Personal Influence Model in Public Relations: Evaluations of Public Relations Academicians on The Model

The personal influence model can be defined as establishing good relations between public officials, former bureaucrats, journalists who have a say, NGO executives, activists called primary stakeholder,in short, public relations practitioners who have a say in the society and successfully conducting public relations activities by benefiting from these relations when the institution needs it. Personal influence practices carried out in this context can be classified as hospitality relations, hosting, celebration of important days, conducting gift relations, and obtaining regular and up-to-date information about primary stakeholders. Considering the work related personal influence model in Turkey it is seen that literature is quite limited. Evaluations of Public Relations Academics regarding the applications of the personal influence model in public relations are the subject of this research. In this article, it is aimed to determine whether the personal impact model is applied in Turkey and to determine how it is applied if it is applied. Within the scope of the study, semi-structured interview questions were sent to the participants via e-mail and their answers were collected via e-mail. The academics interviewed in the study were selected according to the quota sampling and purposeful sampling techniques within the scope of the improbable sampling. 21 academics from 41 communication faculties were interviewed within the scope of the research. Attention has been paid to the work of academics in public relations departments. As a result, when the opinions of academics are evaluated, it can be stated that the practices of personal influence are compatible with Turkish culture and dynamics. Hospitality relations in Turkish culture, welcoming them in the best possible conditions, making them happy and satisfied when leaving overlap with hospitality relationships in the personal relationship model.