Dialogic Communication and Public Relations Websites: A Content Analysis of the Global Top 250 PR Agencies

• Main Author: Akwari, Charles C
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University 2017
• Subjects: Dialogic Communication Theory; Holmes Report; Global PR; Public Relations; Two-way Communication; Website Usability; Communication Technology and New Media; Digital Humanities; Public Relations and Advertising; Social Media
• Online Access: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3209; https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4680&context=etd

Past research has shown that dialogic communication has essential characteristics that foster two-way communication between organizations and their stakeholders. This study investigates how public relations firms incorporate the principles of dialogic communication on their websites. The top and bottom 50 websites from the Holmes report on Top 250 Global PR agency rankings were content analyzed. Kent and Taylor’s (1998, 2003) five principles of dialogic communication were applied to find out if public relations firms incorporate the principle of dialogic communication effectively on their websites, provide relevant information for stakeholders and prospective clients, and if there are differences between PR rankings in terms of website usability and the dialogic loop. Findings reveal that bottom 50 PR websites are not as dialogic as the top 50 PR websites. In addition, the study revealed that both top and bottom to a considerable extent incorporated the principles of dialogic communication.