We Are All in This Together: Government Involvement in Multinational Companies’ CSR Initiatives for A Better Vietnam

Ba-Anh-Tu Truong,Vi V. Tran Korean Academic Society For Public Relations 2023 Asian Journal of Public Relations Vol.6 No.1

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has consistently received the attention of scholars and practitioners in various academic disciplines, including economics, politics, society, and public relations. In this context, the nature of CSR in developing countries becomes an emerging question because of the business expansion of multinational corporations (MNCs) in these countries. Vietnam is a country with a unique political, economic, and sociocultural context, experiencing rapid economic growth despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this paper explores the CSR approaches, government cooperation, and CSR activities of “big-six” enterprises from different industries between 2018 to 2022 using a content analysis to capture and analyze the CSR initiatives. Our research is the first to highlight some theoretical frameworks in the Vietnamese context that contribute to developing global CSR debates.

The American Public’s Perception of China’s Hard Power, Soft Power, and World Influence

Suman Lee,Hyehyun Hong Korean Academic Society For Public Relations 2021 Asian Journal of Public Relations Vol.4 No.1

In the age of globalization, understanding what and how foreign publics think of a nation is essential because it provides valuable insights into the directions of public diplomacy. In this regard, this study examined the American public’s perceptions of China - particularly, its significant hard and soft power factors and overall world influence. A dataset of 2,046 responses was analyzed from the 2018 national survey in the U.S. While two hard power factors (i.e., economic power and military strength) were the strongest predictors of an evaluation of China’s world influence, soft power factors, such as presidential image and technology/innovation, also contributed to a positive evaluation of China. This study showed current challenges being faced by China as well as opportunities for Chinese public diplomacy efforts.

Activists and Their Communicative Behaviors for Effective Crisis Communication in the Age of Social Media

Hyunji Lim,Sang-Hwa Oh,Young Kim,Jeong-Nam Kim Korean Academic Society For Public Relations 2019 Asian Journal of Public Relations Vol.3 No.1

The purpose of this study is to identify activists, their communicative behaviors, and the effects of these behaviors on crisis communication in the new media landscape. Adopting a new theoretical framework based on problem-solving characteristics, openness, activeness, and time or history, in the situational theory of problem solving, the current study demonstrates that activists in a crisis situation are more likely to actively engage in information acquisition, selection, and transmission than other publics. In addition, this study finds that activists in a crisis could affect an organization negatively in terms of strong attribution of crisis responsibility to the organization, negative reputation, and less supportive behavioral intentions. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Organization-Public Relationship in Collegiate Institutions: Power Dynamic in Faculty-student Relationship in a High-power Distance Culture

Ahnlee Jang Korean Academic Society For Public Relations 2022 Asian Journal of Public Relations Vol.5 No.1

The current study examines how collegiate institutions in a Confucius value-laden society engage in communication with its internal public, from the perspective of the school public relations approach using five dimensions of relational constructs (trust, control mutuality, relational satisfaction, relational commitment, face-work). Interviews with 26 undergraduate students at a 4-year institution in Korea revealed that students identified three relationships in their OPR, namely, university-student, departmentstudent, and professor-student. Findings show that students identified the university's main goal ought to be providing employment opportunities to college students; and department-student relationship as impersonal and one-directional. In terms of the professor-student relationship, students identified that trust and commitment are established with professors' expertise and efforts, but the presence of imbalanced power due to social and contextual factors; wanting to be closer to professors but feeling distant and keeping distance intentionally to maintain professors' and their own faces are at work. Findings contribute to the literature on OPR, School Public Relations and relational constructs; suggestions for follow-up studies and implications are discussed.

Antecedents of Information Seeking and Forwarding in a Public Health Crisis: Focusing on the 2016 Zika-Virus Outbreak

Bitt Moon,Chang-Won Choi Korean Academic Society For Public Relations 2019 Asian Journal of Public Relations Vol.3 No.1

Understanding why the public seeks and forwards information is critical for effective information management during a public health crisis. This study investigated how information seeking and forwarding in a health crisis are affected by involvement, constraint recognition, anxiety, and distrust in traditional media. The survey of 1,148 respondents was conducted during an infectious disease outbreak in Korea. The results indicated that involvement, anxiety, and distrust in traditional media had positively influenced the crisis information seeking and forwarding. However, constraint recognition negatively affected them.

Understanding and Leading Through Crises: The Contingency Theory and Beyond

Yan Jin,Wenqing Zhao Korean Academic Society For Public Relations 2023 Asian Journal of Public Relations Vol.6 No.1

Based on the essentials of the Korean Academic Society for Public Relations (KASPR) 2022 Distinguished Lecture given by Dr. Glen T. Cameron and Dr. Yan Jin, this conceptual piece provides an overview of the contingency theory of strategic conflict management, its application to research, and future directions, with a focus on the theory-practice interconnections of the contingency theory in public relations across multiple contexts. How the contingency theory has been and can be further applied to advancing crisis communication and conflict management research and practice in Asia is further discussed.

The Value of Internal Communication in Enhancing Creativity of Employees in South Korea

Yeunjae Lee Korean Academic Society For Public Relations 2023 Asian Journal of Public Relations Vol.6 No.1

Grounded in dialogic theory and relationship management theory in public relations, this study examines how dialogic internal communication increases employees’ creativity via enhanced employee-organization relationship (EOR) quality and employees’ internal communication behaviors. Results of an online survey with 403 employees in South Korea across industry sectors suggest that dialogic internal communication increases the quality of EOR and employees’ positive information sharing behaviors about their organizations (i.e., internal megaphoning) with their direct supervisor and peers. These positive communication behaviors, in turn, foster employees’ creativity at work. Employees’ negative internal megaphoning with supervisors, enhanced by EOR quality, also increases creativity, whereas negative internal megaphoning with peers shows no effect on creativity. Theoretical implications for public relations and internal communication scholarship are discussed.

Stakeholder CSR Engagement Model in Social Media: CSR Co-creation and Stakeholder Involvement Communication

Yeonsoo Kim,Carolyn Perkins,Laureta Ramaj,Tonya Schoenbeck Korean Academic Society For Public Relations 2021 Asian Journal of Public Relations Vol.4 No.1

Based on the stakeholder theory and the CSR communication model, which are informed by models in public relations, this study proposed and examined two key factors of social media strategies that contribute to raising the public s positive perception of stakeholder engagement in CSR, which in turn leads to positive CSR reputation and behavioral intentions. A 2(communication on CSR building strategies: top-down vs. co-creation) x 2 (social media communication strategy: responsive communication vs. involvement communication strategy) full factorial design online experiment was conducted. The results showed that communication about the co-creative approach of CSR development leads to positive perceptions of stakeholder CSR engagement. Stakeholder involvement social media communication strategies also elicited positive perceptions of stakeholder engagement in CSR. The use of stakeholder involvement communication strategies on social media has been shown to partially offset the negative impact of a top-down approach in CSR development. This study demonstrates the impact of two proposed factors on CSR outcomes by linking stakeholder engagement perceptions of CSR with CSR reputation, supportive communication intentions, and purchase intentions, which are in part mediated by trust in commitment. These findings enhance our understanding of how to effectively engage stakeholders in CSR on social media by providing both theoretical and practical implications.

Factors Influencing the Intergenerational Communication of Generation Z: Focusing on Communication Competence

Jungeun Yang Korean Academic Society For Public Relations 2022 Asian Journal of Public Relations Vol.5 No.1

Generation Z is the youngest generation of society who features different characteristics from the previous generations. Just like in other industries, the communication ability of Generation Z in the public relations industry is argued to exert a negative influence on the interpersonal relationship with the older generations within the organization. To address the argument, this study aims to test the factors that influence on GenZers' intergenerational communication. In addition to the age stereotype and social norm, the main predictors revealed in previous intergenerational communication literature, this study employed communication competence as a communication variable. Results of hierarchical regression analyses showed that communication competence was found to be the second strongest predictor, next to benevolence (stereotype on personality). Practical implications for public relations employers and theoretical implications are discussed.

SANHAEJINMI Campaign (ENVIRUN for the Earth Campaign)

SK innovation. Co. Ltd & 8 Subsidiaries Korean Academic Society For Public Relations 2023 Asian Journal of Public Relations Vol.6 No.1

SK Innovation, Korea’s largest energy chemical company, is accelerating its transition to an eco-friendly business model by focusing on the plastic recycling business and expanding its range of eco-friendly products. As part of this initiative, the company launched the “Sanhaejinmi” campaign with the goal of raising awareness about the environmental impact of plastic waste and promoting daily eco-friendly practices. The company’s management and employees participated in creating a campaign song and a music video, which were received well by the general public, especially through social media events. Another key strategy was the implementation of an intensive practice period called “Sanhaejinmi Week, during which employees were encouraged to share photos of their eco-friendly practices on Instagram. Local business sites also played a crucial role by motivating stakeholders in their respective locations to participate in campaign activities. In 2022, the campaign achieved significant engagement, with 266,389 people participating in plogging, which resulted in the collection of a total of 1,202,744 kg of garbage. The post-campaign survey confirmed the success of the campaign in influencing citizens’ awareness of the environmental pollution crisis.