Corporate Reputation: A Conceptual Review and a Sample from Tourism Sector

Öz

The concept of corporate reputation undoubtedly concerns all corporations of any size – small or large – and from any sector. Diverse disciplines such as economics, communication, business administration, accounting, marketing, sociology, and strategic management all have their own perspectives for the concept of reputation. Having different perspectives for the concept makes it difficult to measure it clearly because before measuring, it is required to define the concept in a clear way and present its scope. This article first covers the definitions of the concept of corporate reputation, the perspectives of different disciplines for the concept, and the theories associated with the concept. Thereafter, diverse scales developed to measure corporate reputation are cited chronologically with the studies stating the lacking parts of those scales with a view to exhibiting the progress in this field. In order to provide a tangible sample in terms of the implementations that could be for the benefit of corporate reputation, the Private Sector Commitment implementation launched in 2011 by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in tourism sector has also been briefly included in the article which concluded with the evaluations and suggestions about the topic. The reason for choosing tourism sector as a sample in the article is its important role in the reputations of countries through its international dimension. That tourism sector helps narrowing foreign exchange gap in the countries suffering from it like Türkiye is another point indicating the significance of the sector and its international dimension. It is believed that having more signatories from Türkiye to the Commitment indicated in this paper will make a positive contribution to the country’s reputation and ensure more visitors and foreign currency to the country. In the article, which intends to present a compiled source for all concerned, instead of the concepts of firm, business, company, etc., the concept of corporation is used as it is more comprehensive even when referring to a profit-oriented company—except Turkish direct quotations and statements in the scales.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Corporate Reputation
• Corporate Reputation Measurement
• The Reputation QuotientSM
• The RepTrak® System
• Corporate Social Performance/Responsibility (CSP/CSR)
• UNWTO Private Sector Commitment

Kurumsal İtibar: Kavramsal Bir İnceleme ve Turizm Sektöründen Bir Örnek

Öz

Kurumsal itibar kavramı, hiç şüphesiz küçük–büyük her ölçekten ve her sektörden tüm kurumları ilgilendiren bir kavramdır. İtibar kavramına ekonomi, iletişim, işletme yönetimi, muhasebe, pazarlama, sosyoloji ve stratejik yönetim gibi farklı disiplinlerce farklı bakış açıları getirilmiştir. Kavrama yönelik farklı bakış açılarının olması, onun net bir biçimde ölçümünü güçleştirmektedir çünkü bir ölçüm yapılmadan önce kavramın net bir biçimde tanımının yapılarak kapsamının ortaya koyulması gerekmektedir. Bu makalede öncelikle kurumsal itibar kavramı tanımlarına, farklı disiplinlerin kavrama bakışına ve kavramla ilişkili teorilere yer verilmiştir. Sonrasında, kurumsal itibarı ölçmek adına geliştirilen çeşitli ölçekler, kronolojik sırayla ve bu ölçeklerin eksik kaldığı yönleri belirten çalışmalarla aktarılarak bu alandaki gelişim gösterilmek istenmiştir. Kurumsal itibar yararına olabilecek uygulamalar bakımından somut bir örnek sağlamak amacıyla Birleşmiş Milletler Dünya Turizm Örgütünün (BMDTÖ) turizm sektöründe 2011 yılında başlattığı Özel Sektör Taahhüdü uygulamasına da kısaca yer verilen makale, konuyla ilgili değerlendirmeler ve öneriler ile sonuçlandırılmıştır. Makalede örnek olarak turizm sektörünün seçilmesinin nedeni, sektörün özellikle uluslararası boyutu ile ülkelerin itibarında önemli bir role sahip olmasıdır. Turizm sektörünün Türkiye gibi döviz açığı olan ülkelerde bu açığı gidermeye yardımcı olması da sektörün ve uluslararası boyutunun önemini gösteren başka bir husustur. Bu çalışmada işaret edilen Taahhüdün Türkiye’den daha fazla kurum tarafından imzalanmasının ülkenin itibarına olumlu bir katkı yapacağı ve ülkeye daha fazla ziyaretçinin ve dövizin gelmesini sağlayacağı düşünülmektedir. İlgililere derleme bir kaynak sunmak istenen makalede firma, işletme, şirket vb. kavramlar yerine daha kapsayıcı bir kavram olduğundan örneğin kâr amaçlı bir organizasyondan bahsederken de –Türkçe doğrudan alıntılar ve ölçeklerdeki ifadeler hariç olmak üzere– kurum kavramı kullanılmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Kurumsal İtibar
• Kurumsal İtibar Ölçümü
• İtibar Oranı Ölçeği
• RepTrak® Sistemi
• Kurumsal Sosyal Performans/Sorumluluk (KSP/KSS)
• BMDTÖ Özel Sektör Taahhüdü

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