Abstract
What do collective reputation and communal pastures have in common? Collective reputation is an important type of collective good produced by many business networks. We argue that it has the structure of a common-pool resource, which points to the relevance of Elinor Ostrom’s theory about the community governance of natural common-pool resources. After adapting the Ostromian framework to the phenomenon of collective reputation, we explore the experience of two groups of winemaking enterprises in Hungary who set up systems of quality assurance in order to protect and improve their joint reputation. We examine if the conditions identified by Ostrom as favourable for the self-governance of commons are also conducive to the governance of collective reputation. Our findings validate our conjecture that research on goal-oriented business networks may use insights from the mature theory of ‘governing the commons’. Potential pathways for further research are outlined.
Highlights
What factors are conducive to the self-governance of collective reputation by business groups? In our paper, we attempt to identify these factors using a case study conducted in two Hungarian winemaking communities
How relevant is Ostrom’s common-pool resources (CPRs)-theory for such groups or networks of business organisations? We show that at least one important type of collective good produced by business networks – collective reputation – has the structure of a CPR
We explore the experience of two local communities of winemaking enterprises in Hungary who set up self-governing quality assurance systems to protect and improve their collective reputation as an immaterial CPR
Summary
What factors are conducive to the self-governance of collective reputation by business groups? In our paper, we attempt to identify these factors using a case study conducted in two Hungarian winemaking communities. For such cases, Ostrom’s theory is directly relevant. The case study illustrates the potential importance of collective reputation for stable groups of private organisations as well as the role of multilateral cooperative efforts in producing it as a collective good. It shows the fruitfulness of Boldizsár Megyesi and Károly Mike applying Ostrom’s theoretical framework to purposeful, goal-oriented networks of organisations..
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