ReputationInstitute

History of Reputation Measurement

Reputation Institute (RI) has been studying the dynamics of corporate reputations since 1997. Annual studies of corporate reputation were conducted by Reputation Institute with Harris Interactive between 1999 and 2005 using the Reputation Quotient, an instrument developed by Charles Fombrun with Harris Interactive. A global project to measure the reputations of the 'most visible companies' in the world was implemented each year from 1999 to 2005 with the collaboration of RI in numerous countries, including Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, U.K., and the U.S.A. The results of these collaborations have been widely featured in the Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, American Banker, and numerous other publications around the world.

In 2006 Reputation Institute did a multi-national study to understand how reputations had evolved over the preceding decade. Based on this research the RepTrak™ Model was developed and the Global Pulse study was launched in March 2006. The results of this study are published world-wide though Forbes.com as well as through local partners in the 27 countries included in the study.

Our extensive international fieldwork shows that a company's reputation is influenced by:

• Stakeholders' experience: Peoples' personal experiences with the company
• Corporate Messaging: The company's corporate communication and initiatives
• Media Coverage: How and what the media is covering about the company
• Internal Alignment: The company's employees strategic alignment

RepTrak™

RepTrak™ is the proprietary tool used by Reputation Institute to measure reputation across stakeholders, countries and industries. The RepTrak™ model tracks 23 key performance indicators (attributes) grouped around 7 core dimensions.

1. Products & Services
2. Innovation
3. Workplace
4. Governance
5. Citizenship
6. Leadership
7. Performance

These attributes and dimensions can both be measured and prioritized in the context of their influence on reputation (what drives reputation?) as well as on key stakeholder supportive behavior (what can be done to influence behavior?).

Reputation Institute is involved in a continuous effort to measure and track the corporate reputations of companies around the world. The Global Pulse project measures the overall reputations of the world's largest companies by surveying consumers in 27 countries using the core of the RepTrak™ model.  In 2008, over 1,000 companies were rated by Reputation Institute.

Companies can work with RI in customized or syndicated studies that provide detailed analyses of corporate reputations internationally, with comparative benchmarks and access to Reputation Institute’s RI Analyzer, an online dashboard.

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