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PurposeThis paper presents an analysis of public relations interactions with Wikipedia using an economic perspective based on the Institutional Analysis and Design (IAD) framework from public choice economics. MethodologyThe paper is primarily theoretical and attempts to use an established economic theory to improve understanding of how and why clandestine edits of common pool media assets such as Wikipedia are undertaken. Additionally, an illustrative case study research approach was used to organise and analyse two instances of edits of Wikipedia by public relations agencies. FindingsThe application of the IAD model to two cases of Wikipedia editing suggests that economic imperatives and incentives for public relations professionals to deliver value to clients override the community interests of the common pool resource, professional codes of practice and the ethics considerations. The economic value of public relations as a gatekeeper and distributor of information assets is threatened by the power of many unpaid authors contributing to common-pool media resources such as Wikipedia. Practical implicationsThe paper includes implications for public relations practice in its interactions with common pool media along with theoretical implications for its role. In theoretical terms, the economic value of information held by public relations professionals has been undermined by the collaborative nature of common pool media, which has consequences for the place and value of public relations in future. Originality/valueThe paper applies an economic theory and related literature public relations practice. The intention is to stimulate further research into the application of economic ideas to public relations practice and to encourage discussion on the place of economic theory in public relations knowledge. to Wikipedia on behalf of clients. This paper applies Ostrom's IAD framework to two high profile cases of undisclosed deletion and editing of Wikipedia entries by UK public relations agencies on behalf of clients. The intention is to describe the nature of the interactions and to understand why PR people decide to breach Wikipedia's rules, professional codes of practice and ethical norms by making illicit edits. The paper is intended as a contribution to the theory and practice in the area of public relations interactions with common pool media. The project also confronts the emerging behavioural and economic dilemma for public relations practice in dealing with common pool media and offers guidance on this area of activity. The originality of the work is the application of economic analysis based on the IAD framework to explain the incentives in the professional dilemma associated with Wikipedia and to offer an alternative explanation to that offered by public relations ethics alone. Media relations, new media institutions and public relations practiceCoombs and Holladay (2013, p.102) have described media relations as a "foundational element" in public relations. It is the area of practice which seeks to ...

This interdisciplinary conceptual essay offers critical reflection on the adoption of activism as a domain of public relations practice. This article examines the possibility of a relationship between the concept of economic rent-seeking from public choice theory and the practice, institutions and outcomes of activist public relations. The conclusion is an outline of three counter-narratives that theorise activist public relations as a practice that seeks to extract rents in the form of benefits from the political arena as a result of persuasive activity. The hope is that these theoretical counter-narratives may suggest future research questions which could be addressed to develop and test this line of inquiry and also broaden the study of activist public relations.

This article offers an account of the institutional entrepreneurship behind the formation of the UK charity for military veterans, Help for Heroes, along with an analysis of the symbols, narratives and rhetoric that made up its organizational discourse. Tracing the development of the charity since its launch in 2007, the inquiry considers the means of transmission used by Help for Heroes to diffuse its organizational discourse, arguing that a dualistic promotional approach across elite and mass media – narrative through a network of support from mass media outlets as well as individual actors, such as members of the Royal Family, politicians and celebrities – helped to propagate a new national orthodoxy of veterans as heroes. The conclusion is that 10 years after its foundation, Help for Heroes’ discursive legacy has reinvigorated the veteran charity sector in a way not seen since the end of World War I and established a wide and deep level of support among civic society for veterans as a social cause, regardless of the level of support for the underlying military operations

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