A qualitative enquiry into manager and non-management perspectives of internal relationship cultivation efforts in selected non-profit organisations in Kenya

##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.sidebar##

Published Jul 1, 2022
https://doi.org/10.71064/spu.amjr.7.1.164
Download
PDF
Statistic
Vol. 7 No. 1 (2022): African Multidisciplinary Journal of Research

##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.main##

Gitau Julie G.
Daystar University
Okumu-Bigambo
Moi University

Abstract

Relationship management is a rapidly evolving paradigm in public relations research. Increasingly, public relations scholars recognise the pivotal role played by relationship cultivation strategies in sustaining healthy organisation relationships, which aid organisations meet their missions. Literature, however, has established the dearth of research on this subject in non-profit organisations NPOs in Kenya. The study was guided by one research question: How do management and non-management employees evaluate existing relationship cultivation strategies used in non-profit organisations? Subsequently, the purpose of this study was to establish how relationship cultivation strategies impact employee-organisation relationships (EORs). The study was guided by relationship management theory and two-way symmetrical communication framework. The non-profit organisations selected for this study comprise a large healthcare organisation and a faith-based organisation (FBO). Both organisations were purposively sampled as were the 24 participants in this study. An in depth interview guide was modified from an existing instrument to capture the objective of this study. The results of the study confirmed existing relationship cultivation dimensions. Participants identified a range of organisation-specific relationship cultivation strategies and reported a preference for more open and participatory relationship cultivation strategies and a participative leadership culture. Effective relationship building is hampered by among other factors, mistrust and inconsistent relationship cultivation strategies. In both organisations relationship cultivation was viewed as a human resource rather than a PR/communication manager role. The study concludes that for internal relationships to be effectively managed, relationship cultivation efforts should be a core task of public relations or communication managers. Further, these efforts should be intentional and invite employee participation. The study recommends a more robust public relations manager role that prioritises internal publics of non- profit organisations.

##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.details##

How to Cite
Julie G., G., & Okumu-Bigambo. (2022). A qualitative enquiry into manager and non-management perspectives of internal relationship cultivation efforts in selected non-profit organisations in Kenya. African Multidisciplinary Journal of Research, 7(1), 130–155. https://doi.org/10.71064/spu.amjr.7.1.164

References

  1. Board, M. (2011). Internal Communication as a Function of Public Relations. In Moss, D. & DeSanto, B. Public Relations: A managerial perspective (pp. 280-309). London: Sage.
  2. Bodie, G.D. (2013). Issues in the Measurement of Listening. Communication Research Reports. 30, 1, pp. 76–84.
  3. Bortree, D.S. (2010). Exploring Adolescent-organisation Relationships: A Study of Effective Relationship Strategies with Adolescent Volunteers. Journal of Public Relations Research, 22, pp.1-25.
  4. Broom, G.M., Casey, S., and Ritchey, J. (1997). Toward a concept and theory of organization-public relationships. Public Relations Review, 9, 2, pp. 83-98.
  5. Broom, G., Casey, S., & Ritchey, J. (2000). Toward a concept and theory of organization– public relationships: An update. In J. A. Ledingham & S. D. Bruning (Eds.), Public relations as relationship management: A relational approach to public relations (pp.3– 22). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
  6. Broom, G. M., & Shia, B.L. (2013). Cutlip & Center’s effective public relations (11th ed).
  7. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
  8. Bruning, S.D. (2001). Axioms of Relationship Management, Journal of Promotion Management, 7:1-2, pp.3-16, DOI: 10.1300/J057v07n01_02.
  9. Canary, D. J., & Stafford, L. (1992). Relational maintenance strategies and equity in marriage. Communication Monographs, 59, 243-267.
  10. Canary, D. J., & Stafford, L. (1994). Maintaining relationships through strategic and routine interaction. In D. J. Canary & L. Stafford (Eds.), Interpersonal communication: Evolving interpersonal relationships (pp. 237-259). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
  11. Center, A.H. & Jackson, P. (1995). Public relations practices: managerial case studies and problems (5th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
  12. Cho, S. & Huh, J. (2010) Content analysis of corporate blogs as a relationship management tool Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 15, 1, pp.30-48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13563281011016822
  13. Edwards, L. (2018). Public relations, voice and recognition: a case study. Media, Culture & Society. 40, 3, pp. 317 –332. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443717705000.
  14. Eldor, L & Vigoda-Gadot, E. (2016): The nature of employee engagement: rethinking the employee–organization relationship, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, pp. 1-28. DOI: 10.1080/09585192.2016.1180312.
  15. Ferguson, M. A. (1984, August). Building theory in public relations: Interorganizational relationships. Paper presented at the annual convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Gainesville, FL.
  16. Fusch, P.I., & Ness, L.R. (2015). Are we there yet? Data saturation in qualitative research.
  17. The Qualitative Report, 20, 9, pp. 1408-1416.
  18. Gordon, M. (2011). Listening as embracing the other: Martin Buber’s philosophy of dialogue.
  19. Educational Theory. 61,2, pp. 207-219.
  20. Grunig, J.E. & Hunt, T. (1984). Managing public relations. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace.
  21. Grunig, J.E. (1992a).What is excellence in management? In J.E. Grunig (Ed.), Excellence in public relations and communication management (pp. 219–250). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
  22. Grunig, J.E. (1992[A1]b), “Symmetrical systems of internal communication”, in Grunig, J.E., Dozier, D.M., Ehling, W.P., Grunig, L.A., Repper, F.C. and White, J. (Eds), Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Mangement, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 531-575.
  23. Grunig, J.E. & Huang, Y.H. (2000). “From organisation effectiveness to relationship indicators: antecendents of relationships, public relations strategies and relationship outcomes” in Ledingham, J.A. & Bruning, S.D. (Eds). Public relations as relationship managemnt: A relational approach to the study and practice of public relations. Mahweh, NJ: LEA.
  24. Grunig, J.E. & Grunig, L.A. (2000) Public Relations in Strategic Management and Strategic Management of Public Relations: theory and evidence from the IABC Excellence project, Journalism Studies, 1, .2, pp 303-321, DOI: 10.1080/1461670005002827.
  25. Grunig, J.E. (2001), “Two-way symmetrical public relations: past, present, and future”, in Heath, R.L. (Ed.), Handbook of Public Relations, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 11- 32.
  26. Grunig, L.A., Grunig, J.E. & Dozier, D.M. (2002), Excellent Public Relations and Effective Organizations: A Study of Communication Management in Three Countries. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwah, NJ.
  27. Grunig, J.E. (2002). Qualitative Methods for Assessing Relationships Between Organizations and Publics. IPR.
  28. Grunig, J. E. (2006). Furnishing the edifice: Ongoing research on public relations as a strategic management function. Journal of public relations research, 18(2), 151–176.
  29. Heath, R.L. (2010). (Ed). The sage handbook of public relations. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.
  30. Holtzhausen, D. R., & Zerfass, A. (2015). Strategic communication: Opportunities and challenges of the research area. In D. R. Holtzhausen & A. Zerfass (Eds.). The Routledge handbook of strategic communication (pp. 3–17).New York, NY: Routledge.
  31. Hon, L.C., & Grunig, L.E. (1999). Measuring relationships in public relations. Gainesville, FL: Institute for Public Relations.
  32. Huang, Q., Lynn, B.J., Dong, C., Ni, S., & Men, L.R. (2022). Relationship Cultivation via Social Media During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence From China and the U.S. International Journal of Business Communication, 00, 0, pp. 1-3. DOI: 10.117723294884211067805.
  33. Hung, C.F. (2004) "Cultural influence on relationship cultivation strategies: Multinational companies in China", Journal of Communication Management, 8 3, pp.264-281, https://doi.org/10.1108/13632540410807682.
  34. Hung, C. F. (2005). Exploring types of organisation-public relationships and their implications for relationship management in public relations. Public Relations Review, 17(4), 393-426.
  35. Jo, S. & Shim, S.W. (2005). Paradigm shift of employee communication: The effect of management communication on trusting relationships. Public Relations Review. 31, 2, pp.277-280. DOI: 10.1016/j.pubrev.2005.02.012.
  36. Kelly, K. S. (2001). Stewardship: The fifth step in the public relations process. In R. L. Heath (Ed.), Handbook of public relations (pp. 279–289). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  37. Ki, E. & Hon, L.C. (2009). A Measure of Relationship Cultivation Strategies. Journal of Public Relations Research, 21, 1, pp.1–24. DOI: 10.1080/10627260802520488.
  38. Ki, E. (2015). Relationship cultivation strategies in strategic communication. (In The Routledge Handbook of Strategic Communication. (Holzhausen, D., & Zerfass, A.) (Eds). Third Avenue New York: Routledge.
  39. Kim, J.N. & Rhee, Y. (2011), “Strategic thinking about employee communication behavior (ECB) in public relations: testing the models of megaphoning and scouting effects in Korea”, Journal of Public Relations Research, 23, 3, pp. 243-268, doi: 10.1080/1062726x.2011.582204.
  40. Ledingham, J. A. & Bruning, S. D. (1998). Relationship management in public relations: Dimensions of an organization-public relationship. Public Relations Review, 24, 55– 65.
  41. L'Etang, J. (2008). Public relations, practice and critique. London: Sage.
  42. Lemon, L.L., & Palenchar, M.J. (2018). Public relations and zones of engagement: Employees' lived experience and the fundamental nature of employee engagement. Public Relations Review. 44, 1, pp. 142-155.
  43. https://doi.org/10/1016/j.pubrev.2018.01.002.
  44. Levenshus, A. (2010). Online Relationship Management in a Presidential Campaign: A Case Study of the Obama Campaign's Management of Its Internet-Integrated Grassroots Effort. Journal of Public Relations Research, 22, 3 pp. 313-335.
  45. Littlejohn, S.W. & Foss, K.A. (Eds). (2009). Encyclopedia of communication theory. Los Angeles: Sage.
  46. Macnamara, J. (2015, May). Creating an ‘architecture of listening’ in organizations: The basis of engagement, trust, healthy democracy, social equity, and business sustainability. Sydney, NSW: University of Technology Sydney.
  47. Meares, M.M. Oetzel, J.G., Torres, A., Derkacs, D & Ginossar, T. (2001). Employee mistreatment and muted voices in the culturally diverse workplace. pp. 4-27. https://doi.org/10.1080/0090988042000178121
  48. Men, L.R., & Stacks, D. (2014). The Effects of Authentic Leadership on Strategic Internal Communication and Employee Organization Relationships. Journal of Public Relations Research, 26,4, pp. 301-324, DOI: 10.1080/1062726X.2014.908720.
  49. Men, L. R. (2015). Employee Engagement in Relation to Employee–Organization Relationships and Internal Reputation: Effects of Leadership Communication. Public Relations Journal, 9, 2. Available online: http://www.prsa.org/Intelligence/PRJournal/Vol9/No2/
  50. Mishra, K & Boynton, L. (n.d.). Talk-the-Talk: Using Internal Communication to Build Trust with Employees. https://instituteforpr.org/internal-communication-build-trust.
  51. Ni, L. (2007), “Redefined understanding of perspectives on employee-organization relationships”, Journal of Communication Management. 11,1, pp. 53-70. http:
  52. //dx.doi.org/10.1108/13632540710725987.
  53. Ni, L. (2009), “Strategic role of relationship building: perceived links between employee- organization relationships and globalization strategies”, Journal of Public Relations Research. 21,1, pp. 100-120.
  54. Penning, T. (2014). The influence of public relations on relationship content: A content analysis of community foundation annual reports. PRism 11(2): http://www.prismjournal.org/homepage.html.
  55. Pressgrove, G. N. (2013). Making stewardship meaningful for non-profits: Stakeholder motivations, attitudes, loyalty and behaviors (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from http://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/2437.
  56. Pressgrove, G. (2016). Development of a scale to measure perceptions of stewardship strategies for non-profit organizations. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, doi:1077699016640221.
  57. Pressgrove, G & McKeever, B.W. (2016) Non-profit relationship management: Extending the organization-public relationship to loyalty and behaviors, Journal of Public Relations Research, 28:3-4, 193-211, DOI: 10.1080/1062726X.2016.1233106
  58. Rhee, Y. (2007), “Interpersonal communication as an element of symmetrical public relations: a case study”, in Toth, E.L. (Ed.). The Future of Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management, Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ, pp. 103-117.
  59. Shen, H. (2011). Organization-employee relationship maintenance strategies: a new measuring instrument. J&MC Quarterly 88, 2, pp. 398-415.
  60. Stafford, L., & Canary, D. J. (1991). Maintenance strategies and romantic relationship type, gender, and relational characteristics. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 8, 217–242. doi: 10.1177/0265407591082004.
  61. Storie, L.K. (2018). Relationship cultivation in public diplomacy: A qualitative study of relational antecedents and cultivation strategies. Journal of Public Relations Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/1062726X.2018.1437443.
  62. Vercic, A.T. & Vokic, N.P. (2017). Engaging employees through internal communication.
  63. Public Relations Review. 43, 5, pp. 885-893. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2017.04.005.
  64. Waters, R. D. (2008). Applying relationship management theory to the fundraising process for individual donors. Journal of Communication Management, 12(1), 73-87.
  65. Waters, R. D. (2009). Measuring stewardship in public relations: A test exploring impact on the fundraising relationship. Public Relations Review, 35, 113-119.
  66. Waters, R. D., & Bortree, D. S. (2013, August). Stewardship and involvement: Comparing the impact on non-profit organizations’ relationships with donors and volunteers.
  67. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in Washington, D.C.
  68. Waters, R. D., Bortree, D. S., & Tindall, N. T. J. (2013). Can public relations improve the workplace? Measuring the impact of stewardship on the employer-employee relationship. Employee Relations, 35(6), 613–629. Doi:10.1108/ER12-2012-0095
  69. Waymer, D., & Heath, R. L. (2014). Organisational legitimacy: The overlooked yet all- important foundation of OPR research. PRism 11, 2.
  70. http://www.prismjournal.org/homepage.html.
  71. Weymes, E. (2002) Relationships not leadership sustain successful organisations, Journal of Change Management, 3:4, 319-331, DOI: 10.1080/714023844.
  72. Williams, K. D., & Brunner, B. R. (2010). Using cultivation strategies to manage public relationships: A content analysis of non-profit organisations' websites. Prism, 7(2), 1- 15.
  73. Yeomans, Liz. (2016). Imagining the lives of others: Empathy in public relations. Public Relations Inquiry, 5, 1, pp. 71 –92. DOI: 10.1177/2046147X16632033.
  74. Yin, R.K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods (5th ed). LA: Sage.
  75. Yin, R.K. (2018). Case study research and applications: Design and methods. LA: Sage.