The development of the corporate communication profession in Hong Kong

Several studies on the development of PR/CC have sprung up at the turn of the century affirming the view on the changing role and function of PR in Hong Kong and China (e.g., Wang, Corporate communication practices and trends: A China study – Phase 2 2008. Retrieved from http://www.corporatecomm.org/pdf/ChinaCorpCom12March08.pdf. Accessed 13 Sept 2013, 2008; Feng JY, Goodman MB, Corporate communication practices and trends: A China study 2010.Retrieved from http://www.corporatecomm.org/pdf/CCIPracticesAndTrendsChinaStudy2010.pdf. Accessed 13 Sept 2013, 2010), yet there remains to be seen more such comprehensive, in-depth, empirical studies locally. Thus, this chapter will present a summary of the development and a review of the current CC/PR industry in Hong Kong, followed by an investigation to document the current trends of the local PR/CC industry in a qualitative approach. Eight senior PR/CC practitioners from multinational and local companies in Hong Kong and China have been thoroughly interviewed to document and examine the change of role and function, use of social media, language, and communication strategies of PR industries in Hong Kong and China. Several key findings and implications are concluded: (1) the strategic role of PR/CC is mostly found in giant-size corporations, especially multinationals, whereas the role of PR/CC in SMEs is merely tactical and the functions are basically market and media oriented; (2) while there is consciousness about the use of bilingual communication and the production of precise and consistent message in both internal and external communication, in HK and China contexts, there seems to be an underuse of new media and social media to engage stakeholders in this “direct interface” age; (3) despite the due recognition given to establishing a professional body to guide and monitor the practice of professionals to ensure that the status of PR/CC can be perceived as a genuine profession in Hong Kong and China, the establishment of a licensing body remains controversial (Parkinson MG, Parkinson LM, Constitutional mythology in the United States: The arguments against public relations licensing refuted. Intercult Commun Stud XII-2:135–149, 2003).