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In the eyes of beholders: Personal reputation in China


Author : Lau, V. P.; Wong, Y. Y.
Category : Conference Paper
Department :
Year / Month : 2012
Source : International Academy of Business and Economics Conference, Venice, Italy.

Abstract

    Drawing upon social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1986) and social labeling theory (Becker, 1963), we investigate the influences of three social identity sources on individuals' personal reputation (a favorable social identity) in China. These influences consist of a personal source (self-recognition), a situational source (organization's reputation of being socially responsible), and a social source (entrepreneurial culture of the societal context). Participants are 408 employees randomly selected in 102 departments (each of which comprises one department head and three immediate subordinates) from 17 large-sized organizations in Harbin, China. To avoid the Lake Wobegon effect and common method variance, personal reputation of the department heads is measured by the average scores of the immediate subordinates in the same departments, while the social identity sources are measured by either self-ratings or multi-source ratings. Results reveal that the proposed social identity sources (i.e., self-recognition, perceived corporate social responsibility, and entrepreneurial culture) are significantly positive predictors of personal reputation of these organizational leaders in China. Implications and limitations of this study and future research directions are discussed.