تأثير ثقافة ممارسي العلاقات العامة على إدارة اتصالات الأزمات في مملكة البحرين : دراسة تحليلية

Abstract EN

This research aims to analyze the culture of crisis communication management through studying the impact of the culture of public relations managers and practitioners on the role of public relations in managing crisis communication in the Kingdom of Bahrain using Zaharna’s (2001) cultural image of the in-awareness approach.

The importance of the study lies in the fact that in light of the rapid political, economic, social and technological changes in the Arab Gulf region, there has become an urgent need to activate crisis communication management research to keep up with these changes.

The study reviews the Arab and Western literature on crisis management, which emphasizes the importance of the strategic role of public relations in various institutions.

The researcher uses an analytical approach to analyze the impact of the culture of public relations practitioners on the concept of crisis management in government and private institutions in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The study combines the quantitative and qualitative approaches by using a questionnaire that includes a snowballing sample consisting of sixty-two public relations practitioners in 35 governmental and private institutions, in addition to in depth interviews with a purposive sample consisting of fifteen managers in government and private institutions in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The study highlights several challenges related to the nature of Bahraini culture from the perspectives of public relations practitioners such as the non-linear and high context nature of Bahraini culture, the orientation towards the past and the difficulty of strategic prediction, marginalization of the role of public relations and lack of understanding of its strategic role in the institution, and the challenges of technology and globalization.

The study discusses future opportunities to develop the role of public relations in crisis management, and suggests an integrated scenario for developing the communication side in crisis management in terms of research and practice in various institutions in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The researcher concludes the study with final academic and practical recommendations and offers an integrated picture for developing the role of public relations in crisis management in the kingdom of Bahrain in particular and in the Arab Gulf countries in general