While a Burson study has revealed that companies with the strongest reputations earned nearly five percent ‘Reputation Return’ in shareholder value, it also warns that a company’s treatment of its employees in the age of AI is identified as a significant threat — and opportunity — to its financial value.
According to the new study, corporate reputation now has measurable value: companies with strong reputations can realise as much as 4.78% in additional annual shareholder returns, creating a global “Reputation Economy” worth an estimated $7.07tr.
From a soft concept to hard asset
The research, The Global Reputation Economy: A New Asset Class for a New Era has successfully quantified the financial value of reputation, moving it from a soft concept to a hard asset.
The analysis found that among the companies studied, the magnitude of this “reputation return” could add anywhere from $2m to as much as $202bn in unexpected shareholder returns, above what would be expected strictly from standard financial performance metrics.
“For decades, leaders have known intuitively that reputation matters, but they’ve never been able to quantify it as a financial asset; now, we can,” says Corey duBrowa, global CEO, Burson.
“Our research shows that reputation is an interconnected system that, when rigorously managed, can yield billions in measurable returns, build resilience against shocks, and give leaders the confidence to make bold moves.
“A strong reputation that can deliver financial impact goes well beyond the simple binary of trust.”
The new reputational battleground: AI and the workplace
While reputation leaders excel across the board, the research identified the workplace as presenting both a significant opportunity and a challenge.
Though ranked lowest in terms of perceived importance (11%) among the eight drivers of reputation in the study, it showed a performance gap of 11.8% between the best and worst performing companies in the research.
The study warns that this gap may become a crisis for companies that mishandle the integration of artificial intelligence.
“Businesses must go beyond having an ‘AI strategy’ and create an ‘AI people strategy,’ because how they manage this transition will be a powerful statement about how they value their employees,” says Matt Reid, global corporate and public affairs lead, Burson, and USCEO, Burson Buchanan.
“Organisations that invest in reskilling their workforce and co-create the future with their people will earn a reputation dividend.
“Conversely, those that view AI merely as a tool for headcount reduction will pay a reputation tax, with any efficiency gains offset by reputational losses.”
Additional key findings
- Leaders leave no weak links
Top-performing companies dominate across all eight drivers of reputation, scoring an average of 11 to 15 points higher on each lever. The biggest advantages were seen in Innovation (15.5-point gap), Product (15.2-point gap) and Governance (14.4-point gap).
- A Counterintuitive Path to Recovery (Aerospace & Energy)
In sectors where the cost of failure is catastrophic, or for industries viewed as problematic, reputation is being rebuilt from the “inside out.” Two aerospace companies in the study saw the greatest reputation gains not from showcasing the superior engineering of their products but from focusing on operational integrity through Governance (+7.9%) and Workplace (+6.2%).
Similarly, the energy sector’s reputational gains are coming from a focus on Workplace (+0.9%) and Citizenship (+0.9%), not just sustainability narratives.
- Finance sector’s multi-billion-dollar erosionThe study noted a consistent decline in the Finance sector across Leadership (-24%) Governance (-11%) and Citizenship (-15%). For the companies analysed, this erosion puts $4.3bn in reputational value — 38% of their total reputational value of $11.4bn — at direct risk.
“Our research proves that the historical models for studying reputation were at best static and at worst not actionable,” duBrowa continues.
“Reputation is organic and constantly evolving, so with a clear understanding of which components of reputation are strong or require action, businesses can focus with precision on predicting and influencing the forces that drive perception and fuel financial outcomes.”
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