text: History Reputation is a social construct based on the opinion other people hold about a person or thing. Before the internet was developed, consumers wanting to learn about a company had fewer options. They had access to resources such as the Yellow Pages, but mostly relied on word-of-mouth. A company's reputation depended on personal experience. A company while it grew and expanded was subject to the market's perception of the brand. Public relations were developed to manage the image and manage the reputation of a company or individual. The concept was initially created to broaden public relations outside of media relations. Academic studies have identified it as a driving force behind Fortune 500 corporate public relations since the beginning of the 21st century.
  As of 1988, reputation management was acknowledged as a valuable intangible asset  and corporate necessity, which can be one of the most important sources of competitive edge in a fiercely competitive market, and with firms under scrutiny from the business community, regulators, and corporate governance watchdogs; good reputation management practices would to help firms cope with this scrutiny.
  As of 2006, reputation management practices reinforce and aid a corporation's branding objectives. Good reputation management practices are helping any entity manage staff confidence as a control tool on public perceptions which if undermined and ignored can be costly, which in the long run may cripple employee confidence, a risk no employer would dare explore as staff morale is one of the most important drivers of company performance.