Aligning Public Relations with the Demands of Globalization: Conceptual Foundations for a Theory of Global Public Relations

Abstract

The current era of globalization has increased the significance of public relations, especially at the cross-national and cross-cultural levels. This chapter reviews the impact of globalization on public relations practice and scholarship and how current public relations scholarship has attempted to prepare the industry for a global practice. The generic principles and socio-cultural variables that should be taken into consideration while applying the principles are presented here. The chapter also discusses the studies based on these two streams of thought and how those studies have helped reduce the level of ethnocentricity in the body of knowledge of public relations. Looking to the future, the chapter contends that many more empirical studies from around the world are needed to confirm the theorizing that has evolved from the Excellence Project.