DEVELOPING PUBLIC RELATIONS STRATEGIES IN SAUDI INSTITUTIONS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY WITH PRACTICES IN SWITZERLAND, FRANCE, AND THE UNITED KINGDOM

The research aimed to identify the main communication tools used by the strategic communication departments in the universities under study in Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in their interaction with the public,  and to examine the use of public relations strategies in the universities under study,  as well as to explore the most used and effective public relations strategies used by the strategic communication departments in these universities, through Using the survey method in its field dimension, targeting a sample of Saudi institutions to determine the public relations strategies used in them. In addition, the comparative method was used to identify similarities and differences in the use of PR strategies between institutions in France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia. This study falls within the descriptive research, and the total sample consisted of 24 participants, evenly distributed among the universities included in the study through the application of a questionnaire tool. There is a statistically significant difference between public relations practitioners in Arab and foreign universities by gender on the scale of using public relations strategies, as well as the absence  of a statistically significant difference between public relations practitioners in Arab and foreign universities according to jobs in the scope of using public relations strategies.