Why did the financial scandals really happen? Why are they continuing to happen? In The Death of Corporate Reputation, Yale's Jonathan Macey reveals the real, non-intuitive reason, and offers a new path forward. For over a century law firms, investment banks, accounting firms, credit rating agencies and companies seeking regular access to U.S. capital markets made large investments in their reputations. They treated customers well and sometimes endured losses in transactions or business deals in order to sustain and nurture their reputations as faithful brokers and “gate-keepers.” This has changed completely . The existing business model among leading participants in today’s capital markets no longer treats customers as valued clients whose trust must be earned and nurtured, but as one-off “counter-parties” to whom no duties are owed and no loyalty is required . The rough and tumble norms of the market-place have replaced the long-standing reputational model in U.S. finance. This book describes the transformation in American finance from the old reputational model to the existing laissez faire model and argues that the change came as a result of three factors: (1) the growth of reliance on regulation rather than reputation as the primary mechanism for protecting customers and (2) the increasing complexity of regulation, which made technical expertise rather than reputation the primary criterion on which customers choose who to do business with in today’s markets; and (3) the rise of the “cult of personality” on Wall Street, which has led to a secular demise in the relevance of companies’ reputations and the concomitant rise of individual “rain-makers” reputation as the basis for premium pricing of financial services. This compelling book will drive the debate about the financial crisis and financial regulation for years to come -- both inside and outside the industry.

What creates corporate reputations and how should organizations respond? Corporate reputation is a growing research field in disciplines as diverse as communication, management, marketing, industrial and organizational psychology, and sociology. As a formal area of academic study, it is relatively young with roots in the 1980s and the emergence of specialized reputation rankings for industries, products/services, and performance dimensions and for regions. Such rankings resulted in competition between organizations and the alignment of organizational activities to qualify and improve standings in the rankings. In addition, today’s changing stakeholder expectations, the growth of advocacy, demand for more disclosures and greater transparency, and globalized, mediatized environments create new challenges, pitfalls, and opportunities for organizations. Successfully engaging, dealing with, and working through reputational challenges requires an understanding of options and tools for organizational decision-making and stakeholder engagement. For the first time, the vast and important field of corporate reputation is explored in the format of an encyclopedic reference. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Corporate Reputation comprehensively overviews concepts and techniques for identifying, building, measuring, monitoring, evaluating, maintaining, valuing, living up to and/or changing corporate reputations. Key features include: 300 signed entries are organized in A-to-Z fashion in 2 volumes available in a choice of electronic or print formats Entries conclude with Cross-References and Further Readings to guide students to in-depth resources. Although organized A-to-Z, a thematic "Reader’s Guide" in the front matter groups related entries by broad areas A Chronology provides historical perspective on the development of corporate reputation as a discrete field of study. A Resource Guide in the back matter lists classic books, key journals, associations, websites, and selected degree programs of relevance to corporate reputation. A General Bibliography will be accompanied by visual maps noting the relationships between the various disciplines touching upon corporate reputation studies. The work concludes with a comprehensive Index, which—in the electronic version—combines with the Reader’s Guide and Cross-References to provide thorough search-and-browse capabilities

The Vulnerability of Corporate Reputation explores the role that reputation plays in the success and failures of companies. This book focuses on the traditional topic of reputation risk management, the process of reputation, reputational excellence and examines leaders whose reputation and foresight could benefit the organization they steer.

A veteran Wall Street Journal editor and authority on branding, marketing and reputation provides the 18 crucial rules for companies to follow in developing and protecting their reputation, which can be their most valuable asset or their worst nightmare. A must read book for senior executives, consultants, advertising, public relations, and marketing professionals. From Enron and WorldCom to the Catholic Church and Major League Baseball, reputation crises have never been more widespread. Now Ronald J. Alsop, a veteran Wall Street Journal authority on branding and reputation management, explains the dangers—and gives organizations the eighteen crucial laws to follow in developing and protecting their reputations. Consider this example of a simple decision made by a low-ranking employee: When rescue workers at the site of the World Trade Center disaster sought bottled water from a nearby Starbucks outlet, they complained that an employee charged them for it. In a matter of hours, the Internet had picked up the story and Starbucks' carefully cultivated worldwide reputation was quickly besmirched. This is just one instance among many of how the business world, ever more global and competitive, has become increasingly difficult to navigate. Studies have demonstrated the powerful impact of reputation on profits and stock prices, and yet less than half of all companies have a formal system for measuring reputation. Clearly, companies in every industry—from Dow Chemical to Disney to DaimlerChrystler—have much more to learn. It is still the rare company that realizes the full value of its reputation: how corporate reputation can enhance business in good times, become a protective halo in turbulent times, and be destroyed in an instant by people at the lowest or highest levels of the corporate ladder. Mr. Alsop provides eighteen thoroughly documented lessons based on years of experience covering every aspect of corporate reputation, with a clear distillation of the complex principles at the heart of a reputation. He explains: • How to protect your reputation when the inevitable crisis hits • How to cope with the many hazards in cyberspace • How to create a reputation for vision and industry leadership • How to establish a culture of ethical behavior • How to measure and monitor your ever-changing public image • How to make employees your reputation champions • How to decide when it's time to change your name The result is a book that is important not only for business executives, consultants, and advertising, public relations, and marketing professionals but also for anyone eager to learn more about the companies they work for, buy from, and invest in.

Core strategies for creating a corporate reputation that will provide a competitive advantage in the marketplace: a back-to-basics approach. What does a company have to do to be admired and respected? Why does Apple have a better reputation than, say, Samsung? In Winning the Reputation Game, Grahame Dowling explains. Companies' reputations do not derive from consultant-recommended campaigns to showcase efforts at corporate transparency, environmental sustainability, or social responsibility. Companies are admired and respected because they are “simply better” than their competitors. Companies that focus on providing outstanding goods and services are rewarded with a strong reputation that helps them gain competitive advantage. Dowling, who has studied corporate reputation–building for thirty years, describes two core strategies for creating a corporate reputation that will provide a competitive advantage: to be known for being Best at Something or for being Best for Somebody. Apple, for example, is best at personal technology products that enhance people's lifestyles. IKEA is best for people who want well-designed furniture at affordable prices. Dowling covers such topics as the commercial value of a strong reputations—including good employees, repeat customers, and strong share price; how corporate reputations are formed; the power of “being simply better”; the effectiveness of corporate storytelling (for good or ill; Kenneth Lay of Enron was a master storyteller); and keeping out of trouble. Drawing on many real-world examples, Dowling shows how companies that are perceived to be better than their competitors build strong reputations that reflect past success and promise more of the same. Companies that artificially engineer a reputation with irrelevant activities but have stopped providing the best products and services available often wind up with mediocre—or worse—reputations.

While there are lengthy texts discussing the economics of why and how governments regulate business and apply antitrust, this book is unique in providing the details of current business regulation in many industries through lengthy examples the author develops with the use of cases, including Harvard Business School cases. Students are then guided to devise business strategies of introducing new products within the scope of regulation (known or unknown). While the economic theories of regulation are covered, the focus of this text is a "hands-on coping" with regulation and using regulation as a business strategy to deal with competitors. Online instructor's materials are also available for adopters.

Two leading reputation experts reveal how the internet is being used to destroy brands, reputations and even lives, and how to fight back. From false Wikipedia entries, to fake YouTube videos, to Facebook lynch mobs, everyone from CEOs to fashion models, journalists to politicians, restaurateurs to doctors, is open to character assassination in the burgeoning realm of digital media. Two top media experts recount vivid tales of character attacks, provide specific advice on how to counter them, and how to turn the tables on the attackers. Having spent decades preparing for and coping with these issues, Richard Torrenzano and Mark Davis share their secrets on dealing with problems at the top of today's news. Torrenzano and Davis also take a step back to look at how the past might inform our future thinking about character assassination, from the slander wars between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, to predictions on what the end of privacy will mean for civilization.