Investigación en Relaciones Públicas en Europa: internacionalización, institucionalización y reflexión sobre los nuevos retos profesionales desde una perspectiva de orientación social

Public relations and communication management research in Europe are going through an excellent phase of scholarly development and impact. This effect is being felt because there is an increasing number of educators and researchers bringing a breadth of qualifications and experience to the research field and consequently providing international prominence and recognition

The Corporate Social Responsibility in Lidl’s Communication Campaigns in Croatia and the UK

The purpose of the paper was to investigate whether Lidl uses CSR communication in their Advertising and Communication Campaigns in two different business contexts, and if so, how. The paper built upon existing analyses of CSR Communication by analysing Lidl’s websites in both countries, and went step forward and analysed TV adverts of the company in both countries as well. The analysis discovered importance of the social context in using CSR to promote business, as well as a different communication management strategy where Lidl does not communicate with UK public as extensively as with the Croatian public due to different views on the CSR communication. An in-depth analysis of TV adverts of Lidl in Croatia and the UK using their YouTube channel with all promoted TV adverts, as well as official websites of Lidl in both countries was conducted. The findings were analysed using the qualitative method of thematic, contextual analysis. The findings reveal that CSR is used as an argument to foster sales and consumer trust in Croatia but not in the UK. The communication management strategy is different in two countries due to different views of the public about CSR Communication, and Lidl\u27s Communication strategy is designed accordingly

Incrementar el poder y asumir el liderazgo - ¿Qué hacen realmente los profesionales? Evidencias empíricas sobre los gestores de comunicación en Europa

The aims of the paper and presented research are to monitor trends in communication management and to evaluate specific topics that include decision-making style, leadership style, role enactment and the power of communication departments in Europe. This paper is based on data from the European Communication Monitor (ECM) annual research, the most comprehensive analysis of communication management worldwide. The ECM is an annual research project conducted since 2007. The ECM 2011 collected quantitative data through an on-line survey from 2,209 participating professionals from 43 European countries, with representation of every European region.This paper presents original connections about previous theory and offers empirical evidences about vertical and horizontal power of communication departments into organizations. On despite of the limitations of a self-reported survey, these evidences open new directions or research on hierarchical and social dimensions of power. The aim of this paper is to deepen the understanding of the power of communication management in organizations. Concretely, the paper aims to develop knowledge and understanding about horizontal and vertical power and the relationships established between these dimensions of power and strategic roles, decision-making and leadership styles that communicators play. The paper presents original ideas by critiquing and re-focussing the literature and theory of power and leadership in organizations. The paper also presents new empirical data to support these arguments

Crisis? What crisis?. How European professionals handle crises and crisis communication

A broad study in 43 European countries shows that 70% of communication professionals encounter at least one crisis a year, mostly institutional, related to the performance of the organization or a crisis in management or leadership. Organizational response and image restoration approaches are mainly based on information, sympathy and defense strategies. Traditional media relations and personal communication are the most important instruments used in crisis communication, while social media is used less often. The variation of crisis types, responses and instruments across European regions and types of organization indicate that economic and cultural aspects play a role in defining a crisis and communicating about it

‘If I huff and I puff’. Foundations for building Brazil’s image: Evidence from an international systematic review (2001 to 2015)

The past two decades presents a rapid development of country image research. From the literature, several conceptual frameworks are aligned to specific topics, for instance, country-of-origin, country brand models, socioeconomic changes, among others. Specifically, focusing on Brazil’s image research, this paper provides a systematic review of international articles published between 2001 and 2015. Therefore, this paper concludes that there is not enough research about Brazil’s image, providing an exciting opportunity to advance our knowledge about this complex Latin America country relating to other disciplines. Additionally, most studies have examined Brazil’s image from a ‘tourism’ perspective, followed by ‘exports’ mostly using quantitative methods. This demonstrates that researchers could carry out further research regarding potential theoretical and methodological approaches aligned to other disciplines. Furthermore, the outcomes can orientate new research alignments linked to Brazil’s image and the recent crises (e.g., economic, political, social and ethical)

Suvremena pitanja o europskim komunikacijskim kompetencijama

Although there is research focusing on skills, knowledge and personal attributes of communication professionals, there is no definitive research that brings these elements together in a European study. The article examines: (1) how socio-economic issues have shaped the communications profession in Turkey; (2) the disconnect between the competencies required by professional associations and educational institutions in the Netherlands; (3) the competencies required by managers and the need for practitioners to invest in further education in Germany; (4) how crisis communication emerged as a dominant specialization in Spain and the necessary competencies associated with this role; (5) the professionalization of public relations in the UK; and (6) how communication gained a reputation for conspicuous consumption in government and the public sector in Croatia and the consequences for the profession and the challenges for practitioners. The findings are based on the work of the European Communication Professionals Skills and Innovation Programme – ECOPSI (ERASMUS 2011 Ref No: 517691-LLP-1-2011-1-UK-ERASMUS-ECUE).Iako postoje istraživanja usmjerena na vještine, znanja i karakteristike komunikacijskih stručnjaka, ne postoji istraživanje koje spaja sve te elemente zajedno u europskoj studiji. Ovaj rad ispituje: (1) kako su socioekonomska pitanja oblikovala komunikacijsku profesiju u Turskoj; (2) nepovezanost između kompetencija koje traže profesionalne udruge i onih koje nude obrazovne institucije u Nizozemskoj; (3) kompetencije koje trebaju menadžeri i potreba da oni koji rade u struci ulažu u svoje daljnje obrazovanje u Njemačkoj; (4) kako je krizna komunikacija postala dominantna specijalnost u Španjolskoj i koje su kompetencije povezane s tom ulogom; (5) profesionalizaciju odnosa s javnošću u Ujedinjenom Kraljevstvu i (6) kako je u Vladi i javnom sektoru u Hrvatskoj komunikacija stekla reputaciju „upadljive potrošnje“ (conspicuous consumption) te s kojim posljedicama za profesiju i s kojim izazovima za praktičare. Nalazi su utemeljeni na radu European Communication Professionals Skills and Innovation Programme – ECOPSI (ERASMUS 2011 Ref No: 517691-LLP-1-2011-1-UK-ERASMUS-ECUE)

Re-fuelling the talent tank. A qualitative study of key deficiencies, future needs, and life-long learning needs of communication management professionals in Europe

This paper originates from the results of the EU financed project, ECOPSI, which advanced understanding about the professional competences of European public relations and communication managers. The paper focuses on deficiencies in competences that practitioners identify for themselves and on the needs for the future generation that will perform four professional roles: chief communication officer (CCO), crisis communication, social media, and internal communication. Questions to understand the roles and their future requirements were defined around: means for achievement of current competences to perform the role, competence gaps, specialized competences, and future needs. They were explored with qualitative methodology through 53 in depth interviews. The analysis of data shows that European professionals understand and evaluate their way of performing the practice through a complex framework of competences. The findings provide evidence of synergies in the understanding and interpretation of the four roles and there is common identification of on-going gaps and future needs, suggesting that public relations is a maturing discipline with an accumulated set of standards in Europe. The study also targets the capacity of intervention for advancing the profession to an approach of knowledge acquisition and supporting the previous academic consensus about the necessity of a body of knowledge and specialized skills for professionalizatio

Does social media usage matter? An analysis of online practices and digital media perceptions of communication practitioners in Europe

A key aspect for understanding and explaining online communication is the micro level of communication practitioners’ social media usage and their general attitudes towards digital platforms. This paper investigates how public relations practitioner's personal and professional use of social media is related to their perceptions of social media. A quantitative methodology was applied to perform this research. A population of 2710 professionals from 43 European countries working on different hierarchical levels both in communication departments and agencies across Europe were surveyed as part of a larger transnational online survey. Results show that practitioners with a high level of usage of social media give more importance to social media channels, influence of social media on internal and external stakeholders and relevance of key gatekeepers and stakeholders along with a better self-estimation of competences. Issues about diverse levels of overestimation of social media use, application and importance in the professional arena are also debated