Will Harvey, University of Bristol

A reputation can be damaged by a single mistake, or after months or even years of bad behaviour. Organisations may turn a blind eye to such behaviour by employees or business leaders, and sometimes it is tacitly enabled by a toxic culture that prioritises an end game – profits or “winning” – over people or planet.

In either case, research can tell us about the drivers of reputational loss, as well as how to rebuild a reputation, and ways to avoid damaging it in the first place. But while reputations can be protected, my research shows this shouldn’t happen at all costs – there is a dark side to reputation management that can, and should, be avoided.

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