ABSTRACT
The management of corporate image may be best accomplished when it is done in the line of stakeholder management. A superior corporate image, which is an intangible asset, is an important source of strategic competitive advantage, enhancing the long-term ability of a corporation to create value (Caves & Porter, 1977). Although resources such as technological leadership may be short-lived due to successive generations of innovation, favorable corporate image can be extremely long-lived. Most of the successful companies have maintained high-quality reputations over a long period of time. A superior corporate image provides the firm with advantages that may lead to positive results in several domains, such as pricing concessions by suppliers, improved employee morale, reduced risk for investors, increased strategic flexibility, and, not least, enhanced financial performance (Fombrun, 1996; Fombrun & Shanley, 1996). Furthermore, positive corporate image invites profitable marketing opportunities and increases the market value of the firm (Chauvin & Hirschey, 1994; Miles & Covin, 2000).
