The Impact of Corporate Strategy on a Firm's Reputation

Abstract

This study examined 178 Fortune 500 firms as to the link between their corporate strategies and their reputation scores. The results suggest that while related diversified firms experienced higher performance levels, on average, than single business firms, the related diversifiers also had lower reputation scores than single business firms. Further, unrelated diversified firms experienced lower reputation scores than related diversifiers, although the mean difference between the two strategies was not statistically significant. The results suggest that firms considering a change in strategy might also anticipate a change in their overall reputations. Some possible implications of the link between a firm's strategy and reputation are discussed.

Images, Satisfaction and Antecedents: Drivers of Student Loyalty? A Case Study of a Norwegian University College

“…Researchers have introduced and studied a number of models and variables (antecedents or drivers) to explain variations in satisfaction, images and loyalty (eg Johnson et al ., 2001 ;Seth et al ., 2004 ;Williams et al ., 2005 ). Evaluation standards such as SERVQUAL ( Parasuraman et al ., 1988( Parasuraman et al ., , 1994 and SERVPERF ( Cronin and Taylor, 1992 ) have been developed to function independent of any particular service context.…”

The Factors Affecting the Level of Trust Between Buyer Seller: An Example From Household Appliances Sector

“…Reputation can not be duplicated by the others. Reputation attributes the perceptions and turn backs of the others about the company (Williams et al, 2005). A firm with high level of reputation will be a better strategic business partner in comparison with others in the channel system (Dollinger et al, 1997).…”

Regional Diversification and Performance: Conceptualization and Competing Strategic Objectives

“…First, causality is inferred and pathways determined by theoretical arguments. It is recognized that reputation is an important strategic asset which in itself can determine a firm's success and influence its strategic decision making (Dowling, 1986;Williams et al, 2005;. Accordingly, reputation may influence a firm's internationalization patterns and impact its performance in a variety ways such that reverse causality or a causal loop might exist.…”

“…Consequently, reputation building is seen as an increasingly important part of competitive strategy building (Dowling, 1986;Williams et al, 2005;. Yet although reputation is increasingly acknowledged as a valuable strategic resource, it is very rare and the antecedents to its formation are sometimes ambiguous.…”