Evaluation stasis continues in PR and corporate communication: Asia-Pacific insights into causes

ABSTRACT

The first comprehensive study of public relations (PR) and corporate communication practices across Asia-Pacific countries has found that, despite being an area of rapid growth, evaluation remains limited, is often not based on reliable research methods, and is focussed on outputs rather than the outcomes of communication. This reflects a worldwide stasis in evaluation of PR that has been identified as problematic by a number of authors. The Asia-Pacific Communication Monitor, a survey-based study conducted by a collaboration of 16 universities across 23 Asia-Pacific countries in 2015, also explored practitioners’ skills, and found a significant lag that could account for this stasis. This article reports key findings of this study that contribute insights to address the lack of measurement and evaluation in the growing field of PR that remains a major concern in the academy and industry.

KEYWORDS:

• PR
• measurement
• evaluation
• outputs
• outcomes
• impact
• skills

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge and thank staff at 14 universities across APAC who assisted in this research: Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand; Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea; Fu-Jen Catholic University, Taipei, Taiwan; Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan; Hong Kong Baptist University; Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi; Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand; Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China; Trisakti University, Jakarta, Indonesia; Universiti Technologi MARA, Selangor, Malaysia; University of Technology Sydney, Australia; University of the Philippines, Diliman; and Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

Disclosure statement

No personal conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The Asia-Pacific Communication Monitor was supported by PRIME Research International; Communication Director magazine; the Asia-Pacific Association of Communication Directors (APACD); the European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA); and Quadriga University of Applied Sciences, Berlin.

Notes on contributors

Jim Macnamara

Jim Macnamara, PhD, is Professor of Public Communication at the University of Technology Sydney, a position he took up in 2007 after a 30-year professional career spanning journalism, public relations and media research. He is the author of 15 books including The 21^st Century Media (R)evolution: Emergent Communication Practices (Peter Lang, New York, 2014) and Organizational Listening: The Missing Essential in Public Communication (Peter Lang, New York, 2016).

Ansgar Zerfass

Ansgar Zerfass, PhD, is Professor and Chair in Strategic Communication in the Institute of Communication and Media Studies at the University of Leipzig. He is also a Professor in Communication and Leadership at BI Norwegian Business School, Oslo, and editor of the International Journal of Strategic Communication (Routledge). He is the author or co-author of 32 books and more than 270 articles and research reports in multiple languages including the European Communication Monitor and Asia-Pacific Communication Monitor.