Behavioral dimensions of public relations leadership in organizations

Abstract

Purpose – The evolution of public relations into a management function has brought the importance of leadership to the forefront of professional discussion. This study aims to identify and develop a measure of behavioral dimensions critical to effective public relations for organization‐wide public relations leadership. Design/methodology/approach – Using a national survey of Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) members (n=159), a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted on the seven theoretically‐driven leadership behaviors: upward influence, coordinating, internal monitoring, networking, representing, providing vision, and acting as a change agent. Findings – The results suggest that the measurement model had a good internal and global fit. CFA results supported the seven‐factor model over the one‐factor model, suggesting that public relations leadership is multi‐dimensional. Among the behaviors, “providing vision” and “acting as a change agent” were those most strongly associated with the value of public relations in an organization. Originality/value – The study shows that understanding public relations leadership from an organization‐wide perspective opens up a whole new avenue for future research to strengthen public relations as a management function. The present study also provides public relations managers with valuable insight concerning the leadership behaviors they can exercise to contribute to the value of public relations in their organizations.