Abstract
- Although stigma was used as a marker to differentiate morally collapsed individuals from the community in the ancient Greek culture, nowadays it is used to define companies due to company failures and scandals as well. Organizational stigma which emerges as a result of a social process and is used to define the company as a whole is no longer a taboo and is started to be discussed by the researchers. The aim of this study is to underline the organizational stigma concept theoretically, differentiate the concept from reputation and analyze Volkswagen Company which has been criticized by the world in the past two years because of the emission scandal. Volkswagen Company is discussed as a case study from the point of organizational stigma by using content analysis and analyzed in terms of social and financial aspects. The study makes an evaluation for company owners and managers from the ethics and stigma point of view, and provides implications in order to cope with organizational stigma.