On Corporate Reputation

Corporate reputation is defined as the total set of individual and collective judgments on the reliability of an institution or a corporation based on a general set of values, their trustworthiness and competence. (Golgeli, 2013) On the other hand, corporate reputation according to Fombrun, “It is the perceptual representation of past actions and the future image of an organization that creates its overall image compared to its entire target audience and competitors” (1996). Based on this, corporate reputation can be gained, maintained and improved or reduced over time. Corporate reputation reflects, with great effort, the picture of the organization generated over time. It impacts the way individuals perceive institutions or institutions as a whole. Although reputation offers a two-way relationship with stakeholders, we may infer that corporate reputation is a collection of principles that convey in the eyes of social stakeholders how the company perceives it. It is an abstract value, it includes expectations and reactions about a firm’s activities, products, services, expectations and responses from previous events. (Chen, 2020) Since social responsibility is an act in the sake of humanity and is an act done by considering the social benefit, it helps a company to be socially accountable and it gives the firm an opportunity for good public image, increased recognition, customer engagement, positive & productive workplace and employee engagement. It also provides a chance to attract customers which have common sentiments and is an attractive tool for a firm for the customers who share their vision and ethos. A major parameter of corporate reputation is called social responsibility. It can protect, improve and positively influence its corporate reputation by being sensitive to social issues in a society where an organization resides and operates. Social responsibility activities’ increase as a strategic communication tool in brands’ marketing mix makes it essential for marketers to fully understand their consequences. (Tezer, Tofighi, 2021)

References

Golgeli, K. (2013, May 9–11). Corporate Reputation Management: The Sample Of Erciyes University[Paper Presentation]. 2nd World Conference on Design, Arts and Education, Erciyes, Turkey.

Fombrun, C. J. (1996). Reputation: Realizing Value From the Corporate Image. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Chen, Z. “Corporate Social (Ir)responsibility and Corporate Hypocrisy: Warmth, Motive and the Protective Value of Corporate Social Responsibility”, Business Ethics Quarterly. Business Ethics Quarterly, October 2020, p. 486–524.

Tezer, A., Tofighi, M. (2021) CSR spillover effect: the influence of a brand’s corporate social responsibility activity on competing brands, Journal of Marketing Management, 37:7–8, 651–670, DOI: 10.1080/0267257X.2020.1865430