Corporate Reputation : Perceptions Held by Internal Stakeholders Also Matter
Lise Michaud
Many companies still manage reputation from a risk-mitigation perspective. But some are starting to look at corporate reputation from another angle : as a source of value creation.
Brunswick Insights surveyed 204 senior European in-house communication professionals from different organizations and sectors in May-June 2016. The study focused on communication practitioners’ current understanding of corporate reputation and how to build on organizational culture focused on proactive reputation building.
The results were released this month in a report « The Future of Corporate Reputation - Building an opportunity oriented reputation culture ». Communication professionals were asked to define what corporate reputation is. Among the different answers, this quote : « Corporate reputation is the sum of all the perceptions held by internal and external stakeholders about an organization, based on experiences and impressions over time. »
Corporate reputation is not related to external stakeholders only. In fact, the results of the study suggest that « the most forward-thinking organizations are positioning their entire organization to built a reputation proactively. These organizations are more likely to experience the upsides (e.g. greater employee retention) of a strong positive reputation and less likely to expect the downsides of a below average reputation (especially reputation crises). »
