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Based on the essentials of the Korean Academic Society for Public Relations (KASPR) 2022 Distinguished Lecture given by Dr. Glen T. Cameron and Dr. Yan Jin, this conceptual piece provides an overview of the contingency theory of strategic conflict management, its application to research, and future directions, with a focus on the theory-practice interconnections of the contingency theory in public relations across multiple contexts. How the contingency theory has been and can be further applied to advancing crisis communication and conflict management research and practice in Asia is further discussed.

This paper examines how the intensity of social media use affects anti-fat attitudes by considering the mediating effects of three main attributions—internal, social, and physical—on obesity stigma. Participants were 213 college students in the United States who completed a paper survey. A mediation analysis model using the PROCESS macro (Model 4) was employed to test the research question and hypotheses. Intensity of social media use did not show a relationship with internal and social causes, but it did show a significant relationship with physical causes. Physical causes had a negative mediating effect on anti-fat attitudes. This implies that the higher the intensity of social media use, the higher the physical causes and the lower the anti-fat attitudes. The intensity of social media use had no direct relationship with anti-fat attitudes. Theoretical and practical implications were suggested.

Grounded in dialogic theory and relationship management theory in public relations, this study examines how dialogic internal communication increases employees’ creativity via enhanced employee-organization relationship (EOR) quality and employees’ internal communication behaviors. Results of an online survey with 403 employees in South Korea across industry sectors suggest that dialogic internal communication increases the quality of EOR and employees’ positive information sharing behaviors about their organizations (i.e., internal megaphoning) with their direct supervisor and peers. These positive communication behaviors, in turn, foster employees’ creativity at work. Employees’ negative internal megaphoning with supervisors, enhanced by EOR quality, also increases creativity, whereas negative internal megaphoning with peers shows no effect on creativity. Theoretical implications for public relations and internal communication scholarship are discussed.

This study presents a detailed examination of how varying combinations of tone of voice, negative word-of-mouth (NWOM) response strategies (defensive, accommodating, or no action), and prior organizational reputation can cultivate a positive public response. In turn, we offer insights into effective communication strategies for managing and responding to NWOM content posted on social media. As part of this process, an online experiment was conducted using a consumer sample. The resulting findings indicate that strategic communication effectively counters NWOM and elicits positive responses via two distinct pathways—the emotional pathway and the rational pathway. Overall, we found that using a conversational tone as opposed to a corporate tone enhanced perceived humanness in corporate communication, in turn generating more positive relational and corporate outcomes. The challenge of reducing organizational attribution (i.e., increasing external attribution) by integrating appropriate tone of voice and NWOM responses for different reputational conditions can be rather intricate. While reputable companies enjoy greater flexibility in their ability to employ various strategies, with one such example being the adoption of a defensive strategy with a firm corporate voice, companies with a negative reputation should be more careful when making their strategy selection to ensure that they avoid causing further damage.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has consistently received the attention of scholars and practitioners in various academic disciplines, including economics, politics, society, and public relations. In this context, the nature of CSR in developing countries becomes an emerging question because of the business expansion of multinational corporations (MNCs) in these countries. Vietnam is a country with a unique political, economic, and sociocultural context, experiencing rapid economic growth despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this paper explores the CSR approaches, government cooperation, and CSR activities of “big-six” enterprises from different industries between 2018 to 2022 using a content analysis to capture and analyze the CSR initiatives. Our research is the first to highlight some theoretical frameworks in the Vietnamese context that contribute to developing global CSR debates.

SK Innovation, Korea’s largest energy chemical company, is accelerating its transition to an eco-friendly business model by focusing on the plastic recycling business and expanding its range of eco-friendly products. As part of this initiative, the company launched the “Sanhaejinmi” campaign with the goal of raising awareness about the environmental impact of plastic waste and promoting daily eco-friendly practices. The company’s management and employees participated in creating a campaign song and a music video, which were received well by the general public, especially through social media events. Another key strategy was the implementation of an intensive practice period called “Sanhaejinmi Week, during which employees were encouraged to share photos of their eco-friendly practices on Instagram. Local business sites also played a crucial role by motivating stakeholders in their respective locations to participate in campaign activities. In 2022, the campaign achieved significant engagement, with 266,389 people participating in plogging, which resulted in the collection of a total of 1,202,744 kg of garbage. The post-campaign survey confirmed the success of the campaign in influencing citizens’ awareness of the environmental pollution crisis.

In the field of PR, finding ways to simplify and convey complex information to the general public is a challenging task. From this perspective, LG Electronics’ event “LG ThinQ Escape Cafe,” aimed at making it easier to introduce the smart home platform ThinQ to Generation Z, was a successful endeavor. The planning and execution were meticulously aligned with the target audience’s perspective, effectively stimulating consumers’ emotions. As a result, the event was extended to a season 2, and participants’ voluntary content naturally gained exposure on online portals. In particular, the success of this event provides solutions for companies on how they should convey technology-related content that consumers find difficult to acquire or use. Based on this LG Electronics event, this article aims to provide valuable insight on how to convey complex technology-related information and plan events that can garner a positive response from Generation Z.