The relationship management function of public affairs officers in Chile: Identifying opportunities and challenges in an emergent market

Abstract

Research on the public affairs profession in both South and Latin America is one of the leading limitations today in international public relations research. This study helps to lessen such a gap by offering more realistic insight into the ideologies and pressures that govern public affairs practice in Chile. In‐depth interviews were conducted with 15 experts who are current senior‐level public affairs practitioners in the Chilean capital of Santiago. Results offer three key insights: First, the core function of public affairs in Chile surrounds behaviors of lobbying and governmental relations. Second, leveraging cohesion between organizational private interest and the public interest is a key to leveraging pressure on elected officials and governmental agencies. Lastly, there is significant concern regarding public trust in the lack of transparency in the Chilean public affairs field, facilitated by insufficient governmental regulation. Such research offers practical and grounded insights for public affairs and public relations scholarship.

Trust as a contextual variable for public relations: Reflections from Latin America

“…We choose trust because it has been measured in different countries and in diverse cultural regions, but nevertheless not introduced in PR scholarship and practice as an element that can illuminate cultural contexts and suggest local interpretations of events. Indeed, a renewed emphasis on contextual elements in PR is relevant for a more nuanced view of the discipline and accurate assessment of communication actions in specific cases (Labarca et al, 2020;Sriramesh and Verčič, 2013). In our opinion, the emphasis on culture requires both the generation of context-specific elements and the cultural reading of global variables.…”

“…As stated in previous works (Labarca et al, 2020), one crucial discussion is the debate regarding the role played by culture on international PR (Sriramesh, 2009;Wakefield, 2010). This debate briefly discusses whether or not PR models and grand theories can be applied in different cultural contexts, which is a discussion not totally solved by the literature.…”

“…Nevertheless, there seems to be an emergent understanding for more and other global perspectives to the study of PR (Sriramesh, 2003, 2009; Taylor, 2001; Wakefield, 2001, 2010) and thus, expanding views from scholars from other regions of the world. Underlying this debate, there is a more substantial assumption that Western ontology means global ontology, insofar it stems from an ethnocentric approach (Labarca et al, 2020).…”

“…As a result, only a few studies focus on theoretical advances in the region (Ferrari, 2009; Ferrari and Franca, 2011), which has enhanced the tendency to apply foreign PR models in Latin America without considering economic, political and sociological contexts (Labarca et al, 2020). The colonialism observed in the realm of theoretical discussion may also be found in PR practices.…”

Public Service Quality Improvement Strategy by Cirebon City Government Regarding the Granting of Trade-Business-License

“…When the private or third sector is involved, the process of commissioning will usually be linked with a method of procurement to determine who will provide the services, at what cost, and on what terms. Commissioning is often seen as a cyclical process; in the context of public services, it is stated that public services prioritize the public interest, facilitate public affairs, shorten the time for carrying out public affairs, and provide satisfaction to the public (Labarca et al, 2020;Kapucu & Hu, 2020;Van der Wal & Mussagulova, 2020). Denhardt & Denhardt (2000) suggests that public services are activities carried out by a person or group of people based on material factors through specific systems, procedures, and methods to fulfill the interests of others following their rights.…”