The Evolution of Public Relations in Jordan: The Perception of Public Relations in Society

This thesis is to examine the evolution of Public Relations (PR) in Jordan and its impact on Jordanian society, which lacks empirical knowledge and remains theoretically undeveloped. This study aims at the problem of having a lack of understanding of how PR evolved in Jordan and how the public perceives it. Systems theory, Uses and Gratifications Theory, and the Excellence theory underpinned this study as a theoretical foundation for the study. Quantitative research, simple random sampling survey method was used in 2017, 2021 and 2022. All questionnaires were built on the SurveyMonkey platform and distributed to a simple random sampling over WhatsApp and Facebook. Overall, the main study analysis results revealed a good understanding of the activities and tasks that PR involve, including the integration of communication activities. The study also revealed a strong perception of Jordan's Public Relations roles and the ties with the gulf investments emergence and economic expansion. This study concludes that Public Relations professionals and practitioners have a good knowledge of PR roles but eventually lack knowledge about how to use it. Also, the media and Public Relations work hand in hand to face issues and challenges that encounter PR agencies and respond to the needs and demands of public opinion. Generally, there is a good perception of PR roles in Jordan, which is connected to globalization. Moreover, in the comparison study between Jordan and Turkey professionals, the study showed that social media has a significant influence on how well an organization performs. Also findings revealed that organizational image and organizational marketing communication are significant mediators between social media use and organizational performance. Comparative findings showed a statistically significant difference in the mean of Turkish firms and Jordanian Firms. Finally in 2022 findings, showed that; PR Department in MEU assuming its societal responsibilities during the COVID19 pandemic is highly valued. As it had many different roles, such as utilizing the university's facilities while protecting the safety and health of all university members and the environment, encouragement of all workers to volunteer in local community organizations, support for health activities and means of prevention. On a different level, they had a very important role in diversifying means of communication with staff and students, whether announcements, decisions, awareness or even tutorials for e-learning portals.