About us

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The Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation is home to social evaluations research at the University of Oxford. We explore how organisations manage social evaluations such as reputation, status, celebrity, legitimacy, stigma and trust. With insight from our global network of social evaluations scholars and business leaders, we have identified the following top priorities for social evaluations research from 2025 to 2027:

The six alignment challenges

Alignment challenges address themes relating to the way that business orients itself to meet new and emerging societal issues. The key themes are:

1. Organisational purpose 
2. Governance including ESG (environmental, social and governance)
3. Formal/Informal law and regulation
4. Performance outcomes 
5. Stigma and crisis
6. Global perspectives and priorities 

The six practice challenges

Practice challenges address themes relating to the adoption and deployment of business activities that pose both opportunities and threats for organisations and how they are perceived by key stakeholders. 
1. Artificial intelligence and new technologies 
2. Activists and activism 
3. Media systems and fake news
4. Aligned and motivated organisational cultures
5. Political engagement
6. Rapidly changing social norms

 For more, see 'Centre initiatives', below. 

Introduction to the Centre

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Centre initiatives

Social Evaluations Research Priorities 2025-27 report

Our Social Evaluations Research Priorities (SERP) 2025-27 report captures key concepts and themes in social evaluations research, in consultation with our International Research Fellows and the senior practitioners who make up our community of Visiting Fellows.

We identify the priority research questions in the field over the next three years, arising from evolving alignment and practice challenges, and lay out the critical research questions emerging from these themes.

The Enacting Purpose Initiative (EPI)

This is a global research project on purpose in organisations led by our Centre. It seeks to establish best practice purpose governance globally in conjunction with a number of research partners, and with the help of leaders from business and other organisations.

Our work is also contributing to the British Academy’s Future of the Corporation initiative.

Our people

We recruit early career researchers who work with senior faculty within Oxford Saïd, as well as supporting a number of doctoral candidates. Our Postdoctoral Research Fellows work across a number of disciplines from business ethics to political science. We are fortunate to benefit from the support and guidance of an outstanding group of International Research Fellows from academic institutions around the world, as well as many distinguished Visiting Fellows from business, the media and other organisations.

Our research

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Publications

We produce high impact social evaluations research focused on providing valuable insight for organisational leadership teams. Our current research agenda explores the role of social evaluations in particular within supply chains and responsible business, AI and technology, and people and culture. Our research is published in leading academic journals as well as in more practitioner-oriented publications. We have also published a number of books that identify and examine the core elements of social evaluations for both academics and practitioners. 
View publications

Case studies

Our case studies complement and inform our academic research, and are used in teaching our MBA elective and executive education programmes. We also make them freely available to interested researchers and organisations. 
View case studies

 

 

Oxford Answers

Thought leadership and insights from our Centre and affiliated researchers.

Events and awards

Centre for Corporate Reputation

We host and support a number of talks, seminars and conferences throughout the year.

Reputation Symposium

Our flagship event is the annual Reputation Symposium, which is by invitation only. The next Symposium will take place on 26-29 August 2025. See previous programmes.


R:ETRO webinars

During term time we run a series of fortnightly R:ETRO webinars – Reputation: Ethics, Trust, and Relationships at Oxford.
See the current R:ETRO programme along with past webinars and abstracts.

To be added to our events mailing list, please email reputation@sbs.ox.ac.uk.

Forthcoming events calendar
Annual awards

Reputation magazine

We publish Reputation magazine three times a year. It captures our recent publications, research initiatives and other activities, and also includes interviews with leaders from business and other organisations. It is available free of charge. See our most recent issues below.  

Subscribe to Reputation

 

Our teaching

MBA students at Oxford have to complete 16 modules during their year, nine of which are chosen from a list of approved electives. We teach one of the most popular and sought-after electives called Reputation and Leadership, which combines the latest academic research with in-person contributions from leading figures from the business world and other organisations. Over the past two decades, reputation has become one of the top three risks evaluated by senior management.The principal aim of our  elective is to provide students with an assessment of how reputations are created, sustained, destroyed and rebuilt.

We also run Oxford’s Corporate Affairs Academy, a pioneering programme that aims to enable corporate affairs leaders to make a more strategic and valuable contribution to their organisations through analysis of the latest academic research in the field, shared experiences, and the generation of ideas and emerging best practice.

In addition, we provide expert insight into social evaluations on a number of the School's Executive Education programmes.

Our supporters

The Centre’s work would be impossible without generous support from a number of organisations. In particular, we would like to thank Eni, the major global integrated energy company; Intesa Sanpaolo, one of the largest banks in the eurozone; Roland Berger Strategy Consultants; Man GLG; and Santander. We would also like to express our gratitude to our Visiting Fellows, whose expertise and guidance is invaluable to our work.

Contact

For more information about our work, please contact the Centre.

Email: reputation@sbs.ox.ac.uk 

Telephone: +44 (0)1865 288900

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