Corporate Reputation
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five
minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do
things differently.” - Warren Buffet
One ‘Whistle blowing’ about BOEING in 2024-The
whole reputation went bust! (Gulf News, April,
2024)
Corporate Reputation
• Corporate Reputation is seen as a comprehensive concept that
comprises all aspects of corporate marketing including: corporate
image, corporate identity, corporate branding, corporate personality,
corporate associations and corporate communications. It is the
integration of all these concepts together that makes up corporate
reputation.
• “A stakeholder's overall evaluation of a company over time.”(Gotsi
and Wilson, 2001).
Corporate Reputation
• Corporate reputations reflect collective views about an organization
or an overall assessment of an organization by stakeholders
(Cornelissen, 2011).
• The collective nature of reputation reflects an aggregate of views held
by multiple stakeholders about an organization (Fombrun, Gardberg, &
Sever, 2000, p. 242).
• Lange, Lee and Dai (2011) argue organizational reputation is "an
objective reality for the organization, even though it is held and
subjectively created by outside observers” (p. 178).
Corporate Reputation
Sources of Corporate Reputation
Different sources for corporate reputation formation:
• - The employees’ behavior and communication;
• - Individuals’ experiences with the company;
• - Company’s self-presentations;
• - Media interpretations of the company;
• - Word of mouth;
• - Competitors;
• - Rumors
(Caruana, 1997; Dowling 2001; Cravens, Oliver and Ramamoorti, 2003).
Essentials of Corporate Reputation:
Is Corporate Culture important for Corporate
Reputation?
Essentials of Corporate Reputation-Role of
Corporate Culture
Measuring Corporate Reputation
• A series of measures have been proposed that measure corporate
reputation from a multi-faceted perspective.
• The most popular measure for corporate reputation was that developed by
Fombrun et al. (2000). Fombrun et al. (2000) developed the Reputation
Quotient (RQ), a multi-dimensional construct composed of six dimensions
that identified the stakeholders’ perceptions about the reputation of a
company. These dimensions include the following:
(1) Emotional appeal, (2) Products and services, (3) Vision and Leadership,
(4) Social and environment responsibility, (5) Workplace environment, and
(6) Financial performance.
Measuring Corporate Reputation…….
Helm (2005) developed a similar measure for corporate reputation that
was composed of ten elements:
(1) quality of products, (2) commitment to protecting the
environment, (3) corporate success, (4) treatment of employees, (5)
customer orientation, (6) commitment to charitable and social issues,
(7) value for money of products, (8) financial performance, (9)
qualification of management, and (10) credibility of advertising claims.
The most popular tool for measuring
Corporate Reputation!
The RepTrak® System for
Measuring Corporate Reputation
Source: Fombrun, J.C, Ponzi, J.L and Newburry, W (2015), ‘Stakeholder Tracking and
Analysis: The RepTrak® System for Measuring Corporate Reputation’, Corporate
Reputation Review, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 3–24
Dimension Attribute
The RepTrak® System
Products & Services Offers high quality products and services
Products & Services Offers products and services that are a good value for the money
Products & Services Stands behind its products and services
Products & Services Meets customer needs
Innovation Is an innovative company
Innovation Is generally the first company to go to market with new products
and services
Innovation Adapts quickly to change
Workplace Rewards its employees fairly
Workplace Demonstrates concern for the health and well-being of its employees
Workplace Offers equal opportunities in the workplace
Governance Is open and transparent about the way the company operates
Governance Behaves ethically
Governance Is fair in the way it does business
Citizenship Acts responsibly to protect the environment
Citizenship Supports good causes
Citizenship Has a positive influence on society
Leadership Has a strong and appealing leader
Leadership Has a clear vision for its future
Leadership Is a well-organized company
Leadership Has excellent managers
Performance Is a profitable company
Performance Delivers financial results that are better than expected
Performance Shows strong prospects for future growth
