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

Abstract

This conceptual paper contends, considering the Latin American context, that public relations as a discipline and practice needs to address the relevance of trust in understanding of and theorizing on public relations practice. Furthermore, it hopes to critically address the current gap within the academic literature by placing generalized and institutional trust as key contextual variables in the study of public relations phenomena, and a factor to consider when analysing stakeholder perceptions and needs.