Under the reputation umbrella

Abstract

Purpose – Currently, in the literature, words such as “corporate image”, “projected image”, “construed image”, “reputation”, “organizational identity”, and “organizational culture” are often confused and superimposed. This creates a conceptual mismatch that leads to results that are hard to compare. Moreover, this leads to difficulty in individuating the correct tools to investigate these constructs. Part of this confusion is due to the lack of a framework shared by different literatures. The aim of this paper is firstly to propose a reasoned review of the literatures related to these constructs. Secondly, the authors propose a new framework and a standard terminology, in which reputation is the wider construct that includes and relates to the others. Design/methodology/approach – The authors performed an extensive and multidisciplinary review in the 12 most used databases within corporate communication, organizational psychology, marketing, organizational studies, management, and business. A semiotic and relational approach was implemented asmodus operandi. Findings – The paper builds on the previous literature, clarifying labels and constructs and identifying a standard terminology to which future studies can refer in order to facilitate a multidisciplinary dialog along different disciplines. Originality/value – To the authors' knowledge, this is the first review to take into consideration all of the seven constructs together and relate them within one framework. Moreover, it uses a novel approach in seeing “reputation” as an umbrella construct under which all the other constructs are grouped and included.

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