Entrepreneurial orientation and Strategic Communication: an Empirical Investigation into Italian Public Relations

This paper investigates the current state of public relations profession in Italy. Based on an extensive survey of 190 Chief Communication Officers (CCO) of Italian top organizations, we conducted an inquiry into Italian CCOs’ profile and we analyzed the state of development of PR function. More precisely we aimed at evaluating both the degree of institutionalization of PR in Italian organizations and the strategic role played by Italian CCOs within the organizational hierarchy. Our findings reveal that PR has established itself as a key corporate function and Italian CCOs are getting more and more involved in strategic organizational processes.