The document discusses the relationship between organizational contingencies and public relations practitioners' stances toward publics, emphasizing a conversational approach in online public relations. A study conducted via an online survey revealed that practitioners in high-tech environments reported a less accommodating stance, posing questions about technology's impact on dialogue and relational outcomes. It also references relevant literature on the topics of conversational voice and public relations effectiveness in digital communication.

1. Organizational Contingencies, Organizational Blogs and Public Relations Practitioner Stance Toward Publics Tom Kelleher University of Hawai`i at Manoa School of Communications

2. Background: A Conversational Approach to Online Public Relations

3. Distributed Public Relations

4. Prior Propositions Blogs more “conversational” than traditional PR online Conversational human voice associated with better relational outcomes

5. Do findings resonate beyond tech firms & publics?

6. Contingency Theory Degree of accommodation toward publics depends on contingencies Technology a possible contingency “ Qualified-rhetoric-mixed accommodation” operationally similar to “conversational human voice.”

7. Current Study Basic contingency hypothesis: More favorable contingencies for dialogue will lead to more accommodating stance. RQ Will technological contingencies lead to more accommodating stance?

8. Method 2X2 Experiment technological orientation contingencies for dialogue Online survey with Hawaii PRSA membership ( note: practitioners not publics )

9. Results Manipulations seemed to have worked No signif. findings on contingency hypothesis Interesting RQ finding: practitioners in high-tech conditions reported significantly less accommodating stance

10. Discussion Limitations Benefits in the eyes of publics v. eyes of practitioners? Questions of technology diffusion, adoption and acceptance…

11. Related Writing Kelleher, T. (in press). Conversational voice, communicated commitment, and public relations outcomes in interactive online communication. Accepted for publication in Journal of Communication. (v3 2008 or v1 2009) Kelleher, T. (2007). Public Relations Online: Lasting Concepts for Changing Media. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Kelleher, T., & Miller, B. M. (2006). Organizational blogs and the human voice: Relational strategies and relational outcomes . Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11 , 395-414. http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol11/issue2/kelleher.html