Corporate communication in times of crisis

Corporate communication in times of crisis

The current financial crisis has severely damaged reputations of corporations and individuals. Monetary fortunes have been lost, increasing numbers of people have been laid off. What can be done to mitigate reputation damage? What lessons can be learned from academic research? What are the visions of representatives of leading global firms on how to maintain a sound reputation? To answer these questions, the Reputation Institute, in cooperation with the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, organizes a large conference on the topics of corporate communication, brand, identity and competitiveness, to be held in Amsterdam from May 28 to May 30, 2009.

Entitled ‘Ensuring Business Continuity through Impactful Reputation Management’, this year’s conference will present best practices and leading academic research on topics such as: How do we restore trust between top management and external and internal stakeholders? Is sustainability sustainable in times of crises? How do we handle internal conflicts from a reputation management point of view? What is the role of country reputation in creating competitive advantage? What are the newest developments in identity research and how does this help managers in the area of reputation? What are the newest developments in reputation risk assessment? Companies like Philips, Shell, AkzoNobel, Eneco, SAP, Telefónica, PetroBraz and Kraft as well as academics like Professor Geert Hofstede, Professor Charles Fombrun and Professor Marlena Fiol will give their insights to these questions.

Cees van Riel, Professor of Corporate Communication at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and Director of the Corporate Communication Center is the organizer of this conference. He says: “Aimed at an audience of professionals and researchers in the domain of corporate communication, this year’s conference covers a subject that currently is of the utmost importance to each and every company – from the management team to all communicators.”

For all details and to register, go to the RSM website

See for more information:

Marianne Schouten, Media & Public Relations Manager for RSM,
+31 (0)10 408 2877 or E-mail: mschouten@remove-this.rsm.nl