Corporate reputation in the People’s Republic of China: A B2B perspective

Industrial Marketing Management 39 (2010) 728–736

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Industrial Marketing Management

Corporate reputation in the People’s Republic of China: A B2B perspective Michael T. Ewing ⁎, Lydia Windisch, Fiona J. Newton Department of Marketing, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history: Received 5 August 2008 Received in revised form 16 March 2009 Accepted 2 June 2009 Available online 19 March 2010 Keywords: Corporate reputation China Business-to-business Multi-source case studies

a b s t r a c t How B2B firms in the People's Republic of China [PRC] view, value and manage their corporate reputation has received little research attention. Drawing on multiple case studies, our findings confirm that firms are utilizing certain Western conceptualizations of corporate reputation, including the leveraging of intangible forms of corporate reputation. However, many of the firms were also using the hitherto underemphasized elements of firm–government relationships and government regulatory policies to create positive assessments of a firm's reputation among key stakeholders. Notwithstanding our findings that corporate reputation is valued as a means of gaining competitive advantage and dispelling perceptions that Chinese products/services are low-cost and low-quality, concern remains that building reputation capital among stakeholders may result in a loss of price competitiveness. Finally, unlike the framework proposed by Barnett, Jermier, and Lafferty (2006), our results suggest that B2B firms in China do not impose clear boundaries between reputation and ‘corporate reputation capital’. Nor does there appear to be an emphasis on disaggregating the constructs of identify and image from that of reputation. © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Irrespective of domicile, firms today generally recognize the importance of corporate reputation (Bennett & Kottasz, 2000; Devine & Halpern, 2001; Dolphin, 2004; Kitchen & Laurence, 2003; Pharoah, 2003). Nevertheless, Lines (2004) has suggested that compared to their North American counterparts, Asian executives place greater emphasis on the linkage between corporate reputation and such tangibles as stock prices, sales figures, and the formation of strategic partnerships. This more tangible orientation is also present in Asian approaches to brand management (Ewing, Napoli, & Pitt, 2001). Conversely, European and North American executives place greater emphasis on identifying ways that corporate reputation can be leveraged to deliver intangible outcomes, particularly the recruitment and retention of employees (Lines, 2004). In understanding such differences, it is important to consider the context in which firms operate. Johns (2001) eloquently argues that context is a critical variable to consider in seeking understanding of the nexus between a person and their situation. Moreover, Tsui (2007) has expressed concerns that an overemphasis on prevailing North American management research paradigms may in fact thwart the development of ‘global management knowledge’ by overlooking the valuable insights that can be gained from examining novel contexts. Taken together, contextual factors may help to explain differences in the emphasis given to corporate reputation among Asian CEOs and those in the West. ⁎ Corresponding author. Department of Marketing, Faculty of Business & Economics, Monash University, PO Box 197, Caulfield East, VIC 3145, Australia. Tel.: +61 3 9903 2563. E-mail address: [email protected] (M.T. Ewing). 0019-8501/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2010.02.011

Furthermore, studies focusing on context may help concretize whether boundary conditions exist in the minds of senior management when they conceptualize and utilize strategies to build their firm's reputation. This has theoretical implications given the divergent definitions of the reputation construct (see Barnett, Jermier, & Lafferty, 2006). The influence of context-specific factors on the adoption and utilization of strategies to build and/or maintain corporate reputation in China is of particular importance for a number of reasons. First, the People's Republic of China (PRC) has been experiencing an unprecedented industrial boom across multiple industry sectors (see OECD, 2005; Schott, 2008). For example, in 2007 China's real GDP increased by 11.4%, the most rapid rate of annual growth since 1994 (Morrison, 2008). Second, indigenous Chinese firms are increasingly becoming important players in local and international markets. As such, keeping abreast of their approaches to developing and/or leveraging corporate reputation is of strategic importance, especially in a tightening economic climate where firms are under increasing pressure to maintain competitive advantage. Third, firms’ understanding of corporate reputation in China remains under-researched (Fombrun & Pan, 2006; Zyglidopoulos & Reid, 2006). Specifically, little is known about whether firms in China perceive, build, manage, and/or measure corporate reputation in a more traditional Western-centric manner or whether they have developed their own context-specific approaches. This issue is particularly important given the tendency for existing research literature on China to be homogenized to US-centric norms (Tsui, 2004, 2007). In response to Tsui's (2007) call for more culturally specific and culturally validated management research in China, we undertake a

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Fig. 1. Contextualization of corporate reputation.

‘grass-roots’ examination of how firms in the Chinese B2B sector manage their reputations. Specifically, the study seeks to contribute to the existing literature by identifying whether B2B firms in China are approaching corporate reputation in ways that are different to existing Western-centric views of this construct (see Fig. 11). As Whetten (2009) has argued, there is a need to apply theoretical constructs to contexts other than the ones in which they were developed. Such a process enables elucidation of potentially useful contextual differences. As such, it is anticipated that the lessons learned from China will broaden our understanding of the ways in which corporate reputation can be conceptualized. Of particular interest is whether B2B firms are adopting novel approaches to corporate reputation that may lead to new avenues for research or modify existing definitions of this construct. Furthermore, applying a contextual lens to the issue of building and maintaining reputation among B2B firms in the PRC may help to identify practical insights for assisting businesses that seek to establish/strengthen links with Chinese firms. The paper proceeds as follows. First, we review existing research on corporate reputation in China. Next, the method is outlined and the results from our multiple case-study analysis are presented. Finally, the study contributions and limitations are summarized along with suggestions for future research. 2. Corporate reputation and the People's Republic of China Definitions of corporate reputation vary and reflect the input from different disciplines including management, marketing, economics, public relations, sociology, and even game theory (Brown, Dacin, Pratt, & Whetten, 2006; Deephouse, 2000). The literature on corporate reputation variously interprets the construct as: (i) a ‘company-centric’, marketing-based construct that permeates how people in the organization think about and behave on behalf of the organization (Balmer & Greyser, 2006; Ettenson & Knowles, 2008); (ii) the result of past actions (Nguyen & Leblanc, 2001); and (iii) an indication of how well a firm's target audience ‘knows’ them (Lewis, 2001). We define corporate reputation as “observers’ collective judgments of a corporation based in assessments of the financial, social, and environmental impacts attributed to the corporation over time” (Barnett et al., 2006, p. 34). As such, reputation is part of a framework that interlinks it with the related concepts of identity, image, and reputation capital. Inherent within the Barnett et al. (2006) framework is the notion that observers’ perceptions of corporate identity and image can contribute to their assessments of a firm's reputation. Equally importantly, the framework delineates how stakeholder assessments of a firm can foster reputation capital; the intangible value of their reputation as an economic asset.

1 The authors wish to acknowledge the feedback from an anonymous reviewer in the formulation of this diagram.

Perhaps one of the most important contextual factors contributing to the focus on corporate reputation in China is its emergence as the world's ‘factory’ (Loo & Davies, 2006). Between 1972 and 2005, China's presence in all manufacturing product categories increased from 9% to 85% (Schott, 2008). However, the export prices of Chinese manufactured products are still generally lower than those manufactured in OECD countries (Schott, 2008), and this has led to perceptions that products manufactured in China are of inferior quality and, in some cases, dangerous (Morrison, 2007). The spate of product recalls in recent years has not helped to allay negative customer perceptions (Fombrun & Pan, 2006). In 2007, for example, the Food and Drug Administration issued warnings regarding a wide range of Chinese-made products including toothpaste, fish products, heparin, and 150 brands of pet food. During the same year, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued multiple recalls on Chinese manufactured children's toys because of concerns about lead contamination and other potential health hazards (Morrison, 2007). The negative impact on firm reputation is likely to be particularly robust among import nations where there are significant numbers of consumers who look beyond price to the actual reputation of the company making the product (Fombrun & Pan, 2006; Loo & Davies, 2006). It is therefore not surprising that many Chinese firms are beginning to shift their focus from price-based competitive strategies towards more complex marketing strategies (Chen, 2004). Such moves are possibly influenced by government policy changes (Zhang et al., 2008) with respect to environmental responsibilities and economic pursuits. Building on the preceding review of the China corporate reputation literature, the following schematic illustrates the potential for contextual factors to influence the way(s) in which B2B firms conceptualize, build, and maintain corporate reputation, and feedback into existing understandings of this construct (Fig. 2). 3. Methods Data for this paper were obtained through multi-source case studies. The use of interpretive methods has found support among industrial marketing researchers (Johnston, Leach, & Liu, 1999; Starkey & Madan, 2001; Woodside & Wilson, 2003; Beverland, Ewing, & Matanda, 2006). The case-study method utilizes a wide range of data sources to derive a detailed picture of the business situation/environment (Sternquist & Zhengyi, 2006). This method is particularly useful when the goal is to obtain a deeper understanding of ‘soft’ variables (Yin, 1994) and where there is dynamic change (Matthyssens & Vandenbempt, 2003). Although not as in-depth as single-case studies (Dyer & Wilkins, 1991), multiple case studies increase the generalizability of research findings and are thus indispensable for theory-building research (Eisenhardt, 1989). Our sample comprised 24 B2B firms in the PRC. A convenience sampling methodology was used as it was not deemed feasible to

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Fig. 2. Contextualization of how established conceptualizations of corporate reputation may need to be modified when applied to contexts beyond that in which they were developed (e.g. B2B firms in China).

generate a random list of companies and then seek permission from senior firm members to participate in a semi-structured interview. However, efforts were made to include a broad range of firms in terms of size, ownership, and industry sector in order to increase the richness of insight and generalizability of the study findings (see Table 1). As such, the sample comprised three Chinese-owned firms (private and public); four publicly listed foreign firms; six firms that are collaborations between domestic Chinese firms and international partners, commonly referred to as joint ventures (JVs); nine wholly foreign-owned enterprises (WFOEs); and two conglomerates that comprised both wholly foreign-owned and joint venture firms. Case studies for each firm were developed by executive MBA students as part of their course requirements at a leading Chinese University. The students were trained by one of the study authors to utilize a semi-structured interview schedule of open-ended questions (see Appendix A). The use of semi-structured interviews provided some level of standardization across the data collection while still permitting representatives of each firm the freedom to communicate their perceptions of corporate reputation without undue influence from the researchers. The interviews were conducted in Chinese and were subsequently translated into English prior to analysis. In addition to the semi-structured interviews with senior firm members, students were required to evaluate secondary source information pertaining to the firm, including internal strategy documents, press coverage, and firm websites. Analysis of the data was undertaken using a combination of grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) and an informed research approach. First, the multi-source case studies were subjected to a coding analysis in accordance with Eisenhardt's (1989) framework for qualitative data analysis for theory-building purposes. This method of data analysis initially uses within-case analysis whereby each case is individually examined and preliminary theoretical constructs are noted. Next, a cross-case analysis was undertaken. This involved open, axial, and selective coding (see Strauss & Corbin, 1998). During this phase, emphasis was placed on identifying reoccurring themes and structures for facilitating theory building (Table 2).

4. Findings 4.1. Contextual influences on the development of corporate reputation among B2B firms There is recognition that China's rapid growth and expansion across a wide range of manufacturing sectors has typically been powered by its ability to produce goods at low-cost, with less emphasis on the development or strategic utilization of corporate reputation. [S]ince the foreign investment companies were attracted by low cost in China as the “world plant” first (Case 2, Joint Venture, electronic components and systems firm) …China is growing into a manufacturing center for the whole world (Case 25, Joint Venture, chemical manufacturer) However, there is also mounting recognition of the need for firms to respond to consumer demands for attributes beyond product price and quality. In current competitive market, the competition is changing gradually from cost, quality to reputation (Case 4, Wholly Foreign-owned Enterprise, electronic components manufacturer) China is now open to the world, the competitive pressures and fastchanging environment forced businesses to become more customerfocused… China's outsourcing service market is getting mature (Case 23, Wholly Foreign-owned Enterprise, information technology software and systems firm) It is worth noting that the frenetic economic growth within China may in fact have detracted from the development and adoption of comprehensive and sustainable corporate reputation strategies. ….there is still a long way to go because currently the company is facing fast growth with limited resources… How to leverage the resources in all product portfolio and its business units for

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4.2. Perceived benefits of building and maintaining corporate reputation

Table 1 Demographics of sampled B2B firms. Case Industry no.

Ownership

Size (sales: US$)

Size (employees)

1

WFOE

$22.6 billion

1000 (China)

JV

$20 billion

300 (China)

WFOE

–

1200 (China)

WFOE

$431.3 million 1200 (China)

WFOE & JVa

$2.2 billion

WFOE

$20.3 billion

Motor components and technologies Electronic components and systems Container manufacturer Electronic components manufacturer Building and construction materials Auto parts

2 3 4 5 7 8 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Shipping components Pharmaceutical

WFOE & JV Private ownership (China) Shipping transportation WFOE Energy production WFOE Fasteners manufacturing Telecommunications Systems solutions and diagnostics Utility Printing

731

a

WFOE JV Publically listed (foreign) JV Private ownership (China) Professional services WFOE Services Publically listed (China) Climate control systems JV Electronics components Publically listed (foreign) Telecommunications JV Information technology WFOE software and systems Electronic components Publically listed (foreign) Chemical JV Transportation Publically listed (foreign)

$6.24 billion $343 million

350 (China), 20,000 (worldwide) 400 (China), 75,000 (worldwide) 550 (China) 900

$10.6 billion $365 billion

15,000 (worldwide) 1100 (China), 86,000 (worldwide) $405 million 1750 (worldwide) $25.4 billion 50,650 (worldwide) $461.1 million 1300 (worldwide) $40 million $4.82 million

320 (China) 497

$4.15 billion –

9,000 (China) 2364 (worldwide)

$14.6 billion $416 million

43,000 (worldwide) 208 (China)

– $28.3 billion

120 (China) 2700 (China)

$3.3 billion

32,000 (worldwide)

$90.4 billion $35 billion

1500 (China) 6000 (China)

WFOE = Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise. JV = Joint Venture. a These firms are conglomerates that comprise both WFOEs and JV firms.

sustainable growth, social responsibility and corporate reputation is still a big challenge facing the leaders (Case 2, Joint Venture, electronic components and systems firm) At the beginning of the open and reform policy in China, because many enterprises are transformed from the planning policy period, reputation are not so seriously considered at the beginning (Case 1, Wholly Foreign-owned Enterprise, motor components manufacturer) Table 2 Summary of emergent themes from qualitative data analysis. Contextual influences on the development of corporate reputation among B2B firms The benefits of building and maintaining corporate reputation and the issue of reputational fragility Marketing the firm's reputation to stakeholders Marketing the firm's reputation to stakeholders Tangible and intangible aspects to corporate reputation ▪ Move towards retooling manufacturing processes ▪ Growing emphasis on the need to ‘upskill’ employees The role of Government in building/maintaining corporate reputation ▪ Networking with local / central Government ▪ Implementation of Government regulatory policies Leveraging socio-cultural context to enhance corporate reputation ▪ Nexus between Confucianism and corporate reputation philosophies ▪ Conformance to culturally accepted traditions

Corporate reputation is perceived as a means of establishing points of differentiation from one's competitors over and above tangible attributes. There is acknowledgment a firm's ‘reputational’ standing can influence customers in their decision-making process. As such, firms with a good standing can gain competitive advantage in an often cluttered B2B environment. …we have the same valuable brand compared with our competitors, but for those special customers, they focus more on the reputation of the company since they do care more about sincerity, after sale service and cooperative attitude… therefore the brand is almost the same but the differentiation is the reputation (Case 16, Joint Venture, utilities) Reputation set up needs the organization to do something different to the other organizations... the ability to proactively create additional values to all the stakeholders (Case 25, Joint Venture, chemical manufacturer) …B2B market leaves sellers much less space to ‘make-up’ their reputation from the perspective of professional customers, than in B2C market environment (Case 8, Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise and Joint Venture, shipping components manufacturer) Corporate reputation is also perceived to be a useful mechanism for creating value-added benefits among stakeholders, but it must be built and maintained using a cohesive, integrated approach involving all levels of the organization. Reputation set up is not only the business of the top management team, but also all the other levels… Reputation set up needs the organization to do something different to the other organizations... the ability to proactively create additional values to all the stakeholders (Case 1, Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise, motor components manufacturer) Notwithstanding the importance given to corporate reputation, the notion that this construct is fragile emerged as a dominate theme. Though nearly all people think reputation important, but reputation can be destroyed instantly by the top management people or by the lowest level of corporation (Case 25, Joint Venture, chemical manufacturer) In B2B market, corporate reputation is ranking number 1; it can be… hard to develop and easy to ruin (Case 17, Chinese private ownership, printing firm) There is a famous Chinese folk saying; if everybody spit at you, you drown.2 This means that if you have a bad reputation, you die. So is the same importance of reputation for doing business in China (Case 14, Joint Venture, telecommunications firm) 4.3. Marketing the firm's reputation to stakeholders Marketing activities designed to foster positive assessments of their products and customer service among their stakeholders also emerged as a valuable way to build and maintain corporate reputation. Among the respondents there appears to be very little differentiation between the notions of image and reputation. This is in 2 "tuo mo" or "tuo mo xing zi" means "spit"; "yan si" means "drown"; "ren" means "people". Thus, , "tuo mo xing zi yan si ren" means "spit drown people". However, a more eloquent translation might be, "ren yan ke wei", whereby “ren" again means "people"; "yan" means "words"; "ke wei" means "fearful". So basically, "people's words are fearful", or more simply "gossip is a fearful thing". Some also translate this to mean "the tongue is not steel, yet it cuts".

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contrast to the Barnett et al.'s (2006) framework, where marketing strategies used to mold stakeholder perceptions of image are conceptualized as being separate to reputation and dependent on leveraging the identity of the firm. Generally speaking, reputation is derived more from customer's personal experiences in B2B environment than in B2C environment... the products, as one of the major sources of reputation, become very important… No efforts have been made [by the firm] to communicate with the general public because the shipbuilding industry is… not supposed to be well understood by the general public…Getting well-known to the public and people makes close to zero-sense for a ship equipment maker… We do advertisement in B2B-effective way. Promotional advertisements are published in professional or industrial publications…we select one or two of the most influential events [industry trade fairs] to attend with a concentrated budget (Case 8, Wholly Foreign-owned Enterprise and Joint Venture, shipping components manufacturer)

industry... (Case 5, Wholly Foreign-owned Enterprise, building and construction materials manufacturer) Notwithstanding the positive connotations associated with the adoption of technological advances, some firms remain cautious. Tensions exist between the need to invest in corporate reputation strategies to build brand equity among stakeholders and the realization that such strategies are likely to increase the end-price of products/services and thus diminish the firm's pricing competitive advantage. We provide advanced technology and a lot of original part, result in high cost, we should let our customer know and accept those… also we will localization to cost down (Case 16, Joint Venture, utilities firm) 4.5. The role of Government in the building and maintenance of corporate reputation

They [the firm] have consistently spent on international fairs. In these fairs, the visitors are usually industrial professionals. Letting them know [the firm] is very important etc… But all public welfare actions at the fairs or out of the fair — they are still a kind of promoting and advertisement (Case 10, Chinese private ownership, pharmaceutical manufacturer)

The importance of connections with central and local governments in developing and maintaining corporate reputation emerged as a strong theme. In some instances, these connections between firms and government serve as a source of credibility within the wider community. They can also provide a competitive advantage in terms of attracting customers, good quality employees, and expediting development approval processes.

Engineers are sent to customers’ site to give training to customers’ workers on materials handling and identify the potential risks in customers’ processes from unloading and manufacturing (Case 25, Joint Venture, chemical manufacturer)

[the firm] has a public relationship department work closely with government which enables [the firm] to win landmark projects… [the firm] becomes a well known brand in China (Case 20, Joint Venture, Climate control systems firm)

4.4. Tangible and intangible aspects to corporate reputation Typically, investment in technological advances and commitment to the production of quality products are perceived as being pivotal to building a positive reputation among customers. As such, priority is given to leveraging tangible sources of reputation. …vision to invest quite a lot of money buying the most advanced machinery for the company. And this will greatly increase corporate reputation in the industry…Reputation will mostly rely on owning world leading machine and technical (Case 17, Chinese private ownership, printing firm) They invest on the advanced technology and facilities and put product quality as the top priority (Case 10, Chinese private ownership, pharmaceutical firm) …we watch what [our customers] are doing, to continue to introduce new professional product with top quality, safety and durability to improve customer productivity and the quality of their work...We concentrate on product lines and applications with potential for innovation leadership, market leadership and added value perceptible to customers (Case 5, Wholly Foreign-owned Enterprise, building and construction materials manufacturer) The overarching theme of technological advancement also includes emphasis on the need to leverage intangible sources of reputation, particularly investing in expanding the knowledge-base of employees. Firms indicate that utilizing knowledge from overseas is an important strategy for the professional development of their employees, with one firm stating that: ...we invited Europe leading experts from institute and professors from universities...to share the latest methods and technology in construction industrial segmentation, help to build up competence of application expertise, design, solution and modern in China [specific] industry, which was reported by many china news paper and

A number of representatives from the sampled firms also emphasize the importance given to developing personal relationships between senior company personnel and members of the Chinese government (local and central). Such relationships help to ‘lubricate’ business negotiations and increase opportunities. With good reputations with respect to different stakeholders, talented people can be attracted to join as our employees, suppliers and customers are more likely to work with us, the customer relationship become much stronger and local government officials are more likely to be working with easily thus doing business in local community becomes more smoothly (Case 2, Joint Venture, Electronic components and systems firm) …excellent overall performance of [the firm] earns great trust from local governments. The municipal government actively coordinates with central government agencies to expedite the approval process of [the firm's] expansion project when thousands of chemical plants in China are being closed down for poor environmental protection performance and high energy consumption (Case 25, Joint Venture, chemical manufacturer) They [senior management] also have very good relationship with local government and local customer which could help the joint venture get more orders, provide more opportunity (Case 16, Joint Venture, utilities firm) … [the firm's CEO] holds the good relationship with the government because he ever was a senior officer at China customs (Case 17, Chinese private ownership, printing firm) He [the firm's president] has a very strong relationship with China government (Case 3, Wholly Foreign-owned Enterprise, container manufacturer) [The firm built good relationship with Chinese government. All activities in [The firm] meet the Chinese regulatory and policies

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requirements. [The firm] also gave the support to Chinese government regularly, especially for China Custom... (Case 26, publicly listed (foreign), Transportation) There is also an indication that government intervention, in terms of policy and regulation, has altered the market environment for firms in China, with companies becoming increasingly involved in positive initiatives that can enhance their reputation among stakeholder groups. For example, policy discourse ‘harmonious society’ (hexie shehui) appears to have had some impact on the workplace philosophies of the firms sampled in the current study. It marks a move towards more sustainable development rather than a sole focus on economic growth and has been used by the Chinese Communist Party under Hu Jintao to signal changes in China's domestic policies (Zheng & Tok, 2007). It calls for respect for people and society while engaging in economic pursuits (Jiang, 2005). Previously, economic development representing by GDP growth was given top priority. Governments at all levels were assessed by GDP growth and investment attraction. In this context, environment and safety were ignored for the purpose of quick economic result and terribly deteriorated… the increasing number of environmental and safety disastrous incidents made the central government realize that this mode of economic development can not be sustainable a major turnaround happened between 2004 and 2005 with the slogans of “scientific development concept” and “harmonious society”…The existing production facilities which cause severe environmental problems of have safety hidden perils are forced to be close down …the government promulgated new regulation on chemical goods transportation which compulsively expelled chemical transportation companies with poor safety conditions from the market (Case 25, Joint venture, chemical manufacturer) ...we provide valuable training to enhance our employee competence, they can balance work and life which will keep harmonious family and community stability, which all entry proved that we are a good company which owned good reputation, all of them are link together (Case 5, Wholly Foreign-owned Enterprise, building and construction materials manufacturer) 4.6. Leveraging socio-cultural factors to enhance corporate reputation There is evidence to suggest that Chinese cultural elements are influencing corporate reputation processes and strategies among B2B firms. There appears to be some evidence that Confucianism is inherent in the way that firms conceptualize and utilize the concept of corporate reputation. China has a long history of commercial business and has been deeply influenced by Confucianism which gave lots of emphasis on building up and maintaining the reputation and credit not only as an individual human being but also a business entity (Case 8, Wholly Foreign-owned Enterprise and Joint Venture, shipping components manufacturer) People can change to reputation rapidly not only because of the competition, but also caused by the long good cultural influence of Confucius. That is the reason why there are many people who think reputation the most important in a very short time (Case 1, Wholly Foreign-owned Enterprise, motor components manufacturer) Pride without arrogance is of particular importance as we want our people to be internally proud of our achievements but outwardly humble… (Case 19, Chinese publicly listed, services firm) Finally, the need to conform or give credence to culturally accepted traditions is also identified as a mechanism by which to build corporate reputation.

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In Chinese business to business market environment…we recognize a company's reputation based on…[w]hether they recognize Chinese culture and respect Chinese employee. Some of the company even does not recognize Chinese New Year that is also another rule (Case 16, Joint Venture, utilities firm) 5. Discussion In response to Tsui's (2007, p. 1354) call for a “[s]erious pursuit of type 3 studies (indigenous, or context-specific) …for a fair debate on the value of universal versus local theories to explain management phenomena around the world”, the present study examined how corporate reputation is being operationalized among B2B firms in the PRC. We found evidence that firms are not only utilizing Westerncentric conceptualizations of corporate reputation, but they are also leveraging hitherto underemphasized elements of this construct. First, findings that aligned with existing understandings of corporate reputation included recognition that stakeholder assessments of reputation are based on the behavior, products, and/or service actions of the company over time. As such, the firms were prepared to invest in strategies designed to foster positive perceptions, including marketing their reputation to customers. Furthermore, the B2B firms’ conceptualized corporate reputation as an asset, in the sense that a good reputation could be leveraged to gain/sustain competitive advantage. Second, international firms may still be clinging to the idea of China as a source of cheap manufacturing. However, we provide evidence suggesting that some B2B firms are actively investing in new technologies to improve product quality to improve their company's reputation and dispel perceptions that their products are low-cost and low-quality. Beneficial outcomes from joint ventures are therefore more likely to arise if incoming firms are able to recognize and respond to local firm's aspirations to improve their production qualities. Third, our results suggest some progress is being made with respect to Lines’ (2004) recommendation that Asian CEOs place greater emphasis on leveraging intangible forms of corporate reputation. We found evidence that B2B firms in China are investing in intangible sources of corporate reputation, including initiatives to foster employee work-life balance. This development has been facilitated by the Government policy of ‘harmonious society’, which provides a holistic view of economic growth that takes into account employee satisfaction as well as more traditional sales profits and market share. However, given the relative scarcity of skilled labor in China (Bowring, 2006; Farrell & Grant, 2005; Yang, 2005), the managers of many firms will need to place greater focus on the recruitment and retention of skilled staff. Fourth, the results draw attention to the important role that Government can play in building/maintaining corporate reputation. In the current study, senior firm members emphasized that fostering good relationships with Chinese Government officials enhanced the reputation of the firm in the eyes of customers, future employees, and the wider community. A review of academic papers on corporate reputation suggests that this particular theme has not received a great deal of attention (see Devine & Halpern, 2001; Dolphin, 2004; Hutton, Goodman, Alexander, & Genest, 2001; compared with Gray & Balmer, 1998; Mahon, 2002). Finally, a cultural element that was explicitly referred to in the case studies was the way in which Confucian philosophy can facilitate the uptake and adoption of strategies designed to leverage corporate reputation among firms operating in China. This finding is in line with previous research, which has found that elements of Confucianism can influence the decision-making processes of Chinese management students (Whitcomb, Erdener, & Li, 1998). The decade between the current findings and those reported by Whitcomb et al. (1998) lends support to the notion that Confucianism is an enduring factor in business operations in China and a variable that should be considered in future research.

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6. Implications 6.1. Managerial implications China provides an excellent contextual setting to examine the tensions that B2B firms can face when trying to balance the leveraging of multiple corporate reputation strategies with maintaining fiscal competitiveness in an environment that has typically leveraged its ability to produce goods at a lower cost than OECD countries. This tension is likely to be exacerbated by the economic crises currently being experienced in multiple nations, since demand for Chinese exports is likely to fall. As the focus becomes more centered on shortterm survival, the risk is that firms will be unable or unwilling to invest in longer-term strategies designed to foster positive reputation among stakeholders. This is especially pertinent to B2B firms that find it difficult to market their reputation beyond their current customers because of perceived lack of understanding/interest among broader stakeholder groups. No efforts have been made [by the firm] to communicate with the general public because the shipbuilding industry is…not supposed to be well understood by the general public…Getting well-known to the public and people makes close to zero-sense for a ship equipment maker (Case 8, Wholly Foreign-owned Enterprise and Joint Venture, shipping components manufacturer) As such, more work needs to be done to alleviate concerns that investing in technological processes to improve product quality, sustainable manufacturing processes, and/or employee skills will result in firms becoming non-competitive. Such fears may emanate from the difficulties associated with assessing the return on investment from leveraging non-appropriable assets (see Dierickz & Cool, 1989). The fact that the adoption of corporate reputation strategies may increase costs in the short-term (Srivastava, McInish, Wood, & Capraro, 1998) is also likely to exacerbate concerns. Such concerns could be addressed via executive/senior management educational initiatives that highlight the benefits of building and leveraging corporate reputation among firms operating in China. If firms operating in China were to take into account the value of implementing intangible forms of corporate reputation (including sustainable manufacturing processes, employee welfare, and consumer safety) they may be able to grow market share based on the emerging consumer demands for product attributes other than price. As early as 1999, Tse (1999) noted a growing consumer segment willing to pay more for products that minimized risk to personal safety. More recently, Tam and Yang (2005) reported that there is growing concern among many Chinese about the safety of perishable food products. Such fears have become even more salient with recent withdrawals of milk-products in 2008 (Chao & Leow, 2008). In this context, privately and publicly owned Chinese firms may benefit from actively engaging in corporate reputation building activities in tandem with communications programs to reassure stakeholders that the wellbeing of individual stakeholders and that of the broader community is of primary importance to the firm. As Fombrun and Pan (2006) have noted, firms with greater public reputation in China are those engaging in innovative behaviors and acting as market movers. It is feasible that such efforts could increase domestic market share. Whether the growth in market share ensuing from such moves can counterbalance the associated costs of implementing corporate reputation strategies remains to be seen, particularly as many countries sink into economic recession. This once again draws us back to Tsui (2007, p. 1360) and her call for research examining the role of management “in the economic growth and development of industries and firms in different geopolitical entities”. Conformance to culturally accepted traditions was identified by a number of the sampled firms as being a useful mechanism for building/enhancing reputation among key stakeholder groups. For

companies already operating in China (or those wishing to move into China), it makes good sense to consider aligning such efforts with the Government's policy of ‘harmonious society’ and utilizing good public relations protocols to communicate the firm's efforts in this area to investors and customers, particularly those that are from overseas. The importance of listening and responding to the perceptions and attitudes of consumers within the host country has been widely discussed in relation to consumer nationalism (Balabanis, Diamantopoulos, Mueller, & Melewar, 2001; Wang, 2005). For example, Wang and Wang (2007) presented three case studies in which foreignowned companies operating in China experienced decrements in their corporate reputation when grass-roots grievances grew into more national sentiment through media exposure. This finding also has implications for companies with ethnically diverse workforces operating outside of China. 6.2. Theoretical implications In line with Tsui (2004; 2007), the present findings support the contention that research into business practices needs to be appropriately contextualized. By applying the existing Westerncentric understanding of corporate reputation to China, we have identified that relationships between firms and Government (central and local) are critically important strategic tools used by firms to develop and sustain their reputation. This finding is supported by Hill and Knowlton (2004) who reported that CEOs of Chinese firms are at least twice as likely (56%) to perceive regulators and government to be drivers of corporate reputation compared with CEOs of US (28%), European (25%), or other Asian (17%) firms. While we readily acknowledge that at a practical level this relationship exists in many countries [e.g. food labeling in Australia (FSANZ, 2006)], this is not readily evidenced at a theoretical level in existing conceptualizations of corporate reputation. As noted previously, the importance of good relationships between the Government (central and local) and firms operating in China cannot be overstated and has implications for the broader conceptualization of corporate reputation. de Segundo (1997), a senior executive in charge of Public Affairs for the Royal Dutch/Shell group of companies, argued in 1997 that "people have much more confidence in the ability of companies than they do in governments" (p. 17). Our findings suggest that in the PRC at least, Government is an important member of a tripartite relationship (see Fig. 3). The nexus between firms and governmental bodies is likely to be of growing importance to B2B firms given recent debate regarding the potential role of Government intervention in a range of business sectors (e.g. Elderfield, 2009; Mcilroy, 2008; Pattanaik, 2008). For years individuals have argued for less government intervention in the market. As Ronald Reagan famously stated during his January 20th 1981 inaugural speech, “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem” (Reagan, 1981). However, such a stance has become a major point of debate in countries like the United States. We argue that there is a need to reexamine the role of Governments and to consider whether consumers are including firm–government relationships in their assessment of a firm's reputation. In essence, the insight learned from our multi-case study of China has implications for contemporary studies of corporate reputation in Western developed countries, where Government's

Fig. 3. Developing/maintaining corporate reputation in the PRC.

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have actively intervened to shore up public trust in banks, investment companies, and even manufacturing industries (see BBC News, 2008; Connolly, 2008; McLennan, 2008; Weld & Stimpson, 2009). As such, greater emphasis needs to be given to exploring this tripartite relationship (see Fig. 3), particularly in measuring the benefits accruing from Government policies, interventions, perceptions, and relationships with industry sectors. As Gray and Balmer (1998, p. 698) have noted, the esteem in which an industry sector is held by government departments and agencies can play a role “in determining the degree of friendliness of the industry legislation passed”. Furthermore, Post and Griffin (1997) have argued that the corporate reputation of a firm is entwined with stakeholder/public expectations. As such, any discrepancy between expectations and actual performance can result in the emergence of public issues that, left unaddressed, have the potential to metamorphose as political issues requiring government intervention. It is therefore in the best interests of firms to remain closely attuned to the expectations of their broader stakeholders and Governmental responses to such expectations. Finally, unlike the framework proposed by Barnett et al. (2006), our results suggest that B2B firms in China do not impose clear boundaries between reputation and ‘corporate reputation capital’. Nor does there appear to be an emphasis on disaggregating the constructs of identify and image from that of reputation. Disentangling these constructs may facilitate firms’ ability to more effectively communicate with their key stakeholders those pieces of information that are most likely to influence the way they appraise a firm. In terms of integrating marketing communications, understanding the linkages between these constructs may enhance a firm's ability to communicate a cohesive message in relation to how stakeholders conceptualize the image of the firm, elicit impressions, and then form judgments. Separating out the economic assets that can accrue from a good reputation facilitates an understanding that corporate reputation capital is essentially a soft asset that can vary in worth, depending on how well the company has managed external threats to its image and reputation. 7. Limitations and future research directions 7.1. Limitations As with all research, there were a number of limitations associated with the current study. First, no state-owned enterprises (SOEs) were included in the study sample. State-owned enterprises are a prominent type of firm in the Chinese market place. However, firms in this category tend to lag behind the Chinese marketplace in general and are often the last to undertake innovations and/or improvements (Fombrun & Pan, 2006). Furthermore, the sampled firms were mostly medium to large-sized enterprises. As such, it could be argued that these firms have the disposable funds for investing in, and maintaining, corporate reputation strategies such as those listed above. Smaller, more locally based firms may have a very different perspective on the role, if any, of corporate reputation within their firms (see Berthon, Ewing, & Napoli, 2008). Finally, we focused on B2B firms. As such, it is feasible that firms operating in B2C environments may perceive and utilize corporate reputation strategies in ways different to those outlined in the current study. For instance, it is possible that such firms may put more emphasis on intangible forms of corporate reputation in order to build and sustain their customer base. 7.2. Future research Future research is needed to investigate whether the adoption of tangible and/or intangible strategies to enhance perceptions of corporate reputation deliver fiscal benefits to companies operating in developing countries where their core selling point has been the

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low-cost of their products/services. This is particularly pertinent given Schott's (2008) findings that developed economies have frequently responded to low-wage countries by either enhancing the technological sophistication of their products or by exiting the product category altogether. Research is needed to quantify the degree to which vertical differentiation exists within product categories so that firms operating in China can identify the level to which they would need to upgrade their production facilities and workforce in order be competitive with OECD produced products. Further research designed to elucidate the strong, yet seemingly informal, relationship between firms in China and the local/central governments would also be beneficial. It would be informative to explore the extent to which market regulators have influenced the development of corporate reputation. Not only is this beneficial for the Chinese market context, but such research may also further understandings and definitions of corporate reputation as a construct across a range of contexts. Acknowledgments The authors thank two anonymous reviewers for their insightful and useful suggestions. Appendix A. Semi-structured interview guide Corporate reputation has been described as the set of associations formed by outsiders with regard to a firm and the actions it has taken in the past. 1. What is the perceived value of reputation in the Chinese industrial/ B2B marketing environment? 2. How do firms build and manage their reputation in China? 3. How, if at all, do Chinese firms measure their corporate reputation? 4. What, if anything, is the link between reputation and organizational performance? 5. How do Chinese B2B firms create and manage reputation with respect to different stakeholders? 6. What, if anything, is the relationship between sustainability, social responsibility and corporate reputation in Chinese B2B firms? References Balabanis, G., Diamantopoulos, A., Mueller, R. D., & Melewar, T. C. (2001). The impact of nationalism, patriotism and internationalism on consumer ethnocentric tendencies. Journal of International Business Studies, 32(1), 157−175. Balmer, J. M. T., & Greyser, S. A. (2006). Integrating corporate identity, corporate branding, corporate communications, corporate image and corporate reputation. European Journal of Marketing, 40(7/8), 730−741. Barnett, M. L., Jermier, J. M., & Lafferty, B. A. (2006). Corporate reputation: The definitional landscape. Corporate Reputation Review, 9(1), 26−38. BBC News. (2008). US government rescues insurer AIG. BBC Business News, September 17th 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7620127.stm. Accessed 3rd March, 2009. Bennett, R., & Kottasz, R. (2000). Practitioner perceptions of corporate reputation: An empirical investigation. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 5(4), 224−235. Berthon, P., Ewing, M. T., & Napoli, J. (2008). Brand management in small-to-medium sized enterprises. Journal of Small Business Management, 46(1), 27−45. Beverland, M. B., Ewing, M. T., & Matanda, M. J. (2006). Driving-market or marketdriven? A case study analysis of the new product development practices of Chinese business-to-business firms. Industrial Marketing Management, 35(3), 383−393. Bowring, P. (2006). Labor need haunts China. International Herald Tribune, April 8th 2006. http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/04/07/opinion/edbowring.php. Accessed 31st October, 2008. Brown, T. J., Dacin, P. A., Pratt, M. G., & Whetten, D. A. (2006). Identity, intended image, construed image, and reputation: An interdisciplinary framework and suggested terminology. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 34(2), 99−106. Chao, L., & Leow, J. (2008). Chinese tainting scandal pulls milk off shelves. Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition, 252(69), A10. Chen, R. (2004). Corporate reputation: Pricing and competing in Chinese markets— Strategies for multinationals. Journal of Business Strategy, 25(6), 45−50. Connolly, K. (2008). Banking crisis: Germany earmarks €500bn for rescue package. The Guardian, October 13th 2008. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/13/ germany-banks-europe. Accessed 3rd March, 2009.

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