Antecedents of internal corporate reputation: The case of a Colombian Savings and Credit Cooperative

Abstract

Building a corporate reputation begins from within organizations because when a business develops a favorable internal reputation can drive positive word of mouth dynamics from internal stakeholders. However, there is still little empirical evidence regarding the identification of the determining factors of internal corporate reputation in the Social and Solidarity Economy Sector. Therefore, this study aims to identify the antecedents of corporate reputation from the perspective of internal interest groups in four sections of a Colombian Savings and Credit Cooperative. To achieve the purpose, a qualitative study was carried out, in which seven focus groups made up of managers, workers and members of the Board of Directors participated. To analyze the information obtained, a thematic content analysis was carried out in two moments and three phases. The obtained results show that the antecedents of the corporate reputation identified by the participants in the study are: 1) the quality of the services provided (opportunity, personalized service and warmth of care), 2) the organizational culture, related to family dynamics and the cooperative values that underlie it and 3) the appropriation of organizational identity, which includes the definition of the associate's profile and the sense of belonging. The conclusions discuss the aspects that make cooperatives different from their competitors and propose new lines of research.