Research Initiatives

One of the most important ways organizations can use their voices is in support of others. Advocacy communication builds awareness of issues among publics, to influence policy-makers or to attract donors. In the spirit of community responsibility, charitable action and respect for human interest that exemplifies integrity in public communication, the Page Center's 2019 research call supported projects in all areas of advocacy communication.

• Communicating CEO activism for employee prosocial behaviors (2023) Young Kim, Katharine E. Miller
• Extending the model of media advocacy for strategic and ethical communication (2023) Minhee Choi, Kelli S. Boling
• Prosocial communication in social media for public resilience during a collective tragedy (2023) Jo-Yun Queenie Li, Yeunjae Lee

Generative AI has rapidly transformed the landscape of public and strategic communication. As this innovation continues to evolve, it becomes imperative to critically examine its ethical implications. The 2025 proposals explore the intersection of generative AI, public communication, and ethics.

• Navigating ethical frontiers in AI-driven advertising: A comprehensive study on guidelines, policies and practical implementation strategies (2024) Rachel Esther Lim, Sujin Kim, Skye Cooley
• What do communication practitioners really think about AI-triggered threats at their organization? (2024) Wenqing Zhao, Anna Rachwalski, Maranda Berndt-Goke

Consumers want companies to “walk the talk” through values-driven actions that advocate for change. With a continued increase in demand for companies to match their words with action, in 2021, the Page Center funded research proposals that built an understanding of how companies engage in various contexts of corporate social advocacy.

• Using message framing and the endorser to communicate corporate social advocacy (2023) Duli Shi, Sangwon Lee
• Effects of climate CSA and CSR messaging: the moderating role of green consumer identity (2023) Cassandra L.C. Troy, Megan L.P. Norman, Nicholas Eng, Jason Freeman, Denise Bortree
• Can PR be local, global, and prosocial? Transnational CSA and practitioner negotiation (2023) Luke Capizzo, Jeannette Iannacone, Drew T. Ashby-King

Corporate social responsibility emerged as an important management concept. Publics expect companies to be engaged in responsible activities that make a significant contribution to communities, the environment, and society. The Page Center addressed these needs through a research call in 2013, open calls accepting CSR proposals and CSR-focused research that overlaps with other areas.

• Effects of climate CSA and CSR messaging: the moderating role of green consumer identity (2023) Cassandra L.C. Troy, Megan L.P. Norman, Nicholas Eng, Jason Freeman, Denise Bortree
• Understanding how CSR partnership factors influence nonprofit supportive intentions (2022) Virginia S. Harrison, Frank Dardis
• When corporate sustainability violates public expectations: Insights from stakeholders’ perspective (2022) Juan Liu

Due to technology’s rapid advancement, professionals and researchers have much to learn about how it affects communications — and how it will impact the future of public relations. To equip organizations to strategically and responsibly use digital media, in 2012 and 2017, the Page Center accepted proposals on research to fill the gaps in literature about digital media.

• What do communication practitioners really think about AI-triggered threats at their organization? (2024) Wenqing Zhao, Anna Rachwalski, Maranda Berndt-Goke
• The effects of self-disclosure and gender on a climate scientist’s credibility (2024) Stephanie Madden
• Organizational communication and education for ethical use of artificial intelligence (2023) Won-Ki Moon, Sangwook Lee

In 2021, the Page Center funded research examining how ethics of care can fundamentally reshape current approaches to public relations and public communication, bridging theory and practice in a broad range of topics.

• Beyond compliance: Disability ethics training for an inclusive PR workplace (2024) Edward Timke, Chuqing Dong
• Advancing relationship management theory: Incorporating dialogic stewardship and ethics of care in a polarizing political environment (2024) Jordan Morehouse, Virginia S. Harrison, Chuqing Dong
• Examining the influence of ethics of care & servant leadership in public relations (2021) Marlene Neill, Juan Meng

• Navigating ethical frontiers in AI-driven advertising: A comprehensive study on guidelines, policies and practical implementation strategies (2024) Rachel Esther Lim, Sujin Kim, Skye Cooley
• Develop counterfactual thinking to enhance core ethics competencies: Effects of game-based solutions in organizational ethics training (2024) Lewen Wei, Nahyun Kim
• Examining the role of PR in communicating ethics training and DEI within organization (2024) Rosalynn Vasquez

Are the theories that guided journalism and strategic communication research for decades adequate for today's environment? With an emphasis on integrity, in 2024 the Page Center accepted proposals designed to help the disciplines and industries of public communication adapt to current challenges and needs.

The Page Center's 2018 call funded grant proposals that contributed to the scholarly and public understanding of misinformation and disinformation, and their implications for public communication.

• Why fall for misinformation? (2024) Rachel Peng, Fuyuan Shen
• Truth-telling trumps fake news: Successfully safeguarding the company reputation (2019) Michele Ewing, Cheryl Ann Lambert
• Understanding public relations roles as the ethics counsel in the age of fake news (2018) M. Rosie Jahng, Hyunmin Lee

Narratives can be a powerful communication tool for corporations and organizations. Scholars in multiple disciplines have documented the power of stories. The Page Center's 2019 call funded proposals that examined the uses and implications of stories and storytelling in public communications.

• Fending Off Unverified Accusation with Narratives (2023) Yen-I Lee, Xuerong Lu, Taylor Voges, Yan Jin
• Promoting bone marrow donation through sharing personal narratives: An ethical perspective (2023) Nicole O’Donnell
• Correcting health misinformation through narratives (2020) Yan Huang, Weirui Wang

Echoing the Page Principle, "Listen to Stakeholders," the Page Center's 2020 research call supported scholars and professionals interested in developing an understanding of listening in public communication.

• The roles of mindfulness and emotional intelligence in cultivating listening competencies and employee outcomes: Theoretical framework and practical guidelines (2024) Zifei Fay Chen, Katie Place
• Seizing the moment: Redirecting public relations theory to position equity and accessibility as central to the public voice’s post-covid mandate (2024) Dean Mundy, Sandra Boone
• Exploring trauma-informed listening among public relations professionals (2023) Katie Place, Stephanie Madden

While the goal of prosocial communication is usually rooted in good, the strategies and tactics used to achieve the desired goals can be questionable. The 2023 call for proposals sought research on organizations working to improve public health and social conditions.

In 2016 and 2024. the Page Center funded projects that recruited collaborations between practitioners working in public communication and academic scholars. Teams were encouraged to create projects that advanced ethics and responsibility in all areas of public communication.

• Using the hidden histories to inspire, motivate, and attract more diverse students to the PR field (2024) Shelley Spector
• The roles of mindfulness and emotional intelligence in cultivating listening competencies and employee outcomes: Theoretical framework and practical guidelines (2024) Zifei Fay Chen, Katie Place
• Drivers and barriers of artificial intelligence technology adoption in public relations: Exploration of practitioners and client perceptions of ethical use of AI (2024) Joon Kyoung Kim, Ammina Kothari

Social media has a role in nearly every aspect of business, public communication and life. The Page Center reflects that ubiquity with scholarly work that has a part in most, if not all, of its funded research topics.

• Prosocial communication in social media for public resilience during a collective tragedy (2023) Jo-Yun Queenie Li, Yeunjae Lee
• Designing effective corporate social advocacy campaigns using valence, arousal, and issue salience (2022) Frank Dardis, Nicholas Eng
• Creating an antecedent to greenwashing through prebunking (2022) Courtney Boman, Matthew S. VanDyke

Organizations must consider how best to communicate with a variety of stakeholders. Stakeholders have expectations that require ethical standards and with the growth of social media, ethical engagement with stakeholders has become more challenging. In 2013 — and appearing in a number of other research calls — the Page Center funded research that addressed these challenges.

• Cultivating prosocial motivation in messaging (2023) Amanda Hinnant, Sisi Hu
• Toward a framework for listening (2020) Katie Place
• Ethical organizational listening for stakeholder engagement and responsibility (2020) Marlene Neill, Shannon Bowen

Page Center research in 2010, 2015 and 2022 analyzed sustainability topics in public communication with a goal of offering researched-based insights into best practices in across disciplines, including nonprofit, education, government and for-profit.

• The effects of self-disclosure and gender on a climate scientist’s credibility (2024) Stephanie Madden
• Licensed to greenwash? Exploring sustainability-driven prosocial communication strategies (2023) Shupei Yuan, Haoran Chu
• Tracking the path of the green consumer (2022) Nicholas Eng, Rachel Peng