Stakeholder engagement to replace traditional activities in Reputation Management System: insights from Ukrainian food processing companies

In contemporary society, corporate communications are becoming an increasingly important and significant component of management. This field includes not only building an external and internal image of a company but also interacting with stakeholders and achieving business aims. This research aims to define the potential and features of company’s top officials (owners, CEOs, presidents, and other top managers) involvement in corporate communications and representing a business. It is based on the content analysis of corporate websites of the first 100 international companies from the Forbes list. The study demonstrated that most (62%) world successful firms involve their owners, CEOs, and top managers in corporate communications as speakers. At the same time, business owners appear on corporate websites less often (only 2%). CEOs engage in such communications in 47% of cases. Most often, other authorized representatives are speakers of companies (51%). A descriptive analysis of topics helped to distinguish the most common types of texts: formal ideological speeches, corporate news, corporate blog texts, and personalized corporate storytelling. Most texts are posted on corporate websites in the News chapter (28%). This suggests that news as a genre may be the most appropriate form of communication on behalf of management. Thus, some recommendations are proposed regarding the participation of top officials as speakers. From a practical point of view, companies can be guided by the outcomes of this research when deciding to engage their leaders in corporate communications.

This study investigates the role of brand loyalty in South African banking. More specifically, the study identifies brand loyalty factors in South Africa’s banking industry. Brand loyalty can significantly impact a bank’s competitiveness. Loyal customers do not switch banks and use more banking products; this earns a better income for a bank in the long run (such as home loans). The study’s primary aim is to identify factors of brand loyalty in South African banks. Data were gathered from South African banking customers using a Google Forms digitized format questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale. More than 1,000 questionnaires were distributed, and 150 completed questionnaires were returned (representing a 15% response rate). The results show that the data are suitable for multivariate analysis. It has an adequate sample (Kaiser, Meyer and Olkin measure > 0.70), acceptable sphericity (p ≤ 0.05), and satisfactory reliability (α ≥ 0.70). The exploratory factor analysis identified four factors explaining a cumulative variance of 55%. These factors are: 1) customer service and satisfaction (34%); 2) negative publicity (7.5%); 3) regulatory compliance and trust (7.1%); and 4) trust and reputation (6.5%). South African bank managers can use the results to focus their brand loyalty strategies on their quest to be more competitive to face the strong competition in the banking industry.

Insurers’ understanding of reputation importance is a key factor of their successful performance at the market. It particularly concerns life insurance sector, which has a significant development potential in Ukraine.
The article aims at deepening scientific and practical essentials concerning the formation of life insurance companies’ reputation in conditions of market competition aggravation and insurance market conjuncture volatility.
Based on ranking assessments used in Ukraine (Insurance Top, Mind, “My insurance agent” and the ranking of the corporate reputation management quality “REPUTATIONAL ACTIVists”), the need for ensuring the insurers’ reputation stability in conditions of acute competition at the market was substantiated. The results of financial statements analysis and corporate governance reporting of insurance companies ASKA-LIFE, TAS, KD Life, PZU Ukraine, UNIQA Life, MetLife were presented. It was substantiated that, within studying the life insurance companies’ reputation, along with main financial indicators, there is a need to analyze in details such indicators as insurance premiums and investment income for one insured from savings life insurance, average payments, current accounts payable, etc.
It was proved that for reputation capital development, it is worth strengthening the role of corporate social responsibility, and to consider insurance companies’ assessment on the part of clients and employees who are brand advocates and affect the companies’ reputation formation.