Reputation And Decision Making Under Ambiguity: A Study Of Us Venture Capital Firms' Investments In The Emerging Clean Energy Sector

This study examines the role of reputation on decision making under ambiguity. Drawing on social cognition and behavioral theories, we propose that a firm's reputation exerts dual pressures on its decision making under ambiguity. On the one hand, a firm's reputation increases its aspirations for future performance and promotes its engagement in risky strategies to achieve them. On the other hand, preserving the already established reputation requires a firm to deliver consistent performance over time, which promotes greater use of risk reduction strategies. Our analyses of the U.S. venture capital firms' investments in the clean energy sector from 1990 to 2008 demonstrate that while reputable firms are more likely to invest in the emerging sector, they also employ risk reduction strategies more extensively. The sector's legitimation further influences these firms' investment decisions both directly and through its interaction with firm reputation

BEING GOOD OR BEING KNOWN: AN EMPIRICAL EXAMINATION OF THE DIMENSIONS, ANTECEDENTS, AND CONSEQUENCES OF ORGANIZATIONAL REPUTATION.

We examined the extent to which organizations' reputations encompass different types of stakeholders' perceptions, which may have differential effects on economic outcomes. Specifically, we propose that reputation consists of two dimensions: (1) stakeholders' perceptions of an organization as able to produce quality goods and (2) organizations' prominence in the minds of stakeholders. We empirically examined the distinct antecedents and consequences of these two dimensions of reputation in the context of U.S. business schools. Results suggest that prominence, which derives from the choices of influential third parties vis-à-vis an organization, contributes significantly to the price premium associated with having a favorable reputation

Being good or being known: An empirical examination of the dimensions, antecedents, and consequences of organizational reputation

C1 - Refereed Journal Articl