Same Same but Different: the Relationship Between Organizational Reputation and Organizational Public Value

Abstract

Organizational public value and organizational reputation are different concepts stemming from independent research traditions. Nevertheless, the constructs share several similarities, which make a systematic comparison and investigation of their relationship a promising and necessary endeavor. In this paper, we compare the two constructs along seven dimensions, with special attention to the micro-level of individual psychology. Several similarities regarding strategic relevance, locus of control, measurement unit, process dynamics, and axiological nature exist. As we will see, the constructs differ significantly with respect to the basis of evaluation and their dominant logic. We draw on a recent micro-foundation of public value to elaborate on these differences and develop propositions about how the constructs are related. Public value applies a holistic basis of evaluation covering all basic values and collective frames of reference, while reputation is more adaptive. Moreover, public value follows a logic of contribution (to a collective), while reputation follows a logic of recognition (by a collective). The two constructs should not be taken as similar or used interchangeably. However, both fields can benefit from a joint theoretical basis and micro-foundation, as well as from connected research programs. Practitioners should consider both constructs in connection.

Measuring public value: scale development and construct validation

“…The analyses of the two studies provided first insights on the reliability and validity of the measure. Additionally, we empirically investigated public value's theoretical distinctiveness from related concepts, such as CSR and reputation, that are more widely used in private sector research (Meynhardt, Strathoff, et al 2019;Meynhardt and Gomez 2019). These findings not only help ensure the public value scale's construct validity, but also contribute to the theoretical discourse on public value distinctiveness.…”

“…As we also aimed to better understand the public value construct's distinctiveness as measured by the public value scale and compared to related social evaluation constructs, we included a CSR and a reputation scale in the survey, as they show conceptual overlap, but simultaneously some marked differences (Meynhardt, Strathoff, et al 2019). As expected, CSR and reputation overall correlated strongly with public value (CSR: r ¼ 0.84, p < 0.001; reputation: r ¼ 0.78, p < 0.001).…”

“…distinct from CSR and reputation. These concepts are theoretically strongly connected to public value (Meynhardt, Strathoff, et al 2019;Meynhardt and Gomez 2019;Van der Wal et al 2008) because, as public value, they present the public's positive social evaluations of organizations. Whereas the concept of public value originated from and is still popular in public management research (Moore 1995), it is less known in research on private organizations' management (Meynhardt and Gomez 2019;Van der Wal et al 2008).…”

“…Both, public value and reputation, are "social approval assets with an external locus of control" (Meynhardt, Strathoff, et al 2019, 13). Yet, although both constructs regard a social collective's evaluations, only public value necessarily encompasses consideration of some form of social collective within each individual evaluation; reputation, in contrast, might build on completely self-focused individual evaluations (Meynhardt, Strathoff, et al 2019). Additionally, one could argue that reputation is "relative to a reference group of companies with which the company competes for resources" (Fombrun 2012, 100), while public value is relative to the social collective to which the evaluating individual mostly relates (Meynhardt, Strathoff, et al 2019).…”

“…Yet, although both constructs regard a social collective's evaluations, only public value necessarily encompasses consideration of some form of social collective within each individual evaluation; reputation, in contrast, might build on completely self-focused individual evaluations (Meynhardt, Strathoff, et al 2019). Additionally, one could argue that reputation is "relative to a reference group of companies with which the company competes for resources" (Fombrun 2012, 100), while public value is relative to the social collective to which the evaluating individual mostly relates (Meynhardt, Strathoff, et al 2019). Consequently, there can theoretically be overlapping forms of reputation, such as the reputation for being socially ethical (Agarwal et al 2018), that also consider the social collective and should strongly correlate with public value.…”