Balancing acts: Managing employees and reputation in social media

• Published in: Journal of marketing management Vol. 30; no. 7-8; pp. 802 - 827
• Main Authors: Rokka, Joonas, Karlsson, Katariina, Tienari, Janne
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Helensburg Routledge 02.06.2014; Taylor & Francis Ltd; Westburn Publishers
• Subjects: branding; Brands; Business administration; Business reputation; corporate reputation; corporate reputation management; domain_shs.gestion.org; Employees; Humanities and Social Sciences; Management theory; Organizational behaviour; Priorities; Reputation management; Social media; Social networks; Studies; corporate reputation; corporate reputation management; employees; social media; branding
• ISSN: 0267-257X; 1472-1376
• DOI: 10.1080/0267257X.2013.813577

Although previous studies have shown that social-media platforms offer companies new ways to gain business value, they have also identified fundamental brand-related challenges in social media. The purpose of this paper is to complement the extant literature by addressing the ways in which companies manage their reputation in social media, focusing on the role of employees. We first illustrate how social-media environments amplify the need for distinct corporate reputation-management practices and, second, how challenges and solutions vary across companies in different sectors and businesses. We contribute to prior research by conceptualising corporate reputation management in social media as balancing acts, which take place in relation to different, contradictory, and sometimes paradoxical priorities related to branding and managing employees.