The financial crisis has underscored just how ill-equipped companies can be to deal with two important changes in the reputation environment. First, the influence of indirect stakeholders—such as NGOs, community activists, and online networks—has grown enormously.
Second, the proliferation of media technologies and outlets, along with the emergence of new Web-based platforms, has given individuals and organizations new tools they use to subject companies to greater and faster scrutiny. This communications revolution also means that certain issues (such as poor labor conditions) that might be acceptable in one region can be picked up by “citizen journalists” or bloggers and generate outrage in another.