Seeking to understand the relationship between public relations practice and corporate social responsibility initiatives, this research examined how two American-based international public relations agencies—Ketchum, Inc., and Ruder Finn, Inc.—came to take part in the United Nations (U.N.) Global Compact. The Global Compact is a social responsibility initiative that brings together more than 4,000 participants from multiple sectors in over 100 countries to address social issues. Using the three independent variables of Grunig's situational theory of publics, this qualitative study sought to identify: (a) the events that prompted these senior-level executives as members, as members of their agency's dominant coalition, to initiate participation in the Global Compact, (b) what obstacles within the agency presented challenges to joining the Global Compact, and (c) how each agency integrated the Compact Principles into its work.

A single, embedded case study was developed and integrated three subunits of analysis: in-depth interviews, and primary and secondary document analysis. In-depth interviews were conducted with two, senior-level executives from each agency. Primary document analysis focused on the Communication on Progress (COP) reports, and secondary document analysis consisted of agency-produced materials, such as speeches and presentations as well as articles written for business publications. Document analysis was included to assess how these agencies had pursued integration of the 10 Compact Principles into their work. Overall results indicated that both agencies primarily used the Compact Principles as a tool to educate clients, but had yet to fully integrate the Compact Principles into their work, particularly their own internal operations.