This study explores the professionalization of public relations in the Middle East by analyzing how sociodemographic characteristics, work-related variables, and career development experiences shape practitioners’ perceptions of their field. Based on survey data collected from respondents in Jordan, Kuwait, and Bahrain, the findings suggest that involvement in experiential learning activities predicts perceptions of professionalization. While membership in professional associations supports a public service orientation and ethical commitment, holding leadership positions or occupying influential roles within organizations does not consistently translate into greater professional identification. Notably, individuals working in the non-profit sector perceive lower levels of professional recognition than those in corporate and governmental settings. Job satisfaction appears to play a more critical role in shaping perceptions of professionalism than years of experience alone. These results highlight the importance of integrating educational strategies and workplace initiatives that reflect both international standards and the socio-cultural context of the region to support the ongoing development of public relations as a strategic and professionalized field in the Middle East.
AbdullahAAhmadJ (2022) Public relations education in Saudi Arabia: an overview of educators and practitioners perspectives. International Transaction Journal of Engineering, Management, & Applied Sciences & Technologies13(9): 1–13.
2.
AbdullahZThreadgoldT (2008) Towards the professionalization of public relations in Malaysia: perception management and strategy development. Public Relations Review34(3): 285–287.
3.
Al-JenaibiB (2015) Current issues about public relations professionals: challenges and potentials of PR in UAE organizations. Middle East Journal of Management2(4): 330–351.
4.
Al-KandariAGaitherTK (2011) Arabs, the West and public relations: a critical/cultural study of Arab cultural values. Public Relations Review37(3): 266–273.
5.
AlmutairiTMSrirameshK (2021) Strategic management of public relations in Kuwait. Corporate Communications: An International Journal26(1): 192–204.
6.
Al SaqerL (2016) History and sociology of public communication in the Arab Gulf. Cross-Cultural Communication12(3): 1–11.
7.
AvidarRDhaneshGS (2025) Intercultural Public Relations: Insights from the Middle East. London: Taylor & Francis.
8.
AyishMBreslowH (2014) The need for interdisciplinary research of the Arab mass media. Global Media Journal7(2): 57.
9.
AyishMKruckebergD (2004) Abu Dhabi national oil company (ADNOC). In: TurkJScanlanL (eds). Fifteen Case Studies in International Public Relations. Gainesville, FL: The Institute for Public Relations, 174–182.
10.
BadranBA (2019) A critical snapshot of the practice of public relations in the United Arab Emirates. In: Public Relations in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries. London: Routledge, 118–144.
11.
BaroudiSHojeijZ (2025) Female leadership in the Arab world: an ethnographic study of educational leaders. International Journal of Leadership in Education28(2): 402–421.
12.
BeckerHS (2017) The Nature of a Profession Sociological Work. London: Routledge.
13.
BourneC (2015) Extending PR’s critical conversations with advertising and marketing. In: The Routledge Handbook of Critical Public Relations. London: Routledge.
14.
BourneC (2019) The public relations profession as discursive boundary work. Public Relations Review45(5): 1–9.
15.
BrowningN (2018) Ethics and the profession: the crystallizing of public relations practice from association to accreditation, 1936–1964. American Journalism35(2): 140–170.
16.
CreedonPAl-KhajaM (2019) An overview of Middle East public relations practice, education, and research from isolation to globalization. Journal of Public Relations Research31(3–4): 84–96.
17.
CreedonPJAl-KhajaMAWKruckebergD (1995) Women and public relations education and practice in the United Arab Emirates. Public Relations Review21(1): 59–76.
18.
EdwardsL (2014) Power, Diversity and Public Relations. London: Routledge.
19.
EdwardsL (2015) An historical overview of the emergence of critical thinking in PR. In: The Routledge Handbook of Critical Public Relations. London: Routledge, 16–27.
20.
EdwardsLPieczkaM (2013) Public relations and ‘its’ media: exploring the role of trade media in the enactment of public relations’ professional project. Public Relations Inquiry2(1): 5–25.
21.
EvettsJ (2014) The concept of professionalism: professional work, professional practice and learning. In: International Handbook of Research in Professional and Practice-Based Learning. Dordrecht: Springer, 29–56.
22.
FawkesJ (2014) Public Relations Ethics and Professionalism: The Shadow of Excellence. London: Routledge.
23.
FitchK (2016) Professionalizing Public Relations: History, Gender and Education. Berlin: Springer.
24.
FreidsonE (1988) Professional Powers: A Study of the Institutionalization of Formal Knowledge. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
25.
FreidsonE (2001) Professionalism: The Third Logic. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
26.
FreitagARStokesAQ (2009) Global Public Relations: Spanning Borders, Spanning Cultures. London: Routledge.
27.
IdidSAArandasMF (2016) Professional values, ethics, and professionalism of public relations practitioners. Jurnal Komunikasi: Malaysian Journal of Communication32(1): 287–311.
28.
JohansenP (2001) Professionalisation, building respectability, and the birth of the Canadian Public Relations Society. Journalism Studies2(1): 55–71.
29.
KiratM (2005) Public relations in the Arab World: a critical assessment. Public Relations Review31(3): 323–332.
30.
KiratM (2006) Public relations in the United Arab Emirates: the emergence of a profession. Public Relations Review32(3): 254–360.
31.
KiratM (2007) Promoting online media relations: public relations departments’ use of Internet in the UAE. Public Relations Review33(2): 166–174.
32.
KiratM (2016) Public relations professionalism and excellence in the Arab World: problems and drawbacks. Al-Ijtimai. International Journal of Government and Social Science12: 5–27.
33.
KrauseEA (1996) Death of the Guilds: Professions, States, and the Advance of Capitalism, to the Present. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
34.
LammeMORussellKM (2010) Removing the spin: toward a new theory of public relations history. Journalism & Communication Monographs11: 5.
35.
L’EtangJMerkelsenH (2011) The double-edged sword of legitimacy in public relations. Journal of Communication Management15(2): 125–143.
36.
ManleyDValinJ (2017) Laying the foundation for a global body of knowledge in public relations and communications management. Public Relations Review43(1): 56–70.
37.
MeintjesCNiemann-StruwegI (2009) The role of a professional body in professionalisation: the South African public relations case. PRism6: 1–14.
38.
MeyerALLeonardA (2014) Are we there yet? En route to professionalism. Public Relations Review40(2): 375–386.
39.
MichaelNGorpeTS (2017) Public relations for the next generation: Middle East public relations association (MEPRA)'s engagement with students. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives14(2): 1–14.
40.
MolledaJCMorenoÁAthaydesA, et al. (2010) Macroencuesta latinoamericana de comunicación y relaciones públicas. The Organ7(13): 118–141.
41.
MolledaJCMorenoÁNavarroC (2017) Professionalization of public relations in Latin America: a longitudinal comparative study. Public Relations Review43(5): 1084–1093.
42.
MossD (2024) Public Relations Practitioner Roles Absolute Essentials of Public Relations. London: Routledge, 26–36.
43.
MuzioDAckroydSChanlatJ (eds) (2007) Redirections in the Study of Expert Labour: Established Professions and New Expert Occupations. Berlin: Springer.
44.
NessmannK (1995) Public relations in Europe: a comparison with the United States. Public Relations Review21(2): 151–160.
45.
Niemann-StruwegIMeintjesC (2008) The professionalism debate in South African public relations. Public Relations Review34(3): 224–229.
46.
PageTGCapizzoLWPenningT (2024) A case for the plausibility of public relations licensing: the carrot of privileged communication. Public Relations Review50(1): 102408.
47.
PieczkaML’EtangJ (2001) Public relations and the question of professionalism. In: HeathRL (ed) Handbook of Public Relations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 223–235.
ShaBL (2011) Does accreditation really matter in public relations practice? How age and experience compare to accreditation. Public Relations Review37(1): 1–11.
50.
SrirameshKVerčičD (eds) (2003) A theoretical framework for global public relations research and practice. In: The Global Public Relations Handbook: Theory, Research, and Practice. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1–19.
51.
SrirameshKVerčičD (2009) The Global Public Relations Handbook: Theory, Research, and Practice. 2nd edition. New York, NY: Routledge.
52.
ThurlowA (2015) A critical historiography of public relations in Canada: rethinking an ahistorical symmetry. In: The Routledge Companion to Management and Organizational History. London: Routledge, 302–316.
53.
ValentiniCKruckebergDStarckK (2012) Public relations and community: a persistent covenant. Public Relations Review38(5): 873–879.
54.
Van RulerB (2005) Commentary: professionals are from Venus, scholars are from Mars. Public Relations Review31(2): 159–173.
55.
VujnovicMKruckebergD (2005) Imperative for an Arab model of public relations as a framework for diplomatic, corporate and nongovernmental organization relationships. Public Relations Review31(3): 338–343.
56.
WatsonT (2015) PR’s early response to the ‘information superhighway’: the IPRA narrative. Communications Society28(1): 1–12.
57.
WilenskyH (1964) The professionalisation of everyone?American Journal of Sociology70(2): 137–158.
58.
YangATaylorM (2013) The relationship between the professionalization of public relations, societal social capital and democracy: evidence from a cross-national study. Public Relations Review39(4): 257–270.
59.
YangATaylorM (2014) A global perspective on public relations professionalism: mapping the structure of public relations associations’ international networks. Public Relations Review40(1): 89–100.
60.
ZakariaNZakariaNAlnobaniO, et al. (2023) Unlocking the eHealth professionals’ career pathways: a case of Gulf Cooperation Council countries. International Journal of Medical Informatics170: 104914.
61.
ZerfassATenchRVerhoevenP, et al. (2018) European Communication Monitor 2018. Strategic Communication and the Challenges of Fake News, Trust, Leadership, Work Stress and Job Satisfaction. Results of a Survey in 48 Countries. Brussels: Quadriga Media Berlin.
