The Status Granted to Organizational Identity Characteristics: An Application of the Best-Worst Method and Regression Analysis

According to the traditional conceptualization in management literature, organizations gain status through demonstrations of superior performance. Criticizing this narrow focus on “achieved” status, this study identifies the status value ascribed to organizations within socially constructed systems of norms and values. Utilizing concepts offered by institutional research in organization theory, we propose historical legacy, endorsement, and prominence in the field as sources of ascribed status for organizational identity characteristics. The Turkish higher education field constitutes the empirical setting of our research. We conducted interviews with key stakeholders in this field (i.e., students, academicians, managers in industry, and high school counselors) to elicit the organizational characteristics they perceive as relevant for defining university identity. The status value ascribed to these identity characteristics was documented via surveys with separate samples of these four stakeholder groups using a relatively new but widely recognized MCDM method, the best-worst method (BWM). Our findings provide evidence for the view that institutions have a broad influence on social hierarchy systems, yet with some nuances. We discuss theoretical implications for the research on status in markets and practical implications for higher education institutions.