Abstract: The aim of this paper is two-fold: first, to test empirically whether corporate reputation has a positive effect on the financial performance of companies (named the resource hypothesis), and second, whether it protects companies from a loss of value in a sudden financial crisis (the reservoir hypothesis). A sample of 38 Spanish firms included in the MERCO (the Spanish corporate reputation ranking) and listed in the Spanish stock market has been used. The analysis covers the period from September 2005 to April 2009. A multivariate regression model estimated by ordinary least squares was used to test the research hypotheses in order to monitor other variables that may affect the relationship between reputation and financial performance (measured by the companies’ return and risk). The results show that companies with a strong reputation had better financial performance than those with a poor reputation, before and during the financial crisis after the 2007 crash.

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