Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine and analyse subjective well-being among public relations (PR) and communication professionals by looking at several factors: employer and employee engagement, work culture and relationships, work–life balance and conflict, job satisfaction, well-being and networking and perceived gender discrimination and sexual harassment. Additionally, we examine and discuss them in the context of perceived organisational support (POS) and management-mediated well-being. Design/methodology/approach: This paper examines several dimensions of well-being in the PR/comms industry in Romania: employer and employee engagement, work culture and relationships, work–life balance and conflict, job satisfaction, well-being and networking and perceived gender discrimination and sexual harassment. 117 adult respondents (male and female, full-time employed and freelancers, professionals from PR, advertising and corporate communications) filled-in a questionnaire developed within the EUPRERA Women in PR Network, which brings together communication and human resource (HR) perspectives. Findings: The study revealed a gap between perceived and practical organisational support related to well-being. While emotional support is acknowledged, actionable support is less present. Gender-specific challenges, such as networking stress and sexual harassment, were more prevalent among women. Age and experience influenced job satisfaction, with mature professionals reporting higher satisfaction but more work encroachment into personal time. The characteristics of the industry, including its feminisation at both executive and managerial levels and the predominance of small businesses as market actors, underscore the need for tailored well-being strategies based on gender and age conditioned by organisational capabilities and resources. Practical implications: The results can be used by PR and communication managers in Romania to better understand the perception of their employees regarding well-being and to develop organisational support systems. Originality/value: This is the first study addressing well-being and POS in the PR and communication industries in Romania.

This study addresses the knowledge and research gaps regarding the “other customer” concept within the consumer–brand identification paradigm, drawing on branding and consumer behavior theories. We consider the “other customer” as the other customers of a brand from the perspective of an individual (focal customer) using or simply assessing the brand. We take into account both how the focal customer is influenced by other customers and how the focal customer perceives those other customers. While the concept is traditionally associated with the service industries, we expand its relevance to product brands. We use Social Identity Theory, Social Comparison Theory, and Other Customer Perception to identify how Gen Z focal consumers construct the image of other consumers of international brands at national level. A mixed-method approach was developed, bringing together MMCA (multimodal content analysis), perceptual mapping regarding brand image, and other customer perceived attributes, as well as a survey addressing (a) focal customer–other customer–brand identification perceived similarity and (b) perceived influence of sustainability on purchase behavior. MMCA was performed on a corpus of 236 other customer profiles of Nike and Adidas, consisting of a visual component and a textual description. The profiles were developed by a convenience sample of 147 Romanian Gen Z young adults. The results show that: (a) The national specificity and history of the brand can lead to diverging, local other customer profiles that might be accepted or rejected based on the desirability and similarity perceived by the focal customer; (b) The other customer is used as a form of self-evaluation carried out by the focal customer (Gen Z consistently evaluates downward some of the other customers as a way to curate self-esteem and avoid identification with profiles they consider undesirable or unsuitable for their own self-image); and (3) The connection perceivable at international level between brand sustainability as a purchase pre-condition and Gen Z customers is not universal and should be re-evaluated based on local realities. At theoretical level, this study contributes to the advancement of the “other customer” concept; at a practical level, it advocates for the inclusion of an “other customer communication strategy” into the marketing communication mix.

Purpose: Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) technologies are increasingly being used by both individuals and organizations. However, there is still a lack of in-depth understanding of whether communication professionals are ready to navigate and utilize this disruptive innovation. This study aims to explore how communication professionals perceive GenAI-related risks in the workplace and what is considered important for READINESS in the context of GenAI adoption at the individual and organizational levels. Design/methodology/approach: This study employed written interviews with open-ended questions in a survey format to gather input from communication professionals in three European countries – Italy, Romania and the Netherlands. A total of 84 responses were collected and analyzed through a thematic analysis, with an intercoder reliability test also conducted. Findings: Seven core themes emerged from the analysis, including (1) the forms of risk anticipated in relation to the adoption of GenAI in the workplace; the conceptualization of (2) individual and (3) organizational READINESS in the face of GenAI-related risks; the factors considered important for the development of (4) individual and (5) organizational READINESS; and the aspects of the (6) physical and (7) digital work environment that contribute to building organizational READINESS. Originality/value: By identifying key themes and patterns, this research aims to provide insights into the critical factors that communication professionals can consider to enhance their individual and organizational READINESS to address GenAI-related risks within the workplace.