IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/entthe/v29y2005i1p57-78.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Company You Keep: How Young Firms in Different Competitive Contexts Signal Reputation through Their Customers

Author

Listed:
  • A. Rebecca Reuber
  • Eileen Fischer

Abstract

This article explores how young firms, across different competitive contexts, signal reputation through their customers. Four distinct competitive contexts were differentiated based on whether the complexity of the customer's purchase process was high or low and whether the product/service was customized or standardized. CEOs of young firms operating in each of the four contexts were interviewed to discern patterns, both within and across contexts, in the reputational signals conferred by customers. Analysis of the interview data yields suggestions for how current theory on the exchange partners of young firms can be refined and extended, as well as propositions related to customer–derived reputation in different competitive contexts.

Suggested Citation

  • A. Rebecca Reuber & Eileen Fischer, 2005. "The Company You Keep: How Young Firms in Different Competitive Contexts Signal Reputation through Their Customers," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 29(1), pages 57-78, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:29:y:2005:i:1:p:57-78
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2005.00069.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2005.00069.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2005.00069.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Choonwoo Lee & Kyungmook Lee & Johannes M. Pennings, 2001. "Internal capabilities, external networks, and performance: a study on technology‐based ventures," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(6‐7), pages 615-640, June.
    2. Joel A. C. Baum & Tony Calabrese & Brian S. Silverman, 2000. "Don't go it alone: alliance network composition and startups' performance in Canadian biotechnology," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(3), pages 267-294, March.
    3. Venkataraman, S. & Van De Ven, Andrew H. & Buckeye, Jeanne & Hudson, Roger, 1990. "Starting up in a turbulent environment: A process model of failure among firms with high customer dependence," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 5(5), pages 277-295, September.
    4. Hayagreeva Rao, 1994. "The Social Construction of Reputation: Certification Contests, Legitimation, and the Survival of Organizations in the American Automobile Industry: 1895–1912," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(S1), pages 29-44, December.
    5. Helena Yli‐Renko & Erkko Autio & Harry J. Sapienza, 2001. "Social capital, knowledge acquisition, and knowledge exploitation in young technology‐based firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(6‐7), pages 587-613, June.
    6. Venkataraman, S. & VAN de VEN, Andrew H., 1998. "Hostile environmental jolts, transaction set, and new business," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 231-255, May.
    7. Nelson, Philip, 1974. "Advertising as Information," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(4), pages 729-754, July/Aug..
    8. Carl Shapiro, 1983. "Premiums for High Quality Products as Returns to Reputations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 98(4), pages 659-679.
    9. Larson, Andrea, 1991. "Partner networks: Leveraging external ties to improve entrepreneurial performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 6(3), pages 173-188, May.
    10. Herr, Paul M & Kardes, Frank R & Kim, John, 1991. "Effects of Word-of-Mouth and Product-Attribute Information on Persuasion: An Accessibility-Diagnosticity Perspective," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 17(4), pages 454-462, March.
    11. Jane E. Dutton & Robert B. Duncan, 1987. "The creation of momentum for change through the process of strategic issue diagnosis," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(3), pages 279-295, May.
    12. Keith Weigelt & Colin Camerer, 1988. "Reputation and corporate strategy: A review of recent theory and applications," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(5), pages 443-454, September.
    13. Yli-Renko, Helena & Sapienza, Harry J. & Hay, Michael, 2001. "The role of contractual governance flexibility in realizing the outcomes of key customer relationships," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 529-555, November.
    14. Brown, Jacqueline Johnson & Reingen, Peter H, 1987. "Social Ties and Word-of-Mouth Referral Behavior," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 14(3), pages 350-362, December.
    15. Julie M. Hite & William S. Hesterly, 2001. "The evolution of firm networks: from emergence to early growth of the firm," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(3), pages 275-286, March.
    16. Delmar, Frederic & Davidsson, Per & Gartner, William B., 2003. "Arriving at the high-growth firm," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 189-216, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kimberly A. Eddleston & Jamie J. Ladge & Cheryl Mitteness & Lakshmi Balachandra, 2016. "Do you See what I See? Signaling Effects of Gender and Firm Characteristics on Financing Entrepreneurial Ventures," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(3), pages 489-514, May.
    2. Liliana Doganova, 2009. "Entrepreneurship as a process of collective exploration," Working Papers halshs-00431695, HAL.
    3. Suzanne Mawson, 2018. "Customer perceived value in high growth firms," Revista Cuadernos de Economia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, FCE, CID, vol. 37(75), pages 755-778, December.
    4. Guldiken, Orhun & Tupper, Christina & Nair, Anil & Yu, Huizhi, 2017. "The impact of media coverage on IPO stock performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 24-32.
    5. Caglayan, Mustafa & Talavera, Oleksandr & Xiong, Lin, 2022. "Female small business owners in China: Discouraged, not discriminated," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    6. Xiong, Yangchun & Lam, Hugo K.S. & Hu, Qiaoxuan & Yee, Rachel W.Y. & Blome, Constantin, 2021. "The financial impacts of environmental violations on supply chains: Evidence from an emerging market," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    7. Hui Zheng & Xuexu Piao & Sangmoon Park, 2021. "The Role of Founder-CEO, Human Capital and Legitimacy in Venture Capital Financing in China’s P2P Lending Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-14, February.
    8. Stefan Kurpjuweit & Stephan M. Wagner & Thomas Y. Choi, 2021. "Selecting Startups as Suppliers: A Typology of Supplier Selection Archetypes," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 57(3), pages 25-49, July.
    9. Lukas Maier & Christian V. Baccarella & Jörn H. Block & Timm F. Wagner & Kai-Ingo Voigt, 2023. "The Legitimization Effect of Crowdfunding Success: A Consumer Perspective," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 47(4), pages 1389-1420, July.
    10. Stevens, Charles E. & Makarius, Erin E. & Mukherjee, Debmalya, 2015. "It Takes Two to Tango: Signaling Behavioral Intent in Service Multinationals' Foreign Entry Strategies," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 235-248.
    11. C. S. Richard Chan & Annaleena Parhankangas, 2017. "Crowdfunding Innovative Ideas: How Incremental and Radical Innovativeness Influence Funding Outcomes," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(2), pages 237-263, March.
    12. Nataliya Galan & Ellinor Torsein, 2021. "Identification of international opportunities: A study of mature firms in mature industries," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 53-103, March.
    13. Liliana Doganova, 2009. "Entrepreneurship as a process of collective exploration," Post-Print halshs-00431695, HAL.
    14. Edelman, Linda F. & Manolova, Tatiana S. & Brush, Candida G. & Chow, Clifton M., 2021. "Signal configurations: Exploring set-theoretic relationships in angel investing," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(2).
    15. Tevfik Aktekin & Dev K. Dutta & Jeffrey E. Sohl, 2018. "Entrepreneurial firms and financial attractiveness for securing debt capital: a Bayesian analysis," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 27-50, January.
    16. Tessa Christina Flatten & Andreas Engelen & Timo Möller & Malte Brettel, 2015. "How Entrepreneurial Firms Profit from Pricing Capabilities: An Examination of Technology–Based Ventures," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 39(5), pages 1111-1136, September.
    17. Yli-Renko, Helena & Denoo, Lien & Janakiraman, Ramkumar, 2020. "A knowledge-based view of managing dependence on a key customer: Survival and growth outcomes for young firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(6).
    18. Valérie-Inès de La Ville, 2006. "Collective learning processes in high tech firms," Post-Print hal-01845200, HAL.
    19. Antoaneta P Petkova, 2016. "Standing Out or Blending In? The Formation of New Firms’ Legitimacy and Reputation under Different Levels of Market Uncertainty," Corporate Reputation Review, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(1), pages 22-34, February.
    20. Lanchimba, Cintya & Welsh, Dianne H.B. & Fadairo, Muriel & Silva, Vivian-Lara D.S., 2021. "The impact of franchisor signaling on entrepreneurship in emerging markets," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 337-348.
    21. Eileen Fischer & Rebecca Reuber, 2007. "The Good, the Bad, and the Unfamiliar: The Challenges of Reputation Formation Facing New Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 31(1), pages 53-75, January.
    22. Bömer, Max & Maxin, Hannes, 2018. "Why Fintechs Cooperate with Banks - Evidence from Germany," Hannover Economic Papers (HEP) dp-637, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät.
    23. Ebbers, Joris J. & Wijnberg, Nachoem M., 2012. "Nascent ventures competing for start-up capital: Matching reputations and investors," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 372-384.
    24. Chowdhury, Sanjib, 2011. "The moderating effects of customer driven complexity on the structure and growth relationship in young firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 306-320, May.
    25. Karl Taeuscher, 2019. "Uncertainty kills the long tail: demand concentration in peer-to-peer marketplaces," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 29(4), pages 649-660, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fischer, Eileen & Reuber, A. Rebecca, 2004. "Contextual antecedents and consequences of relationships between young firms and distinct types of dominant exchange partners," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 681-706, September.
    2. Erik Lundmark & Anna Krzeminska & Dean A. Shepherd, 2019. "Images of Entrepreneurship: Exploring Root Metaphors and Expanding Upon Them," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(1), pages 138-170, January.
    3. Lechner, Christian & Dowling, Michael & Welpe, Isabell, 2006. "Firm networks and firm development: The role of the relational mix," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 514-540, July.
    4. Kalm, Matias, 2012. "The Impact of Networking on Firm Performance - Evidence from Small and Medium-Sized Firms in Emerging Technology Areas," Discussion Papers 1278, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    5. Reuber, A. Rebecca & Fischer, Eileen, 2007. "Don't rest on your laurels: Reputational change and young technology-based ventures," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 363-387, May.
    6. Eileen Fischer & Rebecca Reuber, 2007. "The Good, the Bad, and the Unfamiliar: The Challenges of Reputation Formation Facing New Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 31(1), pages 53-75, January.
    7. Lavlu Mozumdar & Geoffrey Hagelaar & Valentina C. Materia & S. W. F. Omta & Mohammad Amirul Islam & Gerben Velde, 2019. "Embeddedness or Over-Embeddedness? Women Entrepreneurs’ Networks and Their Influence on Business Performance," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 31(5), pages 1449-1469, December.
    8. Sascha Raithel & Manfred Schwaiger, 2015. "The effects of corporate reputation perceptions of the general public on shareholder value," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(6), pages 945-956, June.
    9. Hsiang-Ming Lee & Tsai Chen & Ya-Hui Hsu & Yu-Chi Wu, 2018. "Effect Of Complementary Product Fit And Brand Awareness On Brand Attitude After M&As: Word Of Mouth As A Moderator," Global Journal of Business Research, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 12(1), pages 51-67.
    10. Yli-Renko, Helena & Denoo, Lien & Janakiraman, Ramkumar, 2020. "A knowledge-based view of managing dependence on a key customer: Survival and growth outcomes for young firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(6).
    11. Amin Ansary & Nik M. Hazrul Nik Hashim, 2018. "Brand image and equity: the mediating role of brand equity drivers and moderating effects of product type and word of mouth," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 969-1002, October.
    12. Smith, Claudia & Smith, J. Brock & Shaw, Eleanor, 2017. "Embracing digital networks: Entrepreneurs' social capital online," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 18-34.
    13. Devarakonda, Ramakrishna & Reuer, Jeffrey J. & Tadikonda, Harsha, 2022. "Founder social capital and value appropriation in R&D alliance agreements," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(4).
    14. Kim, Juran & Kang, Seungmook & Lee, Ki Hoon, 2021. "Evolution of digital marketing communication: Bibliometric analysis and network visualization from key articles," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 552-563.
    15. Mooweon Rhee & Pamela R. Haunschild, 2006. "The Liability of Good Reputation: A Study of Product Recalls in the U.S. Automobile Industry," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(1), pages 101-117, February.
    16. Thommie Burström & Jussi Harri & Timothy. L. Wilson, 2018. "Nascent Entrepreneurs Managing in Networks: Equivocality, Multiplexity and Tie Formation," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 26(01), pages 51-83, March.
    17. Adriana Burlea‐Schiopoiu & Dragos Alexandru Balan, 2021. "Modelling the impact of corporate reputation on customers' behaviour," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(3), pages 1142-1156, May.
    18. Annika Veh & Markus Göbel & Rick Vogel, 2019. "Corporate reputation in management research: a review of the literature and assessment of the concept," Business Research, Springer;German Academic Association for Business Research, vol. 12(2), pages 315-353, December.
    19. Cheng Gao & Tiona Zuzul & Geoffrey Jones & Tarun Khanna, 2017. "Overcoming Institutional Voids: A Reputation-Based View of Long-Run Survival," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(11), pages 2147-2167, November.
    20. Isabel Diez-Vial & Marta Fernández-Olmos, 2017. "The effect of science and technology parks on a firm’s performance: a dynamic approach over time," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 413-434, July.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:29:y:2005:i:1:p:57-78. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.