Abstract

Based on the influence of the contingency factors of inner organizational and external situational factors, contingency theory of accommodation provides a good explanation for the real public relations practices. A recent series of experimental studies supports the idea that the theory is also applicable in the public's estimation pattern regarding an organization's public relations practices. This survey study is theoretically important when examining and sorting out significant factors in the real population of a notable public diplomacy domain. That is, this research examines how the South Korean people perceive the contingency factors and how people estimate the South Korean government's stance toward its opposing public, North Korea. The regression model of perceived contingency factors and stance estimation was generalizable in the population of this study (R 2 = .279). The most influential perceptual predictors in the model include: the North Korean leader's preference for the South Korean president, the relative power of South Korea, the level of commitment of North Korea, the South Korean president's preference for the North Korean leader, the US government's support for the South Korean policy toward North Korea, the South Korean government's certainty to deal with the North Korean military threat, situational difficulties, the South Korean government's knowledge and skill to deal with the threat, the situational duration of threat, and the South Korean president's relation-oriented leadership. Finally, this study discussed practical implications for the government practitioners.