ABSTRACT
Activism pushes organizations toward excellence. Counterintuitive though this may sound, both the survey results and insights from the case studies firmly establish this relationship. The explanation is multifaceted, but it begins with an understanding of the importance of support from the dominant coalition for the public relations function. In the case studies, activism emerged as the second greatest determinant of the value top management holds for public relations. Only providing a broad perspective both inside and outside of the organization was mentioned more frequently and with more conviction by the CEOs we talked with. They and their top communicators both described what some called the “infinite value” of public relations during times of crisis or activist pressure.
