A firm’s reputation is perhaps one of its most important strategic resources. Using data from Fortune’s America’s Most Admired Companies survey, this article examines how layoffs affect the reputations of firms. The authors found that layoffs have a negative impact on a firm’s reputation and that this relationship is significantly stronger for newer firms than older firms. Limited support is found for the hypothesis that larger firms’ reputations will be buffered from the adverse effects of a layoff on their reputations. Implications of this research and future research questions are discussed.

Examines the associations between ten integrated quality management constructs and the resulting product quality. Analyzes responses from plant managers of 449 auto‐parts firms using stepwise regression. Notes three primary predictors (customer focus, empowerment, and supplier quality management) explaining 26 per cent of variation in product quality. Examines the role of top management commitment in TQM implementation by splitting the sample into firms with high and low top management commitment based on the mean score on this construct. Concludes, first, that firms with high top management commitment produce high quality products despite variations in individual constructs, and, second, that in firms with low top management commitment, four other constructs, i.e. customer focus, supplier quality management, empowerment, and internal quality information usage are primary predictors of product quality.

It is often argued that mergers and acquisitions (M&As) lead to employee layoffs. This paper examines factors that influence the probability that a layoff announcement will follow an M&A. A sample of 136 large M&As, involving U.S. targets, that occurred between 1989 and 1993 is analyzed. Analyses of this sample indicate that the probability of a layoff announcement is higher if the firms involved in the transaction are related. The probability that a layoff will be announced was not changed when the acquirer was a non‐U.S. firm (cross‐border transactions). Target revenue per employee before the M&A is negatively related to the probability that a layoff was announced. Target financial performance prior to the transaction and use of borrowed funds to finance the merger were not found to have an impact on the probability that a layoff will be announced. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

We develop and test the thesis that corporate social performance (CSP) constitutes a socially constructed and shared strategic asset, which is not only influenced by factors specific to a firm, but also by the social performance of firms in its industry and inter-corporate network. Using variance decomposition, we analyze data from 130 large Japanese firms and find that both firm-specific and industrylevel factors account for significant variance in CSP, but network-level factors do not.Keywords Corporate social performance . Japan . Variance decomposition . Keiretsu . Networks . Industry-effects . Resource based view Over the past two decades, corporate social performance (CSP) has been the focus of significant attention from policy makers and the public at large and much theorizing and empirical investigation from the academic community. Wood (1991) defines CSP as the responsiveness a firm has towards its stakeholders. Similarly, Hillman and Keim (2001) consider CSP to combine a firm's attention to the needs of its stakeholders with its efforts to address social issues. Research has shown that firms exhibiting stronger CSP may gain advantages in attracting consumers (Brown & Asia Pacific J Manage (2007) 24:283-303

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