Public Relations in the public sector. The role of strategic communication in the italian public administration
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7433/s92.2013.06Keywords:
Italy, public administration, public communication, public relations, generic principles, Grunig’s four models of public relationsAbstract
Purpose of the paper: The aim of this study is to examine the level of strategic management of public administrations and information and communication programs by public communication officers in Italy.
Methodology: The study is quantitative in nature. It was constructed according to the findings of the Excellence Project in Public Relations and thus applies a research instrument similar to that used in other international scholarly investigations in public relations. The population comprises civil servants working in information and communication activities for Italian public administrations.
Findings: The majority of public communication officers in the Italian public administration are not involved in the strategic management of public administrations but rather contribute to operational activities. They report directly to the senior manager of their department/unit and they use a mixed model of public relations.
Research limitations: Due to a lack of information on the exact number of public communication officers working in the Italian public administration and a too small number of respondents in one of the respondent groups, it is not possible to draw inferences or general conclusions from the findings. The study also suffers from the limits of a quantitative research approach, which provides less elaborate accounts of public communication officers’ perceptions of the strategic role of communication in the public sector.
Originality/value of paper: This study contributes to the existing knowledge on strategic public relations and public communication by offering a specific analysis of the strategic management of information and communication programs in the Italian public administration.
References
ALLISON G.T. (2004), “Public and private management: Are they fundamentally alike in all unimportant aspects?”, in Shafritz J.M., Hyde A.C., Parkes S.J. (Eds.), Classics of public administration, Wadsworth, Belmont, CA.
BABBIE E. (1992), The practice of social research (6th ed.), Wadsworth, Belmont, CA.
BARBER B. (1986), Strong democracy: Participatory politics for a new age, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.
BECKETT R. (2000), “The ‘government should run like a business’ mantra”, American Review of Public Administration, vol. 30, n. 2, pp. 185-204.
BOZEMAN B. (1991), Public Management - The State of the Art, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.
DUCCI G. (2007), Pubblica amministrazione e cittadini: una relazionalità consapevole : gli sviluppi di una comunicazione pubblica integrate, Franco Angeli, Milano.
ÉDES B.W. (2000), “The role of government information officers”, Journal of Government Information, vol. 27, n. 4, pp. 455-469.
FAIRBANKS J., PLOWMAN K.D., RAWLINS B.L. (2007), “Transparency in government communication”, Journal of Public Affairs, vol. 7, n. 1, pp. 23-37.
FIORENTINI G. (1995), Il marketing dello Stato, Editrice Bibliografica, Milano.
GARNETT J.L., KOUZMIN A. (1997), Handbook of administrative communication, Marcel Dekker, New York.
GELDERS D., IHLEN Ø. (2010a), “Government communication about potential policies: Public relations, propaganda or both?”, Public Relations Review, vol. 36, n. 1, pp. 59-62.
GELDERS D., IHLEN Ø. (2010b), “Mapping the gap: applying a service marketing model into government policy communications”, Government Communication Quarterly, vol. 27, n. 1, pp. 34-40.
GELDERS D., BOUKAERT G., VAN RULER B. (2007), “Communication management in the public sector: consequences for public communication about policy intentions”, Government Information Quarterly, vol. 24, n. 2, pp. 326-337.
GRABER D.A. (2003), The power of Communication. Managing Information in Public Organizations, CQPress, Washington D.C.
GRAMMER E.M. (2005), An exploration of the generic principles of public relations excellence in Australia, Italy, Mauritius, and Uganda, Unpublished master thesis, University of Maryland, USA.
GRUNIG J.E. (1992), Excellence in public relations and communication management, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ.
GRUNIG L.A., GRUNIG J.E., DOZIER D.M. (2002), Excellent public relations and effective organizations: A study of communication management in three countries, Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ.
GRUNIG J.E., HON L.C. (1999), Guidelines for measuring relationships in public relations, The Institute for Public Relations, Gainesville, FL.
GRUNIG J.E., HUNT T. (1984), Managing public relations, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York.
GRUNIG J.E., JAATINEN M. (1999), “Strategic, symmetrical public relations in government: From pluralism to societal corporatism”, Journal of Communication Management, vol. 3, n. 3, pp. 218-234.
GRUNIG J. E., WHITE J. (1992), “The Effect of Worldviews on Public Relations Theory and Practice”, in Grunig J. (Ed.), Excellence in public relations and communications management, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ.
HEISE J.A. (1985), “Toward closing the confidence gap: An alternative approach to communication between public and government”, Public Administration Quarterly, vol. 9, n. 2, pp. 196-218.
INVERNIZZI E., ROMENTI S. (2009a), “Institutionalization and Evaluation of Corporate Communication in Italian Companies”, International Journal of Strategic Communication, vol. 3, n. 2, pp. 116-130.
INVERNIZZI E., ROMENTI S. (2009b), Strategic communication and decision-making processes: toward the communication oriented organization, Paper presented at the EUPRERA Congress 2009 “Corporate citizens of the third millennium. Towards a Shared European Perspective”, Bucharest, Romania, September 23-26, 2009.
KENT M., TAYLOR M. (2007), “Beyond Excellence: Extending the generic approach to international public relations. The case of Bosnia”, Public Relations Review, vol. 33, n. 1, pp. 10-20.
KING C.S., FELTEY K. M., O’NEIL SUSEL B. (1998), “The question of participation: Toward authentic public participation in public administration”, Public Administration Review, vol. 58, n. 4, pp. 317-325.
KOTEEN J. (1989), Strategic management in public and non-profit organizations: Thinking and acting strategically on public concerns, Praeger, New York.
LAURSEN B., VALENTINI C. (2010), “Communicating the EU to the Media: the Delicate Role of Press Officers at the EU Council of Ministers”, in Vercic D., Sriramesh K. (eds.), Proceedings of the 17th International Public Relations Research Symposium Bledcom, pp. 162-170.
LA SPINA A. (2009), Comunicazione pubblica e burocrazia, Franco Angeli, Milano.
LEE M. (1999), “Reporters and Bureaucrats: Public Relations Counter-Strategies by Public Administrators in an Era of Media Disinterest in Government”, Public Relations Review, vol. 25, n. 4, pp. 451-463.
LEE M. (2001), “The agency spokesperson: connecting public administration and the media”, Public Administration Quarterly, vol. 25, n. 1, pp. 101-130.
LEE M. (2007), Government Public Relations: A Reader, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
LIM S., GOH J., SRIRAMESH K. (2005), “Applicability of the Generic Principles of Excellent Public Relations in a Different Cultural Context: The Case Study of Singapore”, Journal of Public Relations Research, vol. 17, n. 4, pp. 315-340.
LIU B., HORSLEY J. (2007), “The government communication decision wheel: Towards a public relations model for the public sector”, Journal of Public Relations Research, vol. 19, n. 4, pp. 377-393.
LUOMA-AHO V., PELTOLA S. (2006), “Public Organisations in the Communication Society”, Publication of the Department of Communication, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
MANCINI P. (2006), Manuale di comunicazione pubblica, Laterza, Bari.
MOYNIHAN D.P. (2003), “Normative and Instrumental Perspectives on Public Participation. Citizen Summits in Washington D.C.”, American Review of Public Administration, vol. 33, n. 2, pp.164-188.
PIECZKA M. (1996), “Paradigms, Systems Theory and Public Relations”, in L’etang J., Pieczka M. (eds.), Critical Perspectives in Public Relations, International Thomson Business Press, Londra.
PRSA (2012), What is Public Relations? PRSA’s Widely Accepted Definition, Public Relations Society of America, URL: http://www.prsa.org/AboutPRSA/PublicRelationsDefined, accessed on 28 February 2013
RHEE J. (2002), “Global Public Relations: A Cross-Cultural Study of the Excellence Theory in South Korea”, Journal of Public Relations Research, vol. 14, n. 3, pp. 159-184.
ROLANDO S. (1995), La comunicazione pubblica in Italia, Editrice Bibliografica, Milano.
ROLANDO S. (1998), Un Paese spiegabile. La Comunicazione Pubblica negli anni del cambiamento, delle autonomie territoriali, delle reti, Etas Libri, Milano.
ROLANDO S. (2003), Teoria e tecniche della comunicazione pubblica. Dallo Stato sovraordinato alla sussidiarietà (seconda edizione), Etas Libri, Milano.
ROLANDO S. (2004) (a cura di), Situazione e tendenze della comunicazione istituzionale in Italia (2000-2004), Rapporto al Ministro per la Pubblica Funzione, Università IULM.
ROLANDO S. (2010), La comunicazione pubblica per una grande società. Ragioni e regole per un migliore dibattito pubblico, Etas Libri, Milano.
ROLANDO S. (2011), Teorie e techniche della comunicazione pubblica, Rizzoli, Milano.
SEPE S. (2003), “Cittadini e cittadinanza”, in Rolando S. (a cura di), Teorie e tecniche della comunicazione pubblica, Etas Libri, Milano.
SRIRAMESH K., VERCIC D. (2009), The global public relations handbook. Theory, Research, and Practice (2nd ed.), Routledge, New York.
THOMAS J. C. (1995), Public participation in public decisions, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
VALENTINI C. (2009), “Italian Public Relations in a Changing World. Historical Overview, Current Questions and Future Challenges”, Prism, vol. 6, n. 2, pp. 1-11.
VALENTINI C., MUZI FALCONI T. (2008), Lo specchio infranto: Come i relatori pubblici e i giornalisti italiani percepiscono la propria professione e quella dell’altro, Luca Sossella Editore, Roma.
VAN DER MEIDEN A. (1993), “Public relations and “other” modalities of professional communication: Asymmetric presuppositions for a new theoretical discussion”, International Public Relations Review, vol. 16, n. 3, pp. 8-11.
VERCIC D., GRUNIG L.A., GRUNIG J.E. (1996), “Global and specific principles of public relations: Evidence from Slovenia”, in Culbertson H., Chen N. (eds.) International public relations: A comparative analysis, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ.
YOUNG S.J., ROSS C.M. (2000), “Web questionnaires: A glimpse of survey research in the future”, Parks and Recreation, vol. 35, n. 6, pp. 30-39.
BABBIE E. (1992), The practice of social research (6th ed.), Wadsworth, Belmont, CA.
BARBER B. (1986), Strong democracy: Participatory politics for a new age, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.
BECKETT R. (2000), “The ‘government should run like a business’ mantra”, American Review of Public Administration, vol. 30, n. 2, pp. 185-204.
BOZEMAN B. (1991), Public Management - The State of the Art, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.
DUCCI G. (2007), Pubblica amministrazione e cittadini: una relazionalità consapevole : gli sviluppi di una comunicazione pubblica integrate, Franco Angeli, Milano.
ÉDES B.W. (2000), “The role of government information officers”, Journal of Government Information, vol. 27, n. 4, pp. 455-469.
FAIRBANKS J., PLOWMAN K.D., RAWLINS B.L. (2007), “Transparency in government communication”, Journal of Public Affairs, vol. 7, n. 1, pp. 23-37.
FIORENTINI G. (1995), Il marketing dello Stato, Editrice Bibliografica, Milano.
GARNETT J.L., KOUZMIN A. (1997), Handbook of administrative communication, Marcel Dekker, New York.
GELDERS D., IHLEN Ø. (2010a), “Government communication about potential policies: Public relations, propaganda or both?”, Public Relations Review, vol. 36, n. 1, pp. 59-62.
GELDERS D., IHLEN Ø. (2010b), “Mapping the gap: applying a service marketing model into government policy communications”, Government Communication Quarterly, vol. 27, n. 1, pp. 34-40.
GELDERS D., BOUKAERT G., VAN RULER B. (2007), “Communication management in the public sector: consequences for public communication about policy intentions”, Government Information Quarterly, vol. 24, n. 2, pp. 326-337.
GRABER D.A. (2003), The power of Communication. Managing Information in Public Organizations, CQPress, Washington D.C.
GRAMMER E.M. (2005), An exploration of the generic principles of public relations excellence in Australia, Italy, Mauritius, and Uganda, Unpublished master thesis, University of Maryland, USA.
GRUNIG J.E. (1992), Excellence in public relations and communication management, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ.
GRUNIG L.A., GRUNIG J.E., DOZIER D.M. (2002), Excellent public relations and effective organizations: A study of communication management in three countries, Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ.
GRUNIG J.E., HON L.C. (1999), Guidelines for measuring relationships in public relations, The Institute for Public Relations, Gainesville, FL.
GRUNIG J.E., HUNT T. (1984), Managing public relations, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York.
GRUNIG J.E., JAATINEN M. (1999), “Strategic, symmetrical public relations in government: From pluralism to societal corporatism”, Journal of Communication Management, vol. 3, n. 3, pp. 218-234.
GRUNIG J. E., WHITE J. (1992), “The Effect of Worldviews on Public Relations Theory and Practice”, in Grunig J. (Ed.), Excellence in public relations and communications management, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ.
HEISE J.A. (1985), “Toward closing the confidence gap: An alternative approach to communication between public and government”, Public Administration Quarterly, vol. 9, n. 2, pp. 196-218.
INVERNIZZI E., ROMENTI S. (2009a), “Institutionalization and Evaluation of Corporate Communication in Italian Companies”, International Journal of Strategic Communication, vol. 3, n. 2, pp. 116-130.
INVERNIZZI E., ROMENTI S. (2009b), Strategic communication and decision-making processes: toward the communication oriented organization, Paper presented at the EUPRERA Congress 2009 “Corporate citizens of the third millennium. Towards a Shared European Perspective”, Bucharest, Romania, September 23-26, 2009.
KENT M., TAYLOR M. (2007), “Beyond Excellence: Extending the generic approach to international public relations. The case of Bosnia”, Public Relations Review, vol. 33, n. 1, pp. 10-20.
KING C.S., FELTEY K. M., O’NEIL SUSEL B. (1998), “The question of participation: Toward authentic public participation in public administration”, Public Administration Review, vol. 58, n. 4, pp. 317-325.
KOTEEN J. (1989), Strategic management in public and non-profit organizations: Thinking and acting strategically on public concerns, Praeger, New York.
LAURSEN B., VALENTINI C. (2010), “Communicating the EU to the Media: the Delicate Role of Press Officers at the EU Council of Ministers”, in Vercic D., Sriramesh K. (eds.), Proceedings of the 17th International Public Relations Research Symposium Bledcom, pp. 162-170.
LA SPINA A. (2009), Comunicazione pubblica e burocrazia, Franco Angeli, Milano.
LEE M. (1999), “Reporters and Bureaucrats: Public Relations Counter-Strategies by Public Administrators in an Era of Media Disinterest in Government”, Public Relations Review, vol. 25, n. 4, pp. 451-463.
LEE M. (2001), “The agency spokesperson: connecting public administration and the media”, Public Administration Quarterly, vol. 25, n. 1, pp. 101-130.
LEE M. (2007), Government Public Relations: A Reader, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
LIM S., GOH J., SRIRAMESH K. (2005), “Applicability of the Generic Principles of Excellent Public Relations in a Different Cultural Context: The Case Study of Singapore”, Journal of Public Relations Research, vol. 17, n. 4, pp. 315-340.
LIU B., HORSLEY J. (2007), “The government communication decision wheel: Towards a public relations model for the public sector”, Journal of Public Relations Research, vol. 19, n. 4, pp. 377-393.
LUOMA-AHO V., PELTOLA S. (2006), “Public Organisations in the Communication Society”, Publication of the Department of Communication, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
MANCINI P. (2006), Manuale di comunicazione pubblica, Laterza, Bari.
MOYNIHAN D.P. (2003), “Normative and Instrumental Perspectives on Public Participation. Citizen Summits in Washington D.C.”, American Review of Public Administration, vol. 33, n. 2, pp.164-188.
PIECZKA M. (1996), “Paradigms, Systems Theory and Public Relations”, in L’etang J., Pieczka M. (eds.), Critical Perspectives in Public Relations, International Thomson Business Press, Londra.
PRSA (2012), What is Public Relations? PRSA’s Widely Accepted Definition, Public Relations Society of America, URL: http://www.prsa.org/AboutPRSA/PublicRelationsDefined, accessed on 28 February 2013
RHEE J. (2002), “Global Public Relations: A Cross-Cultural Study of the Excellence Theory in South Korea”, Journal of Public Relations Research, vol. 14, n. 3, pp. 159-184.
ROLANDO S. (1995), La comunicazione pubblica in Italia, Editrice Bibliografica, Milano.
ROLANDO S. (1998), Un Paese spiegabile. La Comunicazione Pubblica negli anni del cambiamento, delle autonomie territoriali, delle reti, Etas Libri, Milano.
ROLANDO S. (2003), Teoria e tecniche della comunicazione pubblica. Dallo Stato sovraordinato alla sussidiarietà (seconda edizione), Etas Libri, Milano.
ROLANDO S. (2004) (a cura di), Situazione e tendenze della comunicazione istituzionale in Italia (2000-2004), Rapporto al Ministro per la Pubblica Funzione, Università IULM.
ROLANDO S. (2010), La comunicazione pubblica per una grande società. Ragioni e regole per un migliore dibattito pubblico, Etas Libri, Milano.
ROLANDO S. (2011), Teorie e techniche della comunicazione pubblica, Rizzoli, Milano.
SEPE S. (2003), “Cittadini e cittadinanza”, in Rolando S. (a cura di), Teorie e tecniche della comunicazione pubblica, Etas Libri, Milano.
SRIRAMESH K., VERCIC D. (2009), The global public relations handbook. Theory, Research, and Practice (2nd ed.), Routledge, New York.
THOMAS J. C. (1995), Public participation in public decisions, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
VALENTINI C. (2009), “Italian Public Relations in a Changing World. Historical Overview, Current Questions and Future Challenges”, Prism, vol. 6, n. 2, pp. 1-11.
VALENTINI C., MUZI FALCONI T. (2008), Lo specchio infranto: Come i relatori pubblici e i giornalisti italiani percepiscono la propria professione e quella dell’altro, Luca Sossella Editore, Roma.
VAN DER MEIDEN A. (1993), “Public relations and “other” modalities of professional communication: Asymmetric presuppositions for a new theoretical discussion”, International Public Relations Review, vol. 16, n. 3, pp. 8-11.
VERCIC D., GRUNIG L.A., GRUNIG J.E. (1996), “Global and specific principles of public relations: Evidence from Slovenia”, in Culbertson H., Chen N. (eds.) International public relations: A comparative analysis, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ.
YOUNG S.J., ROSS C.M. (2000), “Web questionnaires: A glimpse of survey research in the future”, Parks and Recreation, vol. 35, n. 6, pp. 30-39.
Downloads
Published
2018-10-28
Issue
Section
Articoli
