Negotiating public relationships: The co-creation of issues
Abstract
This research effort seeks to examine the communicative nature of a public. Generally, the goal is to develop and test a model of the communication process by which individuals first become and then function as a public. Referred to as the Public Stages Model, the framework is theorized as a cycle of communication behaviors, activities, and processes. The model is inductively developed from theory and research on a public, issues management, and issue development negotiation. Specifically, two research questions examine concerns that underlie development of the model: (a) Does the public stages model explain how individuals first become and then function as a public? (b) Does a public co-create an issue? Case study analysis affirmed the research questions and identified two additional components that more fully explain public emergence and co-creation. All in all, the view that publics emerge and respond partially through their own constructions advances the field of public relations beyond the view that publics simply respond to issues.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Botan, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Communication|Social psychology|Social structure
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