Trapped in conformity? Translating reputation management into practice

Arild Wæraas and Hogne L. Sataøen

Scandinavian Journal of Management, 2014, vol. 30, issue 2, 242-253

Abstract: This study investigates the translation rules used by Norwegian hospitals to adapt reputation management to their context. Drawing on a linguistics-inspired approach to organizational translations developed by Røvik (2007), the study identifies the application of three such rules, copying, omission, and addition. The study contributes to our understanding of organizational translations by pointing to their regularities, challenging the Scandinavian translation theory assumption that every translation leads to the emergence of new and unique local versions. The findings show that the hospitals intentionally remove from and add components to the reputation management idea in a strikingly similar way. In so finding, the study also challenges the assumption often put forward by branding and reputation textbooks that similarity implies being trapped in conformity.

Keywords: Organizational translations; Scandinavian institutionalism; Reputation management; Diffusion; Legitimacy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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DOI: 10.1016/j.scaman.2013.05.002

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