Yan Qu
Assistant Professor, Communication
Education
M.A., Public Policy, University of Maryland, College Park
Ph.D., Communication and Media, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Research Expertise
Crisis & Risk Communication
Public Relations
Dr. Yan Qu studies public relations and strategic communication broadly from a social network perspective. His research centers on developing and applying a personal network approach to examine various publics in public relations, as well as issues related to risk and crisis communication. More recently, Dr. Qu has launched a new line of research exploring how AI technologies reshape individuals’ identities and personal networks, and how these changes influence communication processes and outcomes in public relations, risk and crisis contexts.
Dr. Qu is the recipient of the 2022 ICA James E. Grunig and Larissa A. Grunig Outstanding Dissertation Award, as well as multiple top paper awards from AEJMC and IPRRC. His research has appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, and Health Communication, among others. Prior to his current role, Dr. Qu worked as a postdoctoral associate at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
Publications
A social influence perspective toward employee-organization relationships: The role of relationship norms in employee peer networks
Study using a social influence perspective toward employee-organization relationships and relationship norms in employee peer networks published in Public Relations Review
Author/Lead: Yan QuEmployee-organization relationships (EORs) have been widely examined in the scholarship of internal public relations. While previous research has focused on organizational- and leadership-level factors that shape EORs, the influence of employees’ peer networks has not received much attention. Drawing from a social influence perspective, this study examines EORs as a product of normative influence within employees’ instrument and friendship networks—those networks composed of coworkers with whom employees share information or advice and those they consider friends. An egocentric online survey was conducted to examine the effects of EOR norms on employees’ EOR perceptions and how such normative influence is moderated by structural network characteristics (i.e., network size, relationship closeness, and network density). We found that employees’ EOR perceptions were highly consistent with the EORs of their instrument and friendship ties across all dimensions. Moreover, network size and relationship closeness were directly and positively associated with certain dimensions of EORs. Relationship closeness also played a moderator role for some dimensions of EOR. Our research findings suggest the importance of organizations creating a positive relationship environment and dynamics among employees.