Winning the reputation game: creating stakeholder value and competitive advantage

Dowling, GR

Winning the reputation game: creating stakeholder value and competitive advantage

Dowling, GR

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Publisher:: The MIT Press
Publication Type:: Book
Citation:: 2016, 1, pp. 1 - 280
Issue Date:: 2016-04-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Dowling, GR https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3055-5982	en_US
dc.date.issued	2016-04-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	2016, 1, pp. 1 - 280	en_US
dc.identifier.isbn	9780262034463	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/94373
dc.description.abstract	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.	en_US
dc.publisher	The MIT Press	en_US
dc.title	Winning the reputation game: creating stakeholder value and competitive advantage	en_US
dc.type	Book
utslib.location	Cambridge MA	en_US
utslib.for	150303 Corporate Governance and Stakeholder Engagement	en_US
utslib.for	1503 Business and Management	en_US
utslib.citation.edition	1	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Business
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.consider-herdc	true	en_US
pubs.edition	1	en_US
pubs.place-of-publication	Cambridge MA	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US

Abstract:

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.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/94373