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Sandpiper Reputation Capital Scorecard launches in Davos
January 2026
New Global Study: 78% of Global CEOs Say Reputation Weaknesses Have Impacted Company Trading in Past Year
- 72% of CEOs globally say reputation is critical to commercial success
- Consequences of reputational weaknesses increase y-o-y
- Less than half of global companies living up to stakeholder expectations
- AI is the leading and fastest growing reputation management concern, but only 4 out of 10 are prepared
- Reputation Capital Scorecard uncovers insights gaps
Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday 21 January 2026 – The Reputation Capital Scorecard 2026 that is based on a survey of over 3,000 C-suite executives globally, and which launched on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos today, finds reputational weaknesses are increasingly impacting company revenues, valuations, crisis resilience, and talent.
Business impacts from reputation shortfalls rising
Building on five years of global reputation capital research, the report spearheaded by Sandpiper Research & insights and Earned First highlights significant gaps in reputation management by C-suites across 27 global markets, with these affecting trading and revenue (78%), company valuations (65%), crisis recovery (65%) and talent attraction and retention (65%).
Less than half of companies are living up to stakeholder expectations, with only 45% saying they are highly aligned with customer expectations. This drops away further for other stakeholder groups with only 44% indicating this for both employees and government and regulators, as well as 42% for investors and 40% for community members.
As a result, only 61% of the global C-Suite believe their organization’s reputation is in a strong position.
Unprepared for reputation management in the AI era
With a resounding (72%) of CEO’s agreeing that reputation is critical to the commercial success of their organization, signs of concern are growing.
The impact of AI is indicated as the leading concern for C-Suites in relation to reputation management for the year ahead. However, only 40% of the C-Suite surveyed say they are well prepared to manage it. Among the five biggest concerns, the data also shows less than four in 10 are well prepared to manage cyber and data security issues, ESG and sustainability scrutiny, the rise of mis/dis information, and employee activism.
Fewer than half believe their organisations are agile, adaptable or ultimately effective in managing reputation in today’s operating environment, which is hallmarked by the rise of AI as well as societal and geopolitical shifts and tensions.
Reputation Capital Scorecard uncovers insights gap and multiplier effect for investment benefits
The Reputation Capital Scorecard, which assesses eight prominent areas of reputation management for companies globally against four health indicators, which are Insights, Strategy, Relationships & Connectivity, Resources, finds that Insights is currently the weakest point in corporate reputation management armoury.
On average, global companies score 55 points out of a possible 100 for Insights, compared with Strategy at 63 points; Relationships & Connectivity at 65 points; and Resources having the highest average score at 70 points. Showing its importance, strength in Insights is revealed as the biggest differentiator in effectiveness – with those in the top quartile of Insights scores being 39 percentage points more likely to have a highly effective reputation management approach, and 32 percentage points more likely to say their reputation is strong.
On average, global companies score 55 points out of a possible 100 for Insights, compared with Strategy at 63 points; Relationships & Connectivity at 65 points; and Resources having the highest average score at 70 points. Showing its importance, strength in Insights is revealed as the biggest differentiator in effectiveness – with those in the top quartile of Insights scores being 39 percentage points more likely to have a highly effective reputation management approach, and 32 percentage points more likely to say their reputation is strong.
A multiplier effect is also revealed, with those scoring in the top quartile on average across all areas of reputation management significantly more likely to perform well and suffer fewer impacts.
Commenting on the report, Kelly Johnston, COO, Sandpiper Group, said:
“With the line between machine and human interaction blurring, the way that reputations and stakeholder relationships are managed, need to be adjusted. Organizations and leaders all over the world need to rethink reputation success in an era where mis- and dis-information is rife, and where seismic shifts in truth and trust can occur in seconds. The data in this report shows that reputation risk should be a shared responsibility and a centralised part of commercial performance.”
Arun Sudhaman, Founding Editor of Earned First, said:
“What stands out in this year’s findings is not a lack of awareness, but a widening gap between confidence and delivery. Even as CEOs increasingly recognise reputation as commercially critical, many organisations have yet to resolve who ownership, or how insight, strategy and response are coordinated at the top. As AI accelerates the pace at which reputational risk can emerge and spread, those structural ambiguities are becoming harder to manage, with direct consequences for performance, resilience and trust.”
The Reputation Capital Index 2026 findings were presented today at an invitation‑only launch and panel discussion in Davos, bringing together CEOs, Chief Communications Officers and Chief Marketing Officers to explore the commercial consequences of reputation gaps — and what leaders can do differently to address them.
The study results were also examined by the Reputation Capital Council, a group of 70+ leaders from global corporate affairs, communications, marketing and sustainability functions, established to support the research programme that examines how organisations build, manage and deploy reputation as a strategic asset.
About the Reputation Capital Scorecard
The Reputation Capital Scorecard is built on more than five years of global reputation research by Sandpiper Research & Insights, more than two decades of industry analysis by Earned First, and the collective experience of the Reputation Capital Council’s senior corporate leaders based globally. It provides a data‑driven framework for understanding how reputation is connecting with commercial performance.
For More Information:
Kelly Johnston
Sandpiper
+(65) 90698391 (WhatsApp) Kelly.Johnston@sandpipercomms.com
Arun Sudhaman
Earned First
+(852) 9618-7774 (WhatsApp) Arun@promisefoundation.com
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