Issues Management Mediation of Linkages Between Environmental Complexity and Management of the Public Relations Function

Issues management (IM) is the process that allows organizations to know, understand, and interact effectively with their environments. In this study, the approach to IM practices in organizations is posited to mediate the relation between perceived environmental complexity and the type of public relations practiced in organizations. Outer directed IM is a proactive, open-systems approach based on symmetrical presuppositions that uses IM instrumentally to make strategic decisions. Such an approach to IM is fostered by participative organizational cultures. When organizations face complex environments, outer directed IM and participative organizational culture increase the involvement of public relations practitioners in dominant coalition decision making. This, in turn, is positively related to practitioner enactment of the manager role. A study of public relations practitioners and IM specialists (N = 182) within large U.S. corporations confirmed the mediating influence of outer directed IM and participative culture on public relations practices.