2008 PROCEEDINGS - Public Relations Society of America

elations practitioners. It is proposed to further test this model through its application in a
longitudinal field-study of two separate public relations organizations.
Significance
This research will provide evidence on public relations practitioners' current utilization
blogs and validate the UTAUT model for explaining technology acceptance within the
profession. The significance of this research and its associated outcomes will have implications
for four main stakeholder groups:
• Public Relations Practitioners - Knowledge created in this research will be of interest to
the public relations community, as recommendations will be created for PR professionals
to improve the acceptance and use of blogs, and thus the marketability of their services.
• The Public Relations Profession - Measures designed to extend and enhance the capacity
of public relations practitioners to utilize the potential of existing and developing
technologies is in the interest of the profession. As technology continues to advance and
permeate the modern world, it will continue to have significant impacts on the practice of
public relations. Practitioners will increasingly find themselves needing to utilize
technology both in their work tasks and in their counsel with clients and key publics. It is
thus essential to ensure technology acceptance issues do not hamper the continual growth
and advancement of the profession of public relations.
• Public Relations Educators - Recommendations developed from this research will be
aimed at higher education to ensure professors are well-prepared to adapt to the imminent
changes in their workplace, to be able to effectively utilize blogging in pedagogy and
importantly, to be able to critically apply their knowledge to maximize their student’s
ability to use and accept new technologies.
• Public Relations Researchers - This study addresses a need for technology acceptance
research in the public relations sector. Knowledge created will contribute to technology
acceptance research by advancing current knowledge and extending the theoretical
validity and empirical applicability of existing knowledge to public relations
professionals.
Method
Participants
The target population for this study was working public relations practitioners. To sample
this population, 47 small-to-medium size (less than 250 members) chapters of the Public
Relations Society of America (PRSA) were selected from the total database of more than 30,000
active members organized into more than 100 local chapters nationwide. A total of 5,644
members were solicited via e-mail for survey participation in two waves (Dec. 12 and Dec. 18,
2007). The survey instrument was constructed and responses collected utilizing an online survey
management vendor. Participation in the present research was voluntary and approved by both
the research section of the PRSA and the university’s human subjects review board. Descriptive
statistics for the target population sample include:
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