Theory Construction of Public Relations Based on Open-System Approach

Theory Construction of Public Relations Based on Open-System Approach

By : Darwis, NIM-135120207121026

Department of Communication Science, Faculty of Social and Political Science

University of Brawijaya Malang

Introduction

How to build a theory is not an easy activity. It needs some requirements that have been legitimated based on scientific principles. Deriving specific requirements in building theory and how they relate to empirical research are necessary to understand to be able to assess statistical set of relationships (Wacker, 2008). Therefore, the purpose of this writing is to review a journal written by Glen M. Broom entitled “An Open-System Approach to Building Theory in Public Relations”. This journal, in general, discusses how to build a theory of public relations based on approach of an open-system. Beside reviewing the journal, I will also give a comment or my own opinion as a mean of being critical student to contribute to the discussion of class assignment. I also do not forget to support my comment with journals that have been published.

Review Section

            In the beginning, the journal discusses that searching for concepts and theoretical frameworks need to pay more attention in theory construction as a scientific process. In the world of public relations, to build its theory that advances both practice and understanding has challenge called an open-system approach that reaches beyond limited literatures and paradigms because it requires transparency about how research is conducted, how the data are analyzed, and how the findings are linked to the theory and practice.

How theory is built follows the steps as journal’s discussion. Yet, before going to the first step, it needs to choose focal concept. Focal concept as a term that means the process of theory-building when the researcher selects a concept derived from practice and viewed by practitioners as important. Here are the stages. 1), select a concept of interest, 2) determine purpose, 3) identify how the concept has been defined and used, 4) determine defining attributes, 5) create a model case, 6) create related, but different, cases, 7) develop the measures, 8) build theory around the focal concept. Validating concept is also needed for testing for testing the roles as experimental treatments in a controlled environment. And then, before building theory in open-system model, explicating the concept become the next major step to continue the concept explication process by operationalizing the roles as questionnaire items to measure the degree to which each was being enacted in practice.

Now is building theory in open-system model. open-system approach to exploring the literature that produces a long-term stream of public relations research is the initial conceptual work that have been limited to the public relations literature, attempting to describe public relations roles could have led to yet another of the then-often repeated surveys of practitioners to learn how much of their time has spent on various program tactics and activities. Building theory requires the objective, systematic, and controlled gathering of data to test hypotheses deduced from theoretical propositions.

Eventually, we have to work harder to connect the work to the larger concerns with how organizations and its stakeholder publics relate in the increasingly complex global community.

References

Wacker, J. G. (2008). A conceptual understanding of requirements for theory-building research: guidelines for scientific theory building. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 44 (3), 5-15.