not being solved according- trust is also relational, unconditional and un- ly with the publics expectations. derstood dichotomously (we can trust or dis- trust) (Levi and Stoker: 2000:476). Maybe these variant perspectives relay on different understandings about what actu- If a society trusts both the competence and ally is political trust. In fact, is not possible the loyalty of elected representatives and to deny the importance of political trust as believes in the work delivered by the public a highly normative charged concept but it and political entities it is more likely to abide 141 3 PAPERS by their decisions and support their policies to trust on its performance: do we trust on or political measures. If citizens trust politi- their “capacity to govern” or do we trust on cal institutions they also will perceive them the “outcome of their governance”? (Tebaldi as more legitimate (Tyler and Huo, 2002 in and Calaresu, 2015). We have also to consid- Marien and Hooghe, 2011:268). er the possible study subfields that point out to macro and micro-level approaches to the Where there is mistrust and skepticism citi- decline of political trust (Zmerli and van der zens may become more engaged and more critical to political activities. However if mis- Meer, 2017:7-8) that result on different inter- trust turns into widespread distrust we will pretations for a correlate phenomenon. have demoralized and disenchanted citizens Despite some limitations found in the liter- that reject the current system favoring “the ature there are recent developments in this emergence of anti-system political parties” field with “enhanced knowledge about the (Zmerli and van der Meer, 2017:1). complexity of political trust” and “progress in Levi and Stoker’s (2000:501) study concludes a wide range of subfields, comprising theo- that there is a coincidence between the way retical accounts about the nature of political people judge politicians and governments trust and its democratic relevance (…) pro- and their political engagement, their vote, viding broader and more detailed empirical their support to policies or institutional re- insights” (Zmerli and van der Meer, 2017:2-3). forms, their compliance to authority and even The concept of political trust may become the moral behavior of the hole community. even more crucial when in presence of a cri- One major problem about measuring trust sis context such as the one discussed in this or trustworthiness and validate results from paper - the political crisis that fallowed the studies in this field as to do with the difficulty Pedrogão Grande fire. In this situation, how in obtaining reliable surveys that can deliver the government responded? What strategies equivalent results in different cultural and na- were used? How the government should re- tional contexts (Levi and Stoker, 2000; Schnei- act without undermining the citizenś confi- der, 2016; van der Meer, 2017). Irena Schnei- dence? der (2016:967) believes that despite political Crisis is, in fact, a complex concept with many trust can be “considered an important object different approaches. A crisis can strike at of study it currently rests on a weak theoret- ical and empirical foundation”. First, there any moment, at any organization, putting are data limitations because most surveys at risk people’s lives and livelihoods. Crisis only focus on certain indicators comprehen- are especially troubling for governments be- sive only for certain population (Schneider, cause public authorities are responsible for 2016:965). Not always the same elements ensuring people’s health and safety. For gov- and indicators have the same meaning across ernment officials and their communication different countries, nor the concepts of trust professionals a crisis represents an utmost are the same to all populations or even to attention by the media and a strong citizen all classes of citizens. Sometimes even po- scrutiny during and after a crisis (Lee et al., litical institutions are very unlike depending 2012:111). on different regimes. For instance, there are Coombs (2015) defends the importance of many distinct ways to evaluate the conduct crisis management to combat crisis and less- of a President or the performance of a polit- en damage. In this context, he identifies four ical party, and many ways to consider what key steps to take in account when managing corruption and fraud are depending on the crisis: prevention, preparation, response and cultural background and values. Secondly, revision. there are different dimensions from which we can judge the value of the subject for us In particular, response strategies - the focus 142 3 PAPERS of this study – as part of the communica- tivities critical for the effective and legitimate tion system are used to “achieve outcomes management of crises have been presented: related to reducing the negative impact of detection, sense-making, decision-making, the crisis” (Coombs, 2015:6). It seems clear coordination, meaning-making, communi- that responses are able to influence the way cation, and accountability (Boin et al., 2013; stakeholders interpret a crisis and therefore Boin et al., 2005:139-140). Here is assumed affects their levels of trust in government’s that when public authorities or political lead- performance. ers perform these activities and also when they render account for what has happened Coombs (2004, 2015) defines the reactions they naturally will gain more acceptance for taken by an organization to deal with a cri- their decision-making. This political account- sis as ‘crisis response strategies’. These re- ability, a key institutional practice in disaster sponses include all strategies taken since the or crisis management, helps to build public beginning of the crisis and all that has been support and public trust in the functioning done and said. of institutions (Boin et al., 2005:13-14). Ulti- To be effective, crisis responses content usu- mately this increases legitimacy of the insti- ally takes into account three key components: tutions involved in those activities (Backman (1) instructing information, that give essential and Rhinard, 2017:2). guidelines to protect stakeholders physically For the present research were adapted the during the crisis; (2) adjusting information, five possible responses to crisis suggested by that explain what and why has happened, Coombs and Holladay (1996), in order to try helping stakeholders to deal emotionally with to get stakeholders to better judge the per- the impact of the crisis; and (3) reputational formance of a company or entity or to build management, that tries to avoid the negative a case favoring the organization or persons effects in organizational reputation (Coombs, involved in a certain crisis situation. A brief 2015:139). During a crisis, it is important to description of these categories can be found minimize the impact of transmitted messag- in the methodology section. es and thus contribute to the success of the entire crisis management process. Howev- To choose the proper type of responses for er, this also implies a good coordination be- a certain situation it is important to know tween the type of response and the specific the appropriate meaning-making and have crisis, namely (a) form a taxonomy of crisis communication capacities to “formulate a types, (b) form a taxonomy of crisis respons- message of what has happened in relation to es, and (c) develop a system to match appro- the crisis, providing advice. It is also import- priate responses to crisis situations (Coombs, ant to explaining measures taken in order to 2004). achieve a sense that leaders are in control of the situation” and at the same time knowing In the political context, administrative au- what are the most effective means to “broad- thorities face many challenges when it comes cast a message regarding the risk, threat, or to manage a crisis but in literature frequent- crisis to selected audiences such as the pub- ly the emphasis is more on the desired per- lic, the media, victims, etc.” (Boin, et al., 2016 formance/response and less on the actual in Backman and Rhinard, 2017:3). contingences of the crisis. By doing so schol- ars tend to pay more attention to certain This is why the present study is supported categories that divide the needed tasks into on the responses given in a difficult moment. groups of capacities that must be operated The Institute For Public Relations considers a to successfully manage crises (Backman and crises response “what management does and Rhinard, 2017:2) like those stated by Coombs says after the crisis hits”. Coombs says exact- - “prevention,” “preparation,” “response,” and ly the same but adds that “a crisis response “recovery”. Recently more seven strategic ac- can either improve or make the crisis situa- 143 3 PAPERS tion worse for a corporation and its various had to do with its accessibility and its official stakeholders (Coombs et al., 2010). Thus it is character. important to see how things happen in prac- tice by trying to increase the evidence-based The main procedure used to analyse this ma- knowledge that will later serve to help pro- terial was a content analysis. It started with fessionals responsible for communication an issue classification (data-driven) of the management to solve problems in crisis situ- material (both press-releases and news logs ations (Coombs, 2014:2). available at the portal) taking into account the main subject/theme to which it refers and then built a concept-driven coding frame Methodology adapted from the Trust Model presented by Tom W. van der Meer (2017). The purpose of the present exploratory study is to contribute to the knowledge of political According to the recommend content analy- trust in a crisis context through the observa- sis methodology (Schreirer, 2012) three main tion of a real situation – Pedrógão Grande steps were followed: a) divided the units of fire. So, the main research question is: what analysis into units of coding, marking key- was the communication strategy followed by words and separating the relevant parts of the Portuguese Government during the Pe- the material to be considered for analysis; b) drógão Grande crisis? decided the criterion of segmentation (a the- matic criterion); c) applied the criterion and To fulfil this purpose it was essential to col- inserted the units of coding into the defined lect the formal messages available in the of- categories. ficial government portal during the crisis pe- riod and then operationalize the research in In this next section will be presented the dif- three stages: ferent categories that guided the analysis of the subjects under study. 1. Mapping all stakeholders affected; Stakeholder Analysis 2. Identify trust marks in the material; A Power-Interest Grid identifying all entities 3. Cross the data with the response strat- implicated in the situation. To understand egies categories to verify links between better the distribution of the different cate- both issues. gories of stakeholders throughout the two The material selected consisted in two types axes of power or interest, four quadrants of of written documents available in the gov- the grid were define (Table 1): ernment portal: 26 press releases and 71 Issue classification news logs. In this digital channel it is possible to find a section with all the press releases Definition of six categories used to classify issued and another section with a news log all materials (both press releases and portal where all the public messages and measures news) taking into account the main subject/ done by the government are recorded on a theme to which they refer (Table 2): daily basis. The portal is thus an official chan- nel that allows citizens to be informed about Categories of Trust the government’s agenda and policies. Van der Meer’s model (2017) defines several The time line was 17th June to 12th October – categories that are the causes for motivation the period between the date of the fire and of trust and distrust. This frame was adapted the release of the Report prepared by the In- from his proposal of six categories (Table 3): dependent Technical Commission appointed by the Parliament to investigate de fire of Pe- drógão Grande. The option for this material 144 3 PAPERS Table 1: Power Interest Grid High Power / High Interest (PLAYERS) – These stakeholders are essential for the success of the government strategy to manage the crisis. So they should be prioritise. They are strong players with political interest in forming alliances or have proximity relationships with the government. In addition, they are highly motivated to solve the situation and to support the government initiatives and diligences in this issue of Pedrógão Grande fire. They also have high power because they have authority; control resources and can influence the government actions. They possess resources that the government requires for solving the situation whether they are financial, technology/equipment or legislative and political resources. It is important that the Portuguese government continue to develop a partnership approach and maintain a dynamic and continuous monitoring of these stakeholders. High Power / Low Interest (CONTEST SETTERS) – These stakeholders are independent from any government and have no particular political interest in supporting this government. They also have great authority to influence the government strategy. They can contribute to the situation without the need or the will to have a partnership relation with the government entities. They influence the context and because of that, these high power and low interest stakeholders may pose some barriers to the government strategy/work through their disinterest or neutrality. Therefore, it is important to take a positive approach, keeping them informed and increasing their interest. They should also be manage and monitor their activity closely. High Interest / Low Power (SUBJECTS) – These stakeholders have high interest in the political resolutions that the government can present to solve the crisis situation. Therefore, they hope the government serves their interest. On the other hand, they have little power, and mainly depend on the government for financing and support. It is important the government clearly identify these stakeholders to protect them and keep them satisfied. Low Interest / Low Power (CROWD) – These stakeholders have both low interest in the government and low power to influence its actions. They do their job anyway independently from the government but are somehow limited in what they can achieve to solve the situation. It is important to keep them in view and to monitor them but with minimum spent. Table 2: Categories of Issue Classification Means of Combat - News and Announcements that referred the means of combat in the field - the number of effective and operational firemen and mechanisms made available to face the situation with the populations; security forces involved, not only in the direct fight against the fire, but in the support to the populations guaranteeing their security and also in the actions of containment of the fires and operations of aftermath; the official mechanisms available to the Government such as the Declaration of State of Calamity or the Dispatches that extended the critical period of the fires; and also the coordination of European action in the fight against fires. Social Help - News and press-releases related to the solidarity and social assistance provided, namely the medical support provided and the Health Program created for 2 years to support the victims; the installation of the Social Security Operational Centres in the different places affected by the fires; the information about the activities in the zones of the fires; the opening of the National Social Emergency Line; the creation of the Mental Health Monitoring Committee; and the mobile units of public services to the citizen in the villages and parishes affected by the fires. Victims - Government decrees for national mourning or the messages of condolence for the victims and regrets to all for the tragedy that occurred in the fire of Pedrógão Grande, whether in the figure of the prime minister or in the words of any of the remaining ministers of the executive. It also includes references to the official process of identification and accounting of the number of victims, information on legal procedures, as well as calls for confidence and cooperation with authorities. Clarification - Orders issued by the Government to request clarification from the various entities on what would have been the origin of the tragedy and the respective responses, documents, inquiries and reports on the fires, which were presented until the culmination of the Final Report prepared by the Independent Technical Commission on the fire of Pe-drógão Grande; also includes dispatches on the termination of duties of figures with official responsibilities. This makes them accountable for some of the things that didn’t went well. Forest Reform - References to the Regional Plans of Forest Management that have been proposed by the governmental authorities, as well as all initiatives to revitalize and organize the territories affected by the fires. Measures and Financial Support - Initiatives created by the Government to deal with this and to avoid future situations, namely directives for the various municipalities affected to develop a forest re-ordering of the region; the presentation of Revitalization Programs; the establishment of new rules for the forest industry, and preventive measures for fire crime; lines of funding and requalification, such as the request for funds to the EU, the ‘Permanent Forestry Fund’, the ‘Municipal Emergency Fund’, the ‘REVITA Fund’, the ‘Rural Development Program’, the Protocols with various forms of solidarity and support. 145 3 PAPERS Table 3: Categories of Trust Competence – Use of words or expressions that reflect the competence of the government or the relevance and ad-equacy of its decisions and measures to solve the crisis. In other words, those contents that seek to demonstrate the capacity to respond to the situation. Care - Use of words or expressions that indicate sadness, concern and empathy with the citizens showing commotion, regret and solidarity in the face of the consequences of the tragedy. Also demonstrations of trust, thanks and praise to all those who cooperated in supporting the victims. Reliability - Use of words or phrases that express involvement, monitoring of the situation on the ground and accountability of the government to the situation. References of cooperation with other entities demonstrating availability, support and transmission of the necessary information. Accountability - Use of future-oriented action verbs to express the results of decisions and measures taken to solve the situation in order to reinforce confidence in these actions and show all government’s effort to prevent further crisis situations. Account is also taken of the forward-looking statements for risk prevention. Skepticism - Use of words or phrases that try to avoid the judgment or distrust of citizens and reestablish confidence and support to the government, namely clarifying facts and misunderstandings and denying wrong information that have been made public through the several media. There are also expressions in which the Government point the responsibility of the situation to the lack of initiative previous governments, thus demarcating itself from possible responsibilities. The cynicism (attitude that assumes the worst of the nature of political actors as reflected in their perceived incompetence and selfishness), although integrating Tom W. van der Meer’s model, was not included in the coding framework because it is only possible to apply this category in the analysis of texts produced by the media or by the citizens themselves. Table 4: Types of responses Denial, a strategy where the government could disclaim any responsibility or blame for the way it monitored and managed the fire and ensured support for the populations; Distance, a strategy to follow if the government wanted to detach or disassociate itself from the things that gone wrong during and after the fire; Ingratiation, assures a response that intents to gain public support and approval for the government actions; Mortification, if the government wanted to gain forgiveness which means they had to assume responsibility for what occurred; Suffering, a strategy where the government would assume itself as a victim in the crisis that followed the fires. Categories of Response Strategies From the 16 ministries that constitute the XXI Constitutional Government in Portugal the Coombs and Holladay (1996:284) define the messages conveyed reported the involve- following typology of responses (Table 4): ment of 11 ministries. In addition, there are references to numerous other government Results and Discussion bodies, their offices (General-Secretary), their State Secretaries and all other Figures, Au- Starting with the stakeholders analysis it was thorities, Institutes, Entities, Centres, Coun- possible to identify 30 categories of individ- cils, Agencies, Services, Technicians that are uals and entities affected by the crisis rang- related or dependent from the several min- ing from those that are dependent from the istries. This reflects an enormous effort of coordination and involvement of the govern- solutions the authorities find for the situation ment in dealing with the situation, which may ( Subjects) and those that support those solu- be seen as a good indicator of the effective- tions ( Players), or even those that simply are ness of crisis management according to Boin involved in the fire issue ( Contest Setters and et al. (2013:81), who believe that one of the Crowd). evidences of a good response lies in “forging 146 3 PAPERS Table 5: Stakeholders Analysis - Power and Interest Grid. Source: Adapted from Ackermann and Eden (2011) SUBJECTS PLAYERS - City Councils; City Hall Presidents; Township - Air Force: Portugal; Italy; Spain; France (geo- Councils politics, international political interest for future - Community alliances) - Private enterprises and PMEs affected by - Armed Force (strategic interest in the govern- fires ment’ support) - National Association of Portuguese Munici- - Public Ministry (close political relations) palities & National Association of Township - Professional Orders & Professional Associa- - Entities of the agricultural sector (Portuguese tions (interest in good political relations) Confederation of Farmers; Order of Veterinar- - European Commission (recognizes political in- ians; Portuguese Association of Animal Com- terest in the government) pound Feeding-stuffs) - Parliament (has political influence in the gov- - Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the At- ernment) mosphere - Agency for the Tourist Develop- - The State Bank: (political appointed administra- ment of the Schist Villages tors) - Telecommunications Institute - International Presidents and Prime-Ministers HIGH interest / LOW power - Regional Tourism Authority of Central Portu- HIGH power / HIGH interest (geopolitics, international political interest for gal future alliances) - Institute for Mobility and Transport - Regional Tourism Authority of Central Portu- gal - Portuguese Firefighters League - INDRA (Company in technology consultancy) - KPMG Portugal (Audit and advisory Co.) CROWD CONTEST SETTERS - Union of Portuguese Misericórdias & Conse- - President of the Portuguese Republic (indepen- crated Houses of Misericódia dent from the government) - Catholic Church - Diocesan Caritas - Independent Technical Commission for Fire - Caloust Gulbenkian Foundation Analysis of Pedrógão Grande (no political liai- - Anonymous civil society (helping) sons) - Republican National Guard (GNR) (supposedly independent from any political interest) - Judiciary Police & Judicial Authorities (suppos- edly independent from any political interest) LOW interest – LOW power HIGH power / LOW interest - Media (supposedly independent from any po- litical interest) 147 3 PAPERS cooperation between previously unrelated terms of network comprising a wide variety agents”. of response organizations that usually do not work together during ‘normal times’” (Boin, This stakeholder analysis proves to be co- 2009:372). herent with the trust analysis made from the government’s messages that will be shown The category ‘clarification’ also has a great next. They focus more attention on the ‘ Sub- significance in the information transmitted ject stakeholder’ to whom they direct their in the press releases (Graphic 1) which may main support and initiatives (Table 5). The denote they do not fear to be made account- government strives to show ‘ competence’ by able for all the processes they are involved. compensating the affected families and ru- ined businesses and at the same time it im- Graphic 2 presents the categories that re- proves the forest requalification measures flected more the government concerns - that and develops a strategy for local economic is themes/ messages with a greater develop- recovery. ment and communication effort. These con- clusions result from the sum of the charac- In the analysis of the issue classification, the ters of each unit of analysis. The portal news main focus refers to the category ‘ Measures give more importance to information about and Financial Support’ both in the information ‘Measures and Financial Support’ and ‘Means conveyed in the press releases and in the gov- of Combat’ (summing both categories 67% ernment portal news, as shown in Graphic 1. of the total of characters) while the press re- Here there is also a coherence with the re- leases give more information about ‘Social sults from the trust categories once ‘Compe- Help’ and ‘Measures and Financial Support’ tence’ has the higher frequency either in the (summing 72,9%). press releases or in the portal news (Graph- ics 3 and 4). This points out to a concern in Graphics 3 and 4 refer to political trust cat- showing all the work the government has egories and notices that ‘Competence’ is the done to solve the crisis, creating measures category with more units either in press re- to help all citizens affected after the fires. Al- leases or in portal news. Clearly, the govern- most all ministries take action by implement- ment’s option was to present new measures ing revitalization measures, preventive action (economical, legal…) avoiding references to to avoid future disasters, creating decrees, less positive issues on the subject that might establishing programs of help and develop- affect or put in doubt the government’s per- ment, organizing funds and protocols. In ad- formance. This can be related to a crisis re- dition, the government is making sure that all sponse strategy of ‘Ingratiation’ once it states his efforts are visible and announced to the that the government “is taking some kind of public. remedial action (e.g., offer compensation to victims or create new practices to prevent At the same time ‘ Social Help’ and ‘ Clarifica- a crisis event from repeating)” (Coombs, tion’ are the next issues most mentioned in 1996:284). the Press Releases, while the portal news log give more focus to ‘ Means of Combat’, ‘ Social The second trust category most referred is Help’ and ‘ Forest Reform’ - which also conveys ‘ Accountability’, which indicates a concern in the same idea of ‘C ompetence’. The values taking responsibility to solve the problem registered in these categories show the work through support, on the spot monitoring and and endeavour of the official authorities that coordination with other entities but without are in dependence from the governmental taking blame, or even apologize. This may be bodies (previously identified in the stakehold- a strategy to capture and maintain the trust ers’ analysis). This is in line with Boin when of citizens. This also points to a ‘ Distance’ re- he states that “in fact, the crisis response sponse strategy in which the government ac- in modern society is best characterized in cepts the crisis but tries to weaken possible 148 3 PAPERS Graphic 1 Graphic 2 Graphic 3 149 3 PAPERS Graphic 4 links with its performance and the dimension legitimacy and trust are factors that must be of the crisis. taken into account when analyzing commu- nications and messages from these entities. It is also curious to note that the ‘S kepticism’ category has more units that the ‘ Care’ cate- In a crisis situation, these issues are even gory which can point out for a priority in clari- more important. According to Coombs fying misunderstandings and misinformation (1996:280) “communication can be used to that may blame the government, then show- influence how stakeholders interpret a crisis ing empathy for the victims. The strategy fol- and the organization in crisis”. lowed clearly avoid ‘ Mortification’ and ‘ Suffer- ing’. There are no neutral words. Each word, each utterance can acquire different meanings ac- cording to the way the sender and the receiv- Final Remarks er interpret them. Communication relations It is essentially through their discursive prac- can be defined as ‘linguistic exchanges’, but tices that stakeholders get to know the orga- also as relations of symbolic power where nizations and keep in touch with their reality. there are relations of force between the So, the image they build and the relationships speakers and the groups to which they are they establish must be a reflex of what those addressed (Bourdieu, 1998: 13-14). organizations say about their achievements. This exploratory research tried to identify Increasingly, the messages transmitted by keywords (in the press releases and in the the organizations or institutions must be government portal news) that could allow adapted to the needs of more demanding the understanding of how the government and enlightened audiences, with concerns produced its messages during the period of and expectations that are not satisfied with crisis, knowing that this had impact in the lev- a superficial discourse. They require that this els of citizen’s trust. The discursive options of discourse presents valid arguments and con- governmental entities can denote strategic crete facts that legitimize their performance, intentions and options as well as point out proving that organizations/entities are use- to possible effects on their stakeholders. In ful, competent and reliable, fulfilling their a crisis situation it is important take into ac- mission and objectives legitimately. count that “efforts to impart accurate, acces- sible information, which can be used as the In the context of political communication - basis for appropriate action, may encounter the focus of this research - power relations, an anxious and even fearful audience. Stress 150 3 PAPERS and arousal can easily lead to the massages stitutions is ‘in freefall’, Swissinfo.ch, Avail- of leaders being misinterpreted and distort- able at: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/ ed –especially among those parts of the au- directdemocracy/crisis-of-democracy_ dience who do not see government as their trust-in-democratic-institutions-is-in-freef- ally” (Boin 2009:373). all/43188862 (accessed at 23 November 2017). 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(May 2002), “Dealing with Data: Us- ing NVivo in the Qualitative Data Analysis Process”, FQS - Forum Qualitative Sozial- forschung, Vol. 3, No.2, Art.26, Available at: http://www.qualitative-research.net/in- dex.php/fqs/article/view/865/1880&q=n- vivo+manual&sa=x&ei=zah_t5pqoyubh- qfe9swgbq&ved=0cc4qfjaj (accessed at 17 November 2017). 153 3 PAPERS Nonprofits and theirs communication professionals – their role in today’s world Ana Raposo Escola Superior de Comunicação de Social - Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Portugal Mafalda Eiró-Gomes Escola Superior de Comunicação de Social - Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Portugal Purpose: The purpose of this research paper is to understand the role of the communication professionals in civil society organizations in Portugal. Do the communication professionals have technical, tactical and strategic responsibilities in the Portuguese nonprofit organizations? Design / methodology / approach: Using a mixed methodology of sequential explanation two main groups of not for profit organizations were studied: the Non-Governmental Organizations for Development (NGOD) and the Portuguese Sports Federations (PSF). Findings: The study highlights a total absence of any kind of strategic thinking and a lack of understanding of the role of the communication professionals in civil society organizations in Portugal. Research limitations: Due to practical constraints only two major groups of civil society organi- zations were studied. Practical and social implications: Civil society organizations are facing a considerable development and communication professionals have been playing a fundamental role during this process, by improving a better understanding among different stakeholders. As positive out- comes of this study internships for communication students are being promoted. In addition, meetings enhancing a better understanding of the communication professionals purpose, their importance for organizations and their social role for society have taken place. Originality /value: Although many studies about the third sector can be found in the economy and sociology fields, only a few research studies focusing on the status of the communication professionals in the Portuguese (or in a Portuguese branch of a bigger institution) civil society organizations has been carried out. Keywords: Civil Society Organizations; communication professionals; mixed methods approach; strategic communication 154 3 PAPERS Introduction participate in meetings where decisions re- garding new policies/programs were made, This paper addresses the questions, perplex- as well as being appointed to make strategic ities and results of an ongoing project that in- decisions or helping management to do so. volves mixed methods analysis and that has For instance, being able to have a risk and cri- as its main purpose to understand the role sis communication management plan or be- of the communication professionals in the ing heard at boarding meetings concerning civil society organizations in Portugal. The a future strategic plan for the organization specific research question that this paper were some of the aspects specifically taken addresses may be summarized as an inter- into account. rogation about the role that the communica- tion professionals are called to fulfill in these On the tactical level different issues have been institutions. Do the communication profes- analyzed. Firstly, if communication programs sionals have technical, tactical and strategic had some kind of continuity and if proactive responsibilities in the Portuguese civil society programs and actions concerning different organizations? stakeholders existed within the organiza- tion. Furthermore, events and actions that The debate about the role of the communi- are faced in a reactive way were explored. cation (Public Relations) professionals in our Finally, administrative Public Relations work society isn’t new. Moreover, whenever the (as the elaboration of promotional materials, world is in crisis it is further enhanced. In the the managing of websites or writing media late eighties and the early nineties of the last releases) as well as technical support stuff century, Dozier (1984, 1992) among others subsumed by another unit or department authors (Dozier and Grunig, 1984; White and were considered as belonging to a technical Dozier, 1992) studied which role the Public level (Eiró-Gomes et al., 2018; Eiró-Gomes e Relations (strategic communication) practi- Nunes, 2018). tioners were called to fulfill in organizations. From playing “minor” roles as technicians in Moreover, and due to the considerable dif- organizations, to being heard as advisers to ficulty in finding an unique designation for management or to be decision makers in a the communication professions, a quite di- broader sense. verse group of names where accepted both for the professionals, the departments and As Dozier has put it “practitioner roles are the functions. For the purpose of the study it conceptually and empirically related to par- was assumed that there was no use in trying ticipation in management decision making” to distinguish, or even discuss, the validity of (Dozier, 1992, 341). We believe, as he did, different concepts as those of, for instance, that “if practitioners are to help organizations public relations, institutional, organizational adapt to changes in the environment, they or corporate communications or even con- must participate in the management decision sider in a separate way the designations of making process, not simply implement deci- marketing or information departments (Eiró- sions made by others.”(Dozier, 1992, 342). In- Gomes e Nunes, 2013). spired by the articles aforementioned the au- thors of the study being presented here tried Two main groups of civil society organizations to understand which role, if any, the commu- were studied: the Non-Governmental Organi- nication professionals were called to fulfill in zations for Development (176), and the Portu- Portuguese Civil Society Organizations (CSO) guese Sports Federations (56). Other groups based in three levels dimensions: a strategic, will be studied in a near future but these two a tactical and a technical. groups were chosen for quite different, even though, complementary, reasons. The first Starting at the strategic level, practitioners group represents the main stream of the non- where asked whether they had been able to profit sector and is what people think about 155 3 PAPERS when asked about this specific industry. The The first group under study, the NGOD’s, are second group is almost an unknown field, the civil society organizations that act in three National Sports Federations are usually never main areas: cooperation for development, considered in this kind of studies. They seem humanitarian action and education for de- to be however very good representatives of velopment. In Portugal their activities are the communitarian organizations and due regulated by the Foreign Affairs Ministry and to the development of adventurous and life by the Strategic Concept for the Portuguese style sports they represent also a new and Cooperation 2014-1020. At a first moment, important market for communication profes- the researchers considered precisely the 185 sionals. Additionally, the international feder- organizations that were registered in 2016 ations and their counterparts, are also really at the referred Ministry but as nine of them important actors in the civil society not only weren’t operating any more, only 176 were in Portugal, as in so many other countries, considered as our primary universe. due to the fact that they are responsible en- tities for the promotion of sports at all levels If it’s true that in big international organiza- of society. tions like the Red Cross, Caritas, Médecins du Monde, Médecins sans Frontières or Oxfam, The Civil Society Organizations (CSO) may be the communication professionals are regard- thought as those institutions that are gen- ed, or of what in a quite general way we may erally private, from a juridical point of view, consider as strategic communication, and have as their aim, exclusively, the public in- understood as quite important elements in terest (Henriques, 2003). The United Nations the general structure and work of these or- consider that these kind of associations be- ganizations, although the same doesn’t seem long to the realm of the free will of the cit- to happen in Portugal (Hallahan et al., 2007). izens that join forces in order to promote their values, their ideas, and the social trans- During the last years a lot of scientific stud- formations they defend. The definition pro- ies have been edited concerning these kind posed by the United Nations highlights one of organizations both from a socio-political of the main characteristics of these organised or economical perspective but none was said groups of people: the voluntary, benevolent, about how these actors see the communica- action of their first promoters and at least in tion professionals or how they understand some areas as the administrative boards, or the role or the importance of strategic com- the work in development countries are based munication. The same might be said for our second research object, the sports federa- on voluntary work (UNRIC, 2017). These kind tions. of organizations have been conceptualised differently in Europe and America and also The sports federations are an example of a in many other countries due to political and group of a less well known CSO, but are a juridical aspects. very important expression of communitarian organizations that are able to influence gov- This papers uses the general understanding ernmental structures as they are the entities of these concepts and specifically in accor- responsible for promoting, regulating and dance to the way they are understood by the managing at a national level a sport modal- Portuguese law. Different designations that ity or a group of sports modalities as it is, for are usually used to refer to this kind of or- example, the case of the Portuguese eques- ganizations are also considered. A broader trian federation, that is responsible for dif- interpretation of these organizations is also ferent equestrian disciplines that range from contemplated, considering that they all aim the dressage, to equestrian jumping or horse at the common good depend neither on any ball. particular state nor on the business sector (Neto, 2017). In Portugal as in so many other countries 156 3 PAPERS the sports federations emerge from civil so- actors. It was precisely the feeling that there ciety and are regulated by a public entity, in might be a lack of a thorough understanding the present case, the Portuguese Sports and of the role of the communication profession- Youth Institute. This is the institute that, ac- als in the nonprofit sector in Portugal, as well cording to the Portuguese law determines as the recognition of the major contributions the legality of these institutions and their le- from the communication professionals in so gitimacy to be considered as organizations of many international recognized CSO, issues sports public interest. In accordance with all that had been discussed both with the public the other sports federations a bit all over the entities that regulate these institutions as well world they follow the guidelines of the sports as with the Portuguese Platform of NGODs, international federations. These are civil soci- concomitant with a theoretical approach ety international organizations, non-govern- that thinks that the strategic communication mental institutions, that are acknowledged by (public relations) function “(...) is essential the International Olympic Committee. They to the survival and growth of organizations are asked to promote, regulate and develop facing increasingly unstable and threatening one or more sports at an international level environments” (Dozier, 1992, 352) drove the in accordance with the principles and values, researchers to develop this study. activities and practices as asserted by the From the perspective of the research de- Olympic Charter. Today, however, we must sign this study is included in the framework also consider a new group of sports that are of what is generally designated as a mixed in general considered under two labels, ad- methodology of sequential explanation. (Cre- venture sports or life style sports. Another swell, 2014). In a first moment quantitative group is also considered and recognised by methods were used to collect information the IOC, the in general designated as mind concerning descriptive aspects of the organi- sports, where chess and checkers emerge as, zations. Thereafter, researchers moved to a maybe, the best well known ones. qualitative approach in order to get a deeper understanding of these organizations. Research design Initially, the 176 Non-governmental Organi- This research belongs to the realm of what zations for Development (NGOD) registered we may consider, in applied communication at the Portuguese Foreign Affairs Ministry in investigation, as a pragmatist approach to accordance to the report issued by that insti- research. This world view has its founders in tution in 2016 were contacted by phone and three American philosophers from the late by email. A survey by questionnaire was sent XIX century and the early years of the 20th and a date to fill it in over phone was set. century, Peirce, James and Dewey (Murphy, The same was done in 2017 for the 56 Por- 1990). In accordance with the objectives of tuguese Sports Federations (PSF) registered the empirical research that it’s being pre- according also to the 2016 official data issued sented here it’s possible to assert that the by the responsible governmental entity. main contributes, from this world view, that In this first quantitative approach research- we must highlight, are those that deal with ers tried to get an overall picture of the or- the defense that research cannot be isolated ganizations that could enable them to under- from its geographical, historical, social or po- stand their structure, organigram and how litical contexts. Another main aspect has to their “communicative” aspects were dealt do with the purpose of research. The prag- with. Did they have many full time employ- matist worldview pushes investigators to go ees or was the organization managed most- a bitter further in their understanding of real- ly by volunteers? How many professionals ity, they drive them to answer the needs and employed? Did they have a communication problems posed to them by multi-sectoral (Public Relations, Information and Commu- 157 3 PAPERS nication, Marketing and Communication and proaches: an interview seen as an informal so on) department? If not, who performed conversation, an interview based on an in- the function? Did those responsible for the terview script and a structured interview. In communication functions had any kind of this research an interview script was used in formal training in strategic communication order to ensure that the basic lines of inqui- (Public Relations)? On another level the ques- ry as well as the main topics were pursued tionnaire also helped to understand what with each person interviewed; the commu- kind of instruments, both in print and digital nications professional or whoever fulfilled form, were being used to communicate with that function, or was presented as fulfilling all, or least some of the main stakeholders. that function, at each one of the organiza- It must be noted that some stakeholders, in- tions under study. Although the script does struments and issues were much more im- not ensure how the interview will be con- portant or even relevant for one group than ducted, it at least enables the main topics to for the other. For instance, concepts as “com- be addressed. Additionally, the script works munication for development”, are relevant also as a guarantee that the basic framework for the NGOD, but not for the PSF. Converse- accorded by all the research team members ly, all the aspects concerning school sports will have the desired attention. The inter- are only meaningful for the second group. All views are a useful form of data collection, as the more technical aspects that have to do they allow to explore different perspectives with some of the idiosyncrasies of one or oth- and perceptions of those involved (Daymon er group will be omitted in this article (Eiró- and Holloway, 2002). Gomes e Nunes, 2018). Interviews were used to gather informa- The quantitative data gathering was under- tion about how decision-making processes taken over 2 months, during the second se- were conducted in relation to the design of mester of 2016 for the NGO and the second the communication strategies, programs, or semester of 2017 for the PSF. In a second mere actions. Furthermore, what the insti- moment, the institutions who had answered tutions thought belonged to the communi- the questionnaire were contacted once more cation area, or what they thought could be to set a face to face interview. developed if a communication practitioner From the 77 Non-governmental Organiza- worked at the institution, were questions tions for Development that answered the addressed during the face to face conversa- questionnaire only 43 accepted our request tions. The interviews were recorded, tran- for an interview. In what concerns the PSF scribed, and the material reduced. In order to only 32 out of the 40 that responded to the avoid, or at least to reduce an excessive con- quantitative enquiry accepted to be inter- tamination all the interviews in each of the viewed. All the organizations were contacted groups were recorded first and only after all during a month by phone and email until a having been recorded did the transcription negative answer were obtained or, for those process started. not answering our emails or phone, three calls were made before giving up the con- Afterwards, the text was analyzed (qualitative tacts. content analysis with recourse to NVIVO soft- ware) and the interpretations were conducted To collect the qualitative data 75 interviews by the entire team in order to reduce biases were conducted during 2017, first at the due to personal judgements. The qualitative NGODs and afterwards at the PSF, by two content analysis was the method chosen as different interviewers. The interview method, it allows to develop a systematic description as a qualitative instrument to construct and of the material under examination, through gather data (Berger, 2014), is widely accept- its association with categories and subcate- ed for permitting three kinds of different ap- gories. In this research, the coding frame was 158 3 PAPERS constructed taking into account the literature reactive communication actions. At the tacti- review and all the data collected, that is, the cal level taking in account the existence of a content of the interviews carried out and pre- professional at the institution that has some viously transcribed. kind of expertise and capacity to develop a more complex and integrated approach in Researchers chose a strategy that combines the communication field, as planning a cam- coding based on the knowledge acquired, in paign or by positioning the organization or this case information collected and analyzed the sports field. Under the umbrella concept in the literature review, that is, concept-driven of strategic responsibilities, aspects such as categories, and in the data collected in inter- the definition of the communication priori- views, usually designated as data-driven cat- ties in a strategic and planned way, the man- egories. In the last phase of the codification agement of the institution’s reputation or the frame construction each dimension/category capacity to determine the style and the tone and sub-category was defined. In accordance throughout the organizations, were consid- with the content analysis good practices for ered. Additionally, the existence of a media each category or subcategory a name, a de- relations plan or a risk and crisis communi- scription of the name, decision rules and ex- cation plan were also addressed. Under the amples of what can be included in each one idea of a more operational approach events must be present (Schreier, 2012). In the case and actions that are managed in a merely re- of the dimensions with subcategories it is sponsive way, were studied. fundamental to note that the sub-categories must be mutually exclusive. For those with- Organization and Communication characteri- out subcategories is the principal dimension zation that accommodates the registration units. After the definition of the coding frame the First of all, the size of the two groups of not next step was to go along with the segmen- for profit organizations was studied. It be- tation of the material under analysis in regis- came clear that the majority of them have tration units. up to 30 employees - 84% in the case of the NGOD and 72% in the case of the National It is important to remember that although Sports Federations. Taking in consideration the NVivo software allows for a better, faster, the purpose of this study, to understand the more complete and, at least, with less mis- role of the communication professionals in takes content qualitative analysis, it will not the not for profit organizations in Portugal, it automatically process and analyse the data. was essential to know if there is a communi- The final moment was to revise and expand cation department who performed the role the categories that were going to be used of Public Relations in these specific organi- across the analysis. zations. Under this broad designation we ac- cepted all the structures that were present- Data analysis and interpretation ed as dealing with Public Relations issues or themes as they are usually understood in this Focusing on the research question of this area of research (Wilcox et al., 2006, L’Étang, ongoing project, as said before, during the 2013). The results are quite similar in both interviewing process three main communica- groups in analysis, almost half of the inter- tion functions were covered regarded as the viewed organizations declared to have a three common levels of professional perfor- structure to manage the communication is- mance: instrumental, tactical and strategic. sues - 56% of the sports federations and 49% of the NGOD’s. In regard to the instrumental level the focus was to understand the lack of rationale relat- Thereby, as we found a relevant number ed to the production of certain type of instru- of organizations that didn’’t have a specific ments such as leaflets, or spontaneous and communication structure, the researchers 159 3 PAPERS tried to evaluate if this function could be out- in the organization, as having a constitutive sourced, totally or partially, as a complement role and not merely as discursive one. to the work done in-house. Here the results showed that the organizations tend to not For this reason, it could be interesting to use outsourcing models in what concerns share some excerpts of the interviews con- communication services (63% of the NSF and ducted, that due to the number of times 58% of the NGOD don’t use external commu- they were repeated became relevant. These nication services). quotes allowed us also to conclude that there is still an instrumental vision of the Public Re- Things are quite different when analyzing lations function in these organizations. We the qualification of the communication team. have decided to keep quotes anonymous, as While in the National Sports Federations only their aim is merely to demonstrate trends. In in one case an employee with higher edu- some cases the concept seems to be reduced cation degree in Public Relations/Corporate to the digital context “(…) everything is on our Communication was identified, 24% of the website. Our aim with people is to motivate NGOD’s had teams with specific qualifica- them to visit our website, that is being updat- tions in Public Relations and Corporate Com- ed.” or to information disseminated through munication field. In the majority of the NSF the mass media “(…) we need to communi- the employees who are part of the Public Re- cate and inform the public (…) when there are lations department had academic training in sports competitions, we always send a press communication sciences generic disciplines. release”. Moreover, 23,53% of these professionals did- n´t have any specific training in communi- It is also noted that many of the organizations cation. In the NGOD’s organizations, 55% of have activity plans and not strategic plans: the communication team is trained in other “We do not have a formal strategic plan, that is meticulously implemented, but we do have areas, as sociology (large majority), and 21% an annual activity plan and communication is in other communication disciplines, like jour- a part of that plan”. Likewise, other organi- nalism. zations stated that “communication is part of This data enabled us to identify one of the our strategic plan, although it is not an issue problems in the not for profit sector, which is that deserves significant investments”. As in the lack of training in Public Relations, as well many other organizations, also in organiza- as the fact, in the specific case of the NGOD’s, tions that were interviewed, the importance that many of the people who responded to recognized to the communication function is this interview use to perform other positions not aligned with the real meaning that they other than communication work in their or- seem to give to it. ganizations. In short, we believe communica- When questioned about the communication tion has not been given the importance that aims/goals, in the case of the National Sports is advocated in this article. Federations, interviewees put the emphasis The role of the Communication professionals on the promotion of the sports discipline and on the increasing number of practitioners. When asked if the “communication/public Many organizations declared: “in fact, our relations” function is part of the annual stra- main goal is to promote the sports modali- tegic plan of the organization, what seems ty in the country…and attract more people to happen is that in few cases the commu- to these sports modalities, we want to have nication is understood as more than having more people.” This concern is not surprising, a website or writing some press releases. As as is a requirement from the regulatory body can be verified through the data collected in that monitors this industry. All the sports this research, only a few organizations have a federations with the public utility status must clear notion about the role of communication promote the sports discipline and to ensure 160 3 PAPERS the participation of the national teams in na- ed that the communication department is tional and international sports competitions. responsible for managing it, taking into ac- In the group of NGOD, when analyzing the count the guidance of the Board. But there communication goals, we found a dissemina- are also cases where this work is the respon- tion-centric communication vision, focused sibility of the Administrative Assistant, the Ex- on visibility. Many of the objectives named ecutive Board, the technicians and even the are not clear, and only a few are based on IT staff. Concerning specifically social media changing attitudes and behaviors. management, the person in charge varies Concerning the communication strategy im- from organization to organization, handled plementation, only two communication tools most of the time by the communications de- are reported by the majority of the organiza- partment. However, there are organizations tions studied in this research: a website and a where this is done by a volunteer, or by “a Facebook page. In future researches it would person responsible for Facebook, who works be relevant to analyze the objectives of these full-time, but has no communication train- materials, their relevance, with which fre- ing.” This data allows us to conclude that of- quency they are updated and what kind of ten the communication work is developed by information is presented. people without qualification and experience in the area. In what concerns the public/stakeholders definition we verified that most organiza- When questioned about the existence of a tions, do not carry out any process of public risk/crisis communication plan very few orga- mapping. One of the organizations stated: nizations stated that they have a plan in this “Recently we created a media relations office area. The researchers have found that there to manage media relations and we want to is an enormous lack of knowledge about communicate not only with the federated these areas and the absence of any plan. At athletes, but also to inform the general pub- this point, is relevant to refer one specific lic. As we intend to increase the number of case, where an interviewee said: ”The plan federated athletes, we need to communicate exists in my head. One day, when I have time with everyone.” This answer expresses an for it I will write it down, but at the moment, I intuition that much more is needed in this have many other things to do. More import- level. In the sector in analysis an “everyone” ant things to do.” In general terms, we can perspective or as we use to refer to an inten- observe that while organizations can define tion to reach the “general public” seems to be in their plans what we could call communica- the dominant approach. There is an absence tion actions, a true strategic planning of the of basic concepts and notions about Public communication function, or a true under- Relations or Communication and an inabili- standing of the concept of “communication” ty from the targeted organizations to identify or PR, is not a reality in these organizations. and to define in a strategic way the preferen- The notion of “communication” that we found tial groups of stakeholders. This is one more in these institutions, is all about dissemina- of the features that point to the instrumental tion of information and media relations. Re- notion of communication held by organiza- garding this dissemination function, the only tions. There does not seem to be any stra- priority is the presence on the web, although tegic thinking or efforts in terms of research in most of cases, as merely informative. and analysis, a basic requirement when we want to have a strategic role in Public Rela- The few organizations that have press offices tions. or a professional with PR training, are those that not only understand better the poten- Analyzing some areas of communication, tialities of a better Public Relations strate- such as the management of the website, so- gic plan but those that also note the lack of cial media and media relations, we conclud- specific budgets for communication. A very 161 3 PAPERS illustrative example of this reality is the testi- ized world with increasingly great achieve- mony of one of the entities interviewed: “Our ments, in contrast with new worries. Present- department works hard in events communi- ly, the concepts of “space” and “time” have cation, international events organised by us. new definitions and the social economy has In these cases, we have some tools that are suffered an enormous development, assum- used by external services, since for this type ing a relevant role both at political and social of events there are other sources of fund- levels. ing and of course we have more resources to work with. If we had more resources on a If in Portugal the nonprofits go back to the day-to-day basis, we could do more.” fifteenth century with some religious institu- tions which are still in “business” in this first The prevailing vision is that of promotional quarter of the twenty first century, never as activities, clearly instrumental, and very far today, do the CSO seem to have been called from a vision of communication as an essen- to perform so many and so diversified func- tial dimension, or a constitutive one, of these tions. From the social to the cultural or sport- organizations. Even if in recent years almost ive areas, from the unions to the environ- all the interviewed organizations started to mental arenas, alone or in partnerships with have an online presence, we are however con- other national or supranational institutions, fronted with a more or less amateurish way even in cooperation with private enterprises, of doing digital communications. The football supporting or refuting governmental policies sports federation is the only real exception to or practices, the Civil Society Organizations this scenario, managing the communication seem to embody the best a world in crisis has function in a similar way to the corporate/ to offer. In a world where the notion of “pre- private organizations. Furthermore, in the cariat”, to use the expression of Guy Stand- Portuguese Football Sports Federation press ing (Standing, 2011, 2014), seems to summa- office there are more employees than in the rize so many of our worries, mainly those of vast majority of the other federations. Actual- the new generations, to understand that the ly, 62.5% of the sports federations have less nonprofits and the role of theirs communi- than 15 employees, which is the number of cation professionals is an absolutely crucial professionals working only in the press office endeavor. of the Portuguese Football Federation. This research highlights the lack of consis- The head of the organization recognizes the tent work in the communication area as well lack of investment in a more planned com- as the total absence of any kind of strate- munication. The lack of budget has made it gic thinking. Communication functions are difficult to be able to have or to hire a press understood as mere discursive ones and in officer, and hasn’t made it possible for the many cases just as a way to improve the writ- not for profit organizations to focus in oth- ing or the presentation of some kind of leaf- er aspects beyond the promotion of sporting let or report. We seem to be far apart from events. This is however a special case where what seems to be a more optimistic view the organization recognizes both the need of as expressed, for instance by the European a better understanding of the role of a com- Communication Monitor (Tench et al., 2017) munication professional as well as already concerning the role of the communication feeling the need to have one among its em- professionals in our contemporaneity. ployees. Theoretically the aspects related with the main stakeholders of the institutions are con- Conclusions sidered as belonging to the communications disciplines (from communication for devel- The times in which we are living have brought opment strategies to awareness campaigns, different challenges. We are facing a global- empowerment programs to advocacy, or 162 3 PAPERS public affairs projects) and the finding that esting that due to the emergence of the dig- the organizations in study did see it to the ital media we can also rediscover one of the realm of the communication activities, was ideas expressed in the eighties when charac- an expected result. Conversely, the conclu- terizing the communication professionals as sion that these institutions didn’t know what technicians by opposition to consider them the main aspects of the work of a communi- as having management roles. Our study let cation practitioner or consultant, were a real us think that the mere technician role seems, surprise. still today, or we would rather say, again, to- For the Portuguese CSO the concept of com- day, even though due to different factors, munication is only understood as diffusion of more precisely and in the present case owing information or promotion of certain events. to the increment of the digital media, to be Communication functions are understood as connected with an idea that understands the mere discursive ones, in many cases just as communication or the public relations func- a way to improve the writing or the presen- tion, primarily as a creative or artistic activi- tation of some kind of leaflet. The great ma- ty. During the interviews it was often heard jority of the institutions interviewed didn’t´›t the idea that the NGO or the PSF might need know and not acknowledge the role of the someone to help transform the Facebook communication practitioner in promoting or the organization site in a better product communitarian relationships, in negotiation understood, precisely as an artistic object. with funders or suppliers, in the achievement When asked why the social media, or whom of organizational aims or in managing pub- they were trying to achieve there wasn’t a lic affairs, or aspects that have to deal with clear rationale behind the efforts to have a empowerment or advocacy. The data enable strong presence in the social media. researchers to assert that research or evalua- If we have introduced a tactical level in order tion, the understanding of the environments, to be able to understand the role of the stra- the different stakeholders’ relationships, the tegic communication practitioners in these correctness and suitability of the information, institutions in a better way, as it was expect- the pertinence of the message in accordance ed that maybe the strategic level might not to its receptors, aren´t taken in consideration be present in the third sector, it must be said by the Portuguese civil society organizations. that, in general, not even an understanding We can go back to the results found by Dozi- of the public relations function at an interme- er (1984, 1992), and the concepts used by the diary level was found. Strategic thinking, in- author, and say that the most we were able terference in the decision-making processes, to find where descriptions of “minor” roles, construction of annual plans or crisis and risk as technicians, as media relations specialists communication plans weren´t looked upon and (or) communication liaisons specialized by these organizations except in very specific in linking management with some quite spe- and well understood cases as for instances cific key publics. This second idea was, how- the Médecins du Monde or the Football and ever, more present in the NGOD group than Basketball Sports Federations. in the Sports Federations group where, gen- erally, only the punctual media relations ac- At the end of this article we are forced to con- tivities was consistently referred. front ourselves, and all those that work in this area, with the fact, as Muniz Sodré (2014) It’s important to note that even though there has so well put it, that the concept of “com- are media relations, plans of media relations munication” seems to be one of the more weren´t found - either at a strategical nor at used and less conspicuous concepts of our a tactical level. The same can be said about all contemporaneity. The conceptual ambiguity kinds of events that are dealt in a merely re- both at a theoretical and an empirical level sponsive or casuistically way. It’s quite inter- of the referred concept does not help those 163 3 PAPERS at the professional endeavors to understand of Communications and Public Relations the fundamental role that the communica- Practitioners”, in J. Grunig (ed.) Excellence tion professionals can fulfill in the more di- in Public Relations and Communication verse contexts and in special in the organi- Management, Lawrence Erlbaum Associ- zations under study in this paper. And as we ates, New Jersey , pp. 327-356. know, and as different authors have defend- Dozier, D. e Grunig, L. (1992), “The Organiza- ed more than 25 years ago (Dozier, 1992), the tion of the Public Relations Function”, in J. communication function is essential to the Grunig (ed.) Excellence in Public Relations survival and growth of organizations special, and Communication Management, Law- as today, we are facing instability and uncer- rence Erlbaum Associates, New Jersey, pp. tainty on a daily basis. It seems important 395-418. also to note that it’s imperative that the re- sponsible both at the Non-Governmental Or- Eiró-Gomes, M.; Neto, C; Silvestre, C.; “No- ganizations for Development and at the Por- tas para el conocimiento de la ćomuni- tuguese Sports Federations understand the caciónén las ONG en Portugal” in Obra constitutive role of communication, and that, digital - revista de comunicación, Barcelo- quoting quite freely Dominique Wolton the na, 2018, (ISSN (online) 2014-5039 e ISSN fact that when we are talking about commu- (print), pp. 2462-6384 nication, we are talking about relationships Eiró-Gomes, M. e Nunes, T. (2018) - “Ćomu- being built and not merely about messages nicaciónén las federaciones deportivas being transmitted (Wolton, 2009, 2015). en Portugal: donde estamos?”, Revista Borrowing a quite well-known dichotomy Redmaka (December 2018). from Wittgenstein, Civil Society Organiza- Eiró-Gomes, M., Nunes, T. 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(2006), Relaciones Públicas - Estrategias Y Tácticas. 8ª ed., Pearson Educación, Madrid. Wolton, D. (2015), La communication, les hom- mes et la politique, CNRS editions – collec- tion Biblis. Wolton, D. (2009), Informer n’est pas commu- niquer, CNRS editions. 165 3 PAPERS Co-Creating More Citizen Involvement in Mäntsälä Municipality Harri Ruoslahti Laurea University of Applied Sciences, Finland Introduction and purpose five different areas of Mäntsälä were encour- aged to find solutions to involve municipal- The role of Finnish municipalities are chang- ity citizens in the decision making of the is- ing as the society is implementing a wide re- sues that touch the respective areas where newal of the national social and healthcare they live. This process drew from the earlier system of Finland. Municipalities will lose co-creation case project by Laurea (Antura), control over these two activities. Many im- which worked for greater social responsibility portant responsibilities will still remain the through involving network partner represen- responsibility of municipalities. These include tatives and a voluntarily coordinated arena the responsibility for employment, teaching, for citizen participation to co-create forms daycare, land usage, enterprise policy, pre- of smoother immigration integration and ventive wellbeing, culture, and sports (Sauri open interaction (Ruoslahti, 2017). The deci- 2017, 10). Municipalities will also continue to sion-makers and administration of the mu- serve as the principal agent toward partici- nicipality of Mäntsälä are very committed to patory local democracy, culture, and vitality, actively increase the participation Mäntsälä and municipalities are increasingly activating residents (Mäntsälän uutiset, 2018). their residents to participate in preparing and deciding these issues (Hakola, et al., 2017). It This paper finds that positive working mod- will be interesting to follow the development els that activate and facilitate citizen involve- of the collaborative relationship between ment in municipal government should be municipality and its residents and their var- developed and actively applied to promote ious associations and networks. Co-creative positive integration of decision-making. All methods are useful in this development (Gal- actors, including each individual citizen, are vagno & Dalli, 2014). responsible for the conditions in their munic- ipality. The research question of the project In the fall of 2017 and the spring of 2018 was: how to identify practical ways for the Laurea University of Applied Sciences ran a municipality of Mäntsälä to increase citizen project with the municipality of Mäntsälä. participation in democratic decision making? The municipality situated 60 km north of Helsinki and it had 20.803 inhabitants in Participatory local democracy 2017(Mäntsälä, 2018). The project includ- ed a series of student facilitated co-creation The majority of Finns participate in munic- workshops of open interaction. These aimed ipal democracy in one way or another. The to identify useful forms of smooth and open Association of Finnish Local and Regional Au- citizen participation. Multiple actors in the thorities finds that even many of those who 166 3 PAPERS in their responses showed like they did not which in turn is key to successful co-creation. participate, in reality did, as they were part in Such collaboration should be jointly con- various social networks and activities (Asso- structed and lead. All co-creation processes ciation of Finnish Local and Regional Author- require active facilitation (Ruoslahti, 2017). ities, 2018). Citizen participation has a clear effect on the prosperity of the municipality Increasing participation has the potential to (Ministry of Finance, 2012). Rättilä & Rinne bring economic benefits by renewing ser- (2016) find that when citizens are more in- vices and rapid reaction to citizens’ chang- volved in decision-making strengthens grass- ing service needs. Participatory democracy roots democracy. In practice, this means that can increase the work satisfaction of mu- different areas, parts of town, or villages nicipality personnel, the trust that residents could make independent decisions on issues feel for their municipality, and the possibili- that directly affect the area in question. ty of presenting new innovative solutions to many social problems. Some good examples According to the Finnish Rural Policy Pro- of participatory democracy are Helsinki, Tu- gramme 2014-2020 (Finnish Ministry of Em- usula, Lappeenranta, Tampere and Varkaus. ployment and Economy 2014) all citizens (Kurikka 2018, Kuntaliitto 2018). Participato- should have the possibility to effect the so- ry democracy has played a strong role in the cietal development of their own region. This rural areas of Finland. Village action and vil- may mean that citizens have possibilities to lage committees are important in the devel- decide and influence how public resources, opment of local democracy since the 1970s. such as taxes, are used. The Finnish Rural Pol- According to the Annual Report 2017 of the icy (2012) describes participatory democracy Villages Association of Finland (Suomen kylät as local influencing, which means strength- r.y.) (2018). Most municipalities in Finland can ening direct decision-making on local levels be considered rural, and there are 4.323 ac- and societies. tive Village Committees in Finland, and these committees have prepared 2.100 develop- Co-creation is a very useful method of pro- ment plans for different Finnish villages (Kat- moting participatory democracy. Collabo- tilakoski & Backa, 2013; Uusitalo 2013). rative co-creative settings include knowl- edge transfers, best achieved when various stakeholders are included in the co-creation Some Municipal Cases process (Ruoslahti, Tiainen, Kortelainen, & Vesterinen, 2011). Responsibilities become The city of Helsinki, the capital of Finland with distributed between stakeholders, and deci- 635 181 inhabitants in 2016 (Helsinki, 2018) sions decentralized, when participation be- aims at increasing citizen participation and comes facilitated. Co-creation can be face- taking advantage of the expertise of individu- to-face or through mediums, such as current als and formal and informal groups. The city social media applications, which can provide wants to offer its citizens equal opportuni- effective ways to promote co-creative collab- ties to participate and self-organize activities. oration (Hyttinen, Ruoslahti & Jokela, 2017). Some concrete measures are to offer people the possibility to reserve sites for happen- Social media concepts enable municipalities ings, follow municipal decision making on- to listen to the opinions of its citizens, and line, make suggestions and proposals, and to actively influence the municipal decisions. vote on how to use funds in their own neigh- However, municipalities should be mindful borhoods. Anyone over 12 years old may that these electronic tools should be easy to cast their vote. People can also volunteer for use and that they require active coordination activities, ask for help from a municipal pilot from the municipality (Díaz-Díaz & Pérez- person (stadiluotsi), and partake in service González, 2016). Collaboration technologies design by participating in on-line and face- can promote active and open collaboration, to-face discussions. This aims at better in- 167 3 PAPERS cluding the voice of the younger generations. Participation Providing Security Also the city administrations aim at answer- ing all citizen inquiries within one workday. The internal security strategy in Finland (2017) (Osallisuustyöryhmä Helsinki 2017). sets a high focus on the roles of and collab- oration between municipalities, associations, The municipality of Tuusula, with 38.646 in- businesses, academia, and different fields of habitants (2017), situated 30 km north of administration. This multi-actor collabora- Helsinki (Tuusula, 2018), has five regional tion is especially important, when planning development networks, and these are sup- and implementing preventive actions in the plemented by theme networks, and a busi- fields of safety and security (Finnish Govern- ness network. These were kicked-off in a se- ment, 2017). ries of evening events that were open to all municipality residents. Tuusula’s mayor also Endorsing participation with open communi- regularly holds events open to all residents cation is an important aspect, when develop- ing municipal safety and security. The munic- (Kurikka, 2018). The city of Varkaus, which is ipality benefits from having personnel, who situated 320 km northeast of Helsinki and are dedicated to activating and coordinating has 21.409 inhabitants (Varkaus, 2018), held open discussions between residents and an idea camp to involve its residents to partic- municipal administrators (Tennberg, 2018). ipate toward a citizen society. This idea camp Value co-creation and citizen participation was visible in the Internet and social media. can be developed by implementing social Other open events, such as coffee with the media concepts for advanced e-government. mayor, supplemented the idea camp (Kuntal- The authors found that determination and ehti, 2017). involvement of the municipal government, The city of Tampere, has 231.853 inhabitants an easy to use technology platform that se- and it is situated (Tampere, 2018b) has four cures the privacy of its users, and a desig- regional networks, which all have regional co- nated community manager, who follows the ordinators to facilitate their activities. These community of users are needed (Díaz-Díaz & Pérez-González, 2016). networks are open to all and residents, as- sociations, businesses, and service provid- Some issues to address are related to seg- ers all are able to co-create regional services regation, immigration and the overall move- and activities. The city, for example, appoints ment of people. The aim is that all actors 5.000 Euro in annual regional funding for col- have an up-dated situational picture and laborative events in each region (Tampere, adequate security structures (Demokratia 2018a). Tampere also has working groups ja osallistuminen työryhmä, 2014, 16), thus and resident groups, portals, and sites for shared information between schools, associ- gatherings (Kurikka, 2018). ations, businesses, and authorities can pro- mote local problem solving and the creation The trend is clearly toward wider participa- of safety and related products and (Finnish tion in Finnish municipalities. This trend aims Government, 2017). Thus, the participation to support participation, to create a basis for project with the municipality of Mäntsälä also increased individual and regional responsi- promotes safety and security. Collaboration bility in deciding common issues (Demokratia between different actors drives this sense of ja osallistuminen työryhmä, 2014). The focus security (Tennberg, 2018). is residents participating in the decisions that affect their everyday lives. Methodology The study was completed as student integra- tion, which is the learning method at Laurea 168 3 PAPERS University of Applied Sciences. Six students The first phase in the fall of 2017 the stu- worked with the supervision of two teachers. dent team interviewed 14 leading Mäntsälä The aim was to bring together municipal pol- politicians and administrators and collected iticians and administrators with associations, benchmark information how citizens partici- groups, and individuals from Mäntsälä, so pate in other Finnish municipalities. the study includes active cooperation, in the spirit of co-creation, between these groups. In the second phase, the students facilitated The time span of the Mäntsälä project is from two idea workshops, open to all residents, October 2017 to May 2018. which attracted 44 participants to list ideas on how the residents of Mäntsälä could be Laurea University of Applied Sciences ap- more involved in the decision making of their proaches learning with the concept LbD municipality. (Learning by Developing), where the student works on real world problems with the guid- The third phase included two development ance of the teacher (Raij, 2014). Projects and workshops, again open to all, in which the 25 teamwork are central, when applying the LbD citizens, who participated, made selections method (Raij 2014). Students may come from from the ideas collected in phase two to con- very different backgrounds and they collabo- verge and make selections. rate closely with outside partners (Dickinson 2017). One backbone in practical LbD proj- In the fourth phase the data, collected ects is communication both within the stu- through phases one to three, was analyzed dent project team between the team and the with the future roadmap framework by Mer- outside partner (Salonen, Rantanen, Tallgren istö & Laitinen (2013), by listing reasons; soci- & Uusitalo, 2015). ety; solutions; enablers; barriers; resources; and benchmark. The study applied a futures building ap- proach as it models a road map of future vi- The process and findings were presented in sions that practical solutions could be based report, which was presented to the munici- on (Meristö 1989). Knowledge transfers are pality of Mäntsälä and published by Laurea central to co-creation (Pirinen, 2015), and University of Applied Sciences (Laitinen, et al., the committed participation of the different 2018). The process identified and suggested actors partaking in the co-creation process some best practices solutions for the munic- (Ruoslahti, Tiainen, Kortelainen, & Vester- ipality to consider as a starting point toward inen, 2011). Facilitating the process helps fo- the “Mäntsälä model” for citizen participa- cus and divide responsibilities between par- tion. ticipants (Ruoslahti, 2017). Co-creation also This study paves the way for finding best has a strong link with service design. Ojasalo practices, and development suggestions for & Ojasalo (2015) introduce a four step ser- deeper involvement of the municipality pop- vice design process, which was used in the ulation with shared vision towards greater Mäntsälä project. These steps are 1) Map and social inclusion and responsibility in modern understand, 2) Forecast and ideate, 3) Model society. and evaluate, and 4) Conceptualize and influ- ence, where the two first diverge and collect ideas, and the two last converge these ideas Results and conclusions into concrete applicable innovations. The study reveals ways to facilitate and pro- The futures based service design process, mote active citizens’ participation. There are used by this Mäntsälä democracy project, clear reasons to implement greater citizen was looking to co-create toward a “Mäntsälä participation, and this is in line with the cur- model” for citizen participation. The process rent societal development in the country. had four phases: Some clear solutions that came up are open 169 3 PAPERS Figure 1: The process Figure 2: Main themes from workshops with the citizens of Mäntsälä communication, local meetings, and local Both the interviewed municipal decision budgets. Decision makers are expected to be makers and the workshop participants saw more present and available to citizens, and that participation is very important for mu- one strong enabler, based on the results, is nicipal democracy. Municipal decision mak- that Mäntsälä already has many active asso- ers are expected to be better available for ciations, which are very potential existing re- citizens, and they are also expected to make sources for future participatory activities. themselves available, for example, at open local events. In addition, it was noted that Further solutions were sought, in four sepa- Mäntsälä already has a pool of many active rate future vision workshops, to activate and associations. Capitalizing this potential was help citizens and communities to organize seen as one practical way of increasing col- cooperative actions to bring citizens more laboration and possibly even local coordina- involved in democratic decision making. The tion. results open some practical steps for how to meet, engage, and integrate people in munic- Communication rose as a very important fo- ipal affairs. cal point in developing participatory democ- 170 3 PAPERS racy. The municipality should consider all social media interaction with citizens. possible means to supplement official / usual municipality channels (e.g. social media, and Municipalities can allow for participatory association channels, shop bulletin boards) budgeting, where their citizens are given to reach its citizens and to engage them in funds to use as they see best to solve some open communication. very practical issues that relate to their area or immediate lives. Some of this budgeting Figure 2 shows how activating municipality could be used to activate local activities that citizens, communities, and associations can promote sense of community. prevent social marginalization, grow the feel- ing of unity, and offer residents choices to Municipalities already have many resources participate in local democracy. Solutions that (e.g. school houses and communication chan- were identified as ways to increase local par- nels), that can be actively used, and other ex- ticipatory democracy include monetary assis- isting structures (e.g. associations and clubs) tance and sites for gatherings offered by the should also be utilized to reach and activate municipality, an activity passport, and a free municipality citizens and promote sense of marketing channel to support local business- community. The participants of this study felt es. There are many existing municipal sites strong attachment to their communities and (e.g. schools) that can be used for gatherings an interest toward issues that pertain to their and collaborative activities. local areas. These types of feelings can be built on to promote participation. Practical and social implications Some threats against a sense of communi- ty can be movement of people, detachment This study promotes open communication from society, or just people working far from and understanding in active citizen participa- where they live. Also long distances and poor tion towards a greater involvement in munic- public transportation can also threaten par- ipal government. Positive co-existence adds ticipation, as can tradition and unwillingness trust in authorities and institutions in towns, to change. cities, and suburban areas, and thus increas- es social responsibility in society. Active cit- izen participation can decrease uncertainty, References complexity, and ambiguousness. Open com- Association of Finnish Local and Regional Au- munication and participation can build trust thorities (2018). Web-pages: in public authorities. Demokratia ja osallistuminen työryhmä Citizen evenings provide opportunities for (2014). Loppuraportti, 15.8.2014, Kuko- citizens to meet municipality decision mak- istava kansalaisyhteiskunta, unpublished ers and discuss issues that are important to report (author has copy). them. Such evenings could rotate around dif- ferent municipality areas, as interaction and Díaz-Díaz, R. & Pérez-González, D. (2016), Im- active communication were shown to be very plementation of Social Media Concepts for important elements in engaging municipality e-Government: a Case Study of a Social citizens. Citizens will need to be shown that Media Tool for Value Co-Creation and Citi- such meetings are reoccurring and worth zen Participation, Journal of Organization- attending. The workshops in this project al and End User Computing, vol. 28, no. 3, demonstrated that people feel that it is worth s. 104. attending future meetings, when they feel Dickinson, P. (2017). The “P2P” Education- that they have been listened to. A person, or al Model Providing Innovative Learning persons in larger municipalities, should be by Linking Technology, Business and Re- dedicated to coordinate communication and search. Learning by Linking Technology, 171 3 PAPERS Business and Research Universal Journal ences, Espoo, Finland. of Educational Research 5(10): 1748-1758. Meristö T. (1989). Not Forecasts but multiple Helsinki (2017). Helsingin osallisuusmal- scenarios when coping with uncertainties li. Osallisuustyöryhmä. 29.11.2017. 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Studies of Externally Fund- Asukkaat kehittämässä alueellista päätök- ed Research and Development Projects in sentekoa, case: Mäntsälän kunta. Eds. Higher Education: Knowledge Sources and Ruoslahti, H., & Uusitalo, T., Laurea Publi- Transfers, Creative Education, 2015, 6, 3, cations, Laurea University of Applied Sci- s. 315-330. 172 3 PAPERS Raij, K. (2014). Learning by Developing in jen avulla! https://www.tampere.fi/tie- Higher Education,K. Raij (ed.): Learning by dostot/a/IsUdo2N6r/Alueverkosto_es- Developing Action Model, Laurea Univer- ite_A6_lowres_29012018.pdf. Accessed sity of Applied Sciences Publications, Van- 10.8.2018. taa, Vol 36, s. 10-26. Tampere (2018b). City of Tampere Web-pag- Ruoslahti, H. (2018). Co-creation of Knowl- es: https://www.tampere.fi/tamper- edge for Innovation Requires Multi-Stake- een-kaupunki/tietoa-tampereesta.html. holder Public Relations, in Sarah Bow- 19.9.2018. man, Adrian Crookes, Stefania Romenti, Tuusula (2018). 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This research paper discusses a framework based on Jungian concepts and contemporary branding practices that will help communication experts and their clients from small and medium enterprises (SME) [1] to establish mutual understanding and a bold communication platform in a fast manner and with clear strategic direction. Design/method/approach: The framework was pretested in two phases. The first phase con- sisted of one-on-one semi-structured interviews with SME owners. The second phase was con- ducted during an international workshop. Findings: The findings of the first phase indicate high evidence of a correlation between SME owner’s archetypal online test results and personal identification with movie characters. During the second research phase, the majority of the participants rated the archetype chosen ac- cording to movie characters as familiar, while the artistic expressions of the archetypes were recognized with the high accuracy. Implications: The framework can be used as stimuli during strategic communication planning in SME but also in personal branding and team coaching. Originality: The pre-test research proposes that an authentic brand meaning can be defined ac- cording to the enterprise’s brand owner’s [2] resonance toward their dominant archetype and as such can be easily communicated to all the experts in charge of the brand. Keywords: Jungian; Branding; Archetypes; Archetypal branding; Strategic communication; Brief- ing process; Brand consulting; Neo-archetypal theory; Brand owner; Social media 174 3 PAPERS 1. Challenges and responsibili- Survey among 777 marketing executives ties of strategic communication around the globe, revealed that filling “talent and brand consultancy in the gaps”, adjusting the “organizational design”, and implementing “actionable metrics” is the digital world biggest improvement opportunities for com- panies across sectors (Leeflang 2014). As ac- Each and every war starts and ends with cess to knowledge is democratized, opacity communication (Verčić, 2018). In a world full fades and clients no longer have to pay the of concerns about geopolitical risks, cyber fees of big consulting firms, opening gates to wars, climate change and natural disasters, modular providers. Many companies have communication is tasked with the responsi- hired former consultants for internal strategy bility of maintaining interconnected, effec- groups, which contribute to the companies’ tive, global transfer of information and mes- know-how but also increase sophistication saging. However, furious digital development about consulting services, moving the work also influences the practice of strategic com- in-house (Clayton at al 2013). munication and changes the business mod- els the experts operate within. Traditional boundaries between professional services are blurring and brand management The key digital trends social media, big data, mandates are often shared. The relation- mobility and pervasive computing, cloud, ships between clients and communication AI, VR and robotics lead the communication experts are often time limited, discontinuous management landscape today by influencing and superficial. consumer’s behavior and power, re-shaping the needs of marketers and consequently, As examples of the new reality (Kluz and Frilej redefining role of communication experts 2017) state that the most popular social me- and consultants. dia creates no content (Facebook), the fastest growing banks have no actual money (Soci- At the beginning of Internet era, marketers etyOne), the world’s largest taxi company cheered digital media as a new, easy to use owns no taxis (Uber), and the largest accom- communication channel that could simplify modation provider owns no real estate (Airb- strategic communication management and nb). To complement the list we may add Co- relations with the public. Two decades later, match, a platform that matches clients with we are witnessing the evolution of consumer management consultants. The company was power; once audiences could opt out of ads founded in 2014 by former McKinsey & Com- it became harder for brands to buy fame, so pany consultants and recorded a compound only a few brands have generated meaning- annual growth record of 422% in the initial ful consumer interest online (Holt 2016). Indi- three-year period. Among other marketing vidual-based online sources gave consumers and strategy topics, Comatch offers brand- demand-based and information power, while ing, marketing and communication planning social media ubiquitously provided con- consultancy. sumers the network and crowd-based power (Labrecque at al. 2013). This caused a change This new, threatened role of consultants in the decision-making process, information and strategic communication management sharing, and entertainment consumption. results in pale, unrecognizable, purposeless brand communication (Figure 1). Today’s creative consumers take a much less reductive journey making futile the tradition- If there is no focused brand positioning based al funnel strategies (Edelman 2010), while on meaningful differentiation, the audience adapting, modifying or transforming the pro- will take over, because marketers have very prietary offerings, whether they be products, limited control and consumers are more like- services, information or ideas. ly to trust their peers then branded content. 175 3 PAPERS FIGURE 1: Brand communication consultancy in digital age Brands are becoming more transparent and budgets create a strong temptation for using success goes to the ones that are authentic DIY tools. The company owner is usually the and able to deliver quality (Kohli at al 2014). decision maker in every segment of the busi- ness, which makes the branding process very 2. How to responsibly develop fast and ensures overall implementation; not limited only to communication but also con- and implement brand for small cerning product development, customer ser- and medium businesses? vices, market research. However, decisions often depend solely on the owner’s taste and In today’s consulting landscape the strategic mood, threatening the brand development marketing firm devoted to small and medi- and communication. um enterprises (SME), searched for a practi- cal framework for collaboration with clients, The strategic marketing firm, which consid- that could prevail against problems disrupt- ers strategic planning dynamics and relation- ing strategic communication management ship with the client as their responsibility, ex- and could ensure excellent, long-term brand plored ways to adjust the planning process strategy, creative ideas, and business results. according to the SME traits and needs, and The process should be (1.) fast; with no need the current state of the overall communica- to additional education, (2) focused; to deliv- tion landscape. er clear direction and (3.) inclusive; to ensure The result is related to the audience’s de- long-term cooperation with all the experts sire for authentic communication with the involved. While sharing the central struggles role and the power of the company founder. of large company brands, SMEs have specific Small businesses generally share the vision details (Figure 2) that influence the strategic and values of the owner who is at the core of planning processes and overall communica- the organization, and who has the power to tion management: small companies often establish and implement business and com- do not have a strong marketing team, peo- munication strategies that will be reflected in ple in charge of communication lack knowl- every touch point with consumer and other edge and marketing skills, limited marketing stakeholders. Examples of the iconic brands 176 3 PAPERS FIGURE 2: SWOT analysis of SME communication management Apple, Virgin or Microsoft evidence how the visions. The three main ones were the ego, leader’s personality reflects the core mean- the personal unconscious, and the collective ing of the company’s brand. unconscious (Hall 1934, McLeod, 2014) (Fig- ure 3). Nevertheless, during development, it be- came clear that the brand-planning frame- The ego, a small part of a human psyche, work should be applicable regardless of an represents the conscious mind: status, gar- individual owner’s charisma, with the prima- ments, ego maneuvers. It is subject to fast, ry goal of providing a focused, inspirational radical changes and is easily impacted by strategic platform, which the brand owner others (Bar, 2018). The ego is largely respon- and their team can understand and connect sible for feelings of identity and continuity. with in long-term. Jung proposed that the unconscious consists of two layers – personal and collective uncon- The primary question arises: How can one ar- scious. ticulate a brand-owner’s personality in order to communicate it precisely to all the experts Personal subconscious, or the shadow, en- in charge of the brand — from designers and compasses all the hidden, rejected and re- copywriters, through digital and social media pressed parts of each of our personalities, experts, to PR and media people? or in other words, “the thing a person has no wish to be” (Hall, 1983). 3. Digging up personal authentic- The deepest layer is the collective uncon- ity scious (or objective psyche), which has an ap- parent universal structure in mankind. Within The solution is found in Jungian and neo-ar- the collective unconscious there are arche- chetypal theory. Jung regarded the psyche as types and archetypal images. Jung (1954) be- made up of four separate, but interacting, di- lieved archetypes are an intrinsic set of im- 177 3 PAPERS FIGURE 3: Personality structure according to C. G. Jung ages and feelings that repeat across cultures chetypes. and generations, and shape human collective unconsciousness. Jung contended that peo- Faber&Mayer (2009), in their comprehensive ple employed unconscious or implicit mental research study, explored people’s reactions models of other people in the world based and preferences to archetypal characters in on a network of “primordial, mythological im- modern mass media: popular music, movies ages” and ancient beliefs that were ancestral- and classic art. Research findings offered sur- ly common to all humans, and provided the prising new evidence for possible existence “true basis of the individual psyche”. Any real of dominant archetypal themes in our lives, person, situation, or event could conjure up indicating that people’s resonance towards these powerful and ancient images from the neo-archetypes predicts their personal collective unconscious, eliciting a powerful themes and media preferences — provided and otherwise inexplicable emotional reac- the indicators that people respond to are ar- tion (Shelburne, 1988; Faber&Mayer, 2009). chetypal characters, which reflect their own In neo-archetypal theory, archetypes possess personalities. five characteristics. Specifically, archetypes: Faber’s (2009) findings sparked the idea that (a) are story characters, (b) are represented enterprise owner’s personality can be artic- psychologically as mental models like “self ulated through their predominant subcon- and other” schemes and prototypes, and scious archetypes. (c) often elicit intense emotional responses when encountered. Also, such archetypes (d) 4. Connecting the dots to cre- operate at an automatic or unconscious lev- ate the framework for Jungian el, and (e) are culturally enduring to be easi- ly learned and widely recognizable (Faber&- branding Mayer, 2009). As an enterprise owner’s personality might Jung claimed to identify a large number of reflect the core meaning of the personal and archetypes but paid systematic attention to company brand, and their personality can be few that he found were “fundamentally un- articulated through their subconscious mind, observable.” Contemporary theorists regu- it is possible to establish the relationship be- larly discuss the basic twelve or thirteen ar- tween personality and brand structure. 178 3 PAPERS The hypothesis arises that the brand own- If the above hypothesis were supported, it er’s taste and decisions are connected only would be possible to construct a framework to their conscious mind, their ego, and as that would help the enterprise brand own- such are subject to fast, radical changes, and ers and communication experts to define fo- are easily impacted by others. That would cused, authentic brand strategy platform in a explain SME owner’s unfocused briefings, fast, easy manner, which will ensure consis- tentative decisions, and unsteady, inconsis- tent, recognizable, long-term communication tent judgments of the strategic and creative with all the stakeholders. works. The inner self is consistent and close to the brand meaning (Figure 4). 5.2 Research questions Another underlying insight from the Faber’s To test the hypothesis, we defined the two re- research (2009) supported the model we search questions: explore: by identifying with a particular ar- chetype, the individual has an automatically RQ 1: Is there a correlation between a pre- created support group for his or her tastes, vailed archetype of the participant according since the archetypes unify the people they to an online questionnaire and the archetyp- represent through common interests. This al movie character the participant is attracted finding provoked the presumption that if an to? enterprise owner defines their archetype, it If we confirm the correlation between test would be possible to precisely communicate result and the chosen archetype, the frame- it to other experts in charge of communica- work may be used for defining the archetypal tion. foundation of a brand. 5. What has been done to pretest RQ 2: Could the participant describe charac- teristics of a chosen archetype in a way that the framework? the communication expert can recognize as the archetype? 5.1 Hypothesis and research ques- tions If the communication experts familiar with Jungian concepts and archetypal theory can Hypothesis: The personal taste and deci- correctly recognize archetypes that partici- sions are connected to ego, while the inner pants describe, then the framework may be self is consistent, connected to fundamental used as a briefing tool during the strategic archetypes and close to the brand meaning. planning processes and branding. FIGURE 4: Personality and brand structure relationship 179 3 PAPERS These research questions were tested during PowerPoint presentation. To determine the two phases of the research. dominant archetypal type of participants, we used an online personality test (Figure 5). 5.3 Methodology of the first phase To check which archetypal movie character The first research question we tested through the participant was most attracted to, we cre- five one-on-one semi-structured interviews, ated two sets of twelve A4 posters, for the supported with an online test and a special- twelve fundamental archetypes (Mark and ly created stimuli tool based on archetypal Pearson, 2001) (Table 1). movie characters. On the front side of posters are photos of well-known movie characters with strong 5.3.1 Participants of the first phase archetypal traits, and on the back we gave Five SME owners, clients of the agency with- comprehensive description of the archetype out previous knowledge of archetypes, par- (Figure 6). To choose the characters and to ticipated in the first phase of the study. describe the archetypes, we read previous studies on the topic of archetypes (Mark and 5.3.2 Materials for the first phase Pearson, 2001; Faber and Mayer, 2009; Sener and Bir, 2017) and made a list of thirty-five In order to introduce the Jungian concepts of movie characters. We used twenty-four mov- personality structure and the theory of arche- ie characters to produce the basic set of post- types, the researchers prepared a 15-minute ers, while the remaining eleven were kept as FIGURE 5: Online personality test 180 3 PAPERS backup. The basic list was sent to the par- tion between the online test results and the ticipants before their interviews, to check if preferred film archetype (Table 2). they are familiar with them. If one would not be familiar with some of the movies on the 5.4 Methodology of the second list, the appropriate character on the poster phase would be replaced with a backup. To avoid gender preferences, we made two sets of the The second research question we tested posters; one with female and the other with during the international workshop held at male characters The posters were mount- Expressive Arts in Action Conference 2018 ed on foam-boards and before the research in Athens. The workshop simulated the de- were displayed along the wall velopment of communication brief and the briefing procedure. 5.3.3 Procedure of the first phase 5.4.1 Participants of the second phase The participant was left alone to take an on- line personality test, using thirty-six closed In the second phase of the research the work- multiple-choice questions to determine the shop participants were accompanied by two prevailing archetypes. After taking the test, communication experts, both certified Jung- the researcher moved on to the movie char- ian coaches. The workshop was comprised of acters, asking the participants to recall the fifteen people, artists and psychologists with movies and to choose the character they backgrounds in coaching and therapy, with were the most attracted to. Only the posters limited knowledge of Jungian concepts and with characters of the same gender as the no previous knowledge of marketing com- participant’s were displayed. T participant munication and branding (Figure 7). was allowed to browse though the twelve ex- hibited A4 posters for five minutes in order 5.4.2 Materials for the second phase to choose their character. The whole process took approximately thirty minutes. For the second phase, the researchers used the introductory PowerPoint presentation, 5.3.4 Results of the first phase the set of twelve foam-board posters with the archetypal movie characters and their The results showed high evidence of correla- descriptions, and the wide selection of art FIGURE 6: Front and back side of a Jungian male movie poster 181 3 PAPERS equipment and tools; different coloring pens, acters were chosen by multiple people), the scissors, glue, duct tape, fashion magazines participants were asked to turn the posters and collage paper. The posters with only fe- around and review the archetype’s descrip- male characters were exposed, because four- tion for three minutes and to rate how the teen of the fifteen participants were women. archetype’s description resonated with them. The following ratings were offered: 3-famil- 5.4.3 Procedure of the second phase iar, 2interesting, and 1dislike. Jungian coach- es were not aware of the participants selec- At the beginning of the workshop, the re- tions. searcher held the fifteen-minute introduc- tory presentation explaining the foundation After choosing an archetype and rating the of Jungian concepts, archetypal theory, and resonance, the participants were given thirty branding processes. minutes to use the art equipment and create a mood board [3] that would represent After that, the participants were given five minutes to choose between the twelve mov- their expression of the archetype. The par- ie characters that were exhibited; during the ticipants then presented their mood boards selection process, the participants were not as the creative communication briefs to the allowed to see the backs of posters. Jungian coaches. During the presentation, stating the name of the archetype was pro- After choosing their characters (some char- hibited, and the coaches had to define the FIGURE 7: Workshop in Athens, 2017 182 3 PAPERS archetype only according to the expressions ognized the archetype on the mood board. on the mood board. The workshop lasted 120 minutes. The overall scheme of the work- The results shown the significantly high shop’s procedure is given in Figure 8. match in archetypes that participant’s were expressing and the ones that coaches rec- 5.4.4 Findings of the second phase ognized from their mood boards. Five mood boards were correctly recognized by both of The results of the second phase are shown the coaches, eight by one while only one was in Table 3. The second column holds the ab- addressed wrongly by both of the coaches. breviations of the chosen archetype. Some of the characters were chosen more frequently then others, such as the “lover” that was cho- 6. The final discussion sen four times, and the “revolutionary,” “ex- plorer,” and the “ruler” that were each cho- 6.1 Review of findings sen by two participants. At the beginning of the manuscript it had The third column shows the participants’ re- been stated that the characteristics of today’s sponses toward the archetypes they chose relationship between the marketers and after seeing the archetypes’ descriptions. A marketing communication professionals are majority of the participants (ten out of fifteen) discontinuous, time-limited and superficial. It rated the resonance with the chosen arche- results in: (1) threatened role of consultants; type as “familiar”, four participants rated the (2) pale, unrecognizable, purposeless brand archetype as “interesting” and only one par- communication insufficient for creative au- ticipant disliked the archetype of her choice. diences empowered by the digital world and finally, (3) lame communication results, no In fourth and fifth column are the abbrevia- matter if it is a matter of sales, social problem tions of the archetypes that coaches select- awareness or election. ed as the best to represent the participant’s mood-boards. The final column shows the The main aim of the research was to pretest match between the archetype according the original framework based on the Jung- which the participant created the mood ian concepts and contemporary branding board and correct response from the Jungian practice that will help communication practi- coaches. 0-none of the coaches correctly rec- tioners and their clients establish mutual un- ognized the archetype, 1-one of the coaches derstanding and a bold communication plat- recognized it and 2- both of the coaches rec- form in a fast manner and with clear strategic FIGURE 8: Workshop procedure 183 3 PAPERS direction. framework implies a change in the commu- nication model toward the stakeholders’ pool The first findings in the first phase of the and insurance of long-term communication research shown significant evidence of the authenticity. match between a dominant archetype of the participant according to an online question- 6.3 Practical and social implications naire and the archetypal movie character the participant is attracted to. Additionally, the of the study findings of the second phase shown that the The given results of the pre-testing the frame- majority of the participants rated the arche- work imply that method and the Jungian type chosen according to movie character as movie posters will work across the branding the highest of familiarity. These findings offer process in different firms in charge of com- the possibility to use the Jungian movie cards munication. in defining the archetypal foundation of a brand. They will work for: (1) strategic planning in During the second phase of the research, companies with the apparent decision mak- communication experts educated in Jungian er in branding and communication (most of- theories recognized the artistic expressions ten the company owner herself); (2) person- of the archetypes with the high punctuality, al branding and media training; (3) personal which indicates that the framework and the and team coaching. The tested framework Jungian movie cards can be used as a brief- and Jungian posters will, by bringing the ing tool during the planning processes and discussions to the mutual understandings branding. of fundamental archetypes, work for as: (1) stimuli in brainstorming to overcome the en- 6.2 The originality of the pretested terprise brand owner personal taste but also framework extend habitual communication expert’s in- dividual style; (2) facilitating tool in briefing The archetypal branding is no novelty in the process; (3) inspiration tool for creative and branding practice. As Mark&Pearson (2001) other communication experts. state, advertising always has used archetypal imagery to market products, and the brands Pre-testing the framework pointed the pow- that capture the essential meaning of the er of archetypes in communication. Mark & category and communicate that message in Pearson (2001) described the charismatic subtle and refined ways dominate the mar- influence of people, who are strongly con- ket. nected to the fundamental archetypes, giv- ing examples of Madonna who changes her The traditional archetypal branding ap- lifestyle and hairstyles, but she is always the proach strives to define the target audience’s outrageous archetypal Rebel; or Diana Spen- desired archetype to adjust the brand posi- cer’s life that had many chapters and styles, tion accordingly. The process is robust and but she always stayed Lover, catching so pro- long-lasting, it includes extensive market re- foundly the audience attention. Charismatic searches, client’s briefings and strategic de- leaders (whether in religion, politics, or else- velopment of brands that should appeal to where) may appear at any time, they most the target group . The framework we tested often emerge—or are called into existence— put the enterprise brand owner in the center during a crisis. The study implies that recog- of the process and build the brand meaning nizing the archetypal patterns may be one over her dominant archetype . Such an ap- of the tasks of communication professionals proach will ease the strategic planning of the today. communication, implementation and further communication management. The tested 184 3 PAPERS ---------------------------------------------------------------- rary Cultural Heroes. Organization Studies, p.017084061878920. SMEs are defined as non-subsidiary, indepen- dent firms, which employ fewer than a given Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2018). The Dark number of employees. This number varies Side of Charisma. [online] Harvard Busi- across national statistical systems. The most ness Review. 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Regarding stakeholder Companies are engaged in business activities management, there is hardly any discussion related to many stakeholders including cus- on the distinction between B2C companies tomers, customers, business partners, share- and B2B companies, despite the importance holders, investors, governments, communi- of B2B companies. ties, and employees. And companies operate on these various relationships. Corporate Because B2B companies are dealing with communication is a management function industrial materials and do not frequently that offers a framework for companies to contact with the community, accumulation continue to exist by establishing and main- of research on stakeholders other than cus- taining favorable reputations with stakehold- tomers is small, and systematic discussion ers (Cornelissen, 2008). It is the responsibility has been lacking so far. Although there are for companies to actively disclose informa- some previous researches as some elements tion to stakeholders and fulfill accountabili- of B2B marketing and B2B branding, we can- not find discussion on corporate communi- ty through corporate communication, which cation of B2B companies for a wide range of supports the sustainable development of stakeholders. themselves. The reason for this is that, from the perspec- On the other hand, since the characteristics tive of the third party, the only difference of B2B (Business to Business) companies and between the B2B companies and the B2C B2C (Business to Consumer) companies are companies are their customers, and it is rec- different, the content, purpose and target ognized that the response to stakeholders of CSR activities are different, which may af- such as the employees, the shareholders and fect CSR communication to the community. If the community are the same. there are problems in the same management method as the B2C companies in the field of However, even for B2B companies, it is an CSR activities and corporate communication, important management task to increase a method adapted to the B2B companies compatibility with diverse stakeholders, not should be explored. limited to direct customers. B2B companies 187 3 PAPERS should conduct corporate communications hard to become a subject of research due to in a different way from B2C companies. the limited relationship with people in daily life. Until the term B2B is emerging, and still As the business environment and prerequi- now, like “industrial marketing” or “industri- sites become complicated, a paradigm shift al goods,” the term “industry” is commonly of corporate evaluation standards has oc- used. B2B is not limited by the characteristics curred, and social factors such as environ- of the goods handled, but is a classification mental conservation activities and CSR man- targeting transactions between organiza- agement have become important, in addition to economics such as sales and profits. At the tions (companies). B (Business) is not limited same time, companies have more and more to companies, but it is considered to include multiple stakeholders. Attitude and behavior government, schools, hospitals, non-profit of stakeholders directly affect companies. organizations, etc. Therefore, “B2B” and “in- Companies will ensure continuity while their dustry” are treated as synonyms in practice, value is recognized by stakeholders. but B2B has a broader target area if strictly considered (Yamasaki, 2014). The B2B do- Based on these considerings, we extract the main covered by this research is especially a characteristic elements in CSR activities and domain with private B2B companies. CSR communication in corporate commu- nication of B2B companies, which occupies As B2B companies which focus on long- an important position in their stakeholder term organizational purchasing are able to management. The aim of our research is to maintain stable management by supplying obtain a theoretical and practical implication high-quality products at reasonable pric- by considering the background of corporate es, communication targeting non-customer communication done by B2B companies. For stakeholders are not recognized as import- that purpose, we conducted some research ant management task (Yamasaki, 2014). But, interviews and present the differences in CSR in these days, compared to B2C companies, activities and communication for communi- various stakeholders including communities ties between B2B companies and B2C com- lack the recognition and understanding of panies. company names and businesses, so various problems are becoming obvious. 2. Literature Review 2.2 Stakeholder theory In this chapter, we will review previous re- Freeman (1984, p. 53), a pioneering leader in searches on B2B corporate communications, stakeholder research, defines stakeholder as and clarify the areas that need to be explored. “any group or individual who can affect or is First, we grasp the concept and characteris- affected by achievement of an organization’s tics of the B2B domain which is the main field purpose.” Specifically, it refers to custom- of this research. Next, we will outline the re- ers, users, business partners, shareholders, search of stakeholder management. And, we investors, governments, communities, em- will organize the company’s CSR approach ployees, and so on, who interact with orga- and finally review the B2B corporate commu- nizations such as companies. Since Freeman, nication research. research on stakeholder theory has been ac- 2.1 B2B domain cumulated. Miyasaka (2000) is considering stakeholder B2B stands for “Business to Business” and is management from the aspects of business established as a general term like B2B com- ethics. pany, B2B transaction, B2B marketing, B2B communication. However, compared with He argues that the foundation of CSR is sym- the B2C (Business to Consumer) domain, it is biosis with diverse stakeholders and that the 188 3 PAPERS keyword to adjust the interests of stakehold- does not apply to all companies. ers is a trusting relationship between compa- nies and stakeholders. It is not particularly applicable to B2B compa- nies, and there is no stakeholder map unique Although the nucleus having a relationship to B2B companies. with stakeholders is a company, research on stakeholder management have not distin- Harrison and Freeman (1999) stated that as guished B2B from B2C, and generally assume one aspect of stakeholder management, eco- B2C company as its subject. nomic and social fields should be handled integrally, because it is difficult to divide the In this research, in analyzing the difference of economic and social effects clearly and is CSR activities and communication between fused together. B2B and B2C companies, we focused on a stakeholder map where stakeholders are po- On the other hand, Clarkson (1995) tried to sitioned. think about the analysis and evaluation of corporate social performance in the stake- A stakeholder map generally visualizes rela- holder framework. He concludes as follows. tionships by radially arranging stakeholder The measurement of corporate success groups in the periphery of focal companies, has traditionally been limited to creation of such as the map proposed by Post, Preston, wealth for only one stakeholder, the share- and Sachs (2002) (Fig. 1). holder. But the economic and social purpose of the corporation is to create and distribute This typical stakeholder map is arranged as wealth and value to all primary stakeholders. if each stakeholder were independent and companies were facing each other stakehold- Bosse et al. (2009) clarified the reciprocity ers alike. This map does not express the scale of companies and stakeholders, and reci- of stakeholders’ influence or interrelation- procity behavior creates more value than ship. There are stakeholder maps that have pursuing self-interest, which is not only oc- attempted to respond to these problems (eg. curred in the two-part relationship but also Freeman, Harrison, and Wicks, 2007), but it among stakeholders in the network. Tan- Figure 1: Stakeholder map (Post, Preston, and Sachs, 2002) 189 3 PAPERS imoto (2013) points out that the sustainable For B2C companies, customers who are pur- development of society will be discussed by chasers of products and the community are multi-stakeholders, and will be grasped in almost identical. Therefore, B2C companies the interrelationship between companies need not locate communities as indepen- and multi-stakeholders. dent stakeholders for management object. As a result, B2C companies are presumed As we have seen, research on stakeholders to have little intention of managing the com- has not been conducted with each company’s munities clearly separated from customers characteristics and attributes, and no discus- as stakeholders. On the other hand, cus- sion has been made separating B2B and B2C. tomers of B2B companies are corporations Mizumura (2004) argued that, although the and organizations. There are only a few in- existence of stakeholders is applicable to dividual “customers” who are participants of general companies, the constituent elements purchasing belonging to the organization. differ depending on individual companies, in- B2B companies recognize the community dustries, business types. Furthermore, they as a stakeholder that is managed separately are different on the spatial axis of geography, from customers, as the overlap between cus- and the time axis of past, present and future. tomers and communities is small compared In other words, the feasibility of generaliza- to B2C companies. This is a great difference tion of relations between companies and between stakeholder management between stakeholders depends on the extent of sub- B2B companies and B2C companies. Figure division of companies and stakeholders, and 2 shows the degree of overlap between cus- it is difficult to do strictly. It might be true, but tomers and communities of B2B and B2C we think that it is meaningful to consider the companies. B2B domain which this research attempts as “degree of subdivision” separately from the From this point of view, B2B companies and B2C domain, because BtoB and BtoC are a B2C companies may differ from CSR activities major domain division in the industry. and communications, especially for the com- munity. However, the difference between In this paper, we consider communities as an CSR activities and communication between aggregation of living persons, and we posi- B2B companies and B2C companies has not tion them as independent stakeholders to be been discussed. managed while overlapping with other stake- holders as individuals. Figure 2: The extent of overlapping of communities with customers (Yamasaki, 2014) 190 3 PAPERS 2.3 CSR - Corporate Social Responsi- in the management of B2B companies. bility 2.4 Corporate communication There are many discussions about CSR, and here we review what seems to be deeply re- Inoue (2009, p. 108) defines CSR communica- lated to this paper. tion as “dialogue and information exchange with stakeholders on CSR concept, attitudes Post, Lawrence, and Weber (2002, pp. 58-59) and initiatives, for realizing CSR, building trust stated that the concept of corporate social and sharing value between the company and responsibility is “a corporation should be stakeholders, and improving corporate value held accountable for any of its actions that and social value”. affect people, their communities, and their environment.” The research of corporate communications on the B2B domain is less likely to be cov- Carroll (1991) classified corporate social re- ered, as compared to the B2C domain, be- sponsibilities into four hierarchies: economic cause the contact frequency between the responsibilities, legal responsibilities, ethical community and the companies is small. On responsibilities, and philanthropic responsi- the other hand, In the marketing field, re- bilities. This pyramid of corporate social re- search has been accumulated, and has es- sponsibility portrays the four components of tablished fields such as industrial marketing CSR, beginning with the basic building block and industrial advertising. In B2B marketing, notion that economic performance under- the relationship marketing framework has girds all else. A frame of CSV (Creating Shared been developed focusing on customer rela- Value) is that a company creates social value tionship management (Yoda, 2000). Relation- by responding to social needs while creating ship marketing is a research area to explain economic value (Porter & Kramer, 2011). continuous trading and functional relation- ship between companies. As mentioned above, the concept of corpo- rate social responsibility is not different for While the concept of branding has developed B2B companies and B2C companies, but it in B2C domain, B2B domain has paid atten- seems that there is a difference in the pur- tion to branding only limitedly (Bengtsson pose and contents of communication for in- & Servais, 2005). Nowadays brand manage- dividual stakeholders. For example, one op- ment in B2B is not only related to product or portunity for B2B companies to place society service but rather to the whole company it- as an important stakeholder was a pollution self (Kotler & Pfoertsch, 2006). Even for stake- problem (Yamasaki, 2014), B2B companies holders other than customers, branding ap- were pressed for corresponding communica- proaches such as company reliability rather tion. than approaches with products and services which are hard to be understood by the com- Not only for B2C companies but also for B2B munity are required. companies, stakeholders have become multi- tiered, and environmental and social out- comes are becoming important as corporate 3. Method evaluation standards in addition to econom- With the problems we became aware of and ic outcomes. As community’s antipathy and previous research mentioned above, this negative evaluation be a hindrance, and the research set up the following two research possibility that B2B companies will be unable questions. to run smoothly increases. It is not limited only to pollution problems, but by increasing What are the differences in CSR communica- voice in various areas, the community has tion for communities between B2B and B2C become a presence as a valued stakeholder companies? 191 3 PAPERS What are the differences in CSR activities be- 4. Results tween B2B and B2C companies? Our research method is the case study re- 4.1 Difference in CSR communica- search with interviews. First, we contacted tion seven B2B companies and five B2C compa- nies, and asked their CSR communications. On CSR communication, we found the differ- Second, we contacted two B2B companies ence between B2B and B2C companies as fol- and two B2C companies, and asked their CSR lows (Yamasaki, 2016, 2017). activities. We conducted a semi-structured (1) Objects interview method which let us list questions and also ask other questions about relevant The common purpose of both companies is areas, and selected companies with consid- disclosure. The difference between the two is ering the balance of industries, convenience that the objects for the B2C company is sales sampling. For details of the interview, see promotion, whereas the objects for B2B com- Yamasaki (2016, 2017) and Yamasaki et al. panies are sustainability of the company. “Al- (2017). though the objective is disclosure of manage- ment information to stakeholders, there are In investigating the difference in CSR commu- also aspects of making fans,” housebuilder nication between B2B companies and B2C company (B2C) answered. companies, we asked each company the fol- lowing three points. Meanwhile, the machine manufacturing com- 1. Objects of communication pany (B2B) said as follows. “If B2B companies do not continue their efforts to let people un- 2. Contents of communication derstand the significance of their existence, no one will be on the side when falling into a 3. Media used for CSR communication crisis situation.” In this way, CSR communica- In investigating the difference in CSR activi- tion of B2B companies realizes smoothness ties between B2B companies and B2C com- of operation. Moreover, improving corporate panies, we asked each company the follow- awareness and comprehension level is con- ing two points. sistent with recruitment purpose for gather- ing talented people. 1. Main target of CSR activities (2) Contents 2. Contents of CSR activities The common contents of both companies We followed the case study method of Eisen- are environmental protection and CSR ac- hardt (1989), especially the sampling method tivities of their own. For B2B companies, not and sample size (theoretical saturation), re- only these but also social value and presence garding the difference in CSR communication of their business is the content of their CSR between B2B companies and B2C compa- communications. B2C companies need not nies. Eisenhardt (1989) stated that as the the- bother to consider their presence because oretical building step, the number of cases is people are aware of the existence value of not defined before data collection but add- their company. This difference can be seen ed until reaching the theoretical saturation from the following statements. state, that is, even in a new case, the same characteristic is repeatedly found. “In addition to improving corporate recog- nition, we are widely appealing the realities that contribute to solving social problems with businesses and technologies.” (B2B / chemistry) 192 3 PAPERS “The environmental response of products factory according to their own ideas and lo- such as eco cars is product information itself. cal needs.” (B2B / machine) “There are no The recognition rate of our company and so- supervising organizations in charge of social cial functions is saturated in Japan.” (B2C / car activities so far. Each department is involved manufacturing) in related activities individually.” (B2B / preci- sion equipment) (3) Media used for (2) Contents of CSR activities B2B companies use website, events, or cor- porate advertising. In addition to those me- We found both B2B and B2C companies ex- dia, B2C companies make good use of social ecute the CSR activities which are connected media and publicity. with their own business. However, B2C com- panies carry out more customer-oriented ac- “We are sending out all information by the tivities, and B2B companies carry out more CSR report and website, but we are interlock- society-oriented activities. ing with all media such as TV and newspaper, social media, events, publicity etc.” (B2C / B2C companies are more conscious of cus- beverage) tomers. “Our CSR activities are “customer in- volved” type, such as inviting neighborhood “We cannot make full use of the interactive customers to tree-planting in stores under function of social media in our current sys- construction.” (B2C / retail) “We are holding tem, so we are not using it.” (B2B / machine) events to learn about health at the stadium To sum up, while B2B and B2C companies that we have acquired its naming right.” (B2C both have similar objects, contents, or media / food) usage, we found there are also many differ- On the other hand, the comments of B2B ences between them. companies are as follows. “We are hosting a work place experience. We will use our core 4.2 Difference in CSR activities technology to aim for CSR activities that are Based on the interview survey of the four interesting and easy to understand for the companies, we found the difference of CSR public.” (B2B / precision equipment) “We are activities between B2B and B2C companies accepting internship students at factories as follows. (Yamasaki et al., 2017). and donating books introducing projects in cartoons to schools and libraries.” (B2B / ma- (1) Main target of CSR activities chines) On CSR activities, main target of B2C com- panies is customers. On the contrary, B2B 5. Discussion companies target the communities. For B2C CSR activities and communication of B2C companies, every stakeholder might be a companies are customer-oriented and con- customer or a potential customer, and the scious of sales promotion. On the other hand, community is not the exception. “There are those of B2B companies are society-oriented. many parts of CSR activities related to busi- ness practices such as sales, and we focus on For B2B companies, customers are limited, relationships with customers at store.” (B2C and rationally decide whether to make deals / retail) As such, B2C companies place great with the company or not. B2B companies use importance on customers. their CSR activities and communication not for increasing their sales like B2C companies, B2B companies, on the other hand, are not but for gaining the presence of their own and conscious of customers in the community sustaining their business. as seen in the comments below. “CSR ac- tivities are implemented by each office and The difference between B2B and B2C com- 193 3 PAPERS panies comes from the fact that the level of be able to reach their important stakeholders cognition and understanding by stakehold- more effectively. ers other than customers is low due to the lack of opportunities for communities to con- Also, B2B companies and B2C companies tact with business in their daily lives. It leads need to separately consider CSR activities to a lack of awareness of the social value and and communication activities. CSR activities significance of companies and businesses. It and communication of B2B and B2C compa- can be handicapped for B2B companies to nies have not been discussed separately so acquire management resources such as hu- far because the difference between B2B and man resources and funds from the outside, B2C companies, which are important stake- and various problems can arise in order to holders and objectives, was not recognized. achieve smooth management. Besides, in However, since B2B companies have different terms of cooperation at the time of establish- characteristics from those of B2C companies, ment of a factory or acquisition of support it is the achievement of this research that we when a scandal happens, the way of evalua- were able to show the different characteris- tion from society is different from that of the tics of CSR communication also existed. B2C companies and affects the sustainability of B2B companies. In this research, we showed the difference of CSR activities and communication between The reason B2B companies place empha- B2B and B2C companies in their stakehold- sis on improving corporate recognition and er management. This is not only academic social value transmission is such a manage- knowledge but also practical. This research ment issue. B2B companies position CSR will enable B2B companies to make appropri- communication as an important corporate ate discussions, develop strategies and make communication for the community in order rationale decision-making in order to do ap- to maintain smooth management and to sur- propriate CSR activities. vive the organization. The reason why the communication media 7. Limitations and Future Re- of the B2B companies is limited compared to search the B2C company is that B2C companies also use the various media used for sales promo- We just used the qualitative method, so for tion to the community. In contrast, it is not so the future research, quantitative investiga- in B2B companies. B2C companies are aware tion for the difference of CSR activities and of the community as an unspecified large communication between B2B and B2C com- number of customers. panies is needed. Why “disclosure” is a common purpose for Triangulation that combines multiple ap- CSR communication of B2B and B2C compa- proaches will increase the relevance of the nies that satisfying accountability by showing research. financial information is not enough now. Rec- ognition that companies is responsible for In the case of adopting the triangulation ap- information disclosure of non-financial infor- proach, a method combining qualitative and mation has come to be shared. quantitative surveys is common. There are many discussions on comparison and com- 6. Implications bination pattern of quantitative survey and qualitative survey. Bryman (1988) stated that From the results of this research, B2B compa- the validity of findings can be enhanced by nies would be asked to draw their own stake- checking the results of two types of study on holder map, which is different from that of the triangulation that combines both qualita- B2C companies. To do so, B2B companies will tive and qualitative research. 194 3 PAPERS Furthermore, in the interview survey of CSR mance: Empirical Evidence and Theoreti- activities, the number of samples is small. It cal Perspectives. Academy of Management is necessary to investigate by adding samples Journal, 42(5), 479-485. or to ensure validity by quantitative survey. Inoue, M. (2009). CSR komyunikeshon no Finally, this study adopts only Japanese cas- shinrai keisei heno eikyou -sutekuhoruda es. 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