Shaping the Corporate Image : An Analytical Guide for Executive Decision Makers

Much of the literature on corporate reputation examines the topic from a narrow perspective--for example, from a marketing or public relations point of view. However, reputation is really a topic that spans multiple fields of endeavor--economics, finance, management, marketing, and public relations, among others. Clearly an interdisciplinary approach is needed and is provided by this volume written by two university professors and a public relations specialist. Shaping the Corporate Image discusses how a corporate reputation is acquired, maintained, and nurtured. The authors conclude that corporate leaders possess the power to mold investor perceptions and evaluations of their firms, and the authors provide the latest information on the issues.

Central to the analysis of corporate reputation are numerous examples of drastic changes in reputation ranking as reported in Fortune magazine. Discussions of these articles combine with an academic look at past trends and commentary collected from interviews with current CEOs and public relations executives to yield a valuable review of strategies that were either spectacular successes or dismal failures. Shaping the Corporate Image provides the reader with valuable input for the future--for developing reputation building in the 1990s and beyond. This volume should be of particular interest to CEOs and public relations specialists concerned with defining, enhancing, and nurturing the corporate image. It is also suitable for supplemental reading in courses in advertising, public relations, business strategy, and marketing, as well as a valuable resource for academics interested in the latest theoretical and practical developments in this field.

MARION G. SOBOL is Professor of Management Information Science at the Edwin L. Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. Her research focuses on labor force, economic performance, computerization, statistics, and quality issues. She is co-author of three books and publishes regularly in such journals as Information and Management, Review of Economics and Statistics, Social Science Quarterly, Journal of Human Resources, and Review of Business and Economic Research.

GAIL E. FARRELLY is Associate Professor of Accounting at Rutgers University. Her research focuses on financial reporting issues and on the perception, analysis, and disclosure of investment risk. An expert in behavioral finance, she has served as a Visiting Scholar at Batterymatch Financial Management, where she did research on the risk tolerance of institutional investors. She has published in such journals as The Accounting Review, Financial Analysts Journal, Financial Management, and The Journal of Portfolio Management.

JESSICA S. TAPER is a public relations specialist in Dallas, Texas. She has worked for a noted international public relations agency, an advertising firm, a university public information office, a municipal agency, and a national public accounting firm. She is a graduate of the University of Texas with a Bachelor of Journalism degree in the Public Relations sequence.

MARION G. SOBOL is Professor of Management Information Science at the Edwin L. Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. Her research focuses on labor force, economic performance, computerization, statistics, and quality issues. She is co-author of three books and publishes regularly in such journals as Information and Management, Review of Economics and Statistics, Social Science Quarterly, Journal of Human Resources, and Review of Business and Economic Research.

GAIL E. FARRELLY is Associate Professor of Accounting at Rutgers University. Her research focuses on financial reporting issues and on the perception, analysis, and disclosure of investment risk. An expert in behavioral finance, she has served as a Visiting Scholar at Batterymatch Financial Management, where she did research on the risk tolerance of institutional investors. She has published in such journals as The Accounting Review, Financial Analysts Journal, Financial Management, and The Journal of Portfolio Management.

JESSICA S. TAPER is a public relations specialist in Dallas, Texas. She has worked for a noted international public relations agency, an advertising firm, a university public information office, a municipal agency, and a national public accounting firm. She is a graduate of the University of Texas with a Bachelor of Journalism degree in the Public Relations sequence.