A stage to engage: Social media use and corporate reputation

• Consumers' social media use is positively related to online company engagement.
• This relation goes for all consumers, but especially for customers.
• Consumers' online company engagement is positively related to corporate reputation.
• This relation applies to all consumers, but in particular to non-customers.
• The implications for social media policies in the tourism industry are discussed.

Corporate reputation is a valuable intangible asset for companies, yet is increasingly difficult to manage in an era with hard-to-control online conversations. In this paper, we investigate whether and when a company's online activities to acquire engaged consumers are beneficial for corporate reputation. In a survey among 3531 customers and non-customers of an international airline, we measured consumers' engagement in the airline's social media activities and perception of corporate reputation. Results show that consumers' intensity of social media use is positively related to their engagement in the airline's social media activities, especially among customers. Engagement in the social media activities in turn is positively related to corporate reputation, especially among non-customers. We discuss the implications of the results for social media policies in the travel and tourism industry.