A social capital approach to improving public relations’ efficacy: Diagnosing internal constraints on external communication

This article extends Heath's (2006) concept of fully functioning society theory (FFS) and argues that public relations can be used as a force to enhance collective social capital in communities. To serve this purpose, however, the effectiveness of an organization to serve its external publics is often dependent on the status and relationships the public relations function has developed within the organization. This paper provides a network analysis of a government agency in Jordan that illustrates the relationship between internal organizational social capital and the potential problems for establishing external relationships with publics. Implications for public relations research methods and theory are also discussed.

► The effectiveness of an organization to serve its external publics is often dependent on the status and relationships the public relations function has developed within the organization.
► Public relations requires support from within the organization in order to be efficacious in communicating with the environment.
► Public relations must secure a stable position within an organizational network with access not only to the dominant coalition, but also to the influential resource providers within a network.