Public relations professionals' role in managing conflict: A cross-country contingency theory perspective

This comparative study examines how public relations professionals in Türkiye, South Africa, and Uruguay approach conflict management, exploring the culturally contingent nature of public relations practice across these diverse settings. Drawing on qualitative data from a Delphi study, the research investigates the reasons public relations practice may lead to conflicts, how professionals frame and justify their conflict management decisions, their stance on the advocacy-accommodation continuum, and their roles and responsibilities via thematic analysis.

Findings

reveal that conflicts often arise from communication approaches/structures within organizations and organizational power dynamics. Accordingly, the practitioner's organizational standing and perceived power influence public relations professionals' decisions. In conflicting situations, the organizational stance is often clustered near the accommodation end, emphasizing the social dimension. Key roles of public relations professionals include environmental scanning, stakeholder engagement, and mediation.

The study highlights the importance of contingency theory in understanding conflict management in public relations.The findings suggest the absence of universally applicable conflict management rules, emphasizing the necessity for context-specific and flexible approaches. While a stakeholder perspective, social orientation, and accommodation tendencies are evident across the studied countries, public relations professionals face diverse challenges rooted in cultural differences and the distinct conceptualizations and practices of public relations within each country.