Reputation refers to the estimation the different stakeholders have for a company, and the extent to which a company has made a name for itself. The value of a reputation is determined by the degree to which promise and proof are aligned. Reputation management aims to generate preference (offensive) and trust (defensive). In this section of the Knowledge Resource Centre you will find more about reputation management.

When a company contracts one specific celebrity to promote its brand, negative publicity surrounding that person can reflect badly on the brand. The most obvious example of this is the commotion that surrounded golf pro Tiger Woods’ behaviour and the brands he represented, Nike and Accenture, in the past year. Research shows that the problem of reputational damage to companies in such cases can be prevented by choosing a different form of sponsoring.

The Reputation Quotient model was first published by Charles Fombrun, Naomi Gardberg and Joy Sever in 2000 in the Journal of Brand Management. The model discerns six dimensions of corporate reputation, based on measurements of 20 characteristics. The model came about after ample desk research in the form of questionnaire-based studies in a range of different sectors and focus groups. It intends to define a reputation a company has with a range of different stakeholder groups.

Many a board struggles with the question of how to make their vision, mission and values blossom throughout their company. Employees often experience these kinds of ‘messages’ as vague and abstract. Simple stories turn out to be a far better vehicle for the propagation of a vision, mission and values. Every company should therefore have its own story, a 'corporate story'.

In their corporate identity / corporate image model, Birkigt and Stadler identify four dimensions of corporate identity. Three ‘instruments’ (in the outer circle) form the concrete manifestations of the underlying ‘personality’ of the organisation (core of the circle). Corporate identity relates to the total scope of manifestations (symbolism, advertising and behaviour) an organisation uses to propagate its personality.

Where sustainable behaviour is concerned, an often heard claim is that people and consumers are not on the same page. As persons, we are all in favour of seeking to instate sustainable behaviour on a large scale. But in our role of consumer, we often lack a willingness to pay more to be sustainable. Communication on this issue is partly focused on persuading people. When it comes to stimulating sustainable behaviour, the approach of the message turns out to be crucial in getting people to assume the desired behaviour.

Can business and corporate social responsibility (CSR) ever go hand in hand? Porter says they can – and even have to – in order to stay competitive in the long term. In his view, entrepreneurship and CSR are mutually dependent; without a good society there will not be any good companies, and without good companies there will not be a good society. Porter furthermore states that CSR should be deployed on a strategic level, i.e. that companies should only choose those issues that can help them attain a clear competitive edge.

A corporate brand is one of any company’s most important strategic assets. Companies that effectively manage their corporate brand can obtain a lasting competitive edge, even in hyper-competitive global markets. That makes a corporate brand an important weapon in the (strategic) struggle for stakeholder favour. ’Taking Brand Initiative’ is made up of three parts: ‘the basics’ (chapters 1 through 4), ‘managing corporate brands’ (chapters 5 through 7) and ‘pulling it all together’ (chapters 8 and 9).

• Davies, Chun, Vinhas da Silva and Roper (2003): Corporate reputation and competitiveness.
• Fombrun & Van Riel (2004): Fame and fortune; how successful companies build winning reputations.
• Cornelissen (2011): Corporate communication; a guide to theory and practice.