Everything is not Pleasantville': Reframing Public Relations Encroachment as Work Group Autonomy in Higher Education

• Main Authors: Christopher Wilson, Mark Callister, Melissa Seipel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Insitute for Public Relations 2018-02-01
• Series: Public Relations Journal
• Online Access: https://prjournal.instituteforpr.org/wp-content/uploads/4.-everything-is-not-pleasantville-reframing-public-relations-encroachment-as-work-group-autonomy-in-higher-education-1-1.pdf
• ISSN: 1942-4604; 1942-4604

Encroachment in nonprofits has been primarily defined as a structural outcome where a senior fundraiser manages the public relations function rather than a CEO. However, few studies actually explore the critical relationship between the public relations and fundraising functions’ corresponding departments. These relationships are important to understand because they can have an impact that goes beyond the bounds of reporting relationships. As a result, the purpose of this study is to build on the foundation of encroachment research by examining the interdepartmental relationship between public relations and fundraising in higher education through the lens of work group autonomy. Results indicate that senior public relations officers at colleges and universities that raise the most gift dollars have positive working relationships with their fundraising counterparts. However, “everything is not Pleasantville.” In fact, the findings demonstrate that this interdepartmental relationship needs to be constantly cultivated to ensure that public relations departments have sufficient autonomy to contribute to fundraising efforts as well as meet the broader communication needs of the institution.