Personal Reputation in Organizations: Scale Development and Model Test

• Other Authors: Russell, Zachary A. (Zachary Alexander) (authoraut)
• Format: Others
• Language: English; English
• Published: Florida State University
• Subjects: Management
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_2016SU_Russell_fsu_0071E_13338

Reputation greatly affects the daily work-related interactions and career progression of all individuals. Depending on quality of an individual’s reputation, it has the ability to either generate or inhibit opportunities for success. Despite the importance of understanding how reputation develops and functions, academic investigation into individual reputation is limited. In particular, the role of stakeholder perceptions and how certain characteristics of stakeholders might affect these perceptions have received no attention. Also, the high quality reputation research that does exist often uses a measure that neglects to capture a frequently discussed key dimension of reputation — prominence. The purpose of this two study dissertation is to address these two needs (i.e., the role of stakeholders and the measurement of reputation). Study 1 developed a psychometrically sound measure of reputation. The measure captures all three dimensions of reputation (i.e., performance, prominence, and character), and demonstrates convergent, discriminant, and criterion-related validity. Study 2 utilized the newly developed measure to investigate the role of stakeholder perceptions in the development of focal individual reputation by testing a moderated mediation model of reputation’s antecedents. Data were obtained from multiple sources in a large insurance sales based organization. Results provide mixed support for the effects of stakeholder characteristics, but indicate that stakeholders do in fact perceive focal individual reputation differently. Furthermore, the roles of political skill and objective performance both were found to play significant roles in the prediction of reputation, using the new reputation measure developed in Study 1. The implications of the results are discussed, and directions for future research are proposed. === A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. === Summer Semester 2016. === June 2, 2016. === Political Skill, Reputation === Includes bibliographical references. === Gerald R. Ferris, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Jack Fiorito, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Irene Padavic, University Representative; Chad H. Van Iddekinge, Committee Member.