The Company You Keep: How Young Firms in Different Competitive Contexts Signal Reputation through Their Customers
研究新创企业如何在不同竞争情境下通过客户传递声誉信号，基于客户购买过程的复杂性和产品标准化程度区分四种情境，通过CEO访谈提炼模式并提出理论改进建议。
This article explores how young firms, across different competitive contexts, signal reputation through their customers. Four distinct competitive contexts were differentiated based on whether the complexity of the customer's purchase process was high or low and whether the product/service was customized or standardized. CEOs of young firms operating in each of the four contexts were interviewed to discern patterns, both within and across contexts, in the reputational signals conferred by customers. Analysis of the interview data yields suggestions for how current theory on the exchange partners of young firms can be refined and extended, as well as propositions related to customer–derived reputation in different competitive contexts.