Public relations in strategic management

Abstract

This article proposes that it is advantageous for organizations’public relations (PR) departments to adopt strategic managementas a core function. A series of theories that have shapedour understanding of organizational strategy were reviewedto identify links to PR practice and scholarship, suggesting PRshould move beyond providing information and assisting inthe implementation of strategy. Instead, PR should facilitatethe ongoing process of becoming ‘strategized’ towards desiredorganizational characteristics. This perspective provides a linkbetween strategy and PR theory, allowing each to bring newthoughts and insights to the other, providing a future researchagenda for PR. Findings also support a resulting pathway perGrunig’s (1992, 2013) desire that PR practitioners be included inthe strategy apex of an organization (Mintzberg, 1979).