Organizational Reputation in the Public Administration: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Despite the increasing number of publications on organizational reputation in the public administration throughout the last two decades, no systematic review has been conducted to synthesize the current state of the literature. This article contributes to this issue by bringing together empirical and theoretical academic research-119 articles and seven books-to analyze five critical aspects of this scholarship: conceptualization, types implemented, antecedents, outcomes, and multidimensionality. This work provides an overview of the field while identifying five critical areas for further research: reputational audiences, public leaders' impact on reputation, development of typologies based on the characteristics of reputation, the use of standardized methods to conduct more cross-country studies, and research on a wider variety of cultural and organizational contexts. Evidence for Practice• Reputation management in public administration adds value to organizations by improving relationships with their audiences. • Public managers can use a positive reputation to handle internal and external threats that may affect the organizations. • Reputation can improve other vital assets for the legitimacy of organizations, such as brand, trust, image, identity, prestige, or status.

From zero to villain: Applying narrative analysis in research on organizational reputation

“…The analysis exemplifies this last benefit by zooming in on organization's target groups, an audience whose relationship with an organization so far has not been systematically conceptualized in reputational research. Thus, this article provides multiple contributions to the burgeoning literature on organizational reputation (Bustos, 2021) and answers recent calls to advance "the narrative turn" in public administration research (Barker, 2021;Nowell & Albrecht, 2019).…”

Neopatrimonialism in the 2020 Regional Head Elections in the Power Cube Perspective

“…Political parties are no longer political institutions as program bearers, but only charter boats that can easily change policy directions. The pattern of party coalitions that are built is multi-faceted and full of interests (Bustos, 2021�; 2. The resulting policies come from compromises by elites who already understand the regulations and existing resource gaps, not from compromises between government and public as evaluators of bureaucratic performance;…”

Public Branding and Marketing: Theoretical and Practical Developments

“…Next, Stevens, Klijn, and Warsen (2021) examine how target groups respond to public branding strategies, moving the field from mostly internal examinations of organizational value to one of public value. Their work responds to one of Perez's (2021) core findings that reputation and branding research need to also focus on user perception. As Stevens, Klijn, and Warsen (2021) note, place branding crosses disciplinary boundaries, and so, they create a spectrum of how brands are perceived: selling mechanism, value enhancer, and community builder.…”

“…Branding is the proactive act of bringing a brand to life through concerted, concentrated efforts from all key stakeholders (Marland, Lewis, and Flanagan 2017); when employed in the public sector, branding is the strategic, deliberate control of elements that communicate about the place, organization, policy, elected officials, or bureaucrats (Karens et al 2016;Marland 2016). As Perez (2021) explains in this symposium, branding helps to manage image and reputation.…”