Power Over, Power With, and Power to Relations: Critical Reflections on Public Relations, the Dominant Coalition, and Activism

Symmetrical public relations theory acknowledges primacy of the dominant coalition in making organizational decisions and influencing public relations practices but reveals little about this powerful inner circle. Drawing from interviews with 21 public relations executives, this article opens up the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of public relations research 2005-01, Vol.17 (1), p.5-28
Main Author: Berger, Bruce K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activism
Coalitions
Executives
Organizational behavior
Power
Public relations
Studies
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Summary:Symmetrical public relations theory acknowledges primacy of the dominant coalition in making organizational decisions and influencing public relations practices but reveals little about this powerful inner circle. Drawing from interviews with 21 public relations executives, this article opens up the dominant coalition and reveals its complex power relationships and a matrix of constraints that undermine and limit the function, rendering it difficult for practitioners to do the "right" thing, even if they want to. If public relations is to better serve society, professionals and academics may need to embrace an activist role and combine advocacy of shared power with activism in the interest of shared power.
ISSN:1062-726X
1532-754X
DOI:10.1207/s1532754xjprr1701_3