Meeting Expectations : A Role-Theoretic Perspective on Reputation

In this chapter, we combine reputation theory from economics with role theory from sociology to develop a rigorous framework for studying reputation. We begin with a critique of the dominant reputation perspectives in management research and examine why their common definition of reputation as an overall actor-level assessment may not be the most constructive way to advance reputation research. We argue that reputation can be more usefully theorized as an attribute-specific prediction of future behaviors that is based on an assessment of how past behaviors meet the role expectations associated with occupying a particular social position. Based on our role-theoretic perspective on reputation, we identify three important research areas – the multi-dimensionality of reputation, the embeddedness of reputation, and reputation as a mechanism for social mobility – and discuss promising avenues for future research in each area