ABSTRACT
Regarding the demonstration of public relations effectiveness, leading public relations scholars have pointed out two competing views in the field of public relations (J. Grunig, 1993; Heath, 2001). The “revenue generation perspective” argues that the promotion of awareness of an organization and its brands will lead to favorable evaluations by the stakeholders, which in turn will contribute to the organization’s financial effectiveness by means of enhancing good images or favorable reputation (e.g., Heath, 2001, p. 3). On the other hand, the “cost reduction perspective” argues that an organization’s cultivation of quality relationships with stakeholders will lead to supportive behaviors (e.g., sales, donations, or favorable legislation) while preventing unsupportive behaviors (e.g., strikes, litigation, boycotts, or over-regulation), and that public relations can contribute to relationship-building initiatives of management by effective two-way symmetrical communication (L. Grunig, Grunig, & Dozier, 2002). Consequently, the concepts of organization‒public relationships and organizational reputation, emerging from such different approaches, have received contrasted or divided attention from public relations scholars and professionals alike.
