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 29^th International Public Relations Research Symposium (BledCom) will be held on July 1-2, 2022, in Rikli Balance Hotel, Lake Bled, Slovenia.

Conference Theme:

Reboot: Should Organizations Rediscover Communication with Internal & External Stakeholders?

The pandemic has demonstrated the fragility of humans and the societies we inhabit. Personal relationships were suspended and digitalized. Atomized employees were asked to work from home, and the very definition of the workplace seems to have been redefined. So, it is appropriate to ask whether organizations should be proactive and rediscover effective communication strategies and techniques. Is it time to explore the definition and distinction between what are internal and what are external relationships? Communication and public relations (in all its denominations: communication management, corporate communication, strategic communication…) have gained a new and bigger role in management around the world.

For all these reasons, based on the innate relationship between communication and this pandemic, BledCom 2022 selected this theme, which seeks to analyze questions such as:

-         Have internal communication and employee engagement changed during the covid pandemic, and if so, how?

-         Are there any changes in perception of what are internal and what are external relationships essential for organizational success?

-         How has “social distancing” within organizations affected organizational culture? That is, with the complete cessation of personal meetings and interactions, what kind of organizational culture has evolved?

-         How have relationships with external stakeholders changed (if at all) given the unprecedented changes to the way organizations have been forced to communicate with them?

-         What impact has “working from home” had on employee morale?

-         How many of the changes in communication patterns seen during this pandemic might remain as we return to a “new normal?”

-         How has internal communication affected communication with external stakeholders?

-         Is reliance on ICTs a boon or a curse given how the big tech companies are being accused of anti-trust activities among other things

Obviously 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 proposals 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, 2022. Decisions will be made by March 4, 2022 after peer review. Full papers not exceeding 6.000 words will be due by September 16, 2022.

Finally, we hope we will be able to meet in person in beautiful Bled in 2022!

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