Introducing Robot Buses to the Public : Project managers’ views on media relations in Finland, Norway and Poland

Abstract

The thesis investigates how the project managers govern their relationship with the media when introducing new technology to the public. The aim is to identify how the project managers view their and media’s roles and if developing relationships stretch beyond the introduction phase. The new technology in this study is the electric, self-driving shuttle, a robot bus. They have been piloted in Finland, Norway and Poland during 2018-2019 in various projects. The literature review focuses on project management, media relations and automated/autonomous vehicles. The data is analysed by the Gioia method adjusted with technological frames by Orlikowski & Gash. An emerging grounded theory indicates that the project managers have recognised the need for media relations, which they govern with their competencies and preferred strategies. The industry-media relationship process model is formed to explain the phases of media relations development. Validity, reliability and limitations and additional research needs are presented. In conclusion, transparency is the key to successful relationship management.