UC Berkeley

Utilizing a multi-method approach, in this dissertation I first examined how reputation forms over time and how reputation is transmitted and communicated in newly forming and existing social networks, which are primarily affiliative in nature. Next, I examined how reputation differs from related constructs such as status and trust, how one’s workplace reputation changes depending on specific behaviors (workplace transgressions, helpful behaviors, and thoughtful apologies), and how the trajectories of one’s reputation may not necessarily be consistent across people in the same context, but may differ depending on individual (and hierarchical) factors such as power and gender. Finally, I examined whether a network’s criteria or perception of “good” or “bad” reputation may differ depending on the reference context, how group consensus may differ in “good” versus “bad” reputations, and whether reputation relates to meaningful behaviors (performance) that are objectively observable. While many outstanding questions remain, taken together, the findings from the present research suggest that taking a more nuanced approach to the study of personal reputation is a crucial endeavor in order to better understand and predict important social and organizational outcomes.