Arthur D. Martinez

The role of reputation in the organizational sciences: A multilevel review, construct assessment, and research directions

Abstract Scholarship on reputation in and of organizations has been going on for decades, and it always has separated along level of analysis issues, whereby the separate literatures on individual, group/team/unit, and organization reputation fail to acknowledge each other. This sends the implicit message that reputation is a fundamentally different phenomenon at the three different levels of analysis. We tested the validity of this implicit assumption by conducting a multilevel review of the reputation literature, and drawing conclusions about the “level-specific” or “level-generic” nature of the reputation construct. The review results permitted the conclusion that reputation phenomena are essentially the same at all levels of analysis. Based on this, we frame a future agenda for theory and research on reputation.

Power in Leader–Follower Work Relationships

There is perhaps no more important dyadic relationship than that between a leader and a follower. Nonetheless, few studies examine the implications of both leader and follower power on important work outcomes. Therefore, using resource dependence and role theories, the authors examined the process by which leader power affects important work outcomes, namely, work relationship quality and job tension, through met relationship expectations. Additionally, the authors suggest that the leader power–met expectations relationship is conditional on follower power. A state agency was sampled to obtain and analyze 100 leader–follower work relationship dyads, whereby both dyadic partners were surveyed. Results indicated that leader power affected both leader–follower relationship quality and job tension through followers’ met relationship expectations. However, contrary to our hypothesis, the leader power–met expectations relationship was not conditional on follower power. Contributions of this study, strengths and limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

Fuzzy Attribution Styles

This study introduced, and provided the first evidence for, the notion that people possess more or less fuzzy attribution styles and that the degree of fuzziness affects important work variables (e.g., occupational self-efficacy and political skill). Field theory was used to explain how fuzzy attribution styles might arise. Contributions of this study, its practical implications, directions for future research, and strengths and limitations were discussed.

A maladjustment and power conceptualisation of diversity in organisations: Implications for cultural stigmatisation and expatriate effectiveness

Belonging to a group that is in the minority in an organisation (e.g., racial, cultural) inherently puts individuals at a social disadvantage among the majority group, which can position them in ways so as not to be able to build political skill and acquire power and influence in organisations. Those in the minority must feel genuinely committed to their groups while simultaneously leveraging opportunities outside their groups, if they are to secure and maintain personal power. The propositions provided in this conceptualisation argue that individuals who are less committed to their group tend to be significantly more personally maladjusted, which, in turn, reduces the degree of political skill they develop and undermine their personal power levels and effectiveness.

The Sociopolitical Implications of Firm Reputation Firm Financial Reputation × Social Reputation Interaction on Firm Financial Performance

The purpose of this investigation is to examine how different dimensions of firm reputation interact to predict firm financial performance. Specifically, we draw on the tenets of stakeholder theory to argue that firm managers can optimize their financial performance by minding their financial and social reputations. If firm managers fail to establish a sound financial reputation, then their financial performance suffers, and especially does so if the firm has dedicated resources to maintaining a strong social reputation. Time separated data from 393 firms supported our hypotheses that financial performance is predicted by financial reputation, and that this relationship is moderated by social reputation. Implications, limitations, and areas for future research are discussed.