The Role of Public Relations in Corporate Reputation Management

Abstract

This study examines how public relations (PR) functions generate and protect corporate reputation in contemporary, platformized media environments. Using a mixed-methods design that integrates quasi-experimental panel analyses, measurement modeling, distributional summaries, and qualitative thematic coding, we analyze a multi-industry, multi-region sample from 2019–2022. Quantitatively, PR capability exhibits significant direct effects on reputation and indirect effects via stakeholder trust and engagement, net of controls for firm size, ESG performance, media tone, ownership, and crisis exposure. Event-style and stratified analyses show that crises depress reputation but losses are smaller and recover faster for firms with institutionalized issues scanning, internal alignment, and corrective-action routines. Platform dynamics indicate that earned and shared channels amplify reputational gains when communication is timely, transparent, and behavior-backed, while owned channels stabilize messaging but require dialogic mechanisms to achieve resonance. Network evidence reveals that reputation leaders occupy central discursive positions by coupling thematic depth with representational inclusivity, thereby setting interpretive frames for their sectors. Qualitative findings clarify mechanisms—organizational listening, message integrity, and stakeholder co-creation—that explain heterogeneous effects across industries and ownership forms. Overall, results position PR as a strategic systems integrator that converts purpose and performance into durable reputation through credible narratives, measurable engagement, and governance discipline. Implications include investing in listening at scale, aligning PR with ESG and risk management, formalizing crisis playbooks with accountability triggers, and auditing outcomes with transparent metrics. Limitations and future work involve multimodal analytics, culturally situated ethnographies, and longer panels to track reputational afterlives.