ABSTRACT
A research program in strategic public relations (PR) management was conducted at the Department of Marketing and Communication Management at the University of Pretoria (UP) between 1997 and 2003. Its first project was intended to replicate the IABC Excellence Study (Dozier, Grunig, & Grunig, 1995), an idea obtained during a presentation by Professor Larissa Grunig on the occasion of her visit to South Africa (SA) in 1996. However, after initial discussions, it was decided to rather build on the Excellence Study findings by using it as a theoretical base for the conceptualization of research aimed at investigating and finding solutions to practical PR problems in the local context. Empirical research on the knowledge base of South African PR managers and their shared expectations with top management was practically nonexistent.
