‘Communicative Equations’: Towards a More Agile PR Practice in the Network Society
| Date | 01 November 2015 |
| Author | João Duarte |
| Published date | 01 November 2015 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12204 |
‘Communicative Equations’: Towards a More
Agile PR Practice in the Network Society
Jo~
ao Duarte
Enel Group, Madrid, Lisbon Superior School of Mass Communication and Media
Arts
1. A new professional practice for public
relations
Among the main elements that are structurally changing
the public relations (PR) world and the stakeholder rela-
tionship management function, mention can be made to
technology, the cultural revolution in communications,
globalization or even the fragmentation of the mass
media system. However, a much deeper impact is being
generated by the growing application of the network
concept and network thinking to this field.
Network society is driving the need to reassess tradi-
tional PR concepts and requires a practice based on
understanding the full implications of each PR dilemma
(problem, opportunity or a mix of both). ‘Communicative
equations’, a concept elaborated on in this article,
become a fundamental part of a new professional prac-
tice focused on networks of publics, stakeholders and
relationships.
This commentary resumes many of the ideas con-
tained in the chapter ‘Challenges and tools for mapping
and managing an organization’s relationships networks’
published in Toni Muzi Falconi’s recent book Global
Stakeholder Relationships Governance: An Infrastructure
1
,
as well as the ideas presented at Bledcom 2014 –21st
international public relations symposium.
2
An explanation
of some of these ideas has been delivered at the:
response and Global Policy roundtable ‘If stakeholders
ruled the world: stakeholder relations in the 21
st
century’,
hosted by the London School of Economics.
2. Implications of a new PR practice
To understand the implications of a new professional
practice for public relations we need to understand how
the network society is impacting the way organizations
and stakeholders relate.
Relationships, and the capability of managing them,
have become more and more crucial for companies and
organizations due to the increased complexity of the
world we live in. There is an increased consciousness that
organizations have a deep societal impact that is not lim-
ited to shareholders, customers, suppliers, employees or
communities.
On the other hand, relationships seemingly develop in
network-like patterns. This means that whatever happens
in a specific relationship with a single stakeholder is not
an isolated phenomenon and might produce effects in
many other relationships. That is why, in my view, the
most effective way to understand and deal with stake-
holder relationships is by using ideas and tools coming
from ‘network analysis’.
So if we accept these two premises, we can concur
that a different kind of PR practice is emerging. This new
practice is the expression of a PR function responsible
for coordinating –and sometimes being directly in
charge of –relationships with stakeholders. And there
are at least three good reasons to explain why this is dif-
ferent from traditional PR practice.
Networks require shift from bi-lateral to multi-lateral
governance
Public relations has relied for many years on the bidirec-
tional approach to manage communicative exchanges
(to listen is considered at least equally important as to
speak), balanced with a symmetrical approach to deci-
sion making (searching for win-win situations between
organization and its stakeholders). However, the idea of
such bi-lateral governance, connected with the idea that
a good decision-making process is that which creates
mutual benefits for the parties involved, falls short of
guaranteeing the equilibrium in the complex network
environment in which we live today. In the network
organization, it does not suffice to adjust or accommo-
date interests of two parties –the organization and its
shareholders; or the administration and the employees;
or any other configuration of parties –but it is required
that decisions conform to patterns and values that repre-
sent the common good or at least do not pose a threat
for society as a whole, or to the greater network. We
thus need a PR practice applying multilateral governance
©2015 University of Durham and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Global Policy (2015) 6:4 doi: 10.1111/1758-5899.12204
Global Policy Volume 6 . Issue 4 . November 2015
498
Practitioners’ Special Section
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