An Integrated Model to Measure Organization-Public Relationship (O-PR) and Reputation Practises in Malaysian Universities

Abstract

Public relations are seen as an important part of an organization in helping to bridge the gap with its public so that rapport can be established. Previous researches show that the practises of trust, commitment, community involvement, openness, and customer satisfaction are attributes of Organization Public Relationship (O-PR) practises. However, literature seems to suggest that much research work is needed to develop a model, valid and reliable measurement for this practise. The main goal of this research is to test and compare the model, using confirmatory factor analysis. Questionnaires were distributed to 404 Malaysian university students. Confirmatory factor analysis was done to test whether specific evaluative dimensions relationships based on a theoretical framework that reflects organization-public relationships. The research findings show significant relationships between O-PR practises and organizational reputation. We hope to predict the best O-PR practises, the study elicited that trust; involvement, commitment and satisfaction were shown to have the strongest contributions in O-PR as compared to previous research. The findings of this research will help Public Relations practitioners to measure strategic relationship management and develope the best O-PR practisepractises. The need for improvement in this area requires serious attention, especially to the practises of commitment and customer satisfaction. Conclusions as to the impact of PR as the relationship management of organizations are offered as well as suggestions for future areas of research.

Keywords: public relations, organization-public relationship, image, identity, reputation