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Corporate Reputation: An Introduction to a Complex Construct

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Reputation Management

Part of the book series: Management for Professionals ((MANAGPROF))

Abstract

Demonstrating and providing evidence for what corporate reputation contributes to the value creation of companies are the main objectives of this book. Helm starts out with looking at definitions of corporate reputation, that form the basis for approaches to building and protecting this intangible. She elaborates on utilitarian and deontological drivers for companies to attain and evolve reputation. Helm stresses that the value of reputation is much more than the monetary value attributable to it and, therefore, is more than a corporate asset. In fact, the ability and willingness of a firm to act in line with stakeholder expectations and needs is the qualitative shape reputation takes. This refers to the past, present, and future handling of stakeholder relationships. Furthermore, Helm outlines the differences between corporate image, corporate brand, and corporate reputation. Sources of reputational perceptions and status are discussed. Helm concludes that reputation determines corporate stability.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The analogy is this: there are four blind men who discover an elephant. Since the men have never encountered an elephant, they grope about, seeking to understand and describe this new phenomenon. One grasps the trunk and concludes it is a snake. Another explores one of the elephant’s legs and describes it as a tree. A third finds the elephant’s tail and announces that it is a rope. And the fourth blind man, after discovering the elephant’s side, concludes that it is, after all, a wall. Each in his blindness is describing the same thing: an elephant. Yet each describes the same thing in a radically different way.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, Germany

    Sabrina Helm

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  1. Sabrina Helm
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Correspondence to Sabrina Helm .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Retailing and Consumer Sciences, The University of Arizona, North Park Avenue 650, Tucson, 85721-0078, Arizona, USA

    Sabrina Helm

  2. , Strategieberatung für Kommunikation GmbH, Hering Schuppener Consulting, Kreuzstr. 60, Duesseldorf, 40210, Germany

    Kerstin Liehr-Gobbers

  3. , Strategieberatung für Kommunikation GmbH, Hering Schuppener Consulting, Kreuzstr. 60, Duesseldorf, 40210, Germany

    Christopher Storck

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Helm, S. (2011). Corporate Reputation: An Introduction to a Complex Construct. In: Helm, S., Liehr-Gobbers, K., Storck, C. (eds) Reputation Management. Management for Professionals. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19266-1_1

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