PRACTICES, APPROACHES AND TOOLS USED IN MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN SELECTED KENYAN PARASTATALS
Keywords:
Practices, Approaches, Key Performance indicators (KPI), Return on Investment (ROI), Measurement and Evaluation and Public RelationsAbstract
Purpose: The main purpose of the study was to establish the practices, approaches and tools used in measurement and evaluation of public relations in selected Kenyan parastatals.
Methodology: The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional survey. The target population for the study comprised of 187 parastatals with 119,689 employees. Purposive sampling was used. The sample size was forty-seven (47) employees of public relations departments and six (6) senior PR officers who are working in the three selected parastatals, totalling to fifty-three (53).The study used both questionnaires and interviews. Quantitative data was interpreted using descriptive statistics including frequencies and percentages. Qualitative data in this study was analyzed, recurrent themes identified, and patterns of relationship that exist among data-groups searched manually and were used to augment the quantitative data. Percentages and tabulations of variables were used to present data analysis in tables, bar graphs and pie charts. The data was analyzed by a data analysis software called Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 software.
Results: The study findings indicated that evaluation practices are yet to be embedded as a critical component in most public relations work. With a sizable proportion of practitioners in the sample suggesting they evaluate infrequently, the need or value of evaluation has yet to be firmly established. AVEs and gut feeling are the leading tools of measurement and evaluation and a significant number of respondents did not use measurement and evaluation to demonstrate performance of the department. Most respondents also reported using media monitoring as a tool. Social media monitoring, website tools and media content analysis were least used.
Unique Contribution to Theory, Policy and Practice: The study recommends that organizations should strive to increase the education level of practitioners, particularly in relation to research and communication theories and models, as well as management, through both professional development (short courses) and postgraduate education.
Downloads
References
Association for the measurement and evaluation of communication. (2015, September 2). AMEC. (D. Rockland, Ed.) Retrieved October 7, 2015, from Association for the measurement and evluation of communication: http://www.instituteforpr.org/wp-content/uploads/Barcelona-Principles-2.0.pdf
Babbie, E. (2011). The basics of social research (5th ed.). Wadsworth: Cengage Learning.
Black, S. (1993). The essentials of public relations. London: Kogan Page.
Bowen, S. A., & Stacks, W. D. (2013). Toward the establishment of ethical standardization in public relations research, measurement and evaluation. Public relations journal, Vol 7, No 3.
Broom, G. (2009). Effective public relations (10th ed). New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2015). Business research methods (4th ed.). New York, USA: Oxford University Press.
Christensen, L. T., & Cornelissen, J. (2011). Bridging corporate and organizational communication: Review, development and a look to the future. Management communication quarterly, 383-414. doi:10.1177/0893318910390194
Cooper, D., & Schindler, P. S. (2006). Business research methods (9th ed.). New York, USA: McGraw Hill.
Creswell, J. (2013). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). London: United Kingdom: Sage Publications.
Cutlip, S. M., Center, H. A., & Broom, M. G. (1985). Effective public relations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall International.
Global Alliance, ICCO, Institute of public relations, Public relations society of America . (2010). Barcelona Declaration of Measurement Principles. Barcelona : 2nd European Summit measurement .
Grantham, S., Vieira, E. T., & Trinchero, C. (2011a). Are we practicing what we preach? Perspectives on public relations evaluation from practitioners. Public relations journal, Vol. 5, No. 3.
Grantham, S., Vieira, E. T., & Trinchero, C. (2011b). Perspectives on public relations evaluation from practitioners. Public relations journal Vol. 5, No. 3.
Greener, S. (2008). Business research methods. New York: Ventus Publishing.
Gregory, A., & Watson, T. (2008). Defining the gap between research and practice in public relations programme evaluation - towards a new research agenda. Journal of marketing communications, 14:5, 337-350. doi:10.1080/13527260701869098
Grunig, J. (1983). Basic research provides knowledge that makes evaluation possible. Public relations quarterly Vol 28 (3), 28-32.
Grunig, J. E. (2006). Furnishing the edifice: Ongoing research on public relations as a strategic management function. Journal of public relations research, 18(2), 151–176.
IEA. (2015, January 13). Memorandum on parastatal sector reforms. Retrieved from Institute of Economic Affairs: www.ieakenya.or.ke/publications/doc_download/294-iea-kenya-s-memorandum-to-the-task-force-on-parastatal-sector-reforms-in-kenya
Kenya Wildlife Service. (2015, August 13). Retrieved from KWS webite: http://www.kws.go.ke/about-us/about-us
Kim, Y. (2001). Measuring the economic value of Public Relations. Journal of public relations research, 13:1, 3-26. doi:10.1207/S1532754XJPRR1301_2
KRA. (2015). Kenya Revenue Authority Fith Corporate Plan 2012 - 2015. Nairobi: KRA. Retrieved from http://www.kra.go.ke/notices/pdf2012/KRA%20Fifth%20Corporate%20Plan%202012.13-14.15.pdf
Lindenmann, W. K. (2006). Public relations research for planning and evaluation. Gainesville, FL: Institute for PR.
Macnamara, J. (2005). The New Australian and New Zealand public relations manual. Research and evaluation, Chapter 5, pp. 100-134.
Macnamara, J. (2014a). Emerging international standards for measurement and evaluation of public relations: A critical analysis. Public relations inquiry Vol. 3 (1), 7-29. doi:10.1177/2046147X14521199
Macnamara, J. (2014b). The ‘toe bone to the head bone’ logic model to connect public relations and corporate communication to organisation outcomes. Prism journal, 11(1).
Macnamara, J. (2015). Overcoming the measurement and evaluation deadlock: A new approach and model. Journal of communication management, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 371–387. doi:10.1108/JCOM-04-2014-0020
Magutu, P. O., Lelei, J. K., & Borura, C. M. (2010). Information systems implemetation in state corporations. African Journal of Business and Management (AJBUMA), 1-23.
Michaelson, D., & Stacks, W. D. (2011). Standardization in Public relations measurement and evaluation. Public Relations Journal, Vol 5. No. 2.
Michaelson, D., Wright, D. K., & Stacks, D. W. (2012). Evaluating efficacy in Public Relations/Corporate communication programming: Towards establishing standards of campaign performance. Public Relations Journal Vol. 6, 45-97.
Muchilwa, D. M., Otieno, O. C., Oginda, M., & Oima, D. (2014). The impact of Public Relations principles in the strategic management of the Police Force in Kenya. Universal Journal of Management, 116-126. doi:10.13189/ujm.2014.020302
Nikolic, M., Zoric, K., Terek, E., Glusac, D., & Cockalo, D. (2014). Research into the evaluation of PR activities in companies from Serbia. Journal of communication, 16(2)107-123.
Place, K. R. (2015). Exploring the role of ethics in public relations program evaluation. Journal of Public Relations Research, 27:2, 118-135. doi:10.1080/1062726X.2014.976825
Report of the presidential taskforce on parastatal reforms. (2013). Report of the presidential taskforce on parastatal reforms. Nairobi. Retrieved September 5, 2015, from http://www.cofek.co.ke/Report%20of%20The%20Presidential%20Task%20force%20on%20Parastatal%20Reforms.pdf
Riel, C., & Fombrun, C. J. (2007). Essentials of corporate communications: Implementing practices for effective reputation management. New York: Routledge.
Rockland, D. (2015). Launch of Barcelona principles 2.0. Institute for PR. Retrieved from http://www.instituteforpr.org/wp-content/uploads/Barcelona-Principles-2.0.pdf
Samsup, J. (2010). Measurement of organization - Public relationships: Validation of measurement using a manufacturer - retailer relationship. Journal of Public Relations Research 18:3, 225-248. doi:10.1207/s1532754xjprr1803_2
Silverman, D. (2013). Doing qualitative research: A practical handbook. London: Sage.
Stacks, D. W. (2014). Measurement and Metrics. Miami: University of Miami.
State corporations act. (2012, April 10). State corporations act. Retrieved September 13, 2015, from SCA: http//:www.kenyalaw.org
State Corporations Advisory Committee. (2015, September 7). State Corporations Advisory Committee. Retrieved from SCAC: http://www.scac.go.ke/
Theaker, A. (2004). Research and evaluation: PR grows up? In A. Theaker, The Public relations handbook (2nd ed.) (pp. 310 - 331). London: Routledge; Taylor and Francis.
Thorson, K., Michaelson, D., Gee, E., Jiang, J., Lu, Z., & Luan, G. (2015). Joining the movement?: Investigating standardization of measurement and evaluation within public relations. Research journal of the Institute for Public Relations (IPR), Vol. 2, No. 1.
Tikolo, K. L. (2011). The practice of public relations in Kenya: Future growth prospects. Nairobi: Public Relations Society of Kenya (PRSK). Retrieved August 21, 2015, from http://docslide.us/documents/booklet-of-2011-status-survey-of-pr-industry-in-kenya.html
Wambua, J., & Ngugi, R. (2002). A decade of parastatal waste: a report of the audited accounts of state corporations. Nairobi: Centre for Governance and Development (CGD). Retrieved October 3, 2015, from http://www.cgd.or.ke/documents/Parastatal%20Waste.pdf
Wambua, M. N. (2013, November). Measurement and evaluation of interventions by public relations agencies in Kenya: A case study of Gina Din corporate communications. Nairobi. Retrieved from http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/11295/77225
Watson, T. (2005). ROI or evidence-based PR: The language of public relations evaluation. PRism Online PR Journal, 3(1) . Retrieved from http://www.prismjournal.org/fileadmin/Praxis/Files/Journal_Files/Issue3/Watson.pdf
Watson, T. (2012). The evolution of public relations measurement and evaluation. Public relations review, 1003-1012. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2011.12.018
Watson, T., & Noble, P. (2007). Evaluating public relations: A best guide to public relations planning, research and evaluation (2nd ed.). London: Kogan Page.
Watson, T., & Zerfass, A. (2011). Return on investment in public relations: A critique of concepts used by practitioners from communication and management sciences perspectives. PRism jorunal, 8(1).
Wright, D., & Hinson, M. (2012). Examining how social and emerging media have been used in Public Relations between 2006 and 2012: A longitudinal analysis. Gainesville, Florida: Public relations review.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.
