Sure, inclusion on some “Best Companies to Work For” list can bag some nice headlines for a business. Nowadays, however, a sterling reputation brings far more than good publicity: It adds a tremendous boost to shareholder value, and even to a company’s bottom line.
According to a 1998 study by The Conference Board, for example, companies with reputable brands experienced an average annual stock price increase of 20.1 percent, while companies that ranked lowest suffered an average annual decline of 1.9 percent. Research commissioned by United Technologies last year attributed 27 percent of the company’s market capitalization to intangibles like reputation.
