The dynamics of ethical behaviour has long been a preoccupation of the Public Relations (PR) field, yet in the United Kingdom, there are few empirical studies of ethical practice to date. In this article – through interviews with 22 UK Public Relations practitioners (PRPs) in small and medium-sized enterprises – we address this empirical gap. We examine three dimensions of ethical practice: societal responsibilities, truth-telling and the role of professional bodies. In the literature, the PRP is often positioned as the ethical conscience of the corporation, but in Shakespeare’s words, ‘uneasy lies the head that wears a crown’. Our findings reveal a range of ethical standards, some of which would make professional bodies blush. Many PRPs aspire towards an ethical counsel role but lack agency in the face of commercial and organisational forces. Rather than challenge such forces and the system they are part of, participants talked of coping strategies. At the same time, practitioners flow between ethical identities, painting a fluid, complex and occasionally contradictory picture of ethical practice that does not fall neatly into ethical metanarratives. While deontological ethical frameworks (typically expressed through codes of conduct) have dominated the professional field, our findings suggest that for many practitioners, such codes remain distant. Findings are discussed within ongoing debates around professionalisation, professional identity and the political economy of PR work.

中文翻译：

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“头戴皇冠的头部不安”。对英国道德公关实践的定性研究

长期以来，道德行为的动态一直是公共关系（PR）领域的关注重点，但是在英国，迄今为止，很少有关于道德实践的实证研究。在本文中-通过采访22位中小型企业的英国公共关系从业人员（PRP）-我们解决了这一经验差距。我们研究了道德实践的三个方面：社会责任，讲真话和专业机构的作用。在文献中，PRP通常被定位为公司的道德良心，但是用莎士比亚的话来说，“头戴皇冠的人不安”。我们的发现揭示了一系列道德标准，其中一些道德标准会使专业团体感到脸红。许多PRP渴望成为道德顾问，但面对商业和组织力量却缺乏代理。与会人员没有挑战这种力量及其所组成的系统，而是谈论应对策略。同时，从业人员在伦理身份之间流动，描绘出一种不稳定的，复杂的，有时是相互矛盾的伦理实践图景，而这些图景并没有完全落入伦理元叙事中。尽管道义上的道德框架（通常通过行为准则来表达）已经占据了专业领域，但我们的发现表明，对于许多从业者而言，这样的准则仍然遥不可及。在有关专业化，专业身份和公关工作的政治经济学的持续辩论中讨论了发现。伦理实践的复杂的，有时是矛盾的图景，并没有很好地归入伦理元叙事中。尽管道义上的道德框架（通常通过行为准则来表达）已经占据了专业领域，但我们的发现表明，对于许多从业者而言，这样的准则仍然遥不可及。在有关专业化，专业身份和公关工作的政治经济学的持续辩论中讨论了发现。伦理实践的复杂的，有时是矛盾的图景，并没有很好地归入伦理元叙事中。尽管道义上的道德框架（通常通过行为准则来表达）已经占据了专业领域，但我们的发现表明，对于许多从业者而言，这样的准则仍然遥不可及。在有关专业化，专业身份和公关工作的政治经济学的持续辩论中讨论了发现。