Building managerial reputations: The development and empirical investigation of a multi-theoretical model of identity, communication, and individual reputation

The over-arching purpose of this research was to broaden the study of individual reputation as it applies to organizational life. Building upon prior academic definitions and common usage of the term, reputation was defined as a commonly agreed upon, public estimation of a person's character . In other words, an individual's reputation refers to a view of that individual that is generally held by a specific constituency group, or how an individual is generally “known” among people belonging to a pre-defined group.; Social cognitive theory was used to develop a conceptual model of the antecedents and consequences of managerial reputation. This conceptual model was then used to develop a more specific research model augmented by social identity theory, theory of reasoned action, and channel expansion theory. The resultant model integrated several fields of research and provided a platform for testing the hypothesized relationships.; Matched sample survey data from 318 subordinates and 14 managers were collected. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analysis indicated that employees' assessment of their manager's history of communicating in the organization was significantly related to how frequently the employee perceived that their manager communicated with them. This finding indicates when employees perceive that their manager has more experience with the organization, they report having more frequent communication with the manager. Additionally, the form of graphed relationship between communication frequency and managerial reputation moderated by perceptions of politics offers preliminary support for the hypothesized interactive relationship and points to a potential avenue for future research.; Understanding and applying the model presented in this dissertation will focus researchers and organizational members more clearly on those behaviors that are argued to be most critical in effective reputation management. By making informed, conscious decisions about the tactics they employ, organizational members can practice honing their skills and may reap several benefits—financial, social, and organizational—that are associated with possessing a strong reputation.