Abstract
This paper challenges three key contentions in current theory regarding the relationship between corporate trust and corporate reputation. The first contention being challenged is that corporate trust plays less of a critical role in the sustained success and survival of an organisation than corporate reputation does. The second contention challenged is that, when the role of corporate trust in relation to corporate reputation is recognised, it is regarded as an antecedent of corporate reputation. This latter contention suggests that much of the current understanding of the role of the corporate trust construct is superficial and that the use of and differentiation between the corporate trust and trustworthiness constructs in relation to corporate reputation are blurred and indistinct. The third contention this paper challenges relates to the more generally accepted antecedents of corporate reputation, where current theory either does not include corporate trustworthiness as an antecedent or where it incorrectly includes corporate trust (viz-à-viz trustworthiness) as an antecedent to corporate reputation. This paper introduces a conceptualisation of corporate trust, in relation to corporate reputation, within a broader framework of corporate sustainability. We propose a conceptual model illustrating the relationship between corporate trust and corporate reputation. Where trust is usually regarded as an attribute or antecedent of reputation, our model suggests an inverse direction to this relationship, namely that corporate trust is an outcome of corporate reputation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams, W.M. (2006) ‘The future of sustainability: Re-thinking environment and development in the twenty-first century’, Report of the IUCN Renowned Thinkers Meeting, 29–31 January, 2006, http://www.iucn.org, accessed 4 February, 2012.
Albert, S. and Whetten, D. (2003) ‘Organizational identity’, in J.M.T. Balmer and S.A. Greyser (eds.), Revealing the Corporation: Perspectives on Identity, Image, Reputation, Corporate Branding and Corporate-Level Marketing, Routledge, London, pp. 77–105.
Argandoña, A. (2008) ‘Integrating ethics into action theory and organizational theory’, Journal of Business Ethics, 78 (3), 435–446.
Ashforth, B.E. and Mael, F. (1989) ‘Social identity theory and the organization’, Academy of Management Review, 14 (1), 20–39.
Ask Afrika (2009) ‘Trust Barometer: Corporate reputation benchmark’, http://www.askafrika.co.za/work/trust-barometer, accessed 12 December, 2009.
Bacharach, S.B. (1989) ‘Organizational theories: Some criteria for evaluation’, Academy of Management Review, 14 (4), 496–515.
Bachmann, R. (2006) ‘Trust and/or power: Towards a sociological theory of organizational relationships’, in R. Bachmann and A. Zaheer (eds.), Handbook of Trust Research, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK, pp. 393–408.
Balmer, J.M.T. and Gray, E.R. (2001) ‘Corporate brands: What are they? What of them?’ European Journal of Marketing, 37 (7/8), 972–997.
Balmer, J.M.T. and Greyser, S.A. (2003) (eds.),‘Editors’ introduction to section four: Corporate image and reputation: The other realities’, in Revealing the Corporation: Perspectives on Identity, Image, Reputation, Corporate Branding and Corporate-Level Marketing, Routledge, London, pp. 173–185.
Bandsuch, M., Pate, L. and Thies, J. (2008) ‘Rebuilding stakeholder trust in business: An examination of principle-centered leadership and organizational transparency in corporate governance’, Business and Society Review, 113 (1), 99–127.
Bañon Gomis, A.J., Guillén Parra, M., Hoffman, W.M. and McNulty, R.E. (2011) ‘Rethinking the concept of sustainability’, Business and Society Review, 116 (2), 171–191.
Bansal, P. (2005) ‘Evolving sustainably: A longitudinal study of corporate sustainable development’, Strategic Management Journal, 26 (3), 197–218.
Barnett, M.L., Jermier, J.M. and Lafferty, B.A. (2006) ‘Corporate reputation: The definitional landscape’, Corporate Reputation Review, 9 (1), 26–38.
Bartkus, B.R. and Glassman, M. (2008) ‘Do firms practice what they preach? The relationship between mission statements and stakeholder management’, Journal of Business Ethics, 83 (2), 207–216.
Blois, K.J. (1999) ‘Trust in business to business relationships: An evaluation of its status’, Journal of Management Studies, 36 (2), 197–215.
Brickson, S. (2000) ‘Exploring identity: Where are we now?’ In: M.G. Pratt, P.O. Foreman, S.G. Scott, V.R. Lane, D.A. Gioia, M. Schultz, K.G. Corley, S. Brickson, A.D. Brown, K. Starkey, M.A. Hogg and D.J. Terry. Identity Dialogues, Academy of Management Review, 25 (1), 141–152.
Bromley, D. (2002) ‘Comparing reputations: League tables, quotients, benchmarks, or case studies?’ Corporate Reputation Review, 5 (1), 35–50.
Brown, R. (2000) ‘Social identity theory: Past achievements, current problems and future challenges’, European Journal of Social Psychology, 30 (6), 745–778.
Burke, W.W. (2011) ‘A perspective on the field of organization development and change: The Zeigarnik effect’, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 47 (2), 143–167.
Cacioppe, R., Forster, N. and Fox, M. (2008) ‘A survey of managers’ perceptions of corporate ethics and social responsibility and actions that may affect companies’ success’, Journal of Business Ethics, 82 (3), 681–700.
Cartwright, W. and Craig, J.L. (2006) ‘Sustainability: Aligning corporate governance, strategy and operations with the planet’, Business Process Management, 12 (6), 741–750.
Casson, M. and Della Giusta, M. (2006) ‘The economics of trust’, in R. Bachmann and A. Zaheer (eds.), Handbook of Trust Research, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK, pp. 332–354.
Chun, R. (2005) ‘Corporate reputation: Meaning and measurement’, International Journal of Management Reviews, 7 (2), 91–109.
Cooren, F., Kuhn, T., Cornelissen, J.P. and Clark, T. (2011) ‘Communication, organizing and organization: An overview and introduction to the special issue’, Organization Studies, 32 (9), 1149–1170.
Davies, G., Chun, R. and Kamins, M.A. (2010) ‘Reputation gaps and the performance of service organisations’, Strategic Management Journal, 31 (5), 530–546.
Davies, G., Chun, R., Da Silva, R.V. and Roper, S. (2003) Corporate Reputation and Competitiveness, Routledge, London.
Dietz, G. and Den Hartog, D.N. (2006) ‘Measuring trust inside organisations’, Personnel Review, 35 (5), 557–588.
Dirks, K.T. and Ferrin, D.L. (2001) ‘The role of trust in organizational settings’, Organization Science, 12 (4), 450–467.
Dyer, J.H. and Chu, W. (2003) ‘The role of trustworthiness in reducing transaction costs and improving performance: Empirical evidence from the United States, Japan, and Korea’, Organization Science, 14 (1), 57–68.
Edelman (2010) ‘Trust Barometer: An annual global opinion leaders study’, http://www.edelman.com/trust/2010/, accessed 12 April, 2010.
Einwiller, S. (2003) ‘When reputation engenders trust: An empirical investigation in business-to-consumer electronic commerce’, Electronic Markets, 13 (3), 196–209.
Einwiller, S. and Will, M. (2001) ‘The role of reputation to engender trust in electronic markets’, In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Corporate Reputation, Identity and Competitiveness, Paris, France, 17–19 May, 2001; Reputation Institute, 17 (19), 196–209.
Emory, C.W. (1980) Business Research Methods, Irwin, Homewood, IL.
Erhard, W., Jensen, M.C. and Zaffron, S. (2009) ‘A new model of integrity: An actionable pathway to trust, productivity and value’, Harvard Business School NOM Working Paper No. 07-01, http://ssrn.com/abstract=932255, accessed 26 March, 2012.
Feldman, S.P. (1986) ‘Management in context: An essay on the relevance of culture to the understanding of organizational change’, Journal of Management Studies, 23 (6), 587–607.
Fombrun, C.J. and Gardberg, N. (2000) ‘Who’s tops in corporate reputation’, Corporate Reputation Review, 3 (1), 13–17.
Fombrun, C.J. and Van Riel, C.B.M. (2003) ‘The reputational landscape’, in J.M.T. Balmer and S.A. Greyser (eds.), Revealing the Corporation: Perspectives on Identity, Image, Reputation, Corporate Branding and Corporate-Level Marketing, Routledge, London, pp. 223–233.
Fombrun, C.J. and Van Riel, C.B.M. (2004) Fame and Fortune: How Successful Companies Build Winning Reputations, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Freeman, R.E., Harrison, J.S., Wicks, A.C., Parmar, B.L. and De Colle, S. (2010) Stakeholder Theory: The State of the Art, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Friedman, A.L. and Miles, S. (2009) Stakeholders: Theory and Practice, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Fukuyama, F. (1995) Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity, Free Press, New York.
Gao, S.S. and Zhang, J.J. (2006) ‘Stakeholder engagement, social auditing and corporate sustainability’, Business Process Management, 12 (6), 722–740.
Gardberg, N.A. and Fombrun, C.J. (2002) ‘The global reputation quotient project: First steps towards a cross-nationally valid measure of corporate reputation’, Corporate Reputation Review, 4 (4), 303–307.
Gillespie, N. and Dietz, G. (2009) ‘Trust repair after an organization-level failure’, Academy of Management Review, 34 (1), 127–145.
Gioia, D.A., Schultz, M. and Corley, K.G. (2000a) ‘Where do we go from here?’ In: M.G. Pratt, P.O. Foreman, S.G. Scott, V.R. Lane, D.A. Gioia, M. Schultz, K.G. Corley, S. Brickson, A.D. Brown, K. Starkey, M.A. Hogg and D.J. Terry. Identity Dialogues Academy of Management Review, 25 (1), 141–152.
Gioia, D.A. and Chittipeddi, K. (1991) ‘Sensemaking and sensegiving in strategic change initiation’, Strategic Management Journal, 12 (6), 433–448.
Gioia, D.A., Schultz, M. and Corley, K.G. (2000b) ‘Organizational identity, image and adaptive instability’, Academy of Management Review, 25 (1), 63–81.
Greenwood, M. and Van Buren, H.J. (2010) ‘Trust and stakeholder theory: Trustworthiness in the organisation-stakeholder relationship’, Journal of Business Ethics, 95 (3), 425–438.
Greyser, S.A. (2003) ‘Advancing and enhancing corporate reputation’, in J.M.T. Balmer and S.A. Greyser (eds.), Revealing the Corporation: Perspectives on Identity, Image, Reputation, Corporate Branding and Corporate-Level Marketing, Routledge, London, pp. 234–242.
Grunig, J. (2003) ‘Image and substance: From symbolic to behavioral relationships’, in J.M.T. Balmer and S.A. Greyser (eds.), Revealing the Corporation: Perspectives on Identity, Image, Reputation, Corporate Branding and Corporate-Level Marketing, Routledge, London, pp. 204–222.
Hardin, R. (2002) Trust and Trustworthiness, Russell Sage Foundation, New York.
Hatch, M.J. and Schultz, M. (2008) Taking Brand Initiative: How Companies Can Align Strategy, Culture and Identity Through Corporate Branding, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.
Haque, U. (2010) ‘Ethical capital is capitalism’s new cornerstone’, Harvard Business Review, HBR Blog Network, http://blogs.hbr.org/2010/06/ethical-capital/, accessed 12 December, 2012.
Helm, S. (2007) ‘One reputation or many? Comparing stakeholders’ perceptions of corporate reputation’, Corporate Communication: An International Journal, 12 (3), 238–254.
Helm, S. and Gray, B. (2009) ‘Corporate reputation as anticipated corporate conduct – Introduction to the AMJ special issue’, Australasian Marketing Journal, 17 (2), 65–68.
Hogg, M.A. and Terry, D.J. (2000) ‘Social identity and self-categorization processes in organizational contexts’, Academy of Management Review, 25 (1), 121–140.
Hosmer, L.T. (1995) ‘Trust: The connecting link between organizational theory and philosophical ethics’, Academy of Management Review, 20 (2), 379–403.
Ingenhoff, D. and Sommer, K. (2010) ‘Trust in companies and CEOs: A comparative study of the main influences’, Journal of Business Ethics, 95 (3), 339–355.
Jamali, D. (2006) ‘Insights into triple bottom line integration from a learning organization perspective’, Business Process Management, 12 (6), 809–821.
Johnson, G. (1990) ‘Managing strategic change: The role of symbolic action’, British Journal of Management, 1 (4), 183–200.
Jones, G.R. (2007) Organizational Theory, Design, and Change, 5th edn., Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Kapstein, E.B. (2001) ‘The corporate ethics crusade’, Foreign Affairs, 80 (5), 105–119.
Kast, F.E. and Rosenzweig, J.E. (1972) ‘General systems theory: Applications for organization and management’, Academy of Management Journal, 15 (4), 447–465.
Kim, J., Bach, S.B. and Clelland, I.J. (2007) ‘Symbolic or behavioral management? Corporate reputation in high-emission industries’, Corporate Reputation Review, 10 (2), 77–98.
King, M.E. (2009) ‘King report on corporate governance in South Africa’, Institute of Directors in Southern Africa, http://african.ipapercms.dk/IOD/KINGIII/kingiiireport/, accessed 30 March, 2010.
King, B. and Whetten, D.A. (2008) ‘Rethinking the relationship between reputation and legitimacy: A social actor conceptualization’, Corporate Reputation Review, 11 (3), 192–207.
King, B.G., Felin, T. and Whetten, D.A. (2010) ‘Finding the organization in organizational theory: A meta-theory of the organization as a social actor’, Organization Science, 21 (1), 290–305.
Kramer, R.M. (2010) ‘Collective trust within organizations: Conceptual foundations and empirical insights’, Corporate Reputation Review, 13 (2), 82–97.
Lewis, J.D. and Weigert, A. (2008) ‘Trust as a social reality’, Social Forces 63(4), in, R. Bachmann and A. Zaheer (eds.), Landmark Papers on Trust. Vol. 1, Edgar Elgar: Cheltenham, UK, pp. 967–985.
Li, F. and Betts, S.C. (2004) ‘Between expectation and behavioral intent’, Journal of Organizational Culture, Communications and Conflict, 8 (2), 1–11.
Linthicum, C., Reitenga, A.L. and Sanchez, J.M. (2010) ‘Social responsibility and corporate reputation: The case of the Arthur Andersen Enron audit failure’, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 29 (2), 160–176.
Littlejohn, S.W. and Foss, K.A. (2005) Theories of Human Communication, 8th edn., Wadsworth, Belmont, CA.
Lloyd, S. (2007) ‘Corporate reputation: Ontology and measurement’, Unpublished doctoral thesis. Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand, http://aut.researchgateway.ac.nz/handle/10292/409, accessed 3 April, 2010.
Luhmann, N. (1979) Trust and Power, John Wiley, Chichester.
Luhmann, N. (2000) ‘Familiarity, confidence, trust: Problems and alternatives’, in D. Gambetta (ed.), Trust: Making and Breaking Cooperative Relations. Electronic edition, Department of Sociology, University of Oxford: pp. 94–107.
Mahon, J.F. (2002) ‘Corporate reputation: Research agenda using strategy and stakeholder literature’, Business & Society, 41 (4), 415–445.
Mayer, R.C., Davis, J.H. and Schoorman, F.D. (1995) ‘An interactive model of organizational trust’, Academy of Management, 20 (3), 709–734.
McEvily, B., Perrone, V. and Zaheer, A. (2008) ‘Trust as an organizing principle’, in R. Bachmann and A. Zaheer (eds.) Landmark papers on trust. Edgar Elgar: Cheltenham, UK, Organization Science, 14 (1), 91–103.
McKnight, D.H. and Chervany, N.L. (2006) ‘Reflections on an initial trust-building model’, in R. Bachmann and A. Zaheer (eds.), Handbook of Trust Research, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK, pp. 29–51.
McPhee, R.D. and Zaug, P. (2001) ‘Organizational theory, organizational communication, organizational knowledge, and problematic integration’, Journal of Communication, 51 (3), 574–591.
Meredith, J.R. (1995) ‘What is empirical research?’ Decision Line 26(2), http://www.decisionsciences.org/decisionline/Vol26/26_2/res26_2.htm, accessed 19 September, 2012.
Moon, J. and Muthuri, J. (2008) ‘Corporate community investment: Trends, developments and attitudes’, International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility, Nottingham, United Kingdom, Research Paper Series, 52, pp. 1–75.
Moss Kanter, R. (2011) ‘How great companies think differently’, Harvard Business Review, 89 (11), 66–78.
Mouzas, S., Henneberg, S. and Naudé, P. (2007) ‘Trust and reliance in business relationships’, European Journal of Marketing, 41 (9/10), 1016–1032.
Murphy, P.E. (2005) ‘Developing, communicating and promoting corporate ethics statements: A longitudinal analysis’, Journal of Business Ethics, 62 (2), 183–189.
Murray, K. and White, J. (2005) ‘CEO’s views on reputation management’, Journal of Communication Management, 9 (4), 348–358.
Narayanan, V.K. and Nath, R. (1993) Organization Theory – A Strategic Approach, Irwin, Homewood, IL.
Nooteboom, B. (2002) Trust: Forms, Foundations, Functions, Failures and Figures, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK.
Nooteboom, B. (2006) ‘Forms, sources and processes of trust’, in R. Bachmann and A. Zaheer (eds.), Handbook of Trust Research, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK, pp. 247–263.
Olins, W. (2003) ‘Corporate identity: The myth and the reality’, in J.M.T. Balmer and S.A. Greyser (eds.), Revealing the Corporation: Perspectives on Identity, Image, Reputation, Corporate Branding and Corporate-Level Marketing, Routledge, London, pp. 53–65.
Paine, L.S. (1994) ‘Managing for organizational integrity’, Harvard Business Review, 72 (2), 106–114.
Perrini, F. and Castaldo, S. (2008) ‘Corporate social responsibility and trust: Editorial introduction’, Business Ethics: A European Review, 17 (1), 1–2.
Pirson, M. and Malhotra, D.K. (2008) ‘Unconventional insights for managing stakeholder trust’, Harvard Business School NOM Working Paper No. 08-057, http://ssrn.com/abstract=1088111, accessed 14 December, 2011.
Pirson, M. (2009) ‘Facing the trust gap – Measuring and managing stakeholder trust’, in J. Friedland (ed.), Doing Well and Good: The Human Face of the New Capitalism, Information Age Publishing, Charlotte, NC.
Porter, M.E. and Kramer, M.R. (2006) ‘Strategy and society: The link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility’, Harvard Business Review, 84 (12), 78–92.
Rangan, S. (2011) ‘The new era of sustainable performance in business’, Pictet Report: Focus on performance, 6 (6), 4–8.
Rodgers, W. (2010) ‘Three primary trust pathways underlying ethical considerations’, Journal of Business Ethics, 91 (1), 83–93.
Sarkis, J., Meade, L. and Presley, A. (2006) ‘An activity based management methodology for evaluating business processes for environmental sustainability’, Business Process Management Journal, 12 (6), 751–769.
Schoorman, F.D., Mayer, R.C. and Davis, J.H. (2007) ‘An integrative model of organizational trust: Past, present, and future’, Academy of Management Review, 32 (2), 344–354.
Scott, S.G. and Lane, V.R. (2000a) ‘Fluid, fractured, and distinctive? In search of a definition of organizational identity’, in M.G. Pratt, P.O. Foreman, S.G. Scott, V.R. Lane, D.A. Gioia, M. Schultz, K.G. Corley, S. Brickson, A.D. Brown, K. Starkey, M.A. Hogg, and D.J. Terry. Identity Dialogues, Academy of Management Review, 25 (1), 141–152.
Scott, S.G. and Lane, V.R. (2000b) ‘A stakeholder approach to organizational identity’, Academy of Management Review, 25 (1), 43–62.
Snow, D.A. (2001) ‘Extending and broadening Blumer’s conceptualization of symbolic interactionism’, Symbolic Interaction, 24 (3), 367–377.
Stanovich, K. (2007) How to Think Straight about Psychology, 8th edn., Allyn and Bacon, Boston, MA.
Steyn, B. and Puth, G. (2000) Corporate Communication Strategy, Heinemann, Sandown.
Stout, L.A. and Blair, M.M. (2001) ‘Trust, trustworthiness, and the behavioral foundations of corporate law’, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, June 2001, Social Science Electronic Publishing,http://ssrn.com/abstract=241403, accessed 14 December, 2011.
Swift, T. (2001) ‘Trust, reputation and corporate accountability to stakeholders’, Business Ethics: A European Review, 10 (1), 16–26.
Turban, E. and Meredith, J.R. (1981) Fundamentals of Management Science, Business Publications, Plano, TX.
Urbany, J.E., Reynolds, T.J. and Phillips, J.M. (2008) ‘How to make values count in everyday decisions’, MIT Sloan Management Review, 49 (4), 75–80.
Vanneste, B.S., Puranam, P. and Kretschmer, T. (2011) ‘When does trust increase over time? Meta-analysis and theory’, Social Science Electronic Publishing, http://ssrn.com/abstract=1523209, accessed 14 December 2011.
Von Bertalanffy, L. (1972) ‘The history and status of general systems theory’, Academy of Management Journal, 15(4), 407–426. (Reprinted, with permission, from: Klir, G.J. (ed.) (1972). Trends in General Systems Theory, Wiley-Inter science, New York.
Walsh, G. and Wiedmann, K. (2004) ‘A conceptualization of corporate reputation in Germany: An evaluation and extension of the RQ’, Corporate Reputation Review, 6 (4), 304–312.
Weick, K.E. (1989) ‘Theory construction as disciplined imagination’, Academy of Management Review, 14 (4), 516–531.
Whetten, D.A. (1989) ‘What constitutes a theoretical contribution?’ Academy of Management Review, 14 (4), 490–495.
Wicks, A.C., Berman, S.I. and Jones, T.M. (1999) ‘The structure of optimal trust: moral and strategic implications’, Academy of Management Review, 24 (1), 99–116.
Williams, M. (2001) ‘In whom we trust: Group membership as an affective context for trust development’, Academy of Management Review, 26 (3), 377–396.
Wood, G. (2002) ‘A partnership model of corporate ethics’, Journal of Business Ethics, 40 (1), 61–73.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
van der Merwe, A., Puth, G. Towards a Conceptual Model of the Relationship between Corporate Trust and Corporate Reputation. Corp Reputation Rev 17, 138–156 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1057/crr.2014.4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/crr.2014.4