The third direction is an array of both scientific, applied research, and practical research of reputation in the sphere of Public Relation. The basis of this direction is the correlation of the concept of “reputation” with an associative terminological series which includes “image”, “brand”, “authority” and at the same time highlighting of specific features of this concept in order to achieve its objective independence. In this direction, the works of K. Buksh [3], G. Pocheptsov [21], G. Tatarinova [31], V. Shepel [27], F. Sayetl [25] and others should be noted. Management theories are interesting and useful, they also allow to reveal the social essence of reputational capital and methods of its management. They are presented in the works by G. Dowling [4], F. Kotler [12], J. Coleman [13], A. Kashpur [11], A. Rudakova [23], O. Grishin [23] and others. In the sphere of psychology, great attention is paid to questions of reputation by A. Grubetskaya, in the field of sociology -by M. Dulyasova [5], L. Salnikova [24], T. Khannanova [5], etc. Taking into account various peculiarities, the economic perspective of analyzing an enterprise’s reputation is by far the most common.
Author's business reputation researches are evidence that various scientific schools and their concepts estimate its analysis as a tool for realizing their goals, and a comprehensive assessment system that places business reputation as the main subject of research is not still formed. As for today, the urgency and the need to form a reputation management system in modern enterprises of the hotel and restaurant industry have been ignored.
The purpose of the research is to substantiate the actualization of further research of business category "the business reputation" and to provide evidence of the need to manage this asset as a factor in increasing the material value of enterprises in general and the hotel and restaurant business in particular.
1. Business reputation as a stakeholder assessment of compliance of the
One of the world's most significant investors in the securities market, billionaire Warren Buffet, noted reputation as an immense asset that is poorly protected from risks, but which brings income to an organization, increases its capitalization. It is formed over the years, and you can destroy it at the moment. He told his managers: “If you lose the money of the company, I will treat it with understanding. But you will not be sorry if you lose its reputation. ” One of the richest people in the world with this statement puts a reputation above finance, because it is the reputation that brings money into the business. Saving on reputation is saving on your future. In a market economy it is an important intangible asset that builds the confidence of a potential consumer, partner, emp The concept of "reputation"
has undergone major changes over the past hundred years in the sphere of economy. By the middle of the twentieth century, “business reputation” and “company reputation” were reduced to the honesty of a businessman, a company owner. Reputation became a real market indicator only in the 50s-70s of the XX century. And in the 1990s, reputation became an active financial factor and an important intangible business asset. The revitalization of research has been observed since 2002. In the bulk of definitions of business reputation, there is a desire of scientists to identify the largest number of essential features of this concept.
But it should be noted that the business reputation of the organization is a synthetic concept. In this category there are numerous concepts close to it. Some researchers identify the concept of “reputation” with other intangible assets, such as “brand”, “image”,
“authority”, “trust” and others. But the listed categories still differ in nature, and it would be appropriate to separate them, leaving the reputation as an independent intangible asset that requires specific approaches to the formation and management. The notions of “image”,
“brand”, “reputation” are of foreign origin, which, to a certain extent, makes rather difficult their perception identical in the English, French and Ukrainian-speaking business space.
Hence the confusion in the use of terms that are united by the fact that they all exist in the mind of the consumer, evoking certain associations and forming a certain idea among the consumers. These concepts cause a more emotional feeling that experiences the consumer when he interacts with the company, its product (service). The difference between these categories is that reputation is the concept that is the most sustainable in time, the most stable and comprehensive. The key in its definition is an assessment or opinion, whereas in the definition of image it is a vision. By brand we mean a set of ideas, value characteristics, emotions of a product or service. Thus, reputation is a unique valuable asset, a communication indicator that is responsible for the relationship of stakeholders to business, top management, and management decisions. Positive reputation is a particularly important component of success and affects the efficiency of the enterprise. Enterprises with a high level of reputational capital also have strategic advantages in the growth of competitiveness.
This is an opportunity for business stability, freer access to capital markets, attracting the best specialists, investors, and so on.
Competitive pressure brings Ukrainian business players, successful restaurateurs and hoteliers closer to learning the best practices of successful Western institutions.
The concept of “reputation” is important for businesses of any kind, especially for hotel and restaurant establishments. After all, the hotel and restaurant business, like no other, is focused on serving the consumer and creating a positive experience in it. The hospitality industry is a fairly accurate and sensitive indicator of the economic situation in the country. Therefore, today the reputation management in the hotel and restaurant business is becoming a “hot” topic. At the same time, enterprises of the hotel and restaurant business have a number of specific features that must be taken into account.
This is conditioned, firstly, by the specifics of the product (service), which is formed, sold and consumed by the customer mainly at the place of its production, for the second, by social functions and the role that the hotel and restaurant enterprises perform in improving the quality of life of the population; as well as high labor costs in the sphere and the importance of labor relations in the process of their functioning.
Kafa Usama, the winner of "The Person of the Year 2015 "award in the Leader of the Restaurant Business category, noted that the restaurateur has two global values - a team and a reputation. The ambiguity of the unambiguous essence of the concept of “reputational capital”
is still widely discussed in scientific circles. When we talk about reputation, we first understand trust. According to Stephen Covey, trust is a multi-level phenomenon from the level of the individual to the level of the country [14]. Reputational capital, according to K.
Jackson, is intangible long-term strategic assets of an organization, the value of which manifests itself, firstly, in the value of the organization’s intangible assets, and, for the second hand, in the ability to create or to destroy the future market value of the company [10].
A special place in the theory of reputational capital is given to the definition proposed by G. Dowling: “reputational capital is the sum of intangible assets, external and internal characteristics of a subject that increase shareholder value and is a part of its market value” [4]. The monetary value of the reputation as an intangible asset of the organization is reputational capital. In economic theory, the business reputation as a capital of an entrepreneur, its property for a long time of business management was one of the first to be presented by the Austrian economist J. Schumpeter [30]. In his turn, he regarded the loss of business reputation as a risk, obviously, with a view to reducing future income.
Reputational capital is a multi complex construction, which is characterized by a number of unique properties, such as :
lack of material form,
inseparability from the carrier (individual, organization),
non-belonging to the subject,
the interdependence of its elements,
long, careful and consistent formation,
ease and speed of loss.
The main structural components, according to the research of foreign and domestic authors, are:
quality of goods (services),
financial condition of the organization (dynamics of financial indicators, financial stability of the organization),
efficiency of corporate governance, market position of the company,
top management reputation,
corporate social responsibility,
stakeholder engagement model,
information policy of the company.
The most important tasks of the branch of hotel and restaurant business in the direction of formation and provision of reputational capital are the following :
increasing the flexibility of competition policy;
rapid change of direction of activity in accordance with the demand of consumers and simultaneous operational implementation of new organizational structures at the enterprise;
creation of a market concept for hotel and restaurant business in Ukraine and resource management systems;
analysis of the factors determining the efficiency of resource support of hotel and restaurant complex enterprises;
research of indicators of resource efficiency;
economic evaluation of human resource utilization;
methodical basis of resource management.
No single organization, despite its legal status, does not stop to take care of its own positive reputation today, as it pledges significant profits due to the expansion of the base of potential clients, business partners, and qualified staff. The company's reputation is an intangible asset, but due to changes in business, the value of intangible assets can several times exceed the material value.
Thus, according to Interbrand's data, Coca-Cola Group's intangible assets make up 96% and only 4% are factories, plants, and capital, respectively, with IBM corresponding to 76% and 24%, and British Petroleum 58% vs. 42% [9]. In the manufacturing sector, or B2B (English Business to Business), where there are several other benchmarks, the ratio is about 20% (reputation) to 80% (tangible assets) [9]. Therefore, the business reputation of the organization is a special article of financial investments from management that seeks to bring its business to a new market level.
2. The essence and tools of reputation management in the sphere of service and