Melissa D. Dodd

Biography

Dodd has presented her award-winning strategic communication research at academic and professional meetings around the world. Dodd’s research is focused on issues management, CEO/corporate activism, corporate social advocacy, corporate social responsibility, intangible assets/social capital, and the measurement of public relations outcomes for corporate- and societal- level impacts.

Dodd coined the term “corporate social advocacy” in 2012 to address corporate engagement in controversial sociopolitical issues that have the potential to isolate stakeholder groups and attract activist attention. Since that time, she has studied corporate issues engagement to include: 

  • Climate change
  • Health care reform
  • Gun violence prevention
  • Diversity, inclusion, and equity
  • Race relations
  • LGBTQ+ equality
  • Gender equality
  • Reproductive rights
    …and, more.

 Her corporate issues engagement research is published in leading academic journals — Communication Research Reports, Journal of Communication Management, Public Relations Review, Public Relations Journal — and featured in major media — Forbes, USA Today, NPR, and The Wall Street Journal.

​ Dodd was named Arthur W. Page Center Legacy Scholar for Integrity in Communication and awarded a fellowship from the Institute for Public Relations Behavioral Insights Research Center. Her research has earned multiple grant awards from organizations — including Villanova’s Waterhouse Family Institute for the Study of Communication and Society, where she studied the narratives of gun reform advocacy organizations as related to corporate engagement in the controversial issue of gun policy reform and gun violence prevention.

She has served in multiple leadership roles, including Chair for the Public Relations Society of America’s Educators Academy section; Member of the Commission on Public Relations Education; Advisory Board Member for the Institute for Public Relations Bridge Conference, as well as the International Public Relations Research Conference (IPRRC). 

Research

Activism; Advocacy; Corporate Communication; Corporate Social Advocacy; Corporate Social Responsibility; Data Analysis and Analytics; Democracy; Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG); Issues Management; Leadership Communication; Public Interest Communication; Public Relations Education and Pedagogy; Measurement and Instrumentation; PR and Mass Media Research Methods (mixed methodologist); Social Capital [Intangible Asset Management]; Social Movement Organizations; Strategic Communication

Education

Doctor of Philosophy, Communication (Emphasis: Public Relations), University of Miami, School of Communication, (Coral Gables, Fla., USA).

Master of Arts, Public Relations, Ball State University, College of Communication, Information, and Media, (Muncie, Ind., USA).

Bachelor of Arts, English (Minor: Sociology), Indiana University, School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Dept. of English and Language Studies. (Kokomo, Ind., USA).

Selected Publications

Dodd, M. D. (2026). The centrality of emotional intelligence for PR roles, leadership, and the profession. In Zhang, W. Emotional Intelligence in Public Relations: EQ as the New IQ for Public Relations. New York: Routledge New Directions in Public Relations and Communication.

Dodd, M. D., Mundy, D., & Heffron, E. (2022). Online activism and a conceptual typology of public relations roles. In Austin, L. & Jin, Y. (Eds.), Social Media and Crisis Communication, 2nd Ed. New York: Routledge.

Heffron, E. & Dodd, M. D. (2021). The impact of corporate social advocacy on stakeholders’ issue awareness, attitudes, and voting behaviors. Public Relations Journal, 12(4).

Dookhoo, S. & Dodd, M. D. (2019). Slacktivists or activists? Millennial motivations and behaviors. Public Relations Journal, 13(1).

Dodd, M. D. (2018). Globalization, pluralization, and erosion: The impact of shifting societal expectations for advocacy and public good. Journal of Public Interest Communication, 2(2): http://journals.fcla.edu/jpic/article/view/106115/102295

Park, Y. E. & Dodd, M. D. (2017). The historical development of corporate social responsibility as a strategic function of public relations. In B. Brunner (Ed.), The Moral Compass of Public Relations (pp. 15-27). New York: Routledge Research in Public Relations Series.

Dodd, M. D. (2016). Intangible resource management: Social capital theory development for public relations. Journal of Communication Management, 20(4), 289 – 311.

Dodd, M. D. & Supa, D. W. (2015). Testing the viability of corporate social advocacy as a predictor of purchase intention. Communication Research Reports, 32(4), 287-293.

Dodd, M. D. & Supa, D. W. (2014). Conceptualizing and measuring the influence of “corporate social advocacy” communication on consumer purchase intention, corporate financial performance. Public Relations Journal, 8(3).