Corporate reputation, stakeholders and the social performance‐financial performance relationship

Purpose – To increase understanding of the role of reputation in the corporate social performance (CSP) and financial performance (FP) relationship, including contingencies. Design/methodology/approach – Stakeholder theory is drawn on to present a model of reputation's role in the contingent CSP‐FP relationship. Findings – CSP is affected by stakeholders' resource allocation to the organisation. This allocation is based on stakeholders' assessment of the organisation's reputation relative to stakeholders' particular expectations, which may be instrumentally and/or normatively framed. Reputation, therefore, plays a key role in the CSP‐FP relationship. Additionally, the authors propose that the equivocal results of previous research into the CSP‐FP relationship may be partly explained by organisational and market contingencies. Specifically, the authors contend that strategic fit, competitive intensity and reputation management capability moderate the CSP‐FP relationship. Research limitations/implications – Empirical measurement issues and future research directions are discussed. Originality/value – This paper increases the understanding of the role of reputation in the CSP‐FP relationship. Owing to its rich pedigree in research in corporate branding and reputation, marketing is uniquely positioned to contribute toward the better understanding of this issue.