Reputational risk is becoming harder to manage
With rising public and regulatory scrutiny, shifting stakeholder expectations and increasingly heated debates over issues such as ESG, maintaining a good reputation is becoming more complicated.
As the landscape becomes tricker to navigate, our 2026 survey shows a rise in uncertainty. Firms are less confident of what stakeholders think of them or where their hotspots of negative sentiment might lie.
However, this appears to be a driver for improvement action as respondents show a greater commitment to strengthening their reputational risk management processes and modeling to assess the financial impact of reputational damage.
This year’s report explores these themes and reveals where organizations feel most vulnerable, which threats are rising fastest and how leaders are adapting.
About the survey
Conducted with research partner, Coleman Parkes Research, January to February 2026, using online methodology.
Who: 500 senior executives responsible for risk strategy, including CEOs and leaders in finance, risk, marketing, HR and communications.
Sectors: Retail, manufacturing, leisure & hospitality, transportation, NGOs and charities (100 companies from each sector).
Where: 20 countries across EMEA, APAC, North America and Latin America.
Company size: 37% $1bn–$2.5bn; 26% $2.5bn–$5bn; 36% over $5bn.
Key findings
- Only 37% understand the key hotspots of negative sentiment affecting their brand (down from 56% since the 2024 survey).
- 56% report a low appetite for reputational risk (up from 36% since the 2024 survey) indicating greater caution around brand associations and activities even when the rewards might be good.
- 67% rank cyber‑attacks as their top reputational concern, partly driven by the rise if AI-enabled cybercrime.
- 57% cite social harms, such as labor exploitation in the supply chain, as a leading risk, up from 47%.
- 82% place reputation among their top three or top five risks.
- 31% say they have strong modelling capability to assess the financial impact of reputational damage (up from 11% since the 2024 survey).
How organizations are responding
Despite rising uncertainty, many firms are strengthening their approach:
- More organizations now have formal processes for managing reputation risk, linked to board level KPIs.
- Integration with enterprise‑wide risk management is increasing.
- Stakeholder engagement is up.
- Use of social media for brand awareness and customer engagement is rebounding.
But resilience is under pressure. Fewer organizations have formal crisis teams, escalation processes are weakening and confidence in crisis communication has slipped.
What you’ll learn from this report
- Why organizations are losing clarity on stakeholder expectations.
- How AI‑enabled cybercrime and concerns about social harms are reshaping reputational risk.
- Where crisis preparedness is improving and where it’s slipping.
- How firms are integrating reputation into enterprise‑wide risk management.
- What companies are doing to understand the financial impact of reputational damage.
- Practical steps to strengthen resilience in a faster, more volatile environment.
Download the report
Get the complete analysis, data and specialist guidance to help you strengthen your reputational risk management strategy.
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