#12364. The role of public relations in corporate diplomacy: how relationship cultivation increases organizational legitimacy
August 2026 | publication date |
Proposal available till | 02-06-2025 |
4 total number of authors per manuscript | 0 $ |
The title of the journal is available only for the authors who have already paid for |
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Journal’s subject area: |
Sociology and Political Science;
Public Administration; |
Places in the authors’ list:
1 place - free (for sale)
2 place - free (for sale)
3 place - free (for sale)
4 place - free (for sale)
Abstract:
Drawing from neo-institutionalism and public relations theory, this study examined to what extent corporate diplomacy builds on public relations to identify and respond to societal expectations emerging from a company’s host country environment, which can result in organizational legitimacy. Based on in-depth interviews (N = 25) with public relations executives in the United Arab Emirates, our findings imply that companies engage in corporate diplomacy to align with governmental demands while simultaneously attempting to meet internal expectations originating from employees and corporate values. The interviews resulted in the identification and description of five corporate diplomacy modes and a model describing corporate diplomacy-legitimacy, highlighting the role played by relationship cultivation and culture in gaining organizational legitimacy through corporate diplomacy. Consequently, our study provides a framework to explain the societal role of public relations in building organizational legitimacy through relationship cultivation.
Keywords:
Corporate diplomacy; culture; international public relations; neo-institutionalism; organizational legitimacy; relationship cultivation
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