@inbook{687c1234d50e4d51915eee1a810dbfac,
title = "Studying the Dynamics of Reputation: A Framework for Research on the Reputational Consequences of Corporate Actions",
abstract = "Strategic management researchers have devoted increasing attention to the study of corporate reputation over the past two decades. Reputation has been conceptualized as a valuable intangible asset, and numerous studies have sought to identify its antecedents and foundations. This chapter recommends a dynamic approach toward reputation research. We argue that studies should examine the processes through which reputational assets are accumulated and depleted over time (i.e. that they should attend to reputational {"}flows{"} in addition to reputational {"}stocks{"}). We specifically suggest that research focus upon particular corporate actions, examining how (and if) corporate reputations change in their wake. We provide pragmatic and theoretical rationales for this approach toward reputation research. We construct a framework for conducting dynamic, action-focused studies of reputational change. We provide general guidelines for designing such studies, and also provide some specific (i.e. {"}nuts and bolts{"}) advice about executing them. We provide one in-depth example of research conducted within this framework. We also identify a number of other corporate actions that could be readily examined using the same methodological and theoretical approach.",
author = "Kraatz, {Matthew S.} and Love, {E. Geoffrey}",
note = "Funding Information: This general line of reasoning draws support from early institutional scholarship which similarly anthropomorphized organizations and also stressed the pragmatic importance of distinctiveness, integrity, character, and commitment ( Selznick, 1957 ). It similarly parallels some recent work in stakeholder theory which likewise emphasizes how trustworthy behavior helps the firm secure support from its various constituencies ( Jones, 1995 ). 2 2 It also shares an affinity with much work in organizational ecology which has stressed that related organizational traits such as reliability and accountability are foundational to organizational success and stakeholder support ( Hannan & Freeman, 1984 ). Ecologists have specifically argued that identity-inconsistent actions signal the absence of these valued traits, and may thus greatly undermine external support for the organization ( Baron, 2004 ; Baron, Hannan, & Burton, 2001 ). These macro-level arguments are also supported by recent micro-level research on the psychology of legitimacy. This work has shown that peoples{\textquoteright} beliefs about the legitimacy of particular social institutions are primarily the product of fairness judgments ( Tyler, 1990, 1999 ). Importantly, it has further shown that peoples{\textquoteright} beliefs about procedural fairness are generally more determinative of their legitimacy assessments than are their evaluations of distributive (i.e. outcome) fairness. This oft-replicated finding supports the basic idea that people grant approval to firms based upon their beliefs about organizational character traits (in that organizational processes and traits can be seen as closely analogous to one another). Copyright: Copyright 2008 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",
year = "2006",
doi = "10.1016/S1479-8387(06)03011-6",
language = "English (US)",
isbn = "0762313390",
series = "Research Methodology in Strategy and Management",
pages = "343--383",
editor = "David Ketchen and Donald Bergh",
booktitle = "Research Methodology in Strategy and Management",
}