Robert Burkhardt
Reputation Management in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
Analysis and evaluation of the use of Reputation Management. A survey of Small and
Medium-sized Enterprises in Germany.
ISBN: 978-3-8366-0825-1
Druck Diplomica® Verlag GmbH, Hamburg, 2008
Zugl. Fachhochschule Ludwigshafen, Ludwigshafen, Deutschland, MA-Thesis / Master,
2007
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Abstract
i
Abstract
Reputation is the total of a company's perception by all of its stakeholders.
Thus, Reputation Management comprises the total of a company's systematic
activities to influence its reputation positively. By now, it is regarded as a
pivotal instrument to support corporate management.
Although SME's represent about 99 percent of German enterprises, it is still
unknown how they handle Reputation Management. This dissertation
improves transparency by investigating the current status. Therefore, a survey
with SME's in the Greater Stuttgart area was conducted.
As a result, a user rate of more than 40 percent demonstrates that Reputation
Management has already arrived SME's. The general understanding is
considered as proficient although the term itself is still rather unknown.
Further, the survey proves that there is a correlation between the use of
Reputation Management and economic success. Summarising, users are
regarded as more vital, less vulnerable and more successful.
SME's indicated to be open-minded for external support in implementing
Reputation Management. Due to its increasing importance, the topic represents
an additional market for the consulting industry, which is still undeveloped.
Keywords:
Reputation, corporate strategy, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, social
responsibility, stakeholder value, intangible asset, management consulting.
iii
To those who work on their dreams
Preface
v
Preface
"It takes 20 years to build up a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.
If you think about that, you'll do things differently."
1
Warren Buffett
British Petrol, Deutsche Bank, Nike, Siemens, Volkswagen what do these
companies have in common? First, they are part of the world market leaders in
their business area and successful trendsetters, e.g. British Petrol in sustainable
resources, Nike in sports goods and Siemens in high technology. Second, all of
them had these "five minutes" to ruin their reputation.
2
They are perceived in
close contact with environmental pollution, mass layoffs, child labour, cor-
ruption and fraud.
What went wrong and how strong were the economical influences from these
issues? In fact, these companies did not care enough about managing their
reputation in an appropriate way and it is obvious that they underestimated the
power of their stakeholders. Due to the explosion of a refinery in Texas and
bursting pipelines in Alaska the share price of British Petrol 2006 lost 8.32
percent while its competitor Exxon Mobile increased its share price at 36.43
percent.
3
In a current corruption affair at Siemens the public prosecution
department estimated a damage of 200 million euros.
4
These examples illustrate that reputation neither can be ignored nor can be
dismissed as a buzzword. Due to their size and influence, multinational
corporations dominated upcoming reputation issues for decades. But in the age
of I
NTERNET
and mobile communication reputation has become more visible for
every size of company, which requires explicit management. As a result, Small
and Medium-sized companies (SME) face a new challenge. This work will
contribute in bringing more clarity into this situation.
1
Buffett, Warren, quoted in: Internet, 05/02/2007.
2
Ibid.
3
Cf. Kroder, Titus et al: Beyond Safety, in: Financial Times Deutschland, 19/01/2007, p. 25.
4
Cf. Fromm, Thomas: Ermittler sprechen von Bande bei Siemens, in: Financial Times
Deutschland, 23/11/2006, p. 1.
Table of contents
vii
Table of contents
Abstract ...i
Preface ...v
List of figures...xi
List of tables... xiii
Abbreviations ...xv
Glossary... xvi
1
Introduction ...1
1.1 The role of Reputation Management in the course of time...1
1.2 Aims and objectives of this dissertation ...4
1.3 Methodology...5
1.3.1
Research philosophy and general approach ...5
1.3.2
Research strategy and method ...7
1.3.3
Limitations of the chosen methodology ...8
1.4 Structure of work ...9
2
Basic principles of Reputation Management ...11
2.1 Definition, scope and limitations ...11
2.1.1
Reputation Management in practice ...11
2.1.2
Definition in literature...12
2.1.3
Evaluation and conclusion...17
2.2 Constitutive elements, structures and interactions...19
2.2.1
Stakeholder value perspective ...20
2.2.2
Key reputation drivers ...21
2.2.3
Implementation and management ...23
2.2.4
Benefit of a good reputation ...26
3
Reputation Management in organisations ...29
3.1 Identification of related business areas...29
3.1.1
Reputation and marketing management...30
3.1.2
Reputation and corporate management ...31
3.1.3
Evaluation and synthesis ...33
Table of contents
viii
3.2 Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises... 33
3.2.1
Classification guideline ... 33
3.2.2
Differences between SME's and large-scale enterprises ... 36
3.2.3
Implications for Reputation Management ... 37
4
Reputation Management survey ... 39
4.1 Concept and preparation ... 39
4.1.1
Choosing an appropriate target group ... 39
4.1.2
Sample size... 40
4.1.3
Questionnaire design... 40
4.1.4
Specification of questions... 43
4.1.5
Time schedule... 48
4.1.6
Risks and preventive measures... 49
4.2 Execution of survey ... 49
4.2.1
Pre test with selected target group members... 49
4.2.2
Data collection and response... 50
4.3 Analysis and evaluation of results ... 51
4.3.1
General data... 51
4.3.2
Key findings... 52
4.3.3
Detailed interpretation of data... 53
5
Conclusions and recommendations... 77
5.1 From a SME's perspective... 77
5.1.1
Overall status ... 77
5.1.2
Value-benefit situation ... 78
5.1.3
Influencing factors ... 78
5.1.4
Best practices... 80
5.2 From a consulting industry's perspective ... 83
5.2.1
Market potential ... 83
5.2.2
Key success factors... 85
Table of contents
ix
6
Outlook...87
Bibliography ...89
List of figures
xi
List of figures
Figure 1: Generation of reputation capital ...3
Figure 2: The author's research path ...6
Figure 3: Collection of terms in the context of reputation...13
Figure 4: Relationship of identity, image and reputation ...15
Figure 5: Difference between image and reputation (schematic)...19
Figure 6: Reputation audit cycle ...24
Figure 7: Reputation landscape...25
Figure 8: Positioning of Reputation Management in the value chain ...29
Figure 9: Questionnaire structure (schematic)...41
Figure 10: Time schedule for the survey execution...48
Figure 11: Response rate...50
Figure 12: Qualifying of questionnaire data...51
Figure 13: Participating enterprise categories...53
Figure 14: Focus of business activities and functional areas...54
Figure 15: Level of awareness of Reputation Management ...55
Figure 16: General attitude of participants...56
Figure 17: Why Reputation Management is yet undeveloped ...56
Figure 18: Use of Reputation Management according to size ...57
Figure 19: Use of Reputation Management in main industries...57
Figure 20: How long Reputation Management is used already...58
Figure 21: The coordination of Reputation Management ...59
Figure 22: Planned implementation of Reputation Management...60
Figure 23: Time-related expectations of success...61
Figure 24: Knowledge of stakeholder needs ...61
Figure 25: Contact rate...63
Figure 26: Correlation of good knowledge and high contact ...64
Figure 27: Estimated reputation (median comparison) ...64
Figure 28: Intensity of work on reputation drivers (means)...66
Figure 29: Percentage of participants measuring reputation...67
List of figures
xii
Figure 30: Reasons not to measure reputation... 68
Figure 31: Measurement methods of Reputation Management... 69
Figure 32: Improvements due to the use of Reputation Management... 70
Figure 33: Correlation between success and measurement ... 71
Figure 34: Expected influence of Reputation Management ... 71
Figure 35: Expected influence list of order ... 72
Figure 36: Influencing factors... 74
Figure 37: Practices of Reputation Management users... 82
Figure 38: Selected company profiles... 83
List of tables
xiii
List of tables
Table 1: Excerpt of reputation definitions ...12
Table 2: SME recommendation of the European Commission...35
Table 3: Ranking of stakeholder knowledge ...62
Table 4: Positive and negative ranking of work intensity...65
Table 5: Comparison of high/medium influence and improvement ...73
Table 6: Summary of influencing factors ...79
Table 7: Matching tables...80
Table 8: Proficiency ranking of Reputation Management users ...81
Abbreviations
xv
Abbreviations
CEO
Chief Executive Officer
cf. confer
ed. editor/edition
e.g.
exempli gratia, for example
et al
and others
et seq.
et sequens/et sequentes, and the following one/s
ibid
ibidem, in the same place
i.e.
id est, that is
I-IMC
Institute for International Management Consulting
n= sample
size
no. numero,
number
p. page
pp. pages
NGO Non-Governmental
Organisation
SME
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
RM Reputation
Management
vol. volume
Glossary
xvi
Glossary
B
LOG
Short word for web log. Website with regular
entries similar to a diary. Blogs can provide
personal perceptions to all Internet users within
a short period.
C
HIEF
R
EPUTATION
O
FFICER
New management role for a person who is in
charge of Reputation Management. The term
was created by Fombrun in the nineties.
H
ALO
Perception of an object, which is outshined by
an overall impression leading to a biased
reality, e.g. a supplier likes to work with a high
reputable company because it expects that the
relationship influences its reputation positively.
H
OMO OECONOMICUS
Perspective of man in the nineteenth century
regarding man as a being, which is reduced to
rational aspects and pursues to maximise its
benefit without moral and social values.
I
NTANGIBLE VALUE
Non-monetary values like reputation, patents,
trademarks and knowledge. They are abstract
and cannot be measured physically.
I
NTERNET
Worldwide network of computers accessible
for everybody having the proper equipment.
The most popular service of the Internet is the
World Wide Web, which is a huge collection of
single websites. For convenience, this work
uses both terms as synonyms.
P
AINTING THE
F
ORTH
B
RIDGE
Idiom for a Sisyphean task expressing that an
activity cannot be finished.
Glossary
xvii
S
ELLERS
'
MARKET
Market where sellers dominate economic acti-
vities. It is a situation where the demand is
bigger than the offer.
S
OCIAL
W
EB
The second generation of the World Wide Web
dominated by user-driven content. Large
websites enable users to practice social net-
working.
S
WOT ANALYSIS
Technique to analyse strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threads.
W
AR FOR TALENTS
Term expressing a lack of qualified people
available on labour market. Thus companies
fight for the best people by trying to attract
them extraordinarily.
Introduction
1
1 Introduction
1.1
The role of Reputation Management in the course of time
Protagonists like Bauhofer proclaim Reputation Management as "the strategic
asset in the competition of the 21st century".
5
Fombrun observes that since the
last decade intangible assets like patents, technology and reputation got more
and more into the business focus. Assuming that the reasons for that are
similar, he concludes that they enable companies to create competitive
advantages.
6
This gains in importance due to increasing competition in global
companies as well as in saturated markets.
Despite of being an apparently new topic reputation is not new at all. Taking a
closer look reputation is even as old as humankind is: Every single person has a
reputation. It makes us more predictable for others, which is a necessity for a
running society. Reputation is transferable on organisations, institutions and
companies of any size because all of them are characterised by being an artefact
of a group of people with similar interests or aims.
The roots of Reputation Management go back to the year 578 when the first
known company, the Japanese building company Kongo Gumi, started its
business by being asked to build a temple.
7
At this time there was no
competition in a present sense and the detailed circumstances cannot be
reconstructed any more, but it is obvious that this company was ordered due to
reasons which convinced the client that they have the potential to make it.
More than a millennium later, in 1766, Adam Smith observed two important
things in trade: First, cheating is not profitable because one single cheat costs
more contracts than it is possible to win at the same time. Second, the
disposition to cheat a customer depends on the frequency of deals they make
5
Bauhofer, Bernhard: Reputation Management. Glaubwuerdigkeit im Wettbewerb des
21. Jahrhunderts, Zuerich 2004, p. 191.
6
Cf. Fombrun, Charles: Reputation. Realizing Value from the Corporate Image, Boston 1996,
pp. 5-6.
7
Cf. Wittwer, Judith: Die Greise der Unternehmenswelt, in: Tages-Anzeiger, Internet,
24/05/2007.
Introduction
2
together.
8
Smith recognised that there is a correlation between the behaviour of
traders and their economical success which both are dependent from the
amount of information exchanged. With this observation, he laid the
cornerstone for Reputation Management. However, it took more than 200
further years until the subject came up on business agendas.
Up to the fifties, the
SELLERS
'
MARKET
situation in western industrialised
countries did not request to take much care about reputation issues. Companies
were busy to distribute their goods and satisfy basic customer demands. This
situation lasted during the following two decades although competition
increased and customers became more selective.
The eighties finally rang in a paradigm shift. Globalisation was the new
determining factor and was accompanied by an increasing number of mergers
and acquisitions. Companies were forced to turn away from remaining
HOMO
OECONOMICUS
fragments and enhance their focus on soft factors, which could be
used for change management. At the same time when audio-visual media
gained in importance, companies registered an upcoming interest of publicity.
This was no contingency but it was the first time general public used media as
an active channel to demonstrate their demands and forced companies to react.
In 1983, Shapiro introduced reputation into modern literature by analysing the
correlation between quality and reputation. He identified that reputation plays
an important role in the buying process when the quality of a product is not
easily visible. In these cases, buyers depend their choice on reputation as an
indicator for quality.
9
Few years later, occurrences like the effort of Royal Dutch Shell in 1995 to sink
the Brent Spar oil facility in the North Sea and the collapse of Enron in 2001
caused by accounting fraud, raised public interest in ecological and ethical
questions. People demanded social responsibility and guidelines for corporate
governance. This put Reputation Management finally on the business agenda.
8
Cf. Smith, Adam: Lecture on the Influence of Commerce on Matters, in: Klein, Daniel (ed.):
Reputation. Studies in the Voluntary Elicitation of Good Conduct, Ann Arbour 1997,
pp. 17-20.
9
Cf. Shapiro, Carl: Premiums for High Quality Products as Returns on Reputations, in: The
Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 98, issue 4/1983, p. 659.
Introduction
3
The breakthrough was initiated by Fombrun in 1996 who transferred the topic
from a scientific discussion into the consciousness of business people. Based on
research studies and illustrated by practical examples this work is regarded as
standard literature in Reputation Management.
Figure 1: Generation of reputation capital
10
Fombrun demonstrates the impact of managing reputation and underlines the
correlation between reputation and financial success, which is reflected by
reputation capital. With his reputational audit, Fombrun introduces an
approach to integrate and run Reputation Management in companies.
11
This is
the first time that the topic has been put into a management framework
allowing to cope systematically with reputation.
Bauhofer is one of few experts who realised early the potential of Reputation
Management: In 2004, he brought it to Europe and adapted the idea to the
demands of European companies. He emphasises the impact of change from a
shareholder's perspective to a stakeholder-orientated company as a funda-
mental precondition. Based on that Bauhofer developed a 360 degree approach
10
Cf. Fombrun, Charles: Reputation. Realizing Value from the Corporate Image, Boston 1996,
p. 392.
11
Cf. ibid., pp. 1-56, 192-209.
Corporate
Strategy
· Differentiation
· Diversification
· Core Competence
Corporate
Practices
· Image Nurturing
· Identity Shaping
External
Ratings
Reputation
Capital
Introduction
4
covering all relevant factors of Reputation Management and allowing a holistic
perspective on decisive company interactions.
12,13
The current status of evolution and at the same time the new challenge for
Reputation Management lies in coping with an increasing use of new tech-
nology like mobile communication and I
NTERNET
software. With applications
like eBay, Amazon and YouTube I
NTERNET
has stepped into the so-called
S
OCIAL
W
EB
in which content is mainly generated by users. With electronic aids
like recensions, comments,
BLOGS
and multimedia messaging people have been
enabled to contribute perceptions very quickly and provide them to a mass of
users. This has important effects on Reputation Management which have to be
taken in account: The number of channels which have to be considered
increases and comes along with a higher speed on building reputation as well
as an additional coverage of publicity.
1.2
Aims and objectives of this dissertation
As presented before Reputation Management is definitely a ubiquitous business
topic by now. In Germany 2.96 million companies generate a yearly revenue of
4.35 trillion euros.
14
According to the Institut fuer Mittelstandsforschung at
Mannheim University thereof a 99.7 percentage is covered by SME's. As a
result, SME's express the decisive power of German economy with a total
revenue of about 4.33 trillion euros per annum.
15
It is apparent that some large-
scale enterprises use Reputation Management Fombrun already illustrated his
work with several examples.
16
12
Cf. Bauhofer, Bernhard: Reputation Management. Glaubwuerdigkeit im Wettbewerb des
21. Jahrhunderts, Zuerich 2004, pp. 49-80.
13
Cf. Sparring Partners: 360° Reputation Management by Sparring Partners, Internet,
10/02/2007.
14
Cf. Statistisches Bundesamt Deutschland: Umsatzsteuerpflichtige Unternehmen 2004,
Internet 12/02/2007.
15
Cf. Institut fuer Mittelstandsforschung Universitaet Mannheim: Bedeutung des Mittelstands
in Deutschland, Internet, 07/02/2007.
16
E.g. J. P. Morgan and Salomon Brothers, both in: Fombrun, Charles: Reputation. Realizing
Value from the Corporate Image, Boston 1996, pp. 339-385.
Introduction
5
But despite of their particular importance it is still unknown, how SME's handle
the topic. Up to now the aspect of Reputation Management in SME's is a black
box in literature. This is the situation the dissertation aims to take up and bring
in more clarity. The conclusive research question is:
"What is the current status of Reputation Management in SME's?"
Getting an answer to that question outlines the primary objective, which has to
be investigated. To come closer to a result several subordinated objectives has
been established as follows:
a. Identification of the number of SME's using Reputation Management,
obtain feedback of their general understanding of managing reputation
and how this have been implemented in their organisation.
b. Assessment of the existing value-benefit situation of Reputation
Management in SME's and how it is measured.
c. Identification of factors influencing the use of Reputation Management
and establish best practices.
d. Derivation of possible effects and opportunities for the management
consulting industry.
The results of the research work will provide an insight into the level of
maturity and acceptance of Reputation Management within the focus group.
1.3 Methodology
1.3.1
Research philosophy and general approach
To get a common understanding of the approach it is necessary to outline the
applied research philosophy first. The author's research philosophy is mainly
based on interpretivism with aspects of positivism and realism.
What does this decision implies for the reader? This means that the research
question cannot be answered in terms of "law-like" results like in physical
sciences. Reputation Management is an
INTANGIBLE VALUE
, which has to be
interpreted due to its specific perception. Only an enormous reduction of the
Introduction
6
environmental complexity would allow controllable models providing crystal
clear results. But at the same time the significance of the topic would be
completely lost, which leads this option to absurdity.
Nevertheless positivism is present: The work gives an impression of the
situation of Reputation Management in SME's which can be generalised in a
sense of transferring the results from the focus group on other SME's not as a
law but with a high degree of probability that the situation is congruent.
Furthermore, realism is involved. Reputation is a phenomenon, which exists
although people are not necessarily aware of it. It is helpful to know that the
work is dealing with socially constructed interpretations of people and
companies, which means that in the end the research work has to handle a
subjective reality.
Figure 2: The author's research path
17
In literature, a deductive research approach is often chosen in a positivistic
setting like physical sciences where it has its origins.
18
Nevertheless, as
mentioned before Reputation Management cannot be reduced to variables with
a cause-effect link. Consequently, the author's choice was an inductive
approach. In order to reach the objectives of the dissertation, initial point is the
17
Following Saunders, Mark et al: Research Methods for Business Students, 3rd ed., Harlow
2003, p. 83.
18
Cf. Saunders, Mark et al: Research Methods for Business Students, 3rd ed., Harlow 2003,
pp. 82-89.
Research
Philosophy
Positivsm
Realism
Interpretivism
Research
Approach
Research
Strategy
Research
Method
Experiment
Survey
Case
Study
Grounded
Theory
Ethno-
graphy
Action
Research
Deductive
Inductive
Sampling
Secondary
Data
Observation
Interview
Questionnaire
Options
Attributes
Introduction
7
structured collection of data as a basis for interpretations and conclusions later
on with the aim of understanding people's perception of Reputation
Management in SME's.
1.3.2
Research strategy and method
Starting point of research is systematic literature research to gain an overview
of Reputation Management with all its relevant aspects. This desk research aims
to collect relevant data and is deemed to be a fact finding of Reputation
Management which leads to a common understanding of the main principles
for the dissertation. The subsequent field research will then enable the author to
establish the specific situation in SME's.
The present research question offers two general options in choosing a research
strategy: The execution of a case study or the conduction of a survey. On first
sight, a case study seems to be an appropriate way to deal with an intangible
topic. It allows an in-depth analysis and an individual procedure according to
company needs. But a second view makes clear that it is not the right way to
deal with the research question: For executing a case study and deriving
conclusions it would be first necessary to identify a SME which already applies
Reputation Management. Furthermore, to find out different understandings
and influencing factors there would be the need of a comparison requesting to
identify several SME's that fit into the focus. Due to the young character of
Reputation Management on business agendas and according to the author's
experience in the field of SME's, which reflects the tendency of not acting as a
pioneer in tasks that are regarded as being outside the value chain, it is obvious
that a case study strategy would be like
PAINTING THE
F
ORTH
B
RIDGE
which
makes it unreasonable.
In consideration of the elucidated reasons, the conduction of a survey is
regarded as an appropriate strategy to gain reliable results. Due to the demand
of identifying the current status of Reputation Management it is necessary to
get a representative feedback although this implies a standardised method and
it is not possible to meet all specific company needs and perceptions. However,
this is considered as a minor disadvantage, which has to be accepted.
Introduction
8
The survey is carried out as a web-based questionnaire and supplemented by
additional information provided by the author to gain a common under-
standing about the topic. This method was chosen as it is low cost and to
improve reliability through involving as many companies as possible. The
investigation of the survey results finally answers the research question and
enables the author to draw conclusions in order to achieve the objectives of the
dissertation.
1.3.3
Limitations of the chosen methodology
This work cannot be regarded as representative of the situation throughout
Germany due to the high number of SME's. The given time frame and limited
access to SME's do not allow a balanced random sample including SME's of all
regions, industries and sizes. However, the results of SME's operating in one of
the most prosperous industry regions in Germany will reflect strong tendencies
and trends common in Germany. The survey is planned in cooperation with the
Stuttgart Chamber of Industry and Commerce, which will supply data access.
With more than 140.000 member firms, it is the second biggest Chamber of
Industry and Commerce in Germany.
The choice of a web-based questionnaire might suggest that only a reduced
target group, SME's with I
NTERNET
access, is involved in the survey which
would lead to the disadvantage of validity. However, according to a study 79
percent of all companies in Germany have I
NTERNET
access. In businesses with a
minimum of 20 employees it is even 92 percent and higher.
19
Due to this result,
the impact on validity is regarded as a minor issue.
Moreover, it has to be taken into account that the survey is a snapshot of a
period of several days. Although this circumstance levels typical answer
patterns caused by individual performance on different workdays (i.e. Monday
morning and Friday afternoon) it cannot be excluded that the same survey
could deliver different results being executed at a later date: Reputation
Management in companies is subject to permanent changes and is influenced
19
Cf. Statistisches Bundesamt: IKT in Unternehmen. Nutzung von Informationstechnologie in
Unternehmen. Ergebnisse fuer das Jahr 2006, Wiesbaden 2007, pp. 32-33.
Introduction
9
by individual perception. Further aspects of reliability and validity are
discussed in detail within the concept of the Reputation Management survey in
chapter 4.1 on page 39.
1.4
Structure of work
The present dissertation is subdivided into five parts. First of all the reader
gains an impression of the initial situation. After a brief outline of Reputation
Management history, aims and objectives are explained in detail followed by
the elaboration of finding an appropriate research methodology.
The second part focuses on the development of a common understanding of
Reputation Management by describing basic principles. These principles
comprise investigations in definition and scope, followed by an inspection of
constitutive elements, structures and interactions.
Aiming to assign Reputation Management to organisations the third part
identifies relevant business areas by elaborating pros and cons. It is followed by
the determination of SME's, its characteristics and hence possible implications
for Reputation Management.
In the fourth part, a survey is designed and executed. An in-depth analysis
outlines differentiated results for various participating groups in accordance
with the objectives of this dissertation.
Finally, the author derives conclusions and recommendations from a SME's
perspective as well as from a consultant's perspective. After the identification of
best practices, key success factors and market potential, an outlook shows
future development of Reputation Management.
A short overview on page xv refers to abbreviations in the text and all terms
marked in
SMALL CAPS
are explained in a glossary on page xvi. For citations, the
author used the Turabian style, which is popular for research work. The titles of
non-English resources are translated in the bibliography on page 89. Please
notice that due to the close relationship between I-IMC and Lincoln University
the dissertation has been written in British English language style.
Basic principles of Reputation Management
11
2
Basic principles of Reputation Management
2.1
Definition, scope and limitations
2.1.1
Reputation Management in practice
What is Reputation Management all about? First of all it is necessary to separate
the term into its semantic components reputation and management. While
management often is mixed up with leadership, organisation or administration
it is the minor issue in comparison with reputation: In practice the general
understanding of reputation is heterogeneous and is used in a wide range of
settings and correlations.
Generally speaking it is used to express the perception of something which
spans from products, people and organisations to countries, animals and
religion.
20,21,22
This makes clear that the comprehension of reputation is an
entanglement of terms starting from prestige right through to stereotypes.
Meanwhile reputation is used rather inflationary and serves as a company
name, a technical service generating website rankings and even now seems to
be appropriate as a bonus for killing creatures in a computer game.
23,24,25
In
business often terms like image, brand, name, identity and quality are used.
Marketing professionals like Michael struggle in using reputation properly as
well as newspapers like Handelsblatt mixing up several terms in one article.
26,27
Moreover to mention is a public relations agency offering Perception
Management and a brand research company using the term Word of Mouth
Marketing.
28,29
Despite of the Babylonian confusion reputation is ubiquitous for years in
businesses. Multinational corporations deal with it as well as medium-sized
20
Cf. Beise, Marian/Cleff, Thomas: Assessing the Lead Market Potential of Countries for
Innovation Projects, in: Journal of International Management, vol. 10, issue 4, pp. 453-477.
21
Cf. Wolmarans, Riaan: A new age of denial, in: Mail & Guardian, Internet, 02/02/2007.
22
Cf. Carroll, James: Church, State, and Katrina, in: The Boston Globe, Internet, 12/09/2005.
23
Cf. Reputation: Company website, Internet, 06/03/2007.
24
Cf. Nielsen, Jacob: Alertbox. Current Issues in Web Usability, Internet, 05/11/1999.
25
Cf. Blizzard Entertainment: World of Warcraft, Internet, 13/03/2007.
26
Cf. Michael, Bernd: Gesucht: Die neue Offenheit, in: Absatzwirtschaft, Internet, 13/12/2006.
27
Cf. Otten, Christina: Deutsche lieben Porsche und Audi, in: Handelsblatt, 15/11/2004, p. 13.
28
Cf. Peter Buetikhofer & Company: Perception Management, Internet, 27/03/2007.
29
Cf. Ethority: Word of Mouth Marketing, Internet, 24/05/2007.
Ende der Leseprobe aus 108 Seiten
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- , 2007, Reputation Management in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Hamburg, Bedey Media GmbH, https://www.diplom.de/document/228993
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