Reducing Reputational Risk: Evaluating Stakeholder Salience and Prioritising Stakeholder Claims

Author(s)

Shaun Benn, University of Witwatersrand
Russell Abratt, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow
Nicola Kleyn, University of Pretoria

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Marketing Intelligence & Planning

ISSN

0263-4503

Publication Date

2016

Abstract/Excerpt

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to establish how executive managers in a South African organisation prioritise and manage reputational risks arising from stakeholder claims. The authors establish how corporate reputation and reputational risk fits into their decision making when considering stakeholder claims.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted in-depth interviews with the top management of a South African paint manufacture. They identified eight stakeholder claims and discussed how they assessed and addressed each one.

Findings

Respondents identified highly, moderate, and low salient claims. They reported on how they dealt with these different claims in terms of the attributes of power, legitimacy, and urgency.

Originality/value

This is an empirical theory-testing study of how managers deal with stakeholder claims. The authors establish how corporate reputation and reputational risk fits into their decision making when considering stakeholder claims. The authors suggest that managers must not only understand who their stakeholders are, but need to evaluate the impact of stakeholder claims in order to manage reputational risk.

DOI

10.1108/MIP-10-2015-0191

Volume

34

Issue

6

First Page

828

Last Page

842

NSUWorks Citation

Benn, Shaun; Abratt, Russell; and Kleyn, Nicola, "Reducing Reputational Risk: Evaluating Stakeholder Salience and Prioritising Stakeholder Claims" (2016). HCBE Faculty Articles. 898.
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hcbe_facarticles/898