Networking and identity: the role of networking in the public image of professional service firms

Abstract

The paper offers a positive example of how networking influences the success of small firms and examines an industry sector where it occurs naturally as part of the industry culture. This study has focused upon the advertising agency sector, as it is known to network. The paper examines the opinions of advertising agency owner‐managers, elicited during this research, where the practice and preference for networking was apparent. The issues highlighted by this examination fall into the following broad categories: the perceived identity which the owner‐managers ascribed to their networks; the time which the networks have taken to nurture and develop; the trust engendered by the participants both for the networks as an entity and for the participants; the association of reputation and pride in the network; and the need to reflect in order to make use of network information.