Toward a Comprehensive Understanding of Corporate Reputation: Concept, Measurement and Implications

Abstract

Corporate reputation is more important than ever. The highly turbulent business environment, increased publicexpectations, and pressure from different stakeholder groups have all contributed to the increased importance ofexamining and managing a company's reputation. Academic scholars have been studying corporate reputationfor the past two decades, with special attention during the past decade. This is evidenced by the special journalson corporate reputation such as the Corporate Reputation Review, special issues in various journals on corporatereputation and many academic conferences on this important research topic. Today, with the abundance ofresearch on corporate reputation it was important to look back and reflect on these studies. It is important toprovide an overall framework for understanding corporate reputation and its underlying components andmeasures. Accordingly, this paper aims to review the literature on corporate reputation, by examining theconcept, its measurement, perspectives and overall implications on organizations. This paper offers a synthesis ofthe concept of corporate reputation as well as some implications for managers who want to actively manage theirreputations.