Biography

Sung-Un Yang, Ph.D. (University of Maryland), is professor and teaches strategic communication, organizational communication management, social media communication strategies, and statistics courses at the Media School, Indiana University. Prior to joining the IU School of Journalism in 2012, Sung-Un was a tenured faculty in the Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University and served as the Newhouse Endowed Professor (2010-2012). From 2022, he will serve as Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Public Relations Research (JPRR), the official journal of AEJMC (Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication) Public Relations division.

Research Interests and Awards

Sung-Un’s research focuses on relationship and reputation management in the context of public relationships with organizations; social media and communication effectiveness; and public diplomacy and nation branding. He has received numerous awards for his research, including the Best Doctoral Dissertation Award from International Communication Association (ICA) Public Relations Division and Top Research Paper Awards from major international conferences in his field including International Communication Association (ICA), Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), and others. About teaching, he received the Meredith Teaching Excellence Recognition Award, a Provost’s Award for university-wide teaching excellence, at Syracuse University in 2009. At Indiana University, Sung-Un has recently received the Indiana University Board of Trustees’ Teaching Award in 2021.

Sung-Un currently serves on the editorial boards of Communication Research, Communication Theory and Journal of Public Relations Research. With two books, several book chapters and international peer-reviewed conference papers, he has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in several top-tier academic journals in his field including Communication Research, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, International Journal of Communication, Computers in Human Behavior, American Behavioral Scientist, Journal of Public Relations Research, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Communication Management, Corporate Reputation Review, and Public Relations Review, among others.

For the detailed list of publications, please see his Google Scholar profile.

Selected Publications

• Browning, N., Yang, S.-U., Kim, T., Lee, E., & Park, Y. (2019). Do ethics matter? Investigating donor responses to primary and tertiary ethical violations. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 96(4), 1145-1171. https://doi-org.proxyiub.uits.iu.edu/10.1177/1077699019835903
• Yang, S.-U. (2018). Effects of government dialogic competency: The MERS outbreak and implications for public health crises and political legitimacy. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 95(4), 1011-1032. https://doi-org.proxyiub.uits.iu.edu/10.1177/1077699017750360
• Rim, H., Yang, S.-U., & Lee, J. (2016). Strategic partnerships with nonprofits in corporate social responsibility (CSR): The mediating role of perceived altruism and organizational identification. Journal of Business Research, 69(9), 3213-3219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.02.035
• Yang, S.-U., & Cha, H. (2015). Effects of organization-public relationships on organizational reputation. In J. A. Ledingham, Y. Ki, & J. Kim (Eds.), Public relations as relationship management: A relational approach to the study and practice of public relations (pp. 114-129). New York: Routledge.
• Lim, J., Nicholson, J., Yang, S.-U., & Kim, H. (2015). Online authenticity, popularity, and the “Real Me” in a microblogging environment. Computers in Human Behavior, 52, 132-143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.05.037
• Yang, S.-U., Kang, M., & Cha, H. (2015). A Study on Dialogic Communication, Trust, and Distrust: Testing a Scale for Measuring Organization-Public Dialogic Communication. Journal of Public Relations Research, 27(2), 175-192. https://doi-org.proxyiub.uits.iu.edu/10.1080/1062726X.2015.1007998
• Golan, G., Yang, S.-U., & Kinsey, D. (2014). International Public Relations and Public Diplomacy: Communication and Engagement. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
• Yang, S.-U., Kang, M., & Johnson, P.  (2010). Effects of narratives, openness to dialogic communication, and credibility on engagement in crisis communication through organizational blogs. Communication Research, 37(4), 473-497. https://doi-org.proxyiub.uits.iu.edu/10.1177/0093650210362682
• Yang, S.-U., & Lim, J. (2009). The effects of blog-mediated public relations on relational trust. Journal of Public Relations Research, 21(3), 341-359. https://doi-org.proxyiub.uits.iu.edu/10.1080/10627260802640773
• Yang, S.-U. (2007). An integrated model for organization-public relational outcomes, organizational reputation, and their antecedents. Journal of Public Relations Research, 19(2), 91-121. https://doi-org.proxyiub.uits.iu.edu/10.1080/10627260701290612