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Individual and Organizational Antecedents of Professional Ethics of Public Relations Practitioners in Korea

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Abstract

This study examines the effects of individual ethical values and organizational factors on the professional ethics of PR practitioners in Korea by considering a person–situation interactionist model. Individual ethical values are used as individual factors, and organizational factors consist of an organization’s reward and punishment for ethical/unethical behavior, the behavior of peers, and the ethical integrity of the chief ethics officer. The professional ethics of PR practitioners (the dependent variable) are classified into the following three dimensions: professional ethics for the public, the client, and the PR industry. The results indicate that agency practitioners were more likely to be committed to their profession than to their organization, whereas in-house practitioners were more likely to be committed to their organization than to their profession. That is, in-house practitioners showed weak professional commitment, indicating that they perceived themselves as employees, not as PR professionals. Organizational factors such as reward, punishment, and peers’ ethical behavior had considerable influence on the professional ethics of in-house practitioners, whereas they had little influence on agency practitioners. Organizational factors as well as individual ethical values were more likely to influence the professional ethics of in-house practitioners than that of agency practitioners. Thus, to foster in-house practitioners’ professional ethics and commitment, professional associations in the PR industry should make efforts to provide in-house practitioners with more information on the PR industry and more opportunities for interacting and maintaining communication with their colleagues in the industry.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Office of Public Relations, Planning Division, Korean Educational Development Institute, Seoul, South Korea

    Ji Yeon Han

  2. Department of Mass Communication & Journalism, Sungkyunkwan University, 32625 Dasankyoungje-kwan, Meyongnyun-dong 3-ga, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 110-745, South Korea

    Hyun Soon Park & Hyeonju Jeong

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  1. Ji Yeon Han
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Correspondence to Hyun Soon Park.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Factor Analysis of Individual Ethical Values: Idealism and Relativism

Items

Factor 1 (idealism)

Factor 2 (relativism)

I shouldn’t harm others psychologically

.538

−.005

For my own interest, I should not harm others

.743

.074

One shouldn’t harm others no matter how small it may be

.893

.166

Any behavior harming others’ dignity and peace shouldn’t be allowed

.894

.196

I shouldn’t harm others physically

.852

.218

I shouldn’t pursue my own interest at the expense of others’ welfare

.767

−.449

Everybody has different moral standards

.118

.831

Something that is moral for one may be immoral for another

.505

.663

Each situation or society requires different ethical standards

.404

.554

Eigen value

4.742

2.182

Variance explained (%)

43.107

19.838

Cumulative explanation (%)

43.107

62.945

Mean

3.808

3.387

Standard deviation

.7730

.8866

Cronbach’s alpha

.882

.788

Appendix 2: Factor Analysis of Reward for Ethical Behavior

Items

Factor 1

My ethical behavior is reflected in my annual performance evaluation

.825

Ethical behavior is recognized and rewarded by our company

.902

Our company gives incentives for ethical behavior

.948

Eigen value

2.394

Variance explained (%)

79.809

Mean

2.710

Standard deviation

.9324

Cronbach’s alpha

.861

Appendix 3: Factor Analysis of Punishment for Unethical Behavior

Items

Factor 1

If I behave unethically, my annual incentives will be reduced

.892

If I behave unethically, my annual performance assessment will be negatively affected

.814

Eigen value

1.831

Variance explained (%)

61.048

Mean

2.675

Standard deviation

.7179

Cronbach’s alpha

.757

Appendix 4: Factor Analysis of Peers’ Ethical Behavior

Items

Factor 1

I think my colleagues generally behave ethically

.877

My colleagues work as ethically as possible

.865

My colleagues try to abide by the ethical principles set by the PR industry

.671

Eigen value

1.968

Variance explained (%)

68.600

Mean

3.518

Standard deviation

1.0137

Cronbach’s alpha

.727

Appendix 5: Factor Analysis of the Ethical Integrity of the CEO

Items

Factor 1

My CEO tends to intentionally exaggerate my mistakes and convey unfavorable information on me to my supervisor

.720

My CEO may dismiss an employee just because he/she doesn’t like the employee

.729

My CEO intentionally undermines employees’ rapport with one another

.780

My CEO occasionally attempts to intentionally distort what I said

.773

My CEO may take advantage of my idea

.768

My CEO hesitates to have employees trained and educated

.765

My CEO tends to attribute his/her mistakes to me

.765

My CEO intentionally turns down my requests

.865

My CEO tends to dwell on my mistakes instead of being forgiving

.784

Eigen value

5.542

Variance explained (%)

55.421

Mean

4.044

Standard deviation

.6743

Cronbach’s alpha

.908

Appendix 6: Factor Analysis of the Professional Ethics of PR Practitioners

Table 8
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Han, J.Y., Park, H.S. & Jeong, H. Individual and Organizational Antecedents of Professional Ethics of Public Relations Practitioners in Korea. J Bus Ethics 116, 553–566 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1480-6

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