08_New_proposal_for_Corporate_Reputation_EN_Doxa_30

1. Introduction

Both in academic literature and in the daily activity of organizations, corporate reputation is a concept related to corporate purpose, which includes an increase in financial performance, improvement of sales and commercial activity, differentiation from competitors, attracting and retaining talent, selection of better suppliers, reduction of operating costs, achievement of higher goals, enticing large investors, and so on. These areas and others are where reputation is present, and its management by organizations provides noteworthy benefits as well. Given its “omnipresence”, reputation is seen as a widely used concept of considerable interest to business management today.

However, both in the professional field as well as in the academic realm where we study this concept, we find a considerable number of controversies and dilemmas, including the following: there are as few as one, or as many as various reputations in existence today; it is either of a rational or emotional nature; it can be seen as an asset or a resource; it can be based on an objective reality or on a social construction; and finally, the question is why there are so many different methods used for its measurement. Therefore, this research aims to shed light on the methods for measuring and/or assessing reputation from a purely practical point of view based on the concept of corporate reputation by consensus.

In the last three decades, studies on corporate reputation have increased, but with different results regarding its conceptual components. However, there are certain aspects that many theorists take into account when explaining the concept of corporate reputation (hereinafter CR), which gives rise to the concept of consensus, proposed by the author in previous studies, and will form the basis of the approach of the assessment methodology:

Corporate reputation: an intangible resource of a company expressed in the organization’s behaviour, which requires a certain amount of time for its design, and is recognised by the company’s public as a creator of value as long as it conforms to the ideals that this public considers to be worthy of such a reputation (Ferruz, 2017).

Visualized in this way, corporate reputation implies the following:

A strategic, manageable resource that adds value to a business.

It has a universal dimension.

It is the result of actions carried out by the company with all of its stakeholders.

These actions must be maintained over time to be recognised as reputation builders.

These actions have an axiological nature because they must respond to the specific needs of the public in such a way that such actions provide the public with real value.

The public is an unequivocal part of the reputation equation as their recognition is necessary for reputation to “take effect”, yet there is no causal relationship, nor is interaction between the public and the company essential.

Other intangible assets similar to reputation such as Brand and Good Governance are also subject to assessment, but in these cases there are measurement standards such as UNE 418001: 2015 Brand Assessment, Requirements for the monetary valuation of a brand (this appeared as a continuance of ISO 10668: 2010 Brand Valuation, Requirements for monetary brand evaluation), which clarifies the necessary steps to be taken by the appraiser, as well as the elements