An Exploration of Two Public Relations Paradigms in an International Context

Abstract

Throughout history, nations have strived to win the hearts and minds of foreign publics—from ancient speeches like the epibatērios logos to posters, broadcast media, cultural institutions, and now digital platforms. Despite different public relations approaches, the consistent goal has been to shape favorable perceptions and build relationships that advance national interests. Two foundational paradigms have historically shaped the practice of international public relations: the symbolic-interpretive paradigm and the behavioral-management paradigm. The former focuses solely on activities such as messaging and meaning-making through strategic narratives that emphasize image management, whereas the latter also incorporates organizational behavior. This study examines the interaction between symbolic and behavioral performance in public relations—an approach that has rarely been applied at the national level. According to Excellence Theory, public relations practices can be either excellent or poor, yielding four possible combinations: (1) poor symbolic and poor behavioral, (2) poor symbolic and excellent behavioral, (3) excellent symbolic and excellent behavioral, and (4) excellent symbolic and poor behavioral. To determine which public relations strategy most positively influences foreign publics’ perceptions and communicative behaviors, this study examines the individual and interactive effects of symbolic and behavioral performance on problem recognition, conspiracy attribution, and megaphoning. A 2x2 experimental design was used in three online surveys with American participants, randomly assigned to one of four conditions across climate change, cultural conflict, and national crime contexts. Findings show that the behavioral performance consistently influences conspiracy attribution and both positive and negative megaphoning. Moreover, the combination of excellent symbolic strategies and excellent behavioral conduct reduces negative reactions (i.e., conspiracy attribution and negative megaphoning) to issues for which the nation bears no direct responsibility, such as climate change. However, this combination enhances positive megaphoning in situations where the nation is directly at fault and seeks to restore its position on the international stage through action-based efforts. These results highlight the critical role of the behavioral-management paradigm in international public relations. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of theoretical and practical implications and proposes directions for future research.