Managing the intangible: role of the communications function in corporate reputation work in public business-to-business companies

Objective of the Study The objective of this research was to study how the communications function is involved in building and managing corporate reputation in Finnish public business-to-business (B2B) companies, especially in the current, turbulent social media environment. The main research question of the study was: What is the role of the communications function in corporate reputation work in Finnish business-to-business companies? The main research question was approached with three sub-questions: (1) How do communications and human resources professionals perceive corporate reputation?, (2) What are the communications function’s tasks and responsibilities in reputation work?, and (3) How is social media used in the reputation work of business-to-business companies? Methodology and Theoretical Framework This study followed a qualitative research approach. Empirical data were gathered through 11 semi-structured thematic research interviews with communications and human resources (HR) professionals from six public B2B companies. HR was included in order to gain a more thorough view of the research topic. The theoretical framework of the study was constructed based on the research questions and previous literature. The framework illustrates how the communications function is involved in managing corporate reputation, especially in the online environment where reputation is continuously co-created and re-structured by the company and its stakeholders. Findings and Conclusions The findings of this study showed a strong emphasis on internal communication and employees’ significance in reputation work. Many companies had started employee ambassadorship programs to strengthen their reputation. Employer branding was also practiced, but the B2B companies did not actively try to engage their stakeholders online or monitor the social media environment. In light of the findings, communications’ role in reputation work seems to be to increase positive awareness of the company among stakeholders, manage issues effectively, and create favorable conditions for employees to be ambassadors of reputation. The findings suggest B2B companies’ reputation work should: (1) exploit employees’ work-related social media use, (2) increase social media monitoring and measuring, and (3) emphasize relationship building and stakeholder engagement online