On the definition of public relations: a European view.(Report on European Public Relations Body of Knowledge)

Dejan Vercic (*)

Abstract

The article confronts a U.S.-based definition of public relations as relationship management with a European view that besides a relational, argues also for a reflective paradigm that is concerned with publics and the public sphere; not only with relational (which can in principle be private), but also with public consequences of organizational behavior. The article is based on a three year research project on the European Public Relations Body of Knowledge and it reflects on the consequence of that project for definitional activities in the US practitioner and academic communities. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

In a recent article Hutton (1) reopened a debate on the definition of public relations with the purpose "to propose a definition of public relations; explore some of the implications of that definition, in terms of the domain of public relations; propose a three-dimensional framework by which to analyze public relations theories and practice; and encourage the process of integration, rather than disintegration, of the field." (2) We find his endeavor commendable, yet a bit flawed: as many authors before him Hutton approached the field of public relations as being a solely North American theory and practice. By reading his article a reader gets the impression that the conceptual issues Hutton discussed using solely sources from the U.S. equally apply around the globe and that the definition based solely on U.S. theory and practice has a global validity. In this article we would like to question this based on our three-year research program on public relations in Europe. At least from a European perspective we find Hutton's definition, dimensions and the domain of public relations being inadequate; yet we don't claim that our proposals have a global reach--we think that further work still needs to be done in Europe, but we also need a better understanding of the current situations in public relations theory and practice on other continents. It is only after we are able to take into consideration the full richness of the present state of thinking and practicing public relations around the globe that we will be able to draw conclusions towards what the public relations profession is in the world at the beginning of the 21st century.

In what follows we first introduce the reader into our project on the European public relations body of knowledge (EBOK). This is the fourth part of a still incomplete presentation of the results of that study. (3) Then we review Hutton's proposals on the definition, dimensions, and domain of public relations. These will be confronted with the findings from our research. After that we present some ideas on how we could bridge the differences we encounter. In the final section we propose the areas for further investigation and explain where we intend to lead our research next.

2. The Delphi research in public relations in 25 European countries