Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the antecedents, internal/external drivers and circumstances that diminish the importance of reputation and permit it to be circumvented in the context of a fusion (Monsanto-Bayer) and propose a comprehensive stakeholder perception-molding (“sense-giving”) model to counter reputation-damaging factors. Design/methodology/approach The present study is a longitudinal case study of merging entities using an intra-organizational evolutionary perspective combined with external analysis. Findings Reputational hurdles can be successfully circumvented by a multifaceted strategy leveraging timely and tailored combinations of cognitive, conative and linguistic perception-molding strategies for effective management of diverse stakeholder perception processes spanning across identity orientation, legitimacy, posture, consistency, commitment, justification and transparency. Research limitations/implications The research is susceptible to the general limitations of case studies such as omission bias in terms of focusing on only two purposefully chosen market-leader firms involved in a merger, though every effort was made to track competitor movements, broad trends in markets and the micro- and macro-environments. Practical implications The proposed heptagonal reputation circumvention perception-molding framework (Figure 1) summarizes various actionable strategies to help managers develop a global vision and portfolio of strategies to proactively or reactively manage attacks on reputation. Originality/value An in-depth and multi-decade study of antecedents and internal/external drivers of the successful mega-fusion of two companies with a long history of reputational shocks was leveraged to provide unique insights into the interplay of various strategies targeting diverse stakeholder perceptions. These insights were then generalized to create a comprehensive perception-molding strategic framework to help firm managers circumvent reputational tarnishment hurdles.

Increasing complexity and turbulence of modern markets calls for nonstatic multitheoretical/empirical approaches with intrinsic triangulation and intuitive strategic cluster visualization to minimize the “blind men effect” to offer unbiased insights for various stakeholders: corporate strategic managers, policy researchers, and market legislators. This study presents a refined framework for multi‐time‐point dynamic analysis that integrates and superposes multiple dimensions of strategic flexibility, agility, and orientation for cross‐validated insights. It also addresses long‐standing critical debates on strategic group theory via the metaphor of the blind men and the elephant justifying the need for an in‐depth, multiperspective approach. Our approach reveals the evolution of the market structure (strategic and competitive dynamics) of the French pharmaceutical market over time by mapping and interpreting strategic movements over a turbulent time period.

A hybrid visualization framework combining multiple approaches offers cross‐validated insights into complex competitive and strategic dynamics of markets for insiders as well as policy‐makers and is transferable across industries.

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