Authors:Christian Schnee Abstract: Abstract This paper argues for the adoption of reputation as a conceptual prism to discern patterns in political leadership behaviour. The author intends to reach a judgement about the concept’s value for our understanding of leadership by offering a fuller appreciation of reputation itself that is grounded in a recognition of its role in managing followers and entrenching power structures, which makes it critical both to the incumbent leader and challengers. Methodologically, for this analysis both theoretical and descriptive materials have been selected and discussed in order to fully appreciate reputation’s applicability in leadership research. In light of the evidence reviewed one may infer that what renders a leader decisive or passive is essentially a reflection of reputational strength or weakness. In turn this leads us to conclude that concern with reputation engenders and shapes activity we observe in leaders and at the same time guides our interpretation of political decisions and phenomena. Eventually, we may come to see reputation as a concept that serves as a lens through which we view leaders’ responses to challenges. The rationale for this approach is leaders’ own focus on their respective reputation that may at times incentivise action or, alternatively, administrative and political immobility. PubDate: 2017-03-28 DOI: 10.1057/s41299-017-0018-3
Authors:Young Kim; Hyojung Park Abstract: Abstract This study examined the effects of source and crisis response strategy on crisis communication outcomes in the context of social media. A 3 (source: organization, CEO, or customer) × 2 (strategy: accommodative or defensive) × 2 (crisis type: airline crash or bank hacking) mixed experimental study was conducted with 391 participants. The organizational sources were more likely to be perceived as more credible than the non-organizational sources. In particular, the CEO appeared to be the most trustworthy and credible source in delivering crisis messages. The path analysis indicated that perceived source credibility mediated the effect of source on reputation and behavioral intentions. This mediation appeared to be contingent on the type of crisis response strategy. PubDate: 2017-03-28 DOI: 10.1057/s41299-017-0016-5
Authors:Amy McMillan; Timothy C. Dunne; Joshua R. Aaron; Brandon N. Cline Abstract: Abstract Concerns regarding changes in the natural environment have led to an increase in research regarding environmental management (EM) practices. Studies examining the financial impact of such practices have been inconclusive. Drawing on agency theory and the resource-based view of the firm, we provide a comprehensive examination of the market’s reaction to firms identified by Newsweek’s Green Rankings as the best (top 100) and worst (bottom 100) for EM reputation among the largest 500 firms in the United States. Specifically, we investigate the extent to which the market reacts differently to service firms and manufacturing firms in regards to environmental reputation signals. We find that the market responds favorably to positive environmental management reputation signals for service firms and to negative environmental management reputation signals for manufacturing firms. Post hoc analysis reveals that both service firms and manufacturing firms are rewarded for being ranked “in the middle” of the Newsweek Green Rankings. PubDate: 2017-03-27 DOI: 10.1057/s41299-017-0017-4
Authors:Noel Tracey; Erica French Abstract: Abstract Much of the reputation literature tends to approach the relationship between firms’ reputation and performance as one of a direct causal relationship. We propose here that to improve our understanding of corporate reputation it is necessary to re-conceptualise reputation as having a more indirect influence. We highlight that reputation acts as a source of resilience which provides firms with an enhanced ability to adapt when faced with external difficulties as well as allowing the firm to rebound following a performance decline. Rather than relying on traditional measures of reputation, such as Fortune ratings, this research analysed the content of 10,582 Australian firms’ annual reports over 17 years to identify what senior executives communicate to their stakeholders. These results were then subjected to survival analysis which identified that firms with superior financial and service reputation tended to outperform firms without such standing, across three objective measures of financial performance. PubDate: 2017-02-20 DOI: 10.1057/s41299-017-0014-7
Authors:Jae-woong Yoo; Young-ju Jin Abstract: Abstract This study examines the ways in which nonverbal communication appeals by heads of state during serious situations of national crisis affect the public’s anger levels and appraisal of the government organization. The experiment used a 2 × 2 design with two forms of crisis (those associated with high and low levels of government responsibility) and two forms of appeal or apology, namely “tearful” and “ordinary.” Anger levels were found to be significantly lower following a political leader’s apology in both tearful and ordinary forms following a crisis for which the government responsibility was perceived as high. In cases of crises for which government responsibility was seen as low, anger levels did decrease, though not significantly. Comparison of the effects of tearful and ordinary appeals showed the former to have a stronger anger relief effect than the latter in both high and low responsibility conditions, although not to a statistically significant degree. No particular difference was observed between the two appeal times in terms of government reputation. Theoretical and managerial implications as well as directions for future research are discussed. PubDate: 2017-02-20 DOI: 10.1057/s41299-017-0015-6
Authors:Paul. A. Argenti; Anna Saghabalyan Abstract: Abstract The study of Sustainability, Reputation, and Social Responsibility has put substantial pressure on businesses and corporations in recent decades to change behavior. This paper will view the accountability of NGOs in the context of these disciplines. It will examine, whether post-Soviet/post-communist NGOs funded by western governments and institutions act in a socially responsible manner and whether their impact on business reputation serves the societies in post-communist countries. The paper seeks to demonstrate the tendency (particularly of environmental NGOs) to focus on short-term goals that may in the long run hurt the investment reputation of the countries and NGOs themselves. PubDate: 2017-02-08 DOI: 10.1057/s41299-017-0013-8
Authors:Angela Poulakidas; Paul A. Dion Abstract: Abstract This study investigated the influence of three corporate reputation dimensions: product quality, social responsibility, and overall attitude toward corporate reputation on the buying intentions of professional buyers. The buyers considered the purchase of an environmentally friendly industrial commodity: biodiesel. Data was gathered from a sample of 96 experienced fleet management staff who were knowledgeable about the product. The findings were that corporate reputation for product quality and social responsibility were significant positive influences on buyer intent but not overall attitude towards the corporate reputation. Perceived risk had no significant effect neither as a direct or moderating influence. The results are thought to be generalizable to the class of purchases where there is performance uncertainty because of new “green” technology and thus corporate reputation should play a role in the decision process. PubDate: 2016-10-25 DOI: 10.1057/s41299-016-0009-9
Authors:Ricardo Leiva; Ignacio Ferrero; Reyes Calderón Abstract: Abstract Among other reasons, corporate reputation (CR) has become a crucial management topic due to the last global financial and economic crisis and the increasing number of corporate scandals. Given its interdisciplinary character and intangible nature, CR has been a prominent issue in many disciplines, but its presence in the business ethics field has been considered scarce although it had not been measured properly, until now. With this paper, we measure the relevance of the corporate reputation construct in the business ethics field through a bibliometric analysis of the top business ethics journals over a recent 10-year period. The bibliometric analysis allowed us (a) to weigh exactly the prominence of the CR construct in the business ethics field, (b) to count the most referenced authors in the discipline, and (c) to rank the most influential papers and books dealing with the corporate reputation construct in this field. It also permitted us to conclude that the corporate social responsibility construct was the most repeated proxy of corporate reputation in business ethics, implying that for the business scholars the consequence of acting well should be and is supposed to be a good and positive evaluation by stakeholders. Other implications and comparisons with the treatment of the corporate reputation construct in the overall business literature are discussed. PubDate: 2016-10-18 DOI: 10.1057/s41299-016-0008-x
Authors:Shari R. Veil; Lindsay L. Dillingham; Alyssa G. Sloan Abstract: Abstract This study bridges literature on reputational interdependence and crisis communication to identify a distinct exigency—a spillover crisis—which occurs when events in an external organization create concern, uncertainty, or perceptions of harm for another organization. Specifically, we examine the crisis response strategies used by the top three peanut butter brands during the 2009 Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) Salmonella contamination and resulting peanut product recall. While commercially sold peanut butter was not part of the recall, even the top brands in the industry experienced negative spillover effects from PCA’s crisis. This study demonstrates that the outcomes of a spillover crisis can be actively managed through a series of crisis response strategies and provides evidence that documented crisis recovery efforts can serve as an a priori solution and protect organizations from future reputation threats, including spillover crises. PubDate: 2016-10-18 DOI: 10.1057/s41299-016-0010-3
Authors:Sabrina M. Hegner; Ardion D. Beldad; Anne-Lotte Kraesgenberg Abstract: Abstract Organisational crises can have deleterious consequences for organisational reputation and sales. Hence, one exigent question pertains to the effects of a company’s action prior to the crisis and its crisis response on customers’ post-crisis attitude and behavioural intention. To address that question, a scenario-based 2 (rebuild versus diminish response strategy) × 2 (product-harm versus moral-harm crisis) × 2 (institutional versus promotional CSR program) experiment was conducted with 304 Dutch respondents. Main effects were found for all independent variables. Our research shows that a rebuilding strategy has a more positive effect on benevolence- and integrity-based trust. A product-harm crisis leads to a significant larger drop in ability-based trust and in purchase intention, while a moral-harm crisis damages more strongly integrity-based trust in the organisation. Furthermore, an institutional CSR program is advantageous for all outcome variables. Additionally, an interaction effect between crisis type and crisis response strategy is found. Results of the study have important practical implications, especially that companies must employ the most appropriate crisis communication strategy according to the type of crisis that confronts them. PubDate: 2016-10-10 DOI: 10.1057/s41299-016-0007-y
Abstract: Abstract This study investigated the relationships of the mass media, public opinion, and social media strategies regarding corporate reputation. We collected data from content analyses of television news reports and official corporate YouTube videos, and then compared the data with a public opinion survey about corporate reputation. By doing so, this study hopes to confirm the influence of mass media and recognize the role of social media in shaping and influencing corporate reputation. Results indicated that YouTube salience promotes corporate reputation. The correlation between a corporation’s mass media agenda and YouTube agenda supports the concept of intermedia agenda setting, meaning one media’s agenda setting influences another media’s agenda. Further, we found that the salience of substantive attributes in media coverage and in YouTube channels is significantly related with the corporations’ reputation scores. This study extends the factors influencing corporate reputation and recognized the role of social media strategies. These findings are promising in helping examine the complex relationship among the mass media, social media, and corporate reputation. PubDate: 2016-10-05 DOI: 10.1057/s41299-016-0011-2
Authors:S. Prakash Sethi; Terrence F. Martell; Mert Demir Abstract: Abstract Large corporations and industry groups have always used mass communication media to inform and educate important stakeholders and the general public on issues where corporate reputation and public trust are intertwined, and where any deterioration in the linkage can have significant negative consequences. An emerging trend in this direction has been the explosive growth in the voluntary publication of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports. These reports, however, are vulnerable to corporate embellishments, which may erode their value as reputation-building instruments. To examine this situation, this paper provides a detailed and systematic analysis of 48 of the world’s largest corporations in the extractive industry (i.e., mining and minerals, oil and gas, and support services) that have published CSR reports in 2012. The extractive industry’s operations invariably raise important environmental, sociopolitical, and governance issues that are subject to heightened levels of public and regulatory scrutiny. Hence, their CSR reports carry a heavy burden of providing high-quality information that would engender public trust. Our examination of CSR reports of corporations is conducted through an analytical structure called the CSR-Sustainability Monitor® – the first system of its kind in the world that enables overall evaluations and comparisons of each CSR report with any other CSR report or group of CSR reports in our database. Our analysis shows that these companies’ CSR reports generally provide extensive information on major environmental, social, and governance issues. But they are less forthcoming on many controversial aspects of their operations that impact the public domain. This is unfortunate because it reduces public trust in the quality of these reports and undermines the value of one of the most important instruments of public communication available to the companies. Finally, we provide some suggestions that companies may incorporate into their CSR reports going forward. PubDate: 2016-09-21 DOI: 10.1057/s41299-016-0004-1
Authors:Le Mong Diem Hang; David L. Ferguson Abstract: Abstract Along with their reputational properties, customer bonding relationships can serve to enhance the future success of a business. This paper develops on Cross’ Customer Bonding model. It establishes a statistically relevant, empirical contribution from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in relation to specific stages of customer bonding toward the firm, all from actual customers’ perspectives. For management, this clarifies and validates CSR’s capability toward providing relationship enhancing bonding features within the hospitality sector. CSR is recognized as providing generally notable features toward the consumer’s stay-over experience alongside deeper, value-based contributions. This can serve to enhance a hotel’s name/brand recognition toward the more distinctive reputational contribution of consumer satisfaction. PubDate: 2016-08-30 DOI: 10.1057/s41299-016-0001-4
Authors:Eeva-Liisa Oikarinen; Saila Saraniemi Abstract: Abstract This study creates a framework for defining the employer brand message to understand an understudied phenomenon: how small companies use humour in online job ads. The originality of the framework is based on three issues. First: categorizing employer brand content into symbolic attributes: staff, applicant and other stakeholder, and instrumental attributes: company and job. Second: categorizing humour, informal and formal as communication styles. Third: investigating the thematic relatedness of communication style to employer brand content attributes to understand using humour in employer brand message. Illustrative empirical findings indicated that a small company focused more on symbolic attributes rather than instrumental attributes in its employer brand content. Humour was used typically when it was thematically related to symbolic attributes: applicant or staff. Humour was used less when it was thematically related to instrumental attributes: company and job. A framework offers new insights for researchers in the conceptualizing of the employer brand message. For marketing practitioners, it offers a method for evaluating and planning a company’s employer brand message. PubDate: 2016-08-09 DOI: 10.1057/s41299-016-0003-2
Authors:Katharina Hetze Abstract: Abstract The aim of this conceptual paper is to discuss the impact of CSR reporting on the CSR reputation in the light of signalling and stakeholder perception theories. The method used is a literature analysis on CSR and reputation, corporate signalling and signalling CSR. For a more complete picture, the review includes findings on CSR reporting and the perception and evaluation of CSR activities by stakeholders, first for stakeholders in general, but in greater detail for the two specific groups ‘consumers’ and ‘employees’. The paper’s main contribution is a conceptual framework for CSR reporting which explains how a CSR report is a CSR communication signal filtered by the signalling context and the stakeholders’ perception. This includes a discussion of how CSR reporting can modify the outcome for the CSR reputation favourably or unfavourably – which also leads to a modified context for CSR reporting. The paper’s originality lies in the analysis and discussion of both the impacts of signalling theory on CSR reporting and how the interpretation of the signal impacts the CSR reputation. The article thus contributes to the knowledge on CSR reporting and its impact on the formation of CSR reputation. PubDate: 2016-08-09 DOI: 10.1057/s41299-016-0002-3
Authors:Anne-Kathrin Ulke; Laura Marie Schons Abstract: Abstract Companies are increasingly investing in CSR whereby companies with a bad reputation are no exception. The study at hand empirically examines customers’ evaluations of corporate credibility as a reaction to companies’ CSR engagement contingent on the firms’ corporate reputation. Drawing from psychological theories on contrast and recency effects, a conceptual framework is derived which proposes that firms with a bad reputation will benefit more from engaging in CSR compared to those with a favorable reputation. The framework is put to test using a large (N = 1,717), cross-industry sample (including evaluations of 71 independent firms from varying industries), and a between-subjects experimental design (CSR info is given versus no CSR info is given). Results confirm that, indeed, whereas companies with a bad reputation significantly benefit from CSR in terms of an increase in corporate credibility, there is no positive effect of CSR for companies with a good reputation. PubDate: 2016-08-09 DOI: 10.1057/s41299-016-0005-0
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