دانلود رایگان مقاله ترتیوس ایونگز رویکرد همکاری برای مطالعه شبکه ارتباطی

abstrac

One of the most important roles for public relations professionals is building relationships. The fundamental assumption behind the normative relationship-building role of public relations is that relationships among organizations and publics are mutually beneficial. However, some network theories (e.g., structural holes theory) prescribe that maintaining many organizational relationships is inefficient, instead suggesting that organizations should occupy a powerful network position by separating and controlling the flow of information between others. Under such theories, power comes in the form of tertius gaudens (the third who benefits at the expense of others). In this article we argue that such an approach to power in public relations is manipulative and unethical, and offer an alternative approach via the concept of tertius iungens (the third who joins others), which endorses connecting organizations and emphasizes the collective good.

6. Conclusion

The critique of power as it relates to network theory and analysis conducted here extends our understanding of network theory in public relations. As Kuhn (1970) suggested, when new theories are introduced to a field, they are rarely just incremental adjustments to what is already known. Social network analysis has enormous potential to help tell a story and paint a picture about the diversity and complexity of organization—public relationships that has never been told before. However, as SNA is adopted by public relations scholars and professionals, we need also to adapt the language and adjust the assumptions to be consistent with public relations’ ontological, epistemological, and axiological assumptions. Public relations should not be about exploitation of other stakeholders or publics for an organization’s benefit, but about creating ethical, mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their multiple publics (Botan & Taylor, 2004).