public relations case study pdf

Not a member yet? Learn more about joining here.

Connect with

Case Studies

ALL CASE STUDIES
Account Based Marketing (ABM)
Corporate Communications
ESG Communications
Food & Beverage
Social Responsibility

Enriching Results with NICO & CLYDE

NICO Corporation, in partnership with Emory University, was set to announce the results of their seven-year multi-site clinical trial, ENRICH, […]

A Place for Everyone with Rover & CLYDE

When alarming data showed that 20–50% of women don’t leave abusive relationships because of concern about a pet’s fate, Rover […]

Retiring the Crash Test Dummy  with Altair and Tier One Partners

Digital twin technology uses data to create digital models of virtually anything in the real world to improve and speed […]

The Primetime-ification of Women’s Sports with Ally and Tier One Partners

Despite record-breaking viewership and huge opportunity for brands to spur fan engagement, women’s sports receive less than 10% of media […]

Launching Workhuman’s Human Workplace Index with SourceCode

As the world of work has rapidly evolved in recent years, SourceCode developed a data storytelling concept to gauge the […]

Establishing Homebase as the Voice of Small Businesses with SourceCode

Homebase is an all-in-one SMB team management platform that serves over 100,000 small businesses and two million hourly workers to […]

We will keep fighting for all libraries - stand with us!

Internet Archive Audio

This Just In
Grateful Dead
Old Time Radio
78 RPMs and Cylinder Recordings
Audio Books & Poetry
Computers, Technology and Science
Music, Arts & Culture
News & Public Affairs
Spirituality & Religion
Radio News Archive

Flickr Commons
Occupy Wall Street Flickr
NASA Images
Solar System Collection
Ames Research Center

All Software
Old School Emulation
MS-DOS Games
Historical Software
Classic PC Games
Software Library
Kodi Archive and Support File
Vintage Software
CD-ROM Software
CD-ROM Software Library
Software Sites
Tucows Software Library
Shareware CD-ROMs
Software Capsules Compilation
CD-ROM Images
ZX Spectrum
DOOM Level CD

Smithsonian Libraries
FEDLINK (US)
Lincoln Collection
American Libraries
Canadian Libraries
Universal Library
Project Gutenberg
Children's Library
Biodiversity Heritage Library
Books by Language
Additional Collections

Prelinger Archives
Democracy Now!
Occupy Wall Street
TV NSA Clip Library
Animation & Cartoons
Arts & Music
Computers & Technology
Cultural & Academic Films
Ephemeral Films
Sports Videos
Videogame Videos
Youth Media

Search the history of over 866 billion web pages on the Internet.

Mobile Apps

Wayback Machine (iOS)
Wayback Machine (Android)

Browser Extensions

Archive-it subscription.

Explore the Collections
Build Collections

Save Page Now

Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future.

Please enter a valid web address

Donate Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape

Public relations practices : managerial case studies and problems

Bookreader item preview, share or embed this item, flag this item for.

Graphic Violence
Explicit Sexual Content
Hate Speech
Misinformation/Disinformation
Marketing/Phishing/Advertising
Misleading/Inaccurate/Missing Metadata

plus-circle Add Review comment Reviews

3 Favorites

DOWNLOAD OPTIONS

No suitable files to display here.

IN COLLECTIONS

Uploaded by station32.cebu on September 10, 2020

Cases in Public Relations Strategy

Cases in Public Relations Strategy draws on original, real-world case studies to provide students with a strategic approach to meeting the needs of a client before, during, and beyond a campaign. Using the RACE (Research, Action Planning, Communication, and Evaluation) model, students explore successful contemporary campaigns and evaluate best practices in all major areas of public relations activity. This practical, client-oriented text shows students how to systematically evaluate and adapt to the needs of a particular client—whether big or small, global or local, for-profit or nonprofit—in order to launch the most effective campaign. Each case includes a brief introduction focused on fundamentals and core competencies, and all cases have been carefully selected to present a wide range of client types. In addition to the lessons from professionals in the case studies, a section on PR consulting and an appendix on advancing your PR career give students the knowledge and skills they need for success in the field.

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

An Empirical Investigation of Public Relations Roles: A Case Study of the Financial Service Sector of Ghana

Original Article
Published: 15 April 2021
Volume 25 , pages 94–105, ( 2022 )

Cite this article

Albert A. Anani-Bossman ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3886-6403 1

155 Accesses

8 Citations

Explore all metrics

Public relations is essential in helping to develop, shape, maintain and manage relationships between an organisation and its publics. However, for that to occur PR must play a strategic/managerial role. It is only when the practitioner is involved in strategic management and engages in managerial activities, can PR really excel and add real value to the organisation. The present study presents findings from an investigation of the role of senior PR practitioners in the financial services sector of Ghana. It examines the roles practitioners in the FSS perform, the strategic nature of these roles, and the challenges that affect the performance of the strategic role. The research was inspired by a lack of knowledge on the specific roles performed by PR practitioners in Ghana, which affects the practice of the profession and limits scholars in the country from fully participating in the discussion on the subject. The article reviews literature on roles research from western and African perspectives and empirically analysis two key roles—technician and manager. Data were gathered utilising a one-on-one interview with 22 senior PR practitioners in the financial services sector. The study found little evidence of a separation between the technician and managerial roles. An important finding was that even though practitioners enjoyed access to senior management, they were not involved in the decision-making process. Also, they faced challenges such as lack of understanding by the management of the value of PR. The paper concludes that the lack of involvement in the decision-making process and the challenges faced limits the ability of practitioners to fully perform the strategic role. Significantly, there is a need for scholars in Ghana to examine the perceived value of PR to organisations from the perspective of senior management. The study calls for comprehensive research in this area in relation to the unique characteristic of African PR practice.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price includes VAT (Russian Federation)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Rent this article via DeepDyve

Institutional subscriptions

Understanding Process Management in Non-profit Organisations Without Formal Business Process Management

Factors influencing the work efficiency of district health managers in low-resource settings: a qualitative study in ghana.

Marc Bonenberger, Moses Aikins, … Kaspar Wyss

Professional Engagement in Management: Learnings from the COVID-19 Crisis in France

Alzoie, Emmanuel C. 2004. Public relations exigencies in a developing democracy: A case study of Nigeria’s fourth republic. In Toward the common good: Perspectives in international public relations , ed. Tilson Don James and Alozie C. Emmanuel, 239–254. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Google Scholar

Amoakohene, Margaret. 2015. In search of an education and professionalism nexus in public relations practice in Ghana. In Communication Theory and Practice in Ghana: A Critical Appraisal , ed. Kwasi Ansu-Kyeremeh, Audrey Gadzekpo, and Margaret Amoakohene, 85–100. Accra.: University of Ghana Readers, University of Ghana.

Bank of Ghana (BoG). 2018. State of the banking system in Ghana. https://www.bog.gov.gh/privatecontent/Public_Notices/State%20of%20the%20Banking%20System.pdf. .

Bank of Ghana. 2019. 2019 Annual report . https://www.bog.gov.gh/news/bank-of-ghana-2019-annual-report/ .

Beurer-Zullig, Bettina, Christian Fieseler, and Miriam Meckel. 2009. Typologies of communicators in Europe. Corporate Communication: An International Journal 14 (2): 158–175.

Article Google Scholar

Berger, Bruce K. 2013. Power, as a function and structures. In Encyclopedia of public relations , 2nd ed., ed. Robert Heath, 668–670. London: Sage.

Blankson, Isaac A. 2009. Public relations in sub-Saharan Africa. In Global public relations: Spanning borders, spanning cultures , ed. A.R. Freitag, R. Alan, and Ashli Q. Stokes, 178–205. New York: Routledge.

Bowen, Shannon A., Brad Rawlins, and Thomas R. Martin. 2019. An overview of the public relations functions , 2nd ed. New York: Business Expert Press.

Broom, Glen M. 1982. A comparison of sex roles in public relations. Public Relations Review 8 (3): 17–22.

Broom, Glen, and David Dozier. 1986. Advancement for public relations role models. Public Relations Review 12 (1): 37–56.

Broom, Glen M., and D. Smith-George. 1979. Testing the practitioner’s impact on clients. Public Relations Review 5 (3): 47–59.

Carroll, Craig E. 2013. Corporate reputation and the multi-disciplinary field of communication. In The handbook of communication and corporate reputation , ed. Craig E. Carroll, 1–10. Chichester: Wiley.

Chapter Google Scholar

Coombs, Timothy, and Robert L. Heath. 2006. Today’s public relations . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Creedon, Pamela J. 1991. Public relations and “women’s work”: Toward a feminist analysis of public relations roles. In Public relations research annual , ed. James E. Grunig and Lariss A. Grunig, 37–56. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Culbertson, Huge M., and Ni Chen (eds.). 1996. International public relations. A comparative analysis . Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Dornyo, Philip, and Eunica A. Adiku. 2015. Public relations practice in Ghanaian Tertiary Institutions: A study of Islamic University College and Valley View University. International Journal of ICT and Management 3 (2): 35–40.

Dozier, David. 1984. Program evaluation of roles of practitioners. Public Relations Review 10 (2): 13–21.

Dozier, David M. 1992. The organizational roles of communications and public relations practitioners. In Excellence in public relations and communication management , ed. James E. Grunig, 327–355. NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Hillsdale.

Dozier, David M., and Glen M. Broom. 1995. Evolution of the manager role in public relations practice. Journal of Public Relations Research 7 (1): 3–26.

Dozier, David, and Glen Broom. 2006. The centrality of practitioner roles to public relations theory. In Public relations theory II , ed. Carl Botan and Vincent Mahwah Hazleton, 137–170. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Fieseler, Christian, Christoph Lutz, and Miriam Meckel. 2015. An inquiry into the transformation of the PR roles concept. Corporate Communication: An International Journal 20 (1): 1–21.

Grunig, James (ed.). 1992. Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management . Hillsdale, N.J: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Grunig, James E., and Larissa A. Grunig. 2011. Characteristics of excellent communication. In The IABC Handbook of Organizational Communication: A Guide to Internal Communication, Public Relations, Marketing, and Leadership , ed. Tamara L. Gillis, 3–14. New York: Wiley.

Grunig, Larissa A., James E. Grunig, and David M. Dozier. 2002. Excellent public relations and effective organisations—A study of communication management in three countries . Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Gyan, Margaret. 1991. A profile of public relations practice in Ghana . Legon: University of Ghana. Unpublished Master's thesis.

Hazlett, Kirk. 2013. Social media and public relations: Eight new practices for the PR professional. Journal of Consumer Marketing 30 (1): 88–89.

Heath, Robert, and Timothy Coombs. 2006. Today's public relations: An introduction . Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Book Google Scholar

Hogg, Gillian, and Denis Doolan. 1999. Playing the part: Practitioner roles in public relations. European Journal of marketing. 33 (5/6): 597–611.

Holmström, Susanne. 1996. An intersubjective and a social systemic public relations paradigm. Dissertation. University of Roskilde, Denmark

Institute for Fiscal Studies, Ghana. 2018. Ghana’s financial and insurance sectors in crisis. https://ifsghana.org/ghanas-financial-and-insurance-sector-is-in-crisis/.2018 .

Johansson, Bengt, and Larsake Larsson. 2015. The complexity of public relations work: PR managers in the public and private sector in Sweden. Nordicom Review 36 (1): 125–139.

Le Roux, Tanya. 2010. Contribution of South African corporate communication practitioners to organisational performance. Doctoral Thesis. North-West University, Potchefstroom.

Leichty, Greg, and Jeff Springston. 1996. Elaborating public relations roles. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 73 (2): 467–477.

Litchman, Marilyn. 2013. Qualitative research in education , 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Meintjes, Helene. 2011. The perceived and potential role of a public relations/corporate communication practitioner in central banks of the common monetary area. Master’s dissertation. Cape Peninsular University of Technology.

Mersham, Gary, Chris Skinner, and Ronel Rensburg. 2011. Approaches to African communication management and public relations: A case for theory-building on the continent. Journal of Public Affairs 11 (4): 195–207.

Moss, Danny, and Rob Green. 2001. Re-examining the manager’s role in public relations: What management and public relations research teaches us. Journal of Communication Management 6 (2): 118–132.

Moss, Dan, Gary Warnaby, and Andrew J. Newman. 2000. Public relations practitioner role enactment at the senior management level within UK companies. Journal of Public Relations Research 12 (4): 277–307.

Moss, Danny, Andrew Newman, and Barbara DeSanto. 2005. What do communication managers do? Defining and refining the core elements of management in a public relations/corporate communication context. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 82 (4): 873–890. https://doi.org/10.1177/107769900508200408 .

Nabukeera, Yudaya. 2006. An analysis of the roles of public relations practitioners in Kampala, Uganda . Master’s Dissertation. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa.

Narteh, Bedman, Divine W. Akwensivie, and Kingsley Agyapong. 2013. Public relations practices: A study of selected private universities in Ghana. Globus 2: 156–169.

Neill, Marlene S., and Mia Moody. 2015. Who is responsible for what? Examining strategic roles in social media management. Public Relations Review 41 (1): 109–118.

Neill, Marlene S., and Nicole Lee. 2016. Roles in social media: how the practice of public relations is evolving. PR Journal 10 (2): 1–25.

Patton, Michael Q. 2015. Qualitivative research & evaluation method , 4th ed. London: Sage.

Petersen, B.K., D.R. Holtzhausen, and N.T.J. Tindall. 2002. Marching in lockstep: Public relations roles in the new South Africa. Paper presented at the Public relations Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (AEJMC) Annual Convention.

Price Waterhouse and Coopers. 2014. Ghana banking survey: The future of banking in Ghana. . ..what’s next? https://www.pwc.com/gh/en/assets/pdf/gh-bankingsurvey-2014.pdf .

Schutt, Russel K. 2019. Investigating the social world: The process and practice of research , 9th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Seitel, Fraser P. 2017. The practice of public relations , 13th ed. Boston: Pearson Education.

Singh, Raveena, and Rosaleen Smyth. 2000. Australian public relations: Status at the turn of the21st century. Public Relations Review 26 (7): 387–401.

Smith, Ronald D. 2017. Strategic planning for public relations , 5th ed. New York, NY: Routledge.

Spicer, Christopher. 2013. Organizational public relations: A political perspective . New York: Routledge.

Sriramesh, K. 2008. Globalisation and public relations. In Public relations research European and international perspectives and innovations , 409–425, ed. by Ansgar Zerfass, Betteke Van Ruler, and Krishnamurthy Sriramesh. Weisbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden.

Sriramesh, Krishnamurthy, and Dejan Vercic. 2002. International public relations: a framework for future research. Journal of Communication Management 6 (2): 103–117.

Sriramesh, Krishnaumurthy, Yungwook Kim, and Mioko Takasaki. 1999. Public relations in three Asian cultures: An analysis. Journal of Public Relations Research 11 (4): 271–292.

Sriramesh, K., Y. Rhee, and M. Sung. 2013. Aligning public relations with the demands of globalization: Conceptual foundations for a theory of global public relations. In Communication management: Current trends and emerging topics , ed. Krishnamurthy Sriramesh, Ansgar Zerfass, and Jeong-Nam. Kim, 108–125. New York, NY: Routledge.

Stacks, Don E., and Shannon A. Bowen. 2013. Dictionary of public relations measurement and research . 3rd ed. http://www.instituteforpr.org/dictionary-publicrelations-measurement-research-third-edition .

Steyn, Benita. 2000. CEO expectations in terms of PR roles. Communicare 19 (1): 20–43.

Steyn, Benita. 2007. Contribution of public relations to organisational strategy formulation. In The future of excellence in public relations and communication management: challenges for the next generation , 137–172, ed. by Toth Elizabeth L. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwah, NJ.

Steyn, Benita. 2009. The strategic role of public relations is strategic reflection: A south African research stream. American Behavioural Scientists 53 (4): 516–532.

Steyn, Benita, Mateboho Green, and Anske Grobler. 2001. Strategic management roles of the corporate communication function. Paper presented to the 8th International Public Relations Research Symposium Politics of communication and communication of politics: Cross-cultural theory building in the practice of public relations and political marketing.

Steyn, Benita, and Gustav Puth. 2000. Corporate communication strategy, 187–188 . Sandown: Heinemann.

Steyn, Benita, and Everett Tery. 2009. Two managerial public relations roles in the South African context: Finding of stage 3 of an international comparative study. Communicare 28 (1): 103–125.

Steyn, Benita A. 2003. A. Conceptualisation and empirical verification of the “strategist,” (redefined) “manager” and “technician” roles of public relations. Paper presented at the 10th International Public Relations Research Symposium, Lake Bled, Slovenia.

Thompson, Esi E. 2018. Public relations education in an emerging democracy: The case of Ghana. Journal of Communication Management 22 (4): 476–489.

Toth, Elizabeth L. 2001. How feminist theory advanced the practice of public relations. In Handbook of public relations , ed. Robert L. Heath, 237–246. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Toth, Elizabeth L., and Larissa A. Grunig. 1993. The missing story of women in public relations. Journal of Public Relations Research 5 (3): 153–175.

Toth, Elizabeth L., Shirley A. Serini, Donald K. Wright, and Arthur G. Emig. 1998. Trends in public relations roles: 1990–1995. Public Relations Review 24 (2): 145–163.

Tubre, Travis C., and Judith M. Collins. 2000. Jackson and Schuler (1985) revisited: A meta-analysis of the relationships between role ambiguity, role conflict, and job performance. Journal of Management 26 (1): 155–169. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920630002600104 .

Van Heerden, Gene, and Ronel Rensburg. 2005. Public relations roles empirically verified among public relations practitioners in Africa. Communicare 24 (1): 69–88.

Van Ruler, Betteke, and Dejan Verčič. 2002. The Bled manifesto on public relations . Ljubljana: Pristop Communications. http://prbooks.pbworks.com/f/Bled+Manifesto.pdf .

Verčič, Dejan, Larissa A. Grunig, and James E. Grunig. 1996. Global and specific principles of public relations: Evidence from Slovenia. In International public relations: A comparative analysis , ed. Huge Culbertson and Ni. Chen, 31–65. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Vieira Jr., Edward T., and Susan Grantham. 2014. Defining public relations roles in the U.S.A. using cluster analysis. Public elations review . 40 (1): 60–68.

Watson, David R., and Lynne M. Sallot. 2001. Public relations practice in Japan: An exploratory study. Public Relations Review 27 (4): 389–403.

Wilcox, Dennis L., Glen T. Cameron, and Bryan H. Reber. 2015. Public relations: strategies and tactics , 11th ed. Harlow: Pearson.

Wilcox, Dennis L., Glen T. Cameron, Bryan H. Reber, and Jae-Hwa Shin. 2014. Think public relations , 2nd ed. Harlow: Pearson.

Wright, Donald K. 1995. The role of corporate public relations executives in the future of employee communications. Public Relations Review 21 (3): 181–198.

Wu, Ming-Yi, and Kwame Baah-Boakye. 2008. Public Relations in Ghana: professionalism and impacts on Globalisation. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the NCA 94th Annual convention, TBA, Chicago, IL. http://citation.allacademic.com/meta/p256370_index.html . sLast modified 2008.

Wu, Ming-Yi, and K. Baah-Boakye. 2009. Public relations in Ghana, work-related cultural values and public relations model. Public Relations Review 35 (1): 83–85.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Ghana Institute of Journalism, 32nd Gamel Abdul Nasser Rd. Osu, P.O. Box GP 667, Accra, Ghana

Albert A. Anani-Bossman

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Albert A. Anani-Bossman .

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest.

The author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Anani-Bossman, A.A. An Empirical Investigation of Public Relations Roles: A Case Study of the Financial Service Sector of Ghana. Corp Reputation Rev 25 , 94–105 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41299-021-00114-8

Download citation

Published : 15 April 2021

Issue Date : May 2022

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1057/s41299-021-00114-8

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Practitioners roles
Public relations
Role research
Manager role
Financial services sector
Communication
Find a journal
Publish with us
Track your research