Out of the Fog and into the Future: Directions of Public Relations, Theory Building, Research, and Practice

This Delphi study is about the future directions of public relations. International public-relations experts, scholars and practitioners, are asked about the relationship between theory and practice, as well as the impact of different disciplines, academic concepts, and theories on public relations. By looking at recent developments in public relations, different trends become obvious: The practical field, as well as public relations teaching, is drifting toward a management perspective. "Communication management" is a term that has been adopted heavily in recent years. The academic research, however, although still lacking theory building, tries to tie in to sociological theories. It looks as though public relations, on the one hand, tries to become more accepted in the management field and, on the other hand, claims its place in society. This study underlines both trends.