A positive corporate reputation can be crucial to successful venture development. Making use of the Strategic Reference Point theory, four reputation strategies were conceptualized: 1) dynamic exploitation of existing assets; 2) development of core competencies; 3) image management; and 4) strategic alliances. In a comprehensive investigation of three software enterprises in Israel, companies were found to differ in policies that possibly could lead to a good reputation. One company emphasized the long-term establishment of core competencies and remained a fairly unknown enterprise. A second company accentuated the short-term exploitation of assets and had a middling success in reputation building. A third enterprise invested in a broad spectrum of reputation building strategies and quickly developed a reputation for excellence in the field. In conclusion, corporate success often depends on the extent to which managers develop an integrated package of policies for systematically building the intangible asset of corporate reputation.

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Two key concepts used by social scientists are cosmopolitanism and localism. Cosmopolitanism, however, has come to be confused with professionalism This confusion can be eliminated by returning the concepts to their original usage to designate outer and inner reference groups. This more restricted definition of cosmopolitanism-localism was used to test the proposition that an orientation combining both cosmopolitan and local characteristics, called here "cosmo-local," is optimal for professionals. The cosmo-local was found more likely than other types to hold professional values and to obtain the autonomy necessary to professionals. The relationship between orientation and one form of professional behavior, expertise-seeking behavior, was found to be conditioned by such variables as career stage, work environment, and primary occupational role. While in a few contexts the cosmopolitan orientation was the most likely to lead to expertise-seeking behavior, the cosmo-local orientation was found to be most sensitive to changes favorable to professional behavior and therefore the most conducive to professionalism.

Reacting to a perception of threat, workers can become fatalistic or increase their readiness to participate in plant safety programs. A field study of 396 production workers at eight factories tested key relationships derivable from this assumption. Workers were found to be particularly sensitive to presumed personal jeopardy from existing safety hazards. These threat perceptions were tied to previous encounters with accidents and to training for a specific task. In contrast, occupational climates seen as supportive to safety efforts did not effect personal threat evaluations. Safety instruction and co-worker support were established as complementary factors that moved workers toward an activist path of participation rather than a fatalistic acceptance of an existing situation. While relationships were primarily investigated on an individual level, special conditions at certain enterprises were found to influence worker willingness to become involved in safety endeavors.