Related constructions of the corporate reputation and determinants of its formation

Abstract

Recognition of the company, recognition of its products and positive perception among key stakeholders are powerful drivers of sustainable development, which together provide constant sales, high margins and competitive position in the market. The generalizing factor of such success, of course, is the reputation of the enterprise, the importance of which more and more theorists and practitioners testify in their works and actions. It is established that the formation of the reputation of economic entities is closely related to such «family» concepts as «brand», «image», «goodwill», «loyalty», etc., which ultimately led to difficulties associated with the essential distinction, and purpose. In this context, the purpose of this study is to establish common features and differences, determine the existing relationship between them and the features of their impact on the formation of the company’s reputation. The study attempted to streamline the essence and harmonize the meaning of related concepts, such as «brand», «image», «goodwill» and «loyalty», in the context of constructing the company’s reputation in modern business processes. In addition, we managed to achieve the following statements: first, the studied concepts are characterized by a clear difference between them, both in content and purpose; second, they are in a logical relationship in the process of constructing the reputation of the business entity; thirdly, they are the key determinants of the formation of the reputational capital of the enterprise in order to achieve the highest goal of its economic activity − the commitment and loyalty of contact groups and stakeholders. We believe that the results of the study will contribute to the development of the theoretical and methodological basis of information support and the formation of an effective system for managing the reputation of the business entity.

Keywords

• reputation
• brand
• image
• goodwill
• loyalty
• enterprise
• related constructions