Reputational Status of Organizations in Technical Systems

Abstract

An important, but relatively neglected, aspect of social stratification in modern societies is the reputational status associated with complex organizations in interdependent organizational fields. In this study, social factors influencing the reputational status of research organizations in large-scale, cognitively diverse, multisectoral "technical systems" are examined. Data are drawn from interviews with personnel from a national U.S. sample of 50 organizations engaged in research on nuclear-waste management and 47 organizations involved in photovoltaics research. The reputational status of each organization was assessed by knowledgeable respondents from other organizations in each system. A model is presented that characterizes reputational status as a function of organizational performance, organizational structure, and network position. Support is obtained for the model by the use of both subjective and objective indicators, including evidence of the mediating effects of network position. Further results obtained from a blockmodel analysis indicate that ties to specific blocks are a more important determinant of reputational status than block membership.