Corporate Reputation and the Discipline of Organizational Communication

Corporate reputation and organizational communication research share some points of theoretical and conceptual overlap, even if the term “corporate reputation” is rarely used within organizational communication scholarship. These shared interests align around theoretical and empirical questions related to the core corporate reputation concept. This chapter attempts to highlight these overlaps and offers suggestions as to how organizational communication research can contribute to the understanding of corporate reputation. Specifically, the chapter focuses on the noteworthy overlap of empirical interests within organizational communication and corporate reputation research that relates to organizational identity and identification and leadership. Arguing an organizational communicative framework explicates theoretical aspects of corporate reputation that more traditional management and business frameworks miss, the chapter provides researchers and practitioners with additional explanatory resources to enhance our knowledge of corporate reputation.