News and corporate reputation: Empirical findings from the Netherlands

This article examines the influence of business news on corporate reputation. A panel survey was used to measure the reputations of six companies and two professional sectors. Media coverage was analyzed by focusing on the tone of two different types of news. News about the successes of the companies – such as higher profits – improved their reputations. In addition, some companies’ reputation improved the more they were criticized by their competitors in the news. It is argued on basis of these empirical findings that the reputation of the party attacking a company in the news is crucial in determining its influence on the reputation of the besieged company.