Corey duBrowa | Global CEO | Burson | mail me |
Corporate reputation now carries measurable value. Companies with strong reputations can realise as much as 4.78% in additional annual shareholder returns. This creates a global ‘reputation economy’ worth an estimated $7.07 trillion, according to our landmark new study.
The research, “The Global Reputation Economy: A New Asset Class for a New Era,” has successfully quantified the financial value of reputation. It moves reputation from a soft concept to a hard asset.
Reputation modelled
The analysis found that among the companies studied, the magnitude of this “reputation return” could add anywhere from $2 million to $202 billion in unexpected shareholder returns. This is 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.
Our research shows that reputation is an interconnected system. When rigorously managed, it can yield billions in measurable returns, build resilience against shocks, and give leaders the confidence to make bold moves.
A strong reputation that delivers financial impact goes well beyond the simple binary of trust. This $7 trillion ‘reputation economy’ study demonstrates how companies can harness reputation strategically to drive shareholder value and long-term resilience.
The new reputational battleground – AI and the workplace
While reputation leaders excel across the board, the research identified the workplace as both a significant opportunity and a challenge. Although it ranked lowest in 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.
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. How they manage this transition will send a powerful message about how they value their employees.
– Matt Reid, Global Corporate and Public Affairs Lead, Burson, and U.S. CEO, Burson Buchanan
Additional key findings
Organisations that invest in reskilling their workforce and co-create the future with their people will earn a reputation dividend. Conversely, companies that treat AI merely as a tool for headcount reduction will pay a reputation tax. Any efficiency gains will be offset by reputational losses.
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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 in Innovation (15.5-point gap), Product (15.2-point gap) and Governance (14.4-point gap).
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A counterintuitive path to recovery (aerospace & energy)
In sectors where failure carries catastrophic costs, reputation is being rebuilt from the “inside out.” Two aerospace companies in the study saw the greatest gains not from showcasing superior engineering but from focusing on operational integrity through Governance (+7.9%) and Workplace (+6.2%). Similarly, the energy sector’s reputational gains come from a focus on Workplace (+0.9%) and Citizenship (+0.9%), not solely sustainability narratives.
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Finance sector’s multi-billion-dollar erosion
The study noted a consistent decline in the Finance sector across Leadership (-24%), Governance (-11%), and Citizenship (-15%). For the companies analysed, this erosion puts $4.3 billion in reputational value — 38% of their total reputational value of $11.4 billion — at direct risk.
In conclusion
Our research proves that historical models for studying reputation were, at best, static and at worst, not actionable. Reputation is organic and constantly evolving.
With a clear understanding of which components are strong or require action, businesses can focus precisely on predicting and influencing the forces that drive perception and fuel financial outcomes. This $7 trillion study reinforces the tangible financial stakes of reputation management and the critical role of strategic employee engagement, especially in the AI era.
