The Fortune Corporate 'Reputation' Index: Reputation for What?

Abstract

This study examines competing measurement models of the Fortune reputation data and argues that, for research purposes, its usefullness is limited to measuring the extent to which a firm is perceived as striving for financial goals. The generalizability of this conclusion is evaluated and past research studies purporting to have measured other constructs ( e.g., social responsibility, quality, stakeholder orientation ) are revisited.