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23 October 2018
Management tools for corporate communications: Results of an empirical study, full report available for free

Management tools for corporate communications: Relevance, benefits and experiences. Results of an empirical study in communication departments.
Results of the latest study by the University of Leipzig team and Lautenbach Sass have been published these week and are available for free as PDF (44 pp.) here.
The team researched the relevance and use of management tools for analyzing, planning, implementing and evaluating communications in corporate communications departments. Thinking tools and procedures are a key asset used by top management and strategy consultants to address recurring challenges. However, only a minority of communications departments have systematically documented tools and most employees do not have the appropriate methodological competence. To see the authors’ conclusions and to join the discussion, read the full report.

19 October 2018
EACD Forum in Paris on Nov. 15: Corporate activism in an age of radical uncertainty

This year’s EACD Forum will take place in Paris on November 15 and will focus on Corporate activism in an age of radical uncertainty. The lack of strong leadership has never been more apparent than in today’s volatile world: the challenges of globalisation, technological change, immigration issues, and the rise of populism all demand clear reactions and responsibility.  There is a marked loss of trust in institutions and business, most notably this year in the Facebook data privacy scandal.
Organisations are increasingly expected to take a stance and promote their values outside of the immediate operating environment. Should an organisation actively become involved in social and political issues, and how should communicators enable this dialogue? More info, programme and registration

17 October 2018
Communication Theory: An Underrated Pillar on Which Strategic Communication Rests (open access article)

by Betteke van Ruler, Professor Emeritus, University of Amsterdam, Heemstede, The Netherlands.
Published in open access in the International Journal of Strategic Communication.
This article addresses the concept of “communication” in strategic communication, and proposes a new lens through which to view communication in order to deepen knowledge of strategic communication, as well as to significantly improve the alignment of strategic communication with the demands of today’s strategy development process. Looking at modern strategy theory, this article focuses on communication theory as an ongoing process of meaning construction. Go to the article

16 October 2018
PR Leadership Forum in NYC

The Public Relations Leadership Forum is a two-day seminar for high-performing, mid- to senior-level managers and executives at Global 1000 companies and public relations agencies to strengthen their leadership development. The 2018 PR Leadership Forum will focus on cutting-edge leadership strategies, research, case studies, and techniques for public relations and communications professionals.
The event is organized by the Institute for PR on October 29-30. To enhance discussion, networking opportunities and learning exchange, the seats are limited. More info

15 October 2018
Call for Papers on Social Sciences – submissions until October 31

You are welcome to participate to 16th International Conference on Social Sciences in the premises of Sorbonne University -Paris, with your abstract, full paper and poster, as in-person or virtual. The conference topics include Social, Educational, Economics, Literature and Multidisciplinary Studies.
So far, ICSS has successfully completed 15 editions with the participation of more than 6000 authors Worldwide to the conferences in Bucharest(3), Istanbul(2), Pristina , Dubrovnik, Sofia, Kelantan, Madrid Complutense University, Vienna University, Frankfurt Goethe University, Leuven University.

Publications

The accepted full papers will be published in the proceedings book with ISBN and in indexed journals by De Gruyter.
The abstract book with ISBN will be published before the conference. Sending a full paper is optional. Full Proceedings and Journal will be published within 2 months after the conference.

Submission and registration

You can register with your abstract from now until 31 October 2018. The fee starts from €180 and it varies depending on your preferences such as participation type, journal publishing etc.

Submit and register here

10 October 2018
New book: Public Relations and the Power of Creativity

Edited by Sarah Bowman, Adrian Crookes, Øyvind Ihlen, Stefania Romenti.
Published by Emerald, part of the series Advances in Public Relations and Communication Management.
With the best contributions out of the 2017 EUPRERA congress in London.
Ebook also available.
Creativity is the development and use of imagination to solve current challenges or create innovative ideas for the future. The complexity and challenges of the contemporary world arguably require increasing levels of creativity and innovation to manage the disruptive forces at work and build a prosperous and sustainable global society.
Public relations is often seen as the discipline that amplifies creative ideas developed by other sectors, but this is changing. With the blurring of lines among creative industries, organisations are increasingly turning to PR to generate the ‘big ideas’ at the heart of effective communication.
This volume gathers 12 outstanding contributions from scholars based in Germany, Finland, Austria, Romania, the UK, Spain, France, Norway, Turkey and the USA. Taken together, the chapters demonstrate a range of possibilities for creative thinking about public relations management and collaboration in different settings and with different purposes. The chapters hint at opportunities, point towards innovation, and challenge our thinking about the power of creativity.
EUPRERA members will benefit of a 70% discount on this book – contact Virginia Villa (dpra@euprera.org) for instructions.

More info

9 October 2018
Call for Papers: Trust and Reputation – International symposium BledCom 2019

BledCom is an annual gathering of scholars and practitioners in public relations and related disciplines to discuss contemporary communication and management problems. Organized annually since 1994, it is the oldest conference in our field that is not affiliated with a professional or academic association.
So far, eight books and nine special issues or sections of peer-reviewed journals have been published based on previous symposia (www.bledcom.com). The organizers attribute this success to the hundreds of colleagues who have participated over these years and of course our sponsors, and thank you all for sustaining this boutique conference for a quarter of a century.
Conference dates
The 26th International Public Relations Research Symposium (BledCom) will be held on July 4, 5, & 6, 2019 in Rikli Balance Hotel (formerly Hotel Golf) Lake Bled, Slovenia.
Location
Picturesque Alpine Lake Bled in Slovenia
Conference Theme: Trust and Reputation
Trust is a foundation of social (and organizational) order and also serves as the underpinning of healthy relationships, exchanges and transactions. There is a growing concern globally that social and organizational trust is eroding, and that it has become harder for organizations to build and protect relationships with stakeholders many of whom themselves seem to be in conflict. Digitalization and globalization have contributed significantly to changing the world order, leaving many people confused, disoriented and perhaps even scared. This has also contributed to people’s lack of trust in basic social institutions. Conspiracy theories are on the rise on a variety of topics. The ultra-rich are preparing for an apocalypse and building bunker-homes in New Zealand. In many countries there appears to be increasing support for authoritarian leaders because of their promise to protect against a disruptive future. In this respect, one is reminded of Bob Dylan’s song: ”The times they are a changin’.”
In such a challenging environment, how does/should public relations (re)build trust and reputation to help us function as social beings operatying in harmonious societies?
The following are a few of the many topics subsumed in this theme:

  • What is trust and what is reputation?
  • How does (should) communication and relationship management help individuals and organizations build trust and reputation?
  • How do different stakeholders (such as employees to investors) experience, and perceive, trust and reputation in organizational settings?
  • How relevant is it for us to talk about engagementin a world with diminishing trust?
  • How do trust and reputation affect organizational and social success, or decline?
  • How are 21stcenturey social processes such as digitalization and globalization affecting trust and reputation?
  • How are media affecting trust and reputation?
  • What benefits can organizations and the society get because of higher trust and reputation?
  • How can communication management help us build reputation in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world?
  • How is the rising inequality, within and between, societies affecting trust and reputation within and between societies, and with what effects?
  • Are there similarities in the problem of lack of trust and reputation globally, or do they differ from one part of the world to another?

Call for Abstracts and Panels
We invite abstracts that are between 500 and 800 words (including title and keywords) with up to 5 references. Please use the following guidelines to present your abstract and kindly supply the word count at the end of the submission.
We also welcome panel and poster proposals.
Please note that as has been the norm in the past, BledCom welcomes ALL papers that are relevant to public relations and communication management beyond papers that discuss the conference theme.
Format for the Abstract
Please note that the chances of your abstract being accepted are enhanced if you observe the following format in preparing it:
Introduction and purpose of the study (and research question if there is one) – helps summarize the purpose and rationale of your study. Literature review – Helps place your work in context with the existing body of knowledge. Methodology – Define the main method used for gathering data including sample size, and state the rationale for using this method. Results and conclusions – Helps summarize the answers to the research questions while also outlining the implications of the results. Also summarize the limitations of the study and offer suggestions for future research. Practical and social implications – Offer the potential implications both for practice and society. Also provide us with 3 to 5 keywords that highlight your study. Abstracts should come as blind copies without author names and affiliations, who are to be identified on on a separate cover page. Please use the suggested headings to structure the abstract. A list of literature is not necessary, but if it is provided it is included into the word count.
Panel proposal are also welcome. The proposal should describe the title and focus of the panel, name of the chair of the panel, and names of every member of the panel and title or focus of each presentation.
Deadline
Paper abstracts and panel proposals should be submitted via email to bledcom@fdv.uni-lj.si no later than 14 January 2019. Decisions will be made by 4 March 2019 after peer review. Full papers not exceeding 6.000 words will be due by 16 September 2019. The organizing committee will serve as guest editors of a special issue of Corporate Communications: An International Journal, based on papers presented at BledCom 2019. A separate conference proceedings will publish the remaining papers.

Go to BlecCom website

8 October 2018
Call for Papers: PR, society and the generative power of history – submissions by October 22

The starting point for the special section is the original meaning of history, which has its roots in the Greek word ἱστορία, translated by the Romans as historia meaning ‘an inquiry’ or ‘knowledge acquired by investigation’. We use this as a springboard for engaging with interdisciplinary, critical and complex issues in the present and future, that public relations scholarship needs to address. In this sense, history has a place in contemporary experience and historical excursions are necessary whenever the present is being investigated. As James Baldwin notes:
‘The great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it in many ways, and history is literally present in all that we do. It could scarcely be otherwise, since it is to history that we owe our frames of reference, our identities, and our aspirations’ (James Baldwin, The Price of the Ticket, 1965).
The papers in the special section will open up questions of how histories are put to use by people in different ways in order to explore how the past is constructed from the present; how the present is always historical, and how both past and present power imagined futures. Contributions will address the question of power and resistance explored from the perspective of promotional communication (management), traced across different phenomena (e.g. organizations, institutions, networks, societies) and fields of activity (e.g. sport, education, business, activism, government, arts). We invite submissions adopting a critical and interdisciplinary approach to topics which include, but are not limited to, the following areas:

  • Profession
  • Inequality, discrimination and social exclusion
  • Influence and social change
  • Theory/Historiography
  • Culture
  • Race/ethnicity
  • National identity
  • International communication
  • Public diplomacy
  • Corporate social responsibility
  • Rhetoric

Submissions
Submissions should be 5000 word full papers, prepared in accordance with the style of Public Relations Review. Deadline for submission is October 22 2018.
For questions about the special section, please email one of the guest editors:

Go to the Call for Papers

7 October 2018
Prof. Dr. Ansgar Zerfass receives the EUPRERA award as Distinguished Public Relations Scholar

Aarhus, September 29, 2018 – EUPRERA has named Prof. Dr. Ansgar Zerfass, from Leipzig University in Germany, a “Distinguished Public Relations Scholar”. The lifetime award recognizes his outstanding contribution to research and education in public relations as a social science discipline on an international level. He was awarded today at the Aarhus University, on the occasion of the EUPRERA annual congress, by the association’s president Professor Dr. Ralph Tench.
There’s a long tourist tradition in most of our countries of selling ‘sticks of rock’ (candy) from a holiday destination. Particularly a tradition in seaside resorts. Candy like this often has the name of the town or location written inside. And some people by their loyalty to a place, issue or idea are sometimes compared to a stick of rock. Cut them through and they will say Real Madrid, Aarhus, Save the Planet.
For this year’s Distinguished Scholar I believe this is true. If we cut them in two inside it would read EUPRERA. They have been a loyal, hard-working and dedicated member of the Board of Directors, President and Past President as well as a driving force behind some of the most high-profile initiatives for members and the Association worldwide. In fact, if we cut them through it would say two words: EUPRERA and ECM (the European Communication Monitor).
Yes, no prizes for guessing the member we would like to acknowledge today is our good friend and colleague, Professor Ansgar Zerfass from the University of Leipzig Germany.

About Ansgar Zerfass

Ansgar is originally from the North Rhineland. He studied Economics and Communication Science at the University of Erlangen-Nurnberg. He continued at the University completing his PhD: Business management and public relations: Foundation of a corporate communication theory and public relations.
From 1996 he worked in communication practice as communication leader at MFG, a Public Innovation Agency for IT and Media of the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg. And in 2000 he became the director of MFG. In 2006 he got his habilitation from the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg in Communication Science and in the same year he got his call from Leipzig University as Prof. for communication management. In 2013 he was appointed Prof. for Communication and Leadership @BI, and 2014 Prof. for strategic communication.
Some more awards and highlights:

  • 1998 Prize of the Hermann-Weiler-Foundation (Diplom-Kaufmann-Hermann-Weiler-Foundation)
  • 1995 Albert-Oeckl-Prize of the German PR Association
  • 1997 the Ludwig-Schunk-Price for economics
  • 2005 PR head of the year in Germany
  • 2005 the German Multimedia Award and 2010 the PR Report Award
  • 2010 when the German PR professors were ranked he got the top spot
  • 2014 recognised by the Pathfinder Award for the US Institute for Public Relations
  • 2015 the Jackson Jackson & Wagner-Science Award of the Public Relations Society of America

As we know from past congress many of his students have won prizes for master and bachelor thesis. On top of all of this Ansgar is known as a prolific journal editor, book author and frequent journal author. At conferences he is an ever present in sessions and presenting and chairing panels. Sometimes in the two or three rooms at the same time!
But for many Ansgar is best known for his commitment and dedication to the ECM. A project that has benefited EUPRERA and its members for over 12 years. Those of us in the ECM team fully acknowledge Ansgar’s energy and focus for this project which has grown to include now a Global Monitor covering Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific and now North America.
More info
Virginia Villa
dpra@euprera.org

5 October 2018
Awards for best master thesis in public relations

Aarhus, September 29, 2018 – EUPRERA, the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) and the International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) have awarded two master students for their excellent theses in strategic communication at the EUPRERA annual congress in Aarhus on September 29. The congress is known as the major gathering of scholars and professionals interested in advancing the profession of public relations and corporate communications on the continent, hosted this year by Aarhus University in Denmark.

Best thesis on value creation and lobbying regulation

Master Thesis Award for Excellence is an annual prize aimed to celebrate the PR academia and the role performed by European Higher Education Institutions in the evolution of knowledge of this field. The jury, headed by Alexander Buhmann, from BI Norwegian Business School in Norway, selected as winning theses in two categories:
Theoretical Impact Award – “Value Creation through Thought Leadership. Theoretical fundamentals and empirical framework” by Luisa Bißwanger. Tutor: Ansgar Zerfass, University of Leipzig, Germany.
Where CCOs actually succeed in assuming higher-level strategic roles within their organizations, they can be found to take up responsibility within important change and innovation processes, helping to shape the long-term development of their organizations by providing thought leadership. But what is thought leadership and how does the concept fit with established concepts in corporate communications? In her thesis, Luisa Bißwanger develops a focused theoretical argument on how thought leadership supports organizational success.
The jurors were convinced of three main strengths of the thesis: (1) the addressing of a highly current and relevant topic, (2) a both focused and ambitious theory chapter, and (3) a well-fitted empirical approach. By combining a communication management perspective with a specific focus on agenda setting, Luisa Bißwanger chooses a promising theoretical approach at the interface between management studies and communication studies. The jurors were impressed with the authors’ ambitions to develop her own conceptual model, based on an engaging and knowledgeable theoretical discussion of the relationship between thought leadership and communication value.
Overall, the jury congratulates Luisa Bißwanger to an ambitious thesis, that focuses on and discusses a highly interesting topic, suggests new theoretical pathways and, not least, makes some important suggestions in the direction of communication professionals that provide new arguments towards the value of communication for organizations.
Practical Impact Award – “Towards a Lobbying Regulation – A comparative study on the efforts to implement a lobby register in the Republic of Ireland and the Federal Republic of Germany” by Lisa Grimmeiss. Tutor: Tom Clonan, Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland.
In her thesis, Lisa Grimmeiss explores why the efforts to implement a statutory register for lobbyists were successful in Ireland, whereas all attempts to introduce a mandatory regulation for lobbyists in Germany have failed so far. This question is addressed by looking at both structural and institutional factors as well as at actual policy networks of actors adjacent to the proposition of these lobbying registers.
The Jury has found that the very idea of transparency of lobbying is truly important and to understand the actual differences between the systems in different countries is highly relevant to our understanding of the lobbying practice in Europe. Furthermore, the Jury has not only found the methodological approach to be well-chosen and relevant but was impressed with the thesis’ clear structure as well as the very transparent attempted to apply its theoretical frameworks. Commenting on the empirical part, the jurors stressed that the project management appears to have been outstanding, that the initiative in securing an elite sample for the interviews is very impressive, and this was triangulated very sensibly with documentary analysis.
Overall, the jurors applaud Lisa Grimmeiss for an outstanding academic work that is both disciplined and creative and which findings contribute to the advancement of very current research interests within public relations research.

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