기업의 평판 위기와 극복에 관한 연구: 남양유업(주) 사례를 중심으로

초록

This study analyzes how Namyang Dairy Products (Namyang) faced a severe reputation crisis stemming from repeated ethical scandals since the 2010s, and how the resulting reputation costs ultimately led to a governance transition through a private equity acquisition in 2021. While prior research has largely limited reputation costs to short-term responses such as consumer boycotts and rising investment risk, the case of Namyang demonstrates that reputation costs manifesting through multiple compounding channels — including information asymmetry, failure to transmit positive signals, increasing regulatory costs, and the collapse of internal organizational trust — can escalate into an enterprise-wide crisis. Following the reputation crisis, Namyang was acquired by Han & Company, a leading domestic private equity firm, which pursued structural reforms aimed at rebuilding the company's moral capital. These efforts included establishing an ethics and compliance framework, strengthening board independence, transforming organizational culture, enhancing supply chain ethics, and implementing consumer communication platforms. This case suggests that institutional intervention by external investment capital can play a significant role in overcoming reputation crises, and contributes to future research in reputation studies, ESG and business ethics, and the role of private equity in enhancing non-financial value.

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