Future trends in reputation management

__Abstract__ Companies must redefine their portfolio in such a way that people will perceive it as having added value for their personal lives, says RSM's Professor Cees van Riel, an expert in reputation management – and there's good reason for the world's biggest companies to believe him

Sensemaking from Actions

This study presents a method to establish empirically what drives organization members in their day-to-day behavior. The method starts from the sense employees make of their own actions. The approach consists of two steps: qualitative laddering interviews to determine the most central means and ends that play a role in the sensemaking of organization members, and a follow-up survey to examine in depth the organizational means-end structure. The method was validated by relating the results to independently observed indicators of what guides organization members in their behavior. Apart from the deeper insight it provides in the forces that drive day-to-day behavior in an organization, the method also provides management with a practical tool for addressing employee motivation and for developing credible communication toward stakeholders.employee motivation;laddering;means-end analysis;organizational action;sensemaking

Corporate Communication in European Financial Institutions

In 1988 the Rotterdam School of Management and Fairfield University conducted jointly a survey in twenty-one banks and twenty insurance companies in Europe and the U.S. The purpose was to examine corporate communication practices in comparable service industries on two continents. Central questions were: How is corporate communication organized; how are resources allocated; what strategies are used; what values are reflected in different communication activities such as advertising, public relations, communication relations, and employee communication; how are messages shaped for diverse audiences and customer groups; and how much importance is attached to corporate identification symbols. This article reports on the European results of that survey. The complete report is published in van Riel & Nedela, Profiles in Corporate Communication in Financial Institutions, Eburon, Delft, 1989. Dr. van Riel is director of the Corporate Communication Centre, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

The Added Value of Corporate Brands

This study shows that different types of associations regarding a company have different effects on customers' product evaluations. Associations with a company's ability influenced quality perceptions of products marketed by the company's subsidiaries, but not intentions to actually buy those products. In contrast, corporate social responsibility associations influenced product purchase intentions, but not quality perceptions.corporate image;survey;Corporate branding;brand strategies;product evaluations

Stimulating Strategically Aligned Behaviour Among Employees

In recent years it has become increasingly important for companies to ensure strategically aligned behaviour, i.e., employee actions that are consistent with the company’s strategy. This study provides insights into the way companies can stimulate such behaviour through motivating and informing their employees, and by providing them with the necessary capabilities. The results of surveys conducted in three organisations suggest that motivating, informing, and providing the necessary capabilities are essential conditions for strategically aligned behaviour to occur; however, this only holds when a company has not sufficiently engaged in one or more of these practices in the past. For example, in the case that employees have already been sufficiently informed about the company’s strategy, it would be of greater benefit to then reduce efforts to inform them and increase efforts to motivate and develop capabilities.Capability development;Employee behaviour;Information;Motivation;Strategic alignment

Stimulating Strategically Aligned Behaviour among Employees

Strategically aligned behaviour (SAB), i.e., employee action that is consistent with the company’s strategy, is of vital importance to companies. This study provides insights into the way managers can promote such behaviour among employees by stimulating employee motivation and by informing employees, and by stimulating the development of their capabilities. The results of surveys conducted in three organisations suggest that, first, efforts by management aimed at motivating and informing employees (both managers and non-managers), and at developing their capabilities, each have an influence on SAB. Second, among the efforts to stimulate motivation among employees, providing a rationale for the strategy and an open communication climate have a stronger effect than participation in decision making and supportiveness. Third, the perceptions of the different types of managerial efforts influence each other. For this reason, the efforts have direct as well as indirect effects on SAB. Fourth, each of the efforts acts as a necessary condition for SAB to occur. Finally, the effect of informing efforts appears to be stronger for managerial employees than for non-managerial employees, and also for employees who have a better understanding of the organisation’s strategy.information;motivation;employee behaviour;strategic change;capability development;strategic alignment

Research in corporate communication: An overview of an emerging field

Van Riel provides an overview of research in corporate communication, focusing on achievements found in the international academic literature in both communication and business school disciplines

Pride and fear during major organisational change

Organisational behaviour experts have known for a long time that when employees identify closely with their company, the company functions better. People quit less often, they work harder, and they tend to be more supportive of their employer. And in a volatile time, such as during a merger, corporate success may depend on nurturing employees’ pride and alleviating their fears

Corporate identity: The concept, its measurement and management

Articulates the main trends in the literature on corporate identity; defines corporate identity; explains the rationale for corporate identity management and describes the main methods used to reveal the desired and the actual corporate identity. Particular reference will be made to two recently developed models used to reveal an organization's identity: Balmer's Affinity Audit (BAA) and The Rotterdam Organizational Identification Test (ROIT). Concludes that while empirical research on the area will increasingly be multidisciplinary marketing will, nonetheless, play a pivotal role in an understanding of corporate identity