Review article
https://doi.org/10.47960/2712-0457.2026.S2.8.9
PUBLIC RELATIONS AND THE ETHICS OF MEANING MANAGEMENT: PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS BETWEEN LEGITIMATE INTERPRETIVE FRAMING AND MANIPULATION
Ivana Primorac Bilaver
; University of Mostar, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
*
Davorka Topić Stipić
; University of Mostar, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
This paper examines the ethical boundaries of meaning management in public relations in the PR 4.0 paradigm. It offers an ethical elaboration of Meaning Management Theory and explains how organizational conduct, as interpreted by publics, may relate to trust and legitimacy. The paper offers a conceptual integration of the literature rather than a systematic review. It proposes an interpretive model linking meaning management capability, ethically grounded interpretive stability, and judgments of trust, perceived ethicality, and social appropriateness. These relationships are presented as theoretical propositions requiring empirical testing. The paper proposes six criteria for the normative-analytical assessment of legitimate meaning-shaping: truthfulness, transparency, inclusiveness, accountability, alignment between words and actions, and openness to correction. Interpretive stability is considered ethically acceptable only when it preserves publics’ ability to verify, challenge, and disagree.
Keywords
public relations ethics; meaning management; interpretive stability; trust; legitimacy
Hrčak ID:
353040
URI
Publication date:
1.11.2026.
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