The Term 'Reputation Management : ' Users, Uses and the Trademark Tradeoff Corporate Reputation: An Eight-Country Analysis

Reputation management is a relatively new professional service provided to corporations. The use of the term was investigated on websites during October 1999 March 2000. Among US firms in the Reputation Institute and the Council of Public Relations Firms, the term was common but not universal in either group. This sample was supplemented by searching the web using the term 'reputation management.' A variety of firms offered reputation management services, including software companies, accountancies, and law firms, but only nine were from outside the USA. Reputation management appeared to integrate many other services, such as investor relations, public relations, and so on. Many firms offered trademarked services. The competitive benefit of trademarking such a complex professional service is debated. A global association could expand this investigation to non-US and non-English language contexts where similar services are offered under other names