Public relations in Kenya

Public Relations Review 38 (2012) 505–507

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Public Relations Review

Research in Brief

Public relations in Kenya: An exploration of models and cultural

influences

Dane Mwirigi Kiambi a,∗, Marjorie Keeshan Nadler b,1

a College of Mass Communications, Texas Tech University, Box 43082, Lubbock, TX 79409-3082, United States b Department of Communication, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, United States

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:

Received 16 August 2011

Received in revised form

27 December 2011

Accepted 18 January 2012

Keywords:

Kenya

Public relations models

Hofstede cultural values

Personal influence model

International public relations

Grunig PR models

a b s t r a c t

This pioneer study explores the public relations models that inform the practice of public

relations in Kenya, and the cultural values that influence this practice. Results show the

personal influence model as the most used by practitioners in Kenya, while individualism

is the most experienced cultural value. The strong correlation between personal influence

model and Hofstede’s cultural value of femininity points to the practitioners’ strong desire

for good interpersonal relationships with colleagues, supervisors, clients and key publics.

Published by Elsevier Inc.

1. Introduction

Public relations is becoming global and leading agencies have set up international offices. Kenya is one of the places in

Africa where many international public relations firms are expanding. As a relatively politically stable country in a region

rocked by intermittent political and economic turmoil, multinational corporations expanding into East and CentralAfrica first

look at Kenya as their entry point into the region. Increased global trade and the accompanying opportunities for the growth

of international public relations presents both an opportunity for research and a need for public relations practitioners and

scholars to understand the role of the public relations practice in a global context and specifically in Kenya.

Very little research has been done on public relations in Africa despite the region showing tremendous potential and

growth of international public relations. The few African cultures that have been studied in connection with public relations

are South Africa (Holtzhausen, Petersen, & Tindall, 2003), Nigeria (Molleda & Alhassan, 2006), and Ghana (Wu & Baah￾Boakye, 2009). In spite of the high number of multinational companies operating in Kenya, there has been no study of public

relations in Kenya and the impact that the local culture has on the practice. This article presents the results of research which

explores the public relations models that inform the practice of public relations in Kenya, the cultural values that influence

this practice, and the relationship between the public relations models and cultural values through the following research

questions:

∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 513 593 0619; fax: +1 806 742 1085.

E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] (D.M. Kiambi), [email protected] (M.K. Nadler).

1 Tel.: +1 513 529 7175.

0363-8111/$ – see front matter. Published by Elsevier Inc.

doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2012.01.007