How can the corporate sector concepts of 'reputation' and 'trust' be used by local government? A study to establish a model of reputation management for local government

Abstract

[Abstract]: Over the past 20 years, the concept of corporate reputation management has emerged as a credible holistic management technique in the private sector. At the same time, corporate management practices have been implemented in the public sector, not always successfully. Local governments still struggle to develop good reputations and take advantage of their unique public sector position as socially and geographically close to stakeholders. This paper will examine the increasing importance of stakeholder relationships to local government and will present a reputation management model for improving and maintaining these relationships. It will discuss, from a theoretical perspective, how effective reputation management can improve a council’s ability to operate within its own community with decreased transaction costs. The model approaches reputation management from perspectives presented by Fombrun and Dowling and considers each of the following dimensions from a municipal point of view: organisational culture, financial management (which in the local government model becomes corporate governance), product and service, vision and leadership, social and environmental responsibility and emotional appeal. Differences between the corporate and municipal reputation models are discussed. The local government version is discovered to be a more rigorous and potentially effective model than that currently used in private enterprise, particularly in the field of corporate governance. While the model is yet to be empirically tested, it has implications for local government communication practitioners and senior managers in its emphasis on stakeholder relationships within corporate governance activity