ABSTRACT With 121 losses in 2024, the Chicago White Sox set an unwanted record for the most losses in a single Major League Baseball season. Team owner Jerry Reinsdorf wrote a letter apologizing to fans following the season, including additional attempts at image repair. The increasing availability of artificial intelligence (AI) raises unique questions concerning how apology messages ought to be generated and how effective such messages are with disgruntled fans. To determine if the real message from Reinsdorf was effective, we generated a similar apology using AI. Fans were randomly assigned to read the real message from Reinsdorf, one generated by AI, or a no message/control condition. Results of this experiment did not reveal significant differences across the three conditions – in fan perceptions of organizational reputation, intention to purchase season tickets, or intentions to subscribe to cable and streaming services carrying the games. Follow-up social media analysis indicated strong negative sentiment directed specifically at Reinsdorf, which abets the claim that a tainted communicator may not be effective regardless of how well the message is crafted, making the lack of significant differences an important finding. Discussion of the results, given the purpose of Reinsdorf’s letter, applies image restoration theory to explain the case, and we offer a new method for resolving social media sentiment analysis ambiguity.

The security profession is increasingly required to address complex, high-consequence risks that span people, operations, information and organisational reputation. These challenges often exceed the experience and resources of individual practitioners. To be effective, chief security officers (CSOs) must operate fluently across functional boundaries to ensure organisational resilience and effective recovery. Many security professionals enter the field from foundational careers without structured pathways for development, and the sector lacks clear hierarchies, competency expectations and organisational positioning. At the same time, security work now includes a range of specialist subdisciplines dealing with diverse and interconnected risks. CSOs and their teams must demonstrate business value and develop multidimensional, transdisciplinary competence, addressing skills gaps by drawing on methods and practices from adjacent fields. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.

Under increasing competitive pressure in the global market, companies are increasingly implementing relationship marketing strategies to establish long-term and profitable customer relationships. At the same time, the sports industry is experiencing rapid growth, while sports marketing is emerging as a distinct and specialized discipline within the broader field of marketing. Like other market-oriented organizations, sports associations and clubs apply membership models as a key relationship marketing tool to foster long-term, profitable relationships with customers and supporters. This study examines the factors influencing member satisfaction, differences in attitudes and behavior between members and non-members, and the factors affecting members’ identification with the organization. The research was conducted among fans of the Croatian football club Hajduk, including both members and non-members. Data were collected through a questionnaire distributed online and in person. The results indicate that member satisfaction is influenced more strongly by members’ involvement in the club’s operations than by the first team’s on-field performance. Furthermore, members are significantly larger consumers of club products than non-members and demonstrate a higher likelihood of long-term purchasing behavior. The findings also reveal a positive direct relationship between member identification and organizational satisfaction, organizational reputation, frequency of contact with the organization, and satisfaction with the benefits provided to members.

Consequent on the extent of inimical externalities from corporate entities among global economies, the business stakeholders’ strictly demand for sustainability reporting outcome to assess the business sustainability performance, transparency and legitimacy. Therefore, this study examines the effects of sustainability performance reporting on the financial performance of quoted manufacturing companies in Nigeria. Community development cost disclosure, employee healthcare cost disclosure and environmental protection cost disclosure are the dimensions of the predictor variable while return on assets measures financial performance. Ex post Facto Research design was employed for the study. Specific econometric models were designed to extract data by content analysis for a period of 2010 - 2024. Panel regression analysis techniques with the aid E-views were employed to estimate the residuals of the econometric models for multi-year period on audited annual reports of the quoted manufacturing firms. The findings show that reporting community development expenses has a favourable impact on return on assets. Similarly, disclosure of employee healthcare costs has a positive and statistically significant effect on return on assets, while disclosure of environmental protection costs has a positive coefficient but is statistically insignificant, implying that investments in sustainability performance reporting stimulate the patronage and engagement of stakeholders in manufacturing firms, but the long-run effect is industry specific. The study indicates that investing in sustainability performance reporting reduces regulatory risks, improves the reputation and brand image of organizations, and maintains market trust in dealing with the social contract to achieve financial performance. It is recommended that manufacturing business management incorporate sustainability performance reporting into the corporate reporting framework because it increases return on assets, ensures long-term competitive advantage, reduces regulatory risks, and maintains public trust through stakeholder involvement. Furthermore, regulatory bodies should develop a sustainability reporting index for the manufacturing industry to promote comparative reporting. Incentives such as tax credits or green finance might be used by institutions to encourage acceptable behaviour. The Nigerian manufacturing industry proved that sustainability performance reporting does not just to drive operational costs, but also serve as a strategic financial performance lever, assisting in the development of a competitive reputation, risk mitigation, and stakeholder expectations.

ABSTRACT In June 2022, Kappa Delta Headquarters experienced a public relations paracrisis following its refusal to engage in conversations surrounding the Dobbs v. Jackson decision. Discourse surrounding the Supreme Court’s decision was especially relevant to Kappa Delta Sorority, as Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett is an active alumna. We analyzed 1998 Instagram comments on all posts made by Kappa Delta Headquarters between June 24, 2022, and August 24, 2022. Through inductive analysis, we identified three key themes within the data. We find that by ignoring the Dobbs decision and its stakeholders’ calls for the sorority to engage with them in some meaningful way, Kappa Delta Headquarters found itself at a unique intersection between corporate social advocacy and crisis communications. This study advances strategic communication scholarship by demonstrating that stakeholder comments on social media provide valuable feedback that can shape communicators’ decisions about silence, engagement, and advocacy. Our findings offer practical insights for communication practitioners who must balance organizational values, stakeholder expectations, and reputation management in controversial situations, demonstrating that strategic silence can work as a short-term solution but may threaten long-term organizational reputation.

ABSTRACT Co-production is a crucial mechanism for implementing public policy and enhancing service delivery, heavily relying on citizen participation. However, the influence of organizational reputation—an intangible asset in the public sector—on citizens’ willingness to engage in co-production remains underexplored. This study introduces organizational identification as a mediator and self-efficacy as a moderator to examine this relationship. Using a two-experiment design, the findings reveal: (1) citizens show a higher willingness to co-produce with public organizations that possess a positive reputation; (2) organizational reputation influences co-production willingness both directly and indirectly through organizational identification; (3) self-efficacy moderates this effect, with higher self-efficacy linked to greater willingness. This study expands the theoretical understanding of co-production and offers practical insights for fostering citizen engagement in public service.

In the context of reputation of large corporate organisations, accumulating time series of sentiment values provides an illuminating view of company performance that is not reflected in the balance sheet. Calculating cumulative sentiment enables a risk manager to see 'at a glance' whether the sentiment trend is positive or negative in cases where daily sentiment varies considerably. Using a large data set, a power law and a lookup table are developed so that the sentiment trend of an organisation can be compared with those of other organisations without any knowledge of those others. The resulting decision rule is easy to apply. Its strength lies in its simplicity. Significantly, the linear nature of most cumulative sentiment plots imply that it is very difficult to reverse sentiment direction.

This study investigates how emotional mirroring—the ability of service providers to reflect and respond empathetically to customers’ emotions—affects service recovery performance within the airline industry in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The research explores both managerial and financial implications, providing insights into how emotional attunement can strengthen recovery efforts after service failures. Using a quantitative approach with survey data from employees and managers of regional airlines, the study employs regression analysis to test the relationships among emotional mirroring, customer satisfaction, and recovery effectiveness. The results indicate that emotional mirroring significantly enhances service recovery outcomes and explains a substantial portion of the variance in customer satisfaction levels. Furthermore, the study identifies the managerial importance of integrating emotional intelligence training into employee development programs. Findings highlight that emotional mirroring is not only a psychological skill but also a strategic tool that supports organizational reputation and profitability. The study contributes to both theory and practice by emphasizing the critical role of emotional responsiveness in improving customer trust and post-failure loyalty.

ABSTRACT This study examines how the reputation of Christian churches is configured, and which sociodemographic variables and experiences (personal or mediated) relate to it. It provides in‐depth insights into how the Swiss population evaluates Roman Catholic, Reformed Protestant, and Evangelical churches on the basis of various theories, such as organizational reputation, media, and social identity theories, embedded in a religious sociological context. Data from representative online surveys conducted in 2022 and 2023 show that perceived identity and attractiveness are the most critical factors for a general organizational reputation in a religious context. The results show that online and offline news media significantly influence the reputation formation of the Roman Catholic Church. However, social media has a less significant influence on churches in general. They also show that Protestants and Catholics rate each other better than Evangelicals, and religiosity is the most decisive factor in rating churches favorably.

The study is intended to explore the motivating forces and the dynamics behind the development of competitive advantage in markets characterized by rapid change focusing on the aspects of innovation, organizational reputation, and supply chain resilience. Utilizing bibliometric analysis of 1,944 papers from 1993 to 2023, it identifies trends, popular research areas, and future directions in emerging markets. Key findings highlight green innovation as a prominent topic and summarize eight determinants of competitive advantage. The research also suggests independent innovation capacity and green subsidizing as critical areas for further exploration. Overall, the study provides meaningful contributions for academics, decision-makers, and practitioners by shedding light on the present dynamics of competitive advantage and outlining avenues for future research.

To test the impact of anti-corruption measures, human resource effectiveness, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the sustainability of economic institutions. To test the study's hypotheses, we used data from 45 institutions listed on the Gulf and Iraqi stock exchanges, covering the period from 2014 to 2022. We applied the generalized method of moments (GMM) and Bayesian methods for a more thorough analysis of the results. The study revealed that human resource effectiveness—in terms of skills, training, and engagement—is a key factor in preventing manifestations of institutional corruption. Furthermore, it indicated that the systematic and sustainable implementation of CSR programs contributes to improving an organization's reputation, increasing employee retention, and optimizing performance—all of which directly enhance sustainability. This study uniquely tests the importance of human resource effectiveness and corporate social responsibility (including environmental, social, and governance aspects) in preventing corruption and achieving sustainability using artificial intelligence.

Competition in acquiring young talent is increasing, so employer branding strategies are an important element for organizations in attracting the interest of generation Z. As digital natives, generation Z has different characteristics and expectations, including the need for career development, work-life balance, organizational reputation, and an inclusive work culture (Smith, 2022). In the midst of global competition and the increasingly dominant use of digital technology in the job search process, companies are required to build an authentic and relevant employer image in order to increase the attractiveness of their talents. Previous research has shown that employer branding has a significant effect on the interest in applying for jobs for generation Z, either directly or through mediating factors such as organizational reputation and person-organization fit (Backhaus & Tikoo, 2004; Jiang & Iles, 2024). Based on this phenomenon, this study aims to analyze the influence of employer branding on the interest in applying for jobs of Generation Z and examine the role of organizational reputation and person organization fit as a mediation variable. The study used a quantitative approach with a survey method of Generation Z respondents who were looking for a job, then analyzed using multiple regression and bootstrapping mediation test. The results of the study show that employer branding has a positive and significant effect on the interest in applying for jobs for generation Z, and this influence is stronger when the reputation of the organization and the person-organization fit plays the role of mediator. These findings affirm the importance for organizations to build a positive image, provide an inclusive work culture, and highlight the value match between companies and applicants in order to be able to compete in the fight for young talent in the digital era.

ABSTRACT This article presents a novel integration of two theoretical concepts traditionally examined and applied separately in policing scholarship: feminist ethics of care and organisational justice. Drawing from pioneering empirical work on online harms management in UK police organisations, we analyse 52 interviews with managerial personnel from four partner forces to problematise the emphasis on organisational reputation in online harms management. By applying a feminist ethics of care lens, we theorise and demonstrate how care-based principles, such as attentiveness, relationality, and contextual responsiveness, can underpin organisationally just management strategies in practice. We propose embedding networks of care structures and dependencies within police organisations and advancing a politics of care to enhance perceptions of organisational justice among police personnel, while ensuring managerial officers are supported in and through their care relations. This theoretical integration offers new visions and actionable approaches to care which empowers police personnel and potentially translates into wider public good through more democratic policing. Our policy-oriented recommendations for online harms management are generalisable to international policing contexts and other public-facing professions beyond policing.

The significant decline in the number of new student enrollments at several private universities in Indonesia, as reported by PDDIKTI and LLDIKTI in 2025, poses a major challenge to the sustainability of institutional reputation and existence. Amid increasingly intense competition especially with the growing number of State Universities with Legal Entity Status (PTNBH) organizational reputation has become a strategic asset that must be carefully managed. This study aims to examine the influence of organizational communication competence on the reputation of private universities, while also investigating the moderating role of University Managerial Intelligence (UMI) in strengthening this relationship. A quantitative approach was employed using a survey method to 178 institutions, involving managerial staff and university leaders from selected private universities in East Java. Data analysis was conducted using Stuctural Equation Models (PLS-SEM) to assess whether UMI enhances the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. The results indicate that organizational communication competence has a significant effect on institutional reputation. Moreover, UMI not only directly influences reputation but also positively moderates the relationship between communication competence and reputation. This means that the higher the managerial intelligence of university leaders, the stronger the influence of organizational communication on public perceptions of the institution. These findings offer important implications for strategic management within private higher education institutions, particularly in improving leadership capacity and organizational communication effectiveness. The study also underscores the importance of developing managerial competencies rooted in strategic intelligence to enhance competitiveness and ensure the sustainability of private university reputations in the evolving landscape of higher education in Indonesia.

The impact of leadership and trust on organisational reputation in the public sector of Jordan

The impact of leadership and trust on organisational reputation in the public sector of Jordan

This study explores the Javanese philosophical concept of mikul dhuwur mendem jero and its relevance to accounting professional ethics in contemporary practice. The phrase, literally meaning "to carry high and bury deep," represents a profound cultural value emphasizing the protection of family honor and organizational reputation while protecting sensitive information, historically guiding interpersonal relationships and social conduct in Javanese society. Through semi-structured interviews of Javanese accountants across diverse sectors (public accountants, management accountants, accountant educator and syariah accountants) in Central Java and Yogyakarta, this research demonstrates how local wisdom can enhance professional conduct, particularly in ethical decision-making, integrity practices, and organizational loyalty.

This study examines the mechanisms through which perceived organizational injustice influences employees’ engagement in negative megaphoning behaviors, with mediating roles of perceived incivility and organizational identification. Data were collected through a structured survey administered to 350 full-time employees working in various organizations across the Punjab region of Pakistan. The data were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS, employing structural equation modeling to test the proposed relationships. The findings indicate that employees’ perceptions of interactional, distributive, and procedural injustice heighten experiences of workplace incivility, which subsequently increase the likelihood of negative megaphoning directed toward both internal and external audiences. Moreover, organizational injustice weakens employees’ organizational identification, reducing their psychological attachment to the organization and further encouraging the dissemination of negative information. These results highlight how unfair treatment not only deteriorates interpersonal workplace relations but also undermines employees’ willingness to protect organizational reputation. By integrating organizational justice, workplace incivility, and social identification perspectives, this study advances understanding of the psychological pathways linking injustice to harmful informal communication behaviors. Practically, the findings emphasize the importance of fair procedures, respectful interactions, and the cultivation of strong organizational identification to mitigate negative employee communication and promote healthier employee–organization relationships.

Background: The Japanese concept of Ikigai, which includes something one loves, is good at, the world needs, and something one is able to get paid for, is extensively argued in research on well-being, career satisfaction, and mental health, but not so extensively in the practice of public relations or communication. Objective: The research examined how practitioners perceive Ikigai concerning its effect on their work/personal life (job satisfaction, work-life balance, productivity) and organisational communication outcomes (genuineness, stakeholder involvement, reputation, corporate identity). Methods: A descriptive analytical study was undertaken. 121 Saudi Arabian public relations practitioners were sampled purposively and surveyed via a cross-sectional survey. Data were provided by participants using a structured questionnaire with 5-point Likert-scale items to measure the personal/practical and public relation/organisational dimensions, and then they were analysed through descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations). Results: Both statements showed very high mean scores (well above ~4.60 on a 5-point scale) and low standard deviations, indicative of strong and uniform agreement. Top ratings were given to honesty/authenticity of communication, reinforcement of corporate identity, and facilitating improvement in work-life balance. Conclusions: Findings suggest that Ikigai is commonly believed to be very relevant not only to individual happiness and fulfilment but also to essential public relations success like authentic communication, stakeholder trust, and organisational reputation. Originality: The study touched on Ikigai in public relations, an aspect that is not well-tapped in Ikigai studies, which have hitherto focused on health, ageing, vocation selection, and hospitality.

This study develops a practice-relevant theory explaining why some information technology (IT) unavailability incidents lead to severe and prolonged organizational consequences. By redefining IT unavailability as unmet demand for IT resources rather than simple system downtime, the paper shows how disruptions cascade through information capacity deficits and business capacity deficits, ultimately impairing critical services, affecting clients, and damaging organizational reputation. An analysis of 28 real-world IT unavailability incidents reveals that three reinforcing feedback loops (IT inertia, information inertia, and business inertia) can intensify service disruption, delay recovery, and amplify downstream impacts.