Did victories in certification contests affect the survival of organizations in the American automobile industry during 1895–1912? A replication study

Research summary: We successfully replicate the highly influential study: “The social construction of reputation…,”(Rao, 1994 ) which reports that cumulative victories in certification contests are negatively associated with firm failure. The replication is robust to the inclusion of additional controls. As in the original, tests of whether the theory is most powerful under higher uncertainty are not supported. Further, placing second, third, or merely participating in races also negatively predicts firm failure, and there is insufficient information in the data to tease out the importance of these predictors versus race victories. We discuss the assumptions under which the evidence can be interpreted as supportive of a more general argument of “loose coupling”, where affiliation with certification contests reduces firm failure. Managerial summary: We successfully replicate a study that related victories in races to the survival of early automobile firms. This result was interpreted as evidence that rank‐order certification contests legitimized firms and led to survival. We then demonstrate that there is insufficient information to tease out the relative importance of victories, as opposed to placing second, third, or merely participating in predicting survival. Our result is consistent with an argument that affiliation with certification contests, not only winning them, increases a firm's chances of survival. It is also consistent with an argument that firms with better quality automobiles won races and survived. An implication of our work is that there is insufficient evidence to determine if firms in new industries should expend finite resources on participation in certification contests or improvement of product quality.     

The impact of CSR on corporate reputation perceptions of the public—A configurational multi‐time,multi‐source perspective

This study investigates the connection between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate reputation among the public using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). To examine complex processes underlying the reactions of this influential stakeholder group, hypotheses are drawn from the category diagnosticity approach. Thereby, a psychological model of perceived (im)morality is transferred to the CSR context. In line with these hypotheses, positive/negative CSR activities influence reputation in the expected directions (H1a, b), while the effects of specific configurations of CSR activities reveal an asymmetry suggesting a negativity bias (H2). Further analyses confirm that positive effects require a consistent positive performance regarding prior reputations (H3a) and the aggregated CSR activities of several previous years (H3b, c). Moreover, the relevant patterns vary between industries (H4). The present study thus contributes to CSR research by investigating a powerful but hitherto understudied stakeholder group through a category diagnosticity lens combined with a configurational approach to analysis.     

Signaling in science-based IPOs: The combined effect of affiliation with prestigious universities,underwriters, and venture capitalists

This paper studies the combined effect of affiliation with prestigious universities, underwriters, and venture capitalists on the valuation of biotech ventures at IPO and their post-IPO performance. We argue that affiliation to a prestigious university provides the affiliated firm with a quality signal in the scientific domain. The pure quality signaling effect of the affiliation is isolated from the substantive benefits it provides by performing a difference-in-difference approach based on the scientific reputation of scientists in firms' upper echelons. The signal is stronger the weaker is the scientific reputation of scientists of the focal IPO-firm and is additive to those provided by prestigious venture capitalists and underwriters. Results for a sample of 254 European biotech ventures that went through an IPO between 1990 and 2009 confirm our predictions.     

How do tourists' attribution of destination social responsibility motives impact trust and intention to visit? The moderating role of destination reputation

Through the lenses of attribution theory, signal theory, and social exchange theory, this study proposed and tested a conceptual model that investigates how tourists' attribution of destination social responsibility (DSR) motives impact destination trust and intention to visit a destination. The moderating effects of destination reputation (good vs. average) were particularly examined in the proposed model. The results of three experimental studies revealed that the impact of DSR motive attributions on destination trust and intention to visit vary under different conditions of destination reputation. In particular, when a destination has a good reputation, the positive impact of intrinsic DSR motive attribution tends to be stronger than that of extrinsic DSR motive attribution. However, when a destination's reputation is average, the impact of the two types of DSR motive attributions become insignificant. The findings of this study provide theoretical and practical implications for destination marketing and DSR campaigns.     

Strategic consequences of being unsympathetic: For‐profit companies benefit more than individuals from focusing on responsibility

Previous research has found that consumers ascribe mental states to for‐profit companies that enable them to elicit anger more easily than sympathy. The current study applies these findings to demonstrate how this evaluative asymmetry in consumer perceptions favor different strategies for individuals and companies managing conflicts and crises. First, it is shown that the mental states consumers ascribe to for‐profit companies enable them to elicit anger and admiration more easily than sympathy. Second, due to their ability to elicit anger more easily than sympathy, it is found that in conflicts between for‐profit companies and individuals, companies are evaluated more favorably when they focus attention on which side perpetrated the most harm, while individuals are evaluated more favorably when they focus on which side was most victimized. Third, due to their ability to elicit admiration more easily than sympathy, it is found that for‐profit companies derive greater benefits than individuals do from proactively taking responsibility to resolve crises rather than deflecting responsibility through claims of victimhood. Discussion focuses on marketing applications for companies managing conflicts and crises.     

平台经济视域下的商家投机行为治理——基于平台主动治理视角

平台型网络市场的虚拟性与隐蔽性导致商家隐瞒、欺骗消费者的行为愈演愈烈，衍生了新的治理难题。基于交易成本理论和社会交换理论，立足平台主动治理视角，文章探索平台主动治理中的事前商家规范机制、事中交易保障机制和事后争议处理机制对商家强、弱投机行为的影响，以及平台声誉对其影响的调节作用。基于消费者视角开展问卷调查，对数据进行结构方程模型分析和分层回归分析，结果表明：弱投机行为对强投机行为具有显著正向影响；商家规范机制和争议处理机制对强、弱投机行为均具有抑制作用；而交易保障机制对弱投机行为具有促进作用；平台声誉对交易保障机制、争议处理机制和弱投机行为之间的关系具有负向调节作用。     

博弈视角下大学生互联网消费信贷决策行为研究

基于博弈论视角,从理论上构建了金融机构与大学生消费信贷决策的动态博弈模型,并引入信誉机制,比较分析了传统金融机构退出大学生信用卡市场而互联网金融大举进入校园信贷市场的深刻原因,同时借助大学生消费信贷调查一手数据实证检验了信誉机制的有效性,研究结果表明:在单次和有限次重复博弈中,“囚徒困境”普遍存在,而在无限次重复博弈中,尽管利率和交易成本下降有利于促进交易,但信息不对称问题却使博弈只能进行有限次,因此要达成长期合作,必须引入具有“社会性惩罚”的信誉机制来抑制大学生的短期投机行为,然信誉机制对于促进传统金融机构与大学生合作的作用有限,更多的是促进互联网金融机构与大学生消费信贷关系的达成,实证结果验证了该结论。由此得到的启示是,充分利用互联网大数据优势、强化互联网金融市场监管、引导大学生树立正确的消费观和责任意识,有助于破解“一放就乱,一管就死”的监管困局,这对于规范互联网金融校园消费信贷市场具有重要现实意义。     

上市公司声誉与自愿性信息披露——来自深市的经验证据

本文以深市A股上市公司为例,以深交所信息披露考评结果代表企业声誉,实证分析了上市公司声誉与自愿性披露水平的关系。结果发现：高质量声誉与自愿性披露水平正相关,但不显著,低质量声誉与自愿性披露水平显著负相关。在控制变量中,公司规模、扣除项后的每股收益以及独立董事人数,均与自愿披露水平显著正相关。说明我国股票市场缺乏有效的声誉激励与约束机制,在股权分置改革后,需要尽快建立信息披露的声誉激励与约束机制,促进长期稳步提高上市公司的信息披露质量,增强股票市场的有效性。     

声誉激励、财务重述与审计费用

选取2001—2016年深沪两市主板上市公司为研究样本,实证检验财务重述对审计费用的影响。结果表明：财务重述与审计费用显著正相关,发生财务重述的公司审计费用显著高于没有财务重述的公司;发生财务重述的公司具有变更事务所和购买审计意见的动机倾向,行业竞争激烈加剧了事务所间的恶意竞争,事务所有可能蓄意降低审计费用招揽有财务重述的低端公司客户;由于声誉激励效应,声誉良好的大规模事务所对财务重述的公司所收取的审计费用显著升高,形成事务所竞争的“马太效应”。     

主办券商声誉机制对新三板挂牌企业会计信息质量影响的实证研究

新三板作为完善我国多层次资本市场的重要举措,在扩宽企业融资渠道、促进实体经济 发展等方面发挥着重要作用,然而信息披露质量不完善仍是制约新三板挂牌企业发展的重要因素。 基于企业会计信息质量视角,文章以 2006-2015 年新三板挂牌企业为研究样本,探讨主办券商声 誉机制是否能够发挥相应的治理作用。研究发现:高声誉主办券商促进了新三板挂牌企业信息披 露质量的提高,而且主要体现在市场化水平较高的省份;进一步研究表明主办券商声誉对信息质 量的治理作用在协议转让与创新层企业中更为明显。研究表明主办券商声誉能够对新三板挂牌企 业发挥相应的持续督导作用,对于如何提升新三板挂牌企业信息披露质量具有一定的借鉴意义。