For decades, leaders knew reputation mattered but couldn't put a dollar value on it. Now, we can.
Burson’s study of 66 publicly traded companies, The Global Reputation Economy: A New Asset Class, revealed that the magnitude of “Reputation Return” could add anywhere from $2 million to as much as $202 billion in unexpected shareholder returns, above what would be expected strictly from standard financial performance metrics.
- The finding: Strong reputation delivers a nearly 5% "Reputation Return" in unexpected shareholder value, beyond what financial models would predict.
- The scale: Applied globally, this creates a $7.07 trillion Reputation Economy across publicly traded companies worldwide.
The research also unveiled a critical blindspot: Workplace reputation ranked lowest in executives' perceived priorities at just 11% yet showed an 11.8% gap between the best and worst performing companies in the study. In today’s age of AI, this oversight could prove costly—companies need an "AI people strategy," not just an "AI strategy." Organizations using AI primarily for headcount reduction will see efficiency gains eroded by reputational damage.
Access the full report and discover how reputation can be transformed from an abstract concept into a strategic tool for decision-making.
