Managing Media Relationships among Asian Organizations: A Grounded Theory Approach
Liane W.Y. Lee1; Leslie S.C. Yip1; Kara Chan2* and Bradley R. Barnes1
1 The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
2 Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong
The research is supported by the Seed Grant Scheme from Technological and Higher
Education Institute of Hong Kong.
*Corresponding author: karachan@hkbu.edu.hk
Abstract
Asian organizations need to engage media to establish trust and reputation. This
research examines the phenomenon of press engagement, focusing on the
relationship between public relations professionals of organizations and journalists.
The study draws on both the public relations and relationship marketing literature to
examine the efficacy surrounding various press engagement strategies. Eighteen indepth interviews were conducted with journalists from broadcast, print, and online
media in Hong Kong. The results were analyzed using a grounded theory approach.
Four press engagement themes emerged, including role reinforcement,
responsiveness, social justice and segregation. These themes provide guidance for
Asian businesses and organizations to develop their media relationship strategies. As
there is no study that has investigated PR-journalist dyad relationshipsfrom the angle
of the PR and customer engagement literature, this study offers new insights on
organizational relationship marketing within a corporate communication context.
Keywords: Corporate communication, Public relations, Relationship marketing, Media
practices, Grounded theory.