Group Reputation Research Articles

Group Reputation Supports Beneficent Norms: A Case of 'Them' and 'Us'

This paper demonstrates the role of group normative reputation in the promotion of an aggression reducing possession norm in an artificial society. A previous model of normative reputation is extended such that agents are given the cognitive capacity to categorise other agents as members of a group. In the previous model reputational information was communicated between agents concerning individuals. In the model presented here reputations are projected onto whole groups of agents (a form of stereotyping). By stereotyping, norm followers outperform cheaters (who do not follow the norm) under certain conditions. Stereotyping, by increasing the domain of applicability of a piece of reputational information, allows agents to make informed decisions concerning interactions with agents which no other agent has previously met. However, if conditions are not conducive, stereotyping can completely negate norm following behaviour. Group reputation can be a powerful mechanism, therefore, for the promotion of beneficent norms under the right conditions.

Group reputation and persistent (or permanent) discrimination in credit markets

Belonging to a group (i.e. industry, geographic area, ethnic group) of borrowers seems to play a crucial role in determining credit availability and interest rates. In this paper, we give a rationale for this phenomenon, based on incomplete information. Assuming that groups’ quality changes over time and that banks estimate it on the basis of the past observed default rates, a result of persistent group discrimination is derived. If group reputation and high interest rates affect the firms’ real quality by hampering the development of entrepreneurial skills or by inducing good firms to migrate, the initial discrimination may even cause permanent effects on the economy.

When positive stereotypes threaten intellectual performance: the psychological hazards of "model minority" status.

Asian-American women's performance on a test of quantitative skill was studied as a function of whether their Asian, female, or individual identity was salient at the time of testing. In previous research, ethnicity salience was found to result in enhanced math performance among Asian women. However, the investigators relied on a subtle manipulation of ethnicity salience that likely did not invoke concerns about group reputation nor make salient the common cultural stereotypes concerning Asians' mathematical prowess. We induced a focus on ethnic identity in a manner that was likely to make other people's high performance expectations more salient. Under these conditions, ethnicity salience resulted in diminished ability to concentrate, which in turn led to significantly impaired math performance. Thus, although people commonly hold positive stereotypes about Asians' mathematical skills, making these stereotypes salient prior to performance can create the potential for "choking" under the pressure of high expectations.

Der “dritte Weg” der “neo-eurasischen” Zeitschrift “Elementy” -- zurück ins Dritte Reich?

Articulated in the twenties, the doctrines of the exiled Russian ‘Evrazijstvo’ movement are undergoing a renaissance in Russia today. As the ‘Evrazijstvo movement counted among the most original ideological currents of the Russian diaspora, association with its doctrines could well add to the reputation of a given group or groups. This is the case with the journal Elementy which considers itself as the inheritor of ‘classical’ ‘Evrazijstvo’. Is this claim justified? The article is addressed to this question.

Show them your teeth first! A game-theoretic analysis of lobbying and presure

This paper investigates the choice of an interestgroup between lobbying (``words'') and pressure(``actions'') in order to influence a policymaker. Both lobbying and pressure are modeled asstrategic means of transmitting information that isrelevant to the policymaker. However, only pressure isdirectly costly to the policymaker. The interactionbetween the interest group and the policymaker isframed as a repeated signaling game. In equilibriumpressure – in contrast to lobbying – only occurswhen the interest group's reputation is sufficientlylow, and always improves its reputation. It is shownthat (repeated) lobbying cannot completely substitutefor pressure, and that the interest group may beforced to sustain its reputation through lobbying. Weconclude that pressure is typically used to build upa reputation, lobbying to maintain a reputation.

How Ambiguity Results in Excellence: The Role of Hierarchy and Reputation in U.S. Army Special Forces

This article explores how group reputations get made and unmade within the strictures of an elite military organization. For instance, within teams there are both formal and informal pecking orders. Above teams there exist layers of command and control. Need to know and information flows are critical to the construction of A-team identities both among teams and for commanders' consumption. Yet, the view from within teams and of teams is never the same. From within, teams are thought never to be equal. From above they are expected to be interchangeable. As this article describes, hierarchy is actually bolstered by such different perspectives, and teams work better as a result.

Quality expectations, reputation, and price

The impact on price of current product quality and reputation are estimated using data from the market for Bordeaux wine. A model is proposed in which price is a function of current quality and expected quality, where the latter depends on reputation. Equations determining price and expected quality are estimated jointly. The empirical findings show that the price premium associated with better individual and collective (or group) reputation far exceeds that associated with improvements in current quality. As well, the market values collective reputation indicators only to the extent that they are useful predictors of product quality.

Adolescent Personality Factors in Self-Ratings and Peer Nominations and Their Prediction of Peer Acceptance and Peer Rejection

In this study, the robustness of the Big Five personality factors in adolescents' self-ratings and peer nominations was investigated. Data were obtained on 2,001 adolescents attending secondary school (885 girls; 1,116 boys; M age = 14.5 years). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on the self-ratings confirmed the Big Five personality factors. In contrast, exploratory analysis on the peer nominations revealed five different factors: Aggression-Inattentiveness, Achievement-Withdrawal, Self-Confidence, Sociability, and Emotionality-Nervousness. It is suggested that peers evaluate group members not in terms of their personality but in terms of their group reputation. Peer evaluations contributed substantially to the prediction of peer acceptance and rejection; the Big Five personality factors based on self-ratings did not.

A Theory of Collective Reputations (with Applications to the Persistence of Corruption and to Firm Quality)

The paper is a first attempt at modelling the idea of group reputation as an aggregate of individual reputations. A member's current incentives are affected by his past behaviour and, because his track record is observed only with noise, by the group's past behaviour as well. The paper thus studies the joint dynamics of individual and collective reputations and derives the existence of stereotypes from history dependence rather than from a multiplicity of equilibria or from the existence of a common trait as is usually done in the literature. It shows that new members of an organization may suffer from an original sin of their elders long after the latter are gone, and it derives necessary and sufficient conditions under which group reputations can be rebuilt. Last, the paper applies the theory to analyse when a large firm can maintain a reputation for quality. 1. COLLECTIVE REPUTATIONS Collective reputations play an important role in economics and the social sciences. Countries, ethnic, racial or religious groups are known to be hard-working, honest, corrupt, hospitable or belligerent. Some firms enjoy substantial rents from their reputations for producing high-quality products. Some departments are reported to treat their faculty or students fairly. The paper is a first attempt at modelling the idea of group reputation as an aggregate of individual reputations. A member's current incentives are affected by her past behaviour and, because her track record is observed only with noise, by the group's past behaviour as well. The paper studies the joint dynamics of individual and collective reputations in a model in which current generations are progressively replaced by new ones, and derives the existence of stereotypes from history dependence rather than from a multiplicity of equilibria or from the existence of a common trait as is usually done in the literature (see Section 2 for a detailed comparison with the literature). It shows that new members of an organization may suffer from an original sin of their elders long after the latter are gone, and it derives necessary and sufficient conditions under which group reputations can be rebuilt. Last, the paper applies the theory to analyse when a large firm can maintain a reputation for quality. Let us spell out the building blocks of our theory in more detail: (a) A group's reputation is only as good as that of its members. Each member is characterized by individual traits such as talent, diligence or honesty. Past individual behaviour conveys information about these traits and generates individual reputations.

Practitioner Review: Problems in Children's Peer Relations: What Can the Clinician Do?

This paper describes the assessment and treatment of children with peer relationship problems. The first part of the paper is organized around five topics: peer rejection, peer neglect, the absence of friendships, reputation in the peer group, and peer group affiliations. Next, a series of assessment methods is delineated, including peer, teacher, parent and self reports, as well as direct observational procedures. Finally, we suggest a number of treatment options, including social skills training, social cognitive interventions, and co-operative group interventions.

Footsbarn: from a Tribal ‘Macbeth’ to an Intercultural ‘Dream’

In the first issue of NTQ, in February 1985, we included a feature on the Footsbarn company, tracing their work from its origins in a Cornish commune in the early ‘seventies to their development of a highly distinctive performing style, strong in physicality, visual imagery, and knockabout humour. By then, this was establishing the group's international reputation – and winning them audiences as much through word-of-mouth in out-of-the-way rural communities as on the festival circuit, where they achieved a more conventional critical acclaim. The compiler of that feature, Geraldine Cousin, here provides an update, complementing a company interview conducted in July 1991 with a personal response to the most recent of Footsbarn's regular encounters with Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Geraldine Cousin, who teaches in the Joint School of Theatre Studies at the University of Warwick, is the author of Churchill the Playwright for Methuen, and has also published articles on Shakespeare in performance, Stanislavsky, and Brecht.

On being a sore loser: How fans react to their team'S failure

Spectators were interviewed immediately following two football games to examine mechanisms of rationalization used by fans when their team loses. After both games fans of the losing team, in comparison with supporters of the winning team and nonpartisan spectators, were more likely to judge that their team received fewer “free kicks” (i.e. beneficial penalties) than their opponents, to believe that the outcome was attributable to external factors (luck or poor umpiring), and to “see” dirty play, initiated in particular by the opposing team. There was also a tendency, significant for one game, slight for the other, for losing fans to give lower ratings of the umpire and to give lower ratings of the standard of the game than fans of the winner. Differences between losers' reactions at the two games were related to the narrow margin of defeat at one, the wide margin at the other. The findings were discussed in terms of the reference group function that accompanies allegiance to a sporting team as well as mechanisms used to protect group reputation and, by extension, individual feelings of esteem when they are subjected to threat.

Perspectives on MS Applications—All Around the Model

There are many times when the management science group should consider inviting outside consultants in the management science field to assist in its work. In the long run, this can only enhance the professional ability and the reputation of the management science group. On the other hand, caution should be exercised not to become too dependent on outside consultants and to obtain all of the benefits of the outside assistance through close working cooperation.

Some Organizational Factors Related to the Effectiveness of Management Science Groups in Industry

The organizational factors which can influence the “effectiveness” of a management science activity are discussed in this paper. The discussion is based on some preliminary findings from a series of studies, performed by Northwestern University, on the life histories of OR/MS groups in 66 large U.S. companies. Many companies could be observed having difficulties in absorbing their new management science functions. Such factors as the level of managerial support, client receptivity, organizational and technical capability of an OR/MS group (i.e., the type and quality of its personnel and leadership), the organizational location, group reputation, the relevance of projects performed, and other variables are noted as being significant in determining effectiveness. How well established a group was in the organization is identified as being a critical factor in how these variables would influence the potential for a group's success or failure. This level of “establishment” is defined in terms of four life-cycle phases, namely, Pre-birth, Introductory, Transitional and Maturity. A case study demonstrating the appearance of these phases is presented. Successful implementation of a group's output is discussed as a possible measure of effectiveness. Client “receptivity” is related to the freedom permitted to a group, by their clients, to select projects, gather data, and implement proposals.

Health insurance plan of greater New York.

To the Editor: —The Oct. 25 issue ofThe Journalpublished a critical article by Dr. Arthur M. Master on the Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York that contains many errors. AsThe Journalis the only forum through which correction may reach the medical profession, I respectfully ask that the following facts be published in justice to hundreds of physicians participating in the plan: 1. It has been the history of group practice that its establishment in a community arouses antipathy among local physicians who prefer individual practice. The epithet sweatshop medical personnel or its equivalent has been used before to injure the professional reputation of such groups. Dr. Master's use of this epithet in regard to the 30 medical groups engaged in prepaid group practice in New York represents an unwarranted reflection on the professional skill and integrity of 950 of his colleagues in this city, 46%