Corporate reputation: Managing corporate reputation – applying rigorous measures to a key asset

Author Jeff Resnick explores the vulnerability of firms whose executives fail to manage the perceptions of their company – indeed, their corporate reputation – with as much rigor as they apply to managing financial, operational or technology risk. Mr Resnick offers up a snapshot of current attitudes towards managing corporate reputation, including research underscoring CEOs perception that it has become far more important than it was several years ago, and juxtaposes this with data that indicates US investors remain as distrustful of corporate ethics today as they were in the heated moment of corporate scandals. Mr Resnick then presents a provocative case for better managing reputation – a company’s most critical important intangible asset – in a more strategic manner. Finally, he provides readers with steps for effectively monitoring reputational risk. His monitoring system focuses on a multi‐stakeholder measurement approach that more fully informs executives’ decisions concerning their corporate reputation. Critical to making his case, Mr Resnick uses examples from recently completed reputational research, focusing on the electric power industry and conducted by an independent reputation‐rating agency.