EXPLORATORY STUDY OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN ARMENIA: GLOBAL VIEW ON LOCAL PRACTICE A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE MASTER OF ARTS BY TATEVIK AVETISYAN ADVISOR: DR. DUSTIN W. SUPA BALL STATE UNIVERSITY MUNCIE, INDIANA MAY 2011 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge the people who have been pivotal in helping me carry out and complete the study on public relations practice in Armenia. I express my deepest appreciation to my chair Dr. Dustin Supa for his valuable guidance and advice on all stages of conducting the study as well as for the knowledge that he shared as my professor and mentor throughout my Master‘s program at Ball State University. My special thanks go to my committee Dr. Susan Chang and Professor Richard Shoemaker. They inspired me to discover more about public relations and about myself by teaching and sharing their expertise. I would like to thank all my professors at Ball State University, who encouraged me to widen my perspectives on academic and professional learning, as well as my friends for the most precious friendships and peer-support network that we have built. I extend my gratitude to all my friends and colleagues in Armenia who have contributed their knowledge and information. They deserve the credit for this study. Without their devoted work in the sphere of public relations it would be impossible to accumulate any data. I am looking forward to sharing the results of the study with them, hoping that they will find this research helpful for continuously expanding and improving the scholarship and practice of public relations profession in Armenia. All of my academic, personal and professional experiences in the US and at Ball State University would be impossible without the Edmund Muskie Fellowship Program ii generously sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State. I would like to thank everybody who contributes to this wonderful exchange program on all levels. My deepest thanks go to the selection committee who trusted that it was worth investing into my professional and personal development, to the staff of International Research and Exchanges Board in Armenia and in the US, who work hard to provide the best opportunities within the scope of the program. I cannot thank my family enough for their unconditional love, support and belief in my strengths, goals and pursuits in life. I am especially indebted to my mother who implanted the first seeds of aspiration for learning and discovery in me. iii CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. ii CONTENTS...................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... 7 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 8 Statement of Problem ........................................................................................................ 13 Purpose of the Study ......................................................................................................... 16 LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................................. 19 Defining Global and International Public Relations ......................................................... 19 Approaches and Theories of Global and International Public Relations .......................... 22 Research Questions ........................................................................................................... 38 METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................... 39 Theoretical Frame ............................................................................................................. 39 Qualitative and Quantitative Paradigms ........................................................................... 42 Confidentiality and Informed Consent.............................................................................. 58 Assumptions and Implications .......................................................................................... 59 Variables ........................................................................................................................... 60 RESULTS ........................................................................................................................ 63 Study Demographics ......................................................................................................... 63 Findings............................................................................................................................. 73 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................ 100 Environmental Factors .................................................................................................... 100 Scope of PR Practice ....................................................................................................... 121 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................... 128 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 135 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... 144 Appendix A. In-depth Interview Questions English ....................................................... 144 Appendix B. In-depth Interview Questions Armenian ................................................... 145 Appendix C. In-depth Interview Code-Sheet .................................................................. 147 Appendix D. Survey Instrument English ........................................................................ 157 Appendix E. Survey Instrument Armenian ..................................................................... 163 Appendix F. Correspondence and Consent Forms English ............................................ 170 Appendix G. Correspondence and Consent Forms Armenian ........................................ 173 Appendix H. Terms and Definitions ............................................................................... 178 Appendix I. Matrix of Research Questions and Variables ............................................. 179 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3.1 Variable matrix …………………………………………………..61 Figure 4.1 Distribution of organizations from survey sample ………………68 Figure 4.2 Position and years of experience in PR ………………………….72 Figure 4.3 Contribution of PR in the organization …………………………..86 Figure 4.4 Role of PR practitioners ………………………………………….90 Figure 4.5 Expertise of PR practitioners …………………………………….94 vi ABSTRACT Public relations has been expanding internationally during the last few decades. This has generated interest for public relations research in different parts of the world. The scholars urge the community to continue investigating the public relations practice globally. The proposed exploratory study of public relations in Armenia has described and explained the patterns and factors of public relations in the country as practiced in organizations. It was an attempt to investigate public relations practice in Armenia in lines with the socio-cultural and environmental models and theories employed for studying global public relations. The overarching purpose of the study was to understand the specifics that define public relations in Armenia from the perspective of the practitioners. The study applied qualitative and quantitative research methods to look into the function, value and role of public relations in organizations operating in Armenia. The accumulated data and derived knowledge shall identify the avenues of growth and contribute to empowering the best practices of the profession. Secondly, the study shall be a modest contribution to the scholarship and literature pertaining to global public relations. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Public relations as a management and leadership function within an organization, as defined in Western scholarship, started its inception and diffusion process in Armenia in the mid 1990‘s. Since the independence in 1991, the country has been going through complex transition period. Along with the restructuring of the government system into democratic, the transition was accompanied by the introduction of free market relations, new communication channels and technologies as well as transformed political and organizational systems. Transition to democratic system created favorable conditions for reconsidering public relations as a part of organizational culture. However, the balance between the idea of whether public relations discipline supports democracy or whether it is defined by democracy makes room for speculation. Though many authors propose that democracy and free market economy are preconditions for emergence and functioning of public relations (Grunig J., Grunig L. & Dozier 2002; Sriramesh & Verciĉ 2009), others argue that this approach is somewhat ethnocentric, and public relations is practiced internationally