Public Relations in Latvia at the Beginning of the 21st Century: Supporting Function of the Organization’s Management and / or Marketing

Abstract

Public Relations (PR) in Latvia is a new cross - disciplinary branch, the beginning of which dates back to the gaining of independence. It has rapidly developed during the last twenty years. The interpretation of Public Relations though is still problematic. A lot of heads of establishments do not realize the importance of Public Relations in the development of enterprises. They do not see the difference between Public Relations and marketing. Public Relations is often viewed as a marketing supporting function. The aim of the article is to show the role of Public Relations as one of the essential management functions, explain and analyse the relationship between Public Relations and marketing, as well as to find the reason for the scarcity of the insight into what Public Relations is and offer the solution to the problem in regard to the situation in Latvia. The article offers analysis of the facts obtained from 25 detailed interviews with leading Public Relations practitioners and theoreticians as well as the analysis of the theoretical literature and other sources. All interviews could not be viewed in the article because of its limited length.