Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses key theories in public relations management, mainly following the behavioral, strategic management paradigm in public relations scholarship. It also discusses the history of intercultural communication, conceptualization of culture, and key concepts and key theories in intercultural communication. The book starts with the conceptualization of conflict because how conflict is defined and perceived decides how the involved parties manage the conflict. It highlights key theories and concepts that can be used to theorize about the processes for strategic intercultural public relations management at the interpersonal level. The book starts by explicating the relevance of identifying publics in different stages of the strategic management process of public relations programs. It summarizes the main arguments and theoretical structures in the previous chapters and culminates with a discussion of the new model of intercultural public relations management.