Meshworked reputation: Publicists’ views on the reputational impacts of online communication

Now available: My new article on reputation (Public Relations Review, doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2010.09.008)

Here's the abstract:

This paper discusses the conceptual and empirical connections between an organization's reputation management and online communication. The paper develops a theory driven model of the structural dimensions of reputation and analyzes organizational communication professionals’ views on the potential that online communication has for reputation management. The survey data showed that online communication was perceived to have positive impacts on the structure and advantages of reputation, and that these two aspects would seem to be strongly dependent on each other. Thus, online communication can be used to influence the assessments made by stakeholders about an organization's products and services, corporate responsibility, success, its ability to change and develop, and its public image. In addition, online communication can generate reputational advantages by strengthening stakeholder relationships and building social capital for the organization.

Reputation Flashback No. 2: The Rage Within – Ready for Proactive Reputation Management

Company collapses, lying CEO’s, accountant scandals, bad public relations, information leaks, dissemination of misinformation and so on. The public is outraged, and organizations are on the defensive. Modern organizations are in continual confrontations with the various publics. Organizational crises always come as a surprise. Usually, they are only dealt with once they have become inflamed. This is not good enough. Problems should be dealt with before they become crises. For this, we have proactive reputation management.

In the throes of proactive reputation management are the issues that affect an organization without yet being a crisis, but the ones that also have the potential to become a crisis. A particularly virulent issue is outrage directed against an organization. By their nature, organizations are subject to public inspection and dissection. The public is continually interpreting whether an organization is doing the right thing and whether it is doing things right. Public outrage increases when the actions of an organization do not meet with their expectations.

24/7 dialogue

In its most basic form, proactive reputation management entails finding out what is happening and deciding what is important and what is not. It means knowing the public mood and taking care of public relations. Proactive reputation management can be used to build bridges between an organization and the public in order to create continuous, long-term and ethically strong interaction. The supporting structure for this kind of interactive bridge consists of operational actions and active communications systems.

Proactive reputation management is ongoing, 24/7 scanning of operational environment and it should be based on continual dialogue and uninterrupted interaction with the various publics. Still many organizations think that emergency instructions that are printed and filed in a folder are enough to ensure security. It is indeed good to have these at your disposal, but it is dangerous to become too complacent. Inflexible instruction manuals are nothing but an archive of empty words when it comes to crisis situations demanding speedy reactions.

Put out the spark

Successful proactive reputation management is built on three cornerstones: awareness, awareness and awareness. An organization that dozes off is doomed. Awareness means systematically collecting information about changes in the economy, technology, society and culture, as well as changes in public reactions and opinions. There are no ready made charts for sounding out these changes. What is essential, instead, is translating this information into knowledge, and refining this knowledge into wisdom. Increasing information is easy; distilling it is much harder.

Organizations must have a good nose for sniffing out new trends and determining which way the world is moving in. The future is always uncertain, but you still have to prepare for it. The most valuable asset is the ability to listen. While the public may appear on the surface to be calm, there is a rage within. Even the smallest changes affecting the environment can become tomorrow’s problem number one. Without outrage there are no crises. The most important task of proactive reputation management is to put out the spark before it erupts into flames.

New DiRe-posting

Please visit our reputation project's blog.

Reputation Flashback No. 1: Hyvä tyyppi

Ismit tulevat, ismit menevät. Eilen vannottiin tuloksen nimiin, tänään kumarretaan vastuulle. Valveutuneiden kansalaisten vaateet yritysten vastuullisesta toiminnasta ovat saaneet monet yritykset julistamaan itsensä yhteiskuntavastuun mesenaateiksi.

Vastuullinen yritys ei voi olla petollinen huijari, vaan ”good corporate citizen”, hieno ihminen. Yhteiskuntavastuun yritysfilosofia tiivistyy ajatukseen, että bisneksessä ovat merkityksellisiä muutkin asiat kuin kovat talouden arvot. Hyvä ratkaisee. Yritysten on toimittava eettisesti kestävällä tavalla ja huolehdittava paitsi luonnosta myös työntekijöistä, lähiympäristöstä, laajemmista yhteiskunnallisista asioista. Yritysten täytyy ottaa vähemmän ja antaa enemmän. Yhteiskuntavastuu on vanha juttu. Nyt se on tullut uudestaan. Vastuullisen ideologian renessanssille ei ole olemassa yhtä syytä. Ilmiötä voidaan pohtia ainakin kolmesta näkökulmasta.

DiRe goes Rio

DiRe-project presented in Reputation Institute conference at Rio.

Online reputation management mistakes

Very nice points from Econcultancy about online reputation management.

Reputation goes Lab

One part of our Digital Reputation project is to conduct laboratory experiments in the study of reputation. What? Read more: www.reputationproject.wordpress.com.

Customer service at the heart of reputation

Digital Reputation

Interested in reputation, reputation risks, and reputation related emotions? Check our new research project: www.reputationproject.wordpress.com

Hiljaisuutta tuulikaapissa

Miksi ei asiakas puhu, kun on sen hetki. Kävimme hiljan syömässä Salutorgetissa Helsingin keskustassa. Miljöö on näyttävä, ruoka arvokasta, muttei arvonsa väärti. Oudointa oli viinitarjoilu: Laskussa hinta oli suurempi kuin listalla. Paperilla oli 12 cl:n hinta, pöytään tuotiin 16 cl, jonka mukaan laskutettiin. Hinta siis pyydettiin tuotteesta, jota emme olleet tilanneet. Kysyttäessä erosta, tarjoilijalle riitti asian toteaminen. Äimistyin, nikottelin, ei rahasta vaan periaatteesta, ja jätin asian siihen.

Kaksi asiaa jäi vaivaamaan: 1) onko tämä talon ja koko ketjun tapa; napataan euro sieltä ja toinen täältä, ja 2) miksi helkkarissa en sanonut mitään. Minuun iski tuulikaappi-syndrooma. Hyvät arvot vaativasta asiakkaasta ja omista oikeuksista jäivät vaiteliaisuuden vangiksi, vaikka yritin paluutakin jo lähdön jälkeen. Lupasin kirjoittaa ketjulle, mutta sekin jäi tekemättä.

Hyvä maine on paitsi laadukkaita tekoja, niin hyviä kertomuksia näistä teoista. Hiljaisuus ylläpitää sen, mitä jo on. Ja miten kukaan voi korjata virheitään, jos kukaan ei sano niistä mitään. Maine voi kasvaa ansiotta ja odotukset jäävät täyttymättä. Ei hyvä kenellekään.