Public relations interactions with Wikipedia
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider the relevance of the institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework (Ostrom, 1990) in understanding the incentives for public relations (PR) practitioners' interactions with Wikipedia, and other common pool media. Design/methodology/approach This interdisciplinary conceptual paper applies the economics theory of commons governance to two case studies of PR interactions with Wikipedia. Findings The analysis concludes that commons governance theory identifies the downside risks of opportunistic behaviour by PR practitioners in their interactions with media commons such as Wikipedia. The paper concludes that Ostrom's IAD model is relevant to the governance of PR interactions and offers guidance on productive PR practice in common pool media. Research limitations/implications The analysis was applied to only two cases for which information was widely available. Practical implications The paper includes implications for the scope of PR practice.