Do Public Relations in Africa Use Research? A Comparison of Public and Private Organisations in Ghana

Research in public relations is not only for determining the theoretical boundaries of the discipline, but also for helping practitioners design and evaluate effective public relations strategies. Most scholars (Grunig, 1992; Cutlip et al, 2006; Austin and Pinkleton, 2001) allude to this fact. Cutlip et al (2006) and Lindenmann (2003) also emphasise a clear line of distinction between public relations as practiced in the government/public sector and the business/private sector. Private and public enterprises in Ghana are known to be quite different in the orientation of their organization and management, and these differences are likely also to influence their public relations practice as a whole and their use of research.