Capturing the Complexity and Dynamism of Decision Making in PR: The Contingency Theory of Strategic Conflict Management

Augustine Pang, Yan Jin, and Glen T. Cameron (2023). “Capturing the Complexity and Dynamism of Decision Making in PR: The Contingency Theory of Strategic Conflict Management.” In Public Relations Theory III: In the Age of Publics (Eds. Carl Botan and Erich Sommerfeldt). Routledge.

Abstract: The contingency theory of strategic conflict management has been described as a “grand theory of public relations” (Coombs, 2010, p. 41) that “seeks to explain how public relations as a whole operates” (p. 41). It began essentially as a public relations theory in the 1990s, and today it is regarded more as a conflict management theory and one of the key theories applied in crisis communication research (An & Cheng, 2010). This chapter has the following sections. The chapter first chronicles the contingency theory’s origins, its theoretical platform, and the exposition of the theory in the field of public relations. The second seeks to consolidate the theoretical development by mapping out the contingency variables along the life cycle of complex and challenging public relations issues (e.g., conflicts and crises). The third assesses the application of the theory in two scenarios: a pandemic situation and during online disruption.