Public Relations and Sport in Sabah, Malaysia: An Analysis of Power Relationships

Abstract

The central theme of this thesis is about ‘power’. This thesis is an endeavor to explore how ‘power’ could affect the dynamic of communication and relationships between actors. Power has been chosen as the central theme as a way of building new theory about public relations as proposed by Curtin and Gaither (2005). The same thing can be seen from the sports studies literature, particularly in the relationship between the three main actors in sports; NGB, Media and Sponsors. The investigation of public relations activities in sports is due to the fact, as shown in the sports studies literature, that there was a lack of recognition of the role of public relations in sports.

To provide answers for the above aims, this thesis employed the critical, cultural research approach. Bourdieu (1991) conception of capital together with Berger’ (2005) dimension of power relations were used to frame the study. Using a semi-structured interviews, data of this research gathered from respondents based on a purposive sampling technique. The data was analysed using a thematic analysis approach where seven central themes emerged. The findings in this research suggest that power or capital does affect the dynamics of communication and relationship between actors.

The implications of this thesis is that it managed to map the dimension of power relations based on the capital possessed by the actors. In terms of theoretical implication the finding of this study has enhanced the conception of capital. However, the findings also shows the weaknesses or limitation of Bourdieu’ conception of capital. From a sports study perspective, taking the roles of power between actors, this thesis suggests that the Malaysian sports development currently is at the crossroads. It is either to continue with government direct involvement in sports or to let the private sectors to lead the development of sports in Malaysia.