Public Relations and Organisational Communications
Vision and Mission
The activity of the Public Relations and Organisational Communications Division is centered around research on communication within, about, and by organisations. The division represents and supports the interests of members of the German Communication Association who are engaged in research and lecturing on issues and questions about public relations and organisational communication.
Until today the reflection of public relations and organisational communication within communication science and media studies falls short given the increasing relevance of strategic communication practices in the public sphere. Therefore the objective of the division is to address problems and challenges concerning public relations and organisational communication more intensively and to enhance the quality and quantity of research on related topics in communication science and media studies as well as within the German Communication Association.
Persistent research deficits can be found particularly in the development of consistent and valid conceptual approaches, but also in the systematic and comprehensive empirical study of practices and effects of public relations and organisational communication beyond single case studies. The division consequently aims at the encouragement and support of research that contributes to theory building and substantiated empirical research on public relations and organisational communication.
The primary objectives of the division are:
- Information on and coordination of activities in research and lecturing on public relations and organisational communication
- Organisation of regular annual conferences
- Support of research in communication science that focuses strategic communication within and by organisations
- Encouragement of discourse and exchange with the scientific community
- Promotion of public relations and organisational communication research as an obligatory part of graduate and undergraduate programs in communication science
- Support of young scholars
- Enhancement of international and interdisciplinary collaboration
- Facilitation of exchange between research and practice
Core functions
The division organises annual conferences and workshops for the presentation and discussion of research topics, projects, and results within the scientific community. These occasions also provide a forum for the exchange of knowledge between public relations and organisational communication practitioners and researchers. Workshops and meetings of the division further give young scholars the opportunity to present and discuss their own research projects within the scientific community.
Moreover, the division arranges subject-specific panels at the annual conferences of the German Communication Association to support the visibility of public relations and organisational communication research and to intensify its presence within the German Communication Association.