Review of Finance· 2026Q1
Hacking corporate reputations
- 97citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Unexpected data breaches decrease equity and brand values by 10-15% and increase customer churn, but firms can repair reputations by increasing charitable donations (0.5+ SD higher CSR scores) and targeted investments in political contributions, employee wages, and IT.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Data breaches reduce equity and brand values by 10-15% and increase customer churn.
- Reputation repair involves increasing charitable donations, leading to CSR scores >0.5 SD higher.
- Firms also increase political contributions, employee wages, and IT investment for reputation repair.
- Repair actions are strategically targeted to important or salient stakeholders.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Abstract We exploit unexpected corporate data breaches to study the loss and repair of corporate reputation. Reputation loss decreases equity and brand values, increases customer churn, and prompts more negative media coverage. Firms repair their reputation by increasing their charitable donations and have CSR scores that are more than 0.5 standard deviations higher. They increase political contributions, employee wages, and IT investment. These actions are targeted to stakeholders that are particularly important or in situations that are particularly salient to their stakeholders. We observe similar dynamics of reputation loss and repair following the release of negative news about firms’ social behaviors.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Review of Finance, 2026 · DOI ↗
Continue with a free account
Ask the paper: 3 free questions a day about this paper; save it, get its citation, new summaries every day for your field. Takeaways are Premium.
Continue free on the webSign in with Google or Apple; no card needed. You come back to this paper.
On your phone:
Field: Strategy and Management
Strategy and ManagementBusiness, Management and AccountingAccounting