A systematic review on the application of dialogue in public relations to information communication technology-based platforms: Comparing English and Chinese contexts

•Very few studies analyzed technologies besides social media and websites.•The list of dialogic principles was rarely updated.•Dialogic loop and generation of return visits were not well implemented on ICT-based platforms.•Public engagement was the most commonly studied effect of dialogue, organizational factors were the most frequently studied antecedents of dialogue implementation.•Dialogue in public relations approach was seldom applied in Chinese context, either in English or Chinese literature. This study aims to systematically analyze and compare studies applying the dialogue approach in public relations to information communication technologies (ICTs) under English and Chinese context. Specifically, we want to investigate the subjects, the adoption of dialogic principles, and the processing of additional valuables of dialogue in selected studies. By identifying 68 relevant peer-reviewed journal articles under English context and 13 under Chinese context, we analyzed different subjects in selected publications, including their research topics, methods, samples and objectives. Moreover, our study also revealed the following results: (1) three dialogic principles were well adopted while the other two were not; (2) public engagement was the most common effect; (3) organizational response was the most common antecedent to dialogue implementation. Future studies are recommended to diversify research methods, topics and relevant technologies. We also call for developing theoretical models for dialogue in public relations and updating dialogic principles and measurements. Based upon the fact that the dialogue approach is less studied under Chinese context, we also offer a path to construct effective and ethical communication between organizations and publics on various ICT-based platforms in Greater China.