*CFP* “THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS ON ORGANIZATIONS AND SOCIETY”, 27TH INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

27th International Public Relations Research Symposium

The Impact of Public Relations on Organizations and Society

3 y 4 de julio de 2020

Hotel Golf, Slovenia

BledCom 2020 conference theme is The impact of public relations on organizations and society. For this year’s theme, we take our cue from an allied discipline – mass communication/mass media – that has a stream of “media effects” theories dating back at least to the 1980s assessing the various dimensions of mass media effects on individuals, organizations (including families), and society. We feel that our field has not adequately addressed this aspect of our existence, which has led to reputational issues such as public relations being construed mostly as “spin doctoring” on behalf of corporate or similar interests. The Bell Pottinger debacle is a case in point. Our field will benefit from reflection including an assessment of the varied purposes for which public relations has been, and can be, used. Examples are public information campaigns to build societies and nations engaged by NGOs and IGOs (intergovernmental organizations).

The following are some topics subsumed under this theme:

• Impact of public relations on organizational culture
• Impact of public relations on societal culture
• Case studies of the use of public relations for betterment of society
• Critique of public relations as a tool for cultural hegemony
• Public relations for societal development
• Public relations for nation building
• Public relations as a tool for trade negotiations between, and among, countries
• How public relations contributes directly to “the bottom line”
• How public relations contributes indirectly to “the bottom line”
• Public relations and its contributions to relationship building and management

Abstracts that are between 500 and 800 words (including title and keywords) with up to 5 references are invited. Please note that as has been the norm in the past, BledCom welcomes ALL papers that are relevant to public relations and communication management and not just papers that discuss the conference theme. BledCom also welcomes panel proposals.

Paper abstracts and panel proposals should be submitted via email to bledcom@fdv.uni-lj.si no later than 1 February 2020. Decisions will be made by 4 March 2020 after peer review. Full papers not exceeding 6.000 words will be due by 16 September 2020. The organizing committee will serve as guest editors of a special issue of Corporate Communications: An International Journal, based on papers presented at BledCom 2019. A separate publication of the conference proceedings will feature the remaining papers.