The value‐relevance of corporate reputation during the financial crisis

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the value‐relevance of corporate reputation during times of crisis. The paper seeks to extend the view beyond the traditional focus on the cognitive component of reputation, shed light on its affective component, and integrate the perceptions of different stakeholder groups. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses two large‐scale surveys, one from before and one from after the financial crisis year of 2008, to ascertain the reputation evaluations of the largest publicly listed corporations in Germany. The paper employs a model augmented with standard accounting variables (i.e. sales, return on assets, etc.) to analyse the link between corporate reputation as noted by different stakeholder groups and future firm value. Findings Even though corporations are not able to elude the overall negative impact of an economic crisis, the magnitude of influence depends on the individual firm dynamics as related to the firm's reputation. In particular, firm value dynamics are significantly associated with a reputation's affective component as perceived by the general public and its cognitive component as perceived by opinion leaders. Research limitations/implications The paper analyses only very large corporations in Germany over a limited period of time. Practical implications Managers cannot influence the course of a trans‐national crisis, but they can immunise their company against its impacts by managing financial and non‐financial drivers of firm reputation within the various stakeholder groups. Originality/value The paper extends previous research on the value‐relevance of corporate reputation by exploring the roles of different stakeholder groups' perceptions of the affective and cognitive component of reputation.