An Open-System Approach to Building Theory in Public Relations

Theory construction in public relations requires both scientific methods and openness to conceptual and methodological input from the larger fields of communication and human behavior. The alternative is to turn inwardly to the narrowly defined public relations "body of knowledge." Greater emphasis on focal concepts tied to the practice, on concept and theory explication, and on data-based hypothesis testing is required in the open-system approach to building theory in public relations.