The reputation of corporate reputation: Fads, fashions, and the mainstreaming of corporate reputation research and practice

Abstract

The corporate reputation construct has generated enormous popular interest and academic attention. Its rapid emergence and widespread adoption raises the question of whether it may be a passing fad or fashion. In this chapter, we examine corporate reputation discourse in relation to the characteristics of management fashions. While it is too early to determine if, like other fashions, it will decline in popularity, corporate reputation discourse shares many of the qualities of fashions.