Viewing relationships as the core of public relations research was first advocated by Mary Ann Ferguson in 1984.
She asserted that relationships between an organization and its key audiences were central to public relations research.
After conceptualizing OPR, researchers started proposing characteristics that could best represent the quality of organization–public relationships.
Proposals: Ledingham and Bruning's dimensions are: openness, trust, involvement, investment, and commitment.
Their statistical analysis categorized OPR dimensions into three distinct types: personal, professional, and community.