BLEDCOM 2023 CALL FOR PAPERS: Public Relations and Sustainability

Author name

The 30th International Public Relations Research Symposium (BledCom 2023) will be held on June 30 and July 1, 2023, in Rikli Balance Hotel, Lake Bled, Slovenia. Conference Theme is "Public Relations and Sustainability".

BledCom is an annual gathering of scholars and practitioners in public relations and related disciplines to discuss contemporary communication and management problems. Organized annually since 1994, it is the oldest conference in our field that is not affiliated with a professional or academic association.

 

So far, eight books and nine special issues or sections of peer-reviewed journals have been published based on previous symposia (www.bledcom.com.). We attribute this success to the hundreds of colleagues who have participated over these years and of course our sponsors. We thank you all for sustaining this boutique conference for a quarter of a century.

 

Conference Dates and Venue:

 

The 30th International Public Relations Research Symposium (BledCom 2023) will be held on June 30 and July 1, 2023, in Rikli Balance Hotel, Lake Bled, Slovenia.

 

Theme: Public Relations and Sustainability

 

The main purpose of public relations is the synchronization of organizations with their environments – natural, social, cultural, political and technological. Crises and change are the driving forces behind the profession, and as the first become more frequent and the second accelerates the role of public relations in making organizations and societies sustainable increases.

 

Sustainability is the ability of a system (an individual, a group, an organization, society, the planet) to maintain continuity over time. According to the Brundtland Commission (the World Commission on Environment and Development, United Nations), sustainability means ”meeting the needs of the preset without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”

 

On one hand, it appears as though sustainability has become the holy grail of the continuity of capitalism: ”We focus on sustainability not because we’re environmentalists, but because we are capitalists,” wrote Larry Fink, Chairman and Chief Executive Office of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, in the 2022 annual letter to CEOs. On the other hand, as a normative concept, sustainability calls for a creative destruction of the current organization of production to alleviate global poverty. The political goal of sustainability, the ”2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” (the 17 Sustainable Development Goals as formulated by the UN: https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda). The business community has translated sustainability into Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria to screen potential investments.

 

Meanwhile, we are witnessing an accelerated digitalization that is profoundly changing humanity, along with disruptors such as the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the end of the End of History (F. Fukuyama).

 

Al the above prompt us  to assess the role of public relations in making organizations and society sustainable. While we are on the brink of catastrophe, how can public relations contribute to the survival and development of communities and organizations, the human species, and the planet?

 

The following are some questions that can be addressed under this theme:

- What is the role of public relations in making the world more sustainable?

- Has public relations played any role in sustainable development? If so, what is it?

- What are some potential ways by which public relations can contribute to sustainability?

- What is the relationship between sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility?

 

Obviously these are just a few questions that can be posed but there are many other dimensions to this theme that we invite authors to explore as well.

 

Call for Abstracts and Panels:

 

We invite abstracts that are between 500 and 800 words (including title and keywords) with up to 5 references. Please note that as has been the norm in the past, BledCom welcomes ALL papers that are relevant to public relations and communication management and not just papers that discuss the conference theme. We also welcome panel proposals.

 

Please use the following guidelines to present your abstract and kindly supply the word count at the end of the submission.

 

Format for the Abstract:

 

Please note that the chances of your abstract being accepted are enhanced if you observe the following format in preparing it:

 

Introduction and purpose of the study (and research question if there is one) – helps summarize the purpose and rationale of your study. Literature review – Helps place your work in context with the existing body of knowledge. Methodology – Define the main method used for gathering data including sample size, and state the rationale for using this method. Results and conclusions – Helps summarize the answers to the research questions while also outlining the implications of the results. Also summarize the limitations of the study and offer suggestions for future research. Practical and social implications – Offer the potential implications both for practice and society. Also provide us with 3 to 5 keywords that highlight your study. Abstracts should come as blind copies without author names and affiliations, who are to be identified on on a separate cover page. Please use the suggested headings to structure the abstract. A list of literature is not necessary, but if it is provided it is included into the word count.

 

Panel proposal are also welcome. The proposal should describe the title and focus of the panel, name of the chair of the panel, and names of every member of the panel and title or focus of each presentation.

 

Deadline:

 

Paper abstracts and panel proposals should be submitted via email to bledcom@fdv.uni-lj.si no later than February 1, 2023. Decisions will be made by March 4, 2023 after peer review. Full papers not exceeding 6.000 words will be due by September 16, 2023 for inclusion in the conference proceedings.

 

Finally, we hope we all will be able to meet in person in beautiful Bled in 2023 to celebrate 30 years of BledCom!

 

Program Committee:

 

·      Dejan Verčič, University of Ljubljana and Herman & partners, Slovenia

·      Krishnamurthy Sriramesh, University of Colorado Boulder, USA

·      Ana Tkalac Verčič, University of Zagreb, Croatia

CfP for Communication Management Forum 2026 (CMF 2026)

By Maja Jančič • July 22, 2026
In the context of accelerated technological, social and economic changes, communication is affirmed as a key factor in shaping relations in the economy, politics and society. Communication Management Forum 2026 scientific conference, which is held under the title Corporate Communications: Issues & Perspectives, is dedicated to the analysis of precisely these contemporary communication challenges, from corporate and political to ethical and technological.

BledCom 2027: Call for Papers

By Maja Jančič • July 20, 2026
The 34th edition of International Public Relations Research Symposium (BledCom) will be held on JULY 2 & 3, 2027 in Rikli Balance Hotel , Lake Bled - Slovenia (IN-PERSON ONLY) . The main theme of the 34th conference is "THE SOCIAL ROLE FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS IN A TURBULENT WORLD". With each passing year especially in the past decade, it appears as though our world is becoming ever more turbulent. Individuals, organizations, and societies are bribng forced to cope with a world in flux. The very foundation of an established geo-political equilibrium is being severely tested – aided, among other factors, by the increase in illiberal democraticsystems. The world had rejoiced the fall of the Berlin Wall at the end of the 20 th century signaling the end of a bipolar and contentious political order. That elation appears to have been premature as the first quarter of the 21 st century has heralded multipolar geopolitics that has been the source of this turbulence also. The formation of BRIC in 2006 that became BRICS in 2011, the establishment of Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue), the birth of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) are a few examples of countries trying to jockey for global relevance and impact in the 21 st century. Twentieth century problems such as global warming and human migration have not abated, but have become exacerbated, and continue to add to the state of flux. The calmness of an established world order has also been significantly affected by the meteoric rise of digital media and more recently the onset of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that have simultaneously aided, and disrupted, the life of every human being. This current reality offers us the prime opportunity to be reflective and address the social role of public relations as a practice and scholarly discipline. Therefore, BledCom 2027 invites scholars, practitioners, educators and administrators to reflect on the social role for public relations and its relevance in an increasingly turbulent world. SOME RELEVANT QUESTIONS ARE: Does the practice of public relations have a social role beyond that of being the ‘paid piper’ for an organization? Has the discipline contributed to the current turbulence in the world? If so, how? To what extent has the discipline reflected on its own social responsibility while professing to bethe conduit of communication for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)? Does public relations have a role in calming and healing this turbulence? If so, is the discipline even contemplating its role to help calm and heal a turbulent society? Is the discipline equipped to engage in this societal role as healer? Has scholarship adequately addressed the role public relations has played in building just andequitable societies as part of civil society? GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION As in previous years, BledCom welcomes all papers related to public relations and strategic communication, not just those addressing the conference theme. Panel proposals are also invited. We invite abstracts between 500 and 800 words (including title, keywords, and references) and panel proposals. Abstracts should include: - Introduction and purpose of the study (including research question if applicable), - Literature review (to situate the work in existing scholarship), - Methodology (including data sources, rationale, and sample), - Results and conclusions (highlighting implications and limitations), - Practical and social implications. Please provide 3–5 keywords that reflect your study. Use APA style (latest edition). Abstracts must be submitted anonymously, with identifying information included on a separate cover page. A list of references is optional but included in the word count. Panel proposals should include: - Title and focus of the panel, - Name of the panel chair, - Names of participants and titles or foci of their contributions. IMPORTANT DATES Submission deadline: Tuesday, February 2, 2027 Notification of acceptance: Tuesday, March 3, 2027 (after peer review) Full papers (up to 6,000 words): due Monday, September 13, 2027, for proceedings. Please send all submissions to: bledcom@fdv.uni-lj.si PROGRAMME COMMITTEE Dejan Verčič, University of Ljubljana and Herman & partnerji, Slovenia Krishnamurthy Sriramesh, University of Colorado Boulder, USA Ana Tkalac Verčič, University of Zagreb, Croatia