A good reputation is a life buoy that a company can grab hold of when it encounters waves of attack by various pressure groups. A good reputation lessens the likelihood that a company will become the target for such attacks in the first place, and if it does, a company with a good reputation will cope more easily and faster and with less damage
Aula, Pekka, Heinonen, Jouni in The Reputable Firm: How Digitalization of Communication Is Revolutionizing Reputation Management (Management for Professionals). Springer International Publishing.