On Social Capital and Diversity in a Feminized Industry: Further Developing a Theory of Internal Public Relations

Abstract

Women's work relationships with other women in public relations management settings provide context for further developing Kennan and Hazleton's (2006) conception of internal public relations (IPR) theory. To date, undertheorized in the public relations literature are intra-management relationships, social capital-diversity links, and connections between practitioners’ day-do-day lives and organizational contexts. Interviewed were 42 senior-level female public relations managers (African American, Asian American, Caucasian, and Hispanic) whose experiences reveal outcomes of woman/woman dyad work relationships over the past 5 decades and ways these may impact IPR in feminized industries. Explication of IPR theory and suggestions for further development are offered.