[1] Opposed to the normative nature of the excellence theory, the contingency approach posits that "true" excellence should instead facilitate public relations to pick the most appropriate strategies which best meet the current need of the organization and its publics at any given point in time, and that antecedent, mediating, and moderating variables may inevitably lead to greater or lesser accommodation during organizational-public communication.
In this view, organizational communication strategies both internally and externally should be measured more by an infinite number of points than an "either-or" picture might suggest,[2] providing a more accurate representation of the fluidity of organizational stances and decisions on public relations strategies made over time.
The theory of contingency is premised on the different possibilities for organizational communication at any point within the advocacy-accommodation continuum.
On one end of the continuum, advocacy defines the role of public relations practitioners like those of an attorney representing their clients' side of the issue.
[4] Pure advocacy of organizational interests on the other hand portrays a negative image associated with persuasion, manipulation and mistrust which threatens the organization's ability to foster and maintain relationships with its publics.