| Abstract: | Abstract The main aim of this article is to investigate the challenges facing public relations professionals in building organisation–public relationships (OPRs), by means of an overview of related modernistic literature, mainly within a modernistic paradigm. Dominant business developments have historically impacted the broader role of public relations in organisations and society, and it is maintained that the change in the domain of public relations to a relational perspective is yet again a consequence of the efforts by business to survive in the new millennium. There can be no doubt about the strategic importance of relationships to the survival of organisations and to public relations. A relational approach to public relations has major strategic value, and embracing its challenges is vital for the profession. The relational approach offers a two-fold opportunity to public relations professionals, namely to confirm their contribution to achieving organisational goals through the measurement of their relationship-building efforts, and the prospect of realigning themselves with other business functions in the organisation. The main objective of this article is to review the change in the domain of public relations to a relational perspective, and to investigate the current challenges facing public relations professionals in building mutually beneficial OPRs on the basis of the relational perspective of public relations. |
