Organizational values should turn into real attitudes and behaviours grounded in everyday life and interaction with different stakeholder groups.
Clear and decided focus on stakeholders and creation of value for all stakeholder groups in line with their needs and expectations is a key element for building the reputation of many companies in the near future.
Values frequently expressed in different formats and through different communication media should first be experienced within the organization, be integrated into its brand history and company history. They can’t simply be improvised to be used as a short-lived tool in the communication games.
In this sense, CaixaBank is a leading organization in the Spanish banking market for promoting the model of social entities committed to commercial innovation and social and cultural activity through creation of value which includes not only purely economic or mercantile dimensions. It can be read in this document the values that guide its behaviour in the market and the society.
It is more and more important to be coherent between what is said and done and consistent with the company’s beliefs in order to develop a long lasting and successful project.
Four elements should be borne in mind in order to align culture and reputation, and make sure engagement translates into trust: vision and values, identification of stakeholders, monitoring and balanced scorecards and improved organizational processes.
The action plans implemented by Repsol show how important organizational culture is. It is, indeed, one of the aspects that best describes corporate reputation. Idea and personality are the most emotional part of the brand, while culture, vision, values and attributes reflect the rational aspect of what Repsol means for its stakeholders.
Engagement that leads to trust may be achieved by companies through demonstrating their commitment to the creation not only of economic value, but also social value. The social aspect represents both an opportunity and reputational risk, which should be measured, evaluated and considered.
In order to achieve a strong position in the market, a company first has to legitimize its intention to enter, operate and stay in this market. This task comes before building reputation and is accomplished through demonstrating the willingness to create not only economic, but also social value in the country.
“Doing good by being good” is a saying that accurately captures the prevailing perspective and foreseeable future for corporate reputation. Social commitments that companies undertake and try to live up to is a reflection of this trend which implies that alongside economic results, the social impact is a factor that determines ultimate brand value.
Gas Natural Fenosa stands as an of this new panorama, where activities undertaken by a company should be beneficial both for the company and the society.
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Clear and decided focus on stakeholders and creation of value for all stakeholder groups is the key element for building the reputation
1. Companies’ efforts to improve work conditions
for their employees, product use conditions for
their consumers and life conditions for their
communities are commitments that companies
have to make tangible and visible by applying
specific programmes that may truly change
people’s everyday lives.
Clear and decided focus on stakeholders and
creation of value for all stakeholder groups in line
with their needs and expectations is a key element
for building the reputation of many companies in
the near future.
From Rhetoric to True Values
Àngel Pes, CaixaBank’s Deputy General Director
and Director for Corporate Responsibility and
Brand, says that should not just hang in the air
– they should be down-to-earth, palpable and
tangible for stakeholders and the society in general.
This is probably the most important challenge that
organizations are facing today.
Values frequently expressed in different formats and
through different communication media should
first be experienced within the organization, be
integrated into its brand and company history. They
can’t simply be improvised and be used later as a
short-lived tool in the communication games.
In this sense, CaixaBank is a leading organization
in the Spanish banking market. Since its inception,
it has been promoting the model of social entities
committed to commercial innovation and social and
cultural activity through creation of value which
includes not only purely economic or mercantile
dimensions.
Coherence of what is said and what is done is
increasingly relevant, while corporate consistency
(the company’s projects, strategy and plans) has to
be aligned with cultural consistency (its mentality,
beliefs and principles) is order to succeed and to
make sure that success is sustainable and long lasting.
Organizational values, often viewed as a set of theoretical principles, should turn
into real attitudes and behaviours grounded in everyday life and interaction with
different stakeholder groups
Strategy Documents
I60/2015
New Horizons and Prospects
in Strategic Management of
Corporate Reputation
Reputation
Insights & Trends
This document was prepared by Corporate Reputation – Centre for Reputation Leadership and among other sources contains references
to the statements by Àngel Pes, Deputy General Director and Director for Corporate Responsibility and Brand at CaixaBank; Pilar
Marqués, Repsol’s Director for Intangible Assets Management; Antonio Fuertes, Director for Reputation and Corporate Responsibility at
Gas Natural Fenosa; and Rumina Dhalla, Professor at the Guelph University (Canada), made during the 17th International Conference
on Corporate Reputation, Identity and Brand: The Reputation Journey, held by Reputation Institute in Barcelona on June 5 – 7, 2013.
2. Insights & Trends 2
New Horizons and
Prospects in Strategic
Management of
Corporate Reputation
“Clear
and
decided
focus on
stakeholders
and creation
of value
for all
stakeholder
groups is the
key element
for building
the reputation”
CaixaBank always emphasized three essential values
that guide its behaviour in the market and the society:
1. Leadership: characterized by such key features
are meritocracy (internal promotion in
99,8% of appointments), participation (such
programmes as Valora, Innova, Conecta and
Imagina) and autonomy/empowerment (with
11.4 mn euros spent on education and training).
2. Trust, characterized by such key features as
service quality (one out of every four Spaniards
is a customer of CaixaBank), understanding
customer needs (special programme for
preventing mortgage defaults), identifying
customer expectations and improving
customer experience (e.g. exchange of
preferred stock for bonds and loans).
3. Social commitment: la Caixa Foundation
(the first social investor in Spain’s private
sector and one of the largest foundations
of this kind in the world with 350,000 mn
euros of capital) and its major projects aiming
to eliminate child poverty, promote labour
integration of disabled people and corporate
volunteering (with 5,000 employees involved
in relations with 40 different associations).
From engagement to trust
Organizational culture is undoubtedly one of the
aspects that best describes corporate reputation:
a company is largely perceived through the way it
believes and feels. Pilar Marqués, Repsol’s Director
for Intangible Assets Management, believes that
the key in intangibles management is establishing
this link between identity/culture and reputation.
Engagement of stakeholder groups is thus critical for
achieving their trust since it is based on reputation. Four
elements should be borne in mind in order to achieve
the following two results: align culture and reputation,
and make sure engagement translates into trust:
1. Vision and values: for the company as
well as the society, the community and
people, shared vision and values.
2. Identification of stakeholders: through
vision and shared values.
3. Monitoring and balanced scorecards:
analysis of the situation and on-going
monitoring of non-financial indicators
included in the scorecard.
4. Improved organizational processes:
management of intangibles as an axis of
corporate growth and sustainability.
In order to achieve all this, Repsol has recently
implemented two action plans: one focused on
the internal culture and another on brand and
corporate reputation. Apart from that, the company
launched three new projects: risk analysis, digital
communication and incorporation of non-financial
indicators into the company’s balanced scorecard.
The internal culture plan makes an emphasis on the
company’s vision and values:
• Respect.
• Anticipation.
• Integrity.
• Responsibility.
• Transparency.
• Flexibility.
• Innovation.
The brand plan is focused on the following elements
of brand construction, expression and measurement:
• Strategy.
• Logo.
• Visual language.
• Communication.
• Measurement.
Idea and personality are the most emotional part
of the brand, while culture, vision, values and
attributes reflect the rational aspect of what Repsol
means for its stakeholders.
Social value vs. economic value
According to Rumina Dhalla, Porfessor at the
Guelph University (Canada), engagement that
leads to trust may be achieved by companies through
demonstrating their commitment to the creation
not only of economic value, but also social value.
Dhalla points to the fact that the social aspect
gives opportunity but is at the same time associated
with reputational risk, which should be measured,
evaluated and considered.
In fact, the CSR framework implies that a strong focus
on regulatory issues (legal compliance) and functional
issues (willingness to assume and develop social
commitments) results in stakeholders’ engagement.
In order to achieve a strong position in the
market, a company first has to legitimize its
intention to enter, operate and stay in this market.
This task comes before building reputation and
is accomplished through demonstrating the
willingness to create not only economic, but also
social value in the country. It is the company’s
“cover letter” and a gateway to legitimacy.
Graph 1: O’Higgins’s Stakeholder
Orientation Framework
Source: O’Higgins, 2009.
Normative
Low High
Instrumental High Pragmatic Engaged
Low Sceptical Idealistic
3. Insights & Trends 3
New Horizons and
Prospects in Strategic
Management of
Corporate Reputation
“Business
and social
commitments
that companies
undertake and
try to live up to
are a reflection
of this trend
which implies
that economic
results and the
social impact are
the two factors
that ultimately
determine the
reputation”
Gas Natural Fenosa operates in many countries
that face problems related to human rights and
the environment. That’s why the company always
evaluates the social impact of its investments into or
divestments from different communities, making sure
that all decisions related to extraction, distribution
or selling natural resources are well-grounded.
Such cases as the Bujagali power station in Uganda
are good examples of the idea that creation of
economic value can go hand in hand with creation
of social value. Before constructing the power
station, the company evaluated its potential
negative and positive impact on the area, and then
was able to develop a set of action plans that led the
company to achieve good scores in sustainability
indices, membership pride, ability to meet social
demands and attract new investments for the
company’s future activities.
Usually companies pay more attention to risk
monitoring and managing in their home markets than
in emerging and growing markets. However, according
to Professor Rumina Dhalla, risks in these new markets
are frequently higher, and an appropriate focus should
be adopted in order to avoid problems.
Conclusion: good business, good returns
“Doing good by being good” is a saying that accurately
captures the prevailing perspective and foreseeable
future for corporate reputation. Social commitments
that companies undertake and try to live up to is a
reflection of this trend which implies that alongside
economic results, the social impact is a factor that
determines ultimate brand value.
Antonio Fuertes, Director for Reputation and
Corporate Responsibility at Gas Natural Fenosa, says
that social pressure as well as various sustainability
indices,reputationrankingsandchanginginvestment
trends explain this new panorama, where activities
undertaken by a company should be beneficial both
for the company and the society.
Graph 2: Social Impact Assessment
Fuente: Antonio Fuertes, Gas Natural Fenosa, 7th International Conference on Corporate Reputation, Identity and Brand Reputation, 2013
Relevance for
business
The methodology: Based on Measuring Impact Method created by
the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
Perceived impact on the community +
High
Low
Skills and
training
Infraestructure
Electricity
Suppliers
Government
Taxes
Environmental
management
Work