Robert Zinko

• Prairie View A&M University

Recent work in electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) has examined the influence of adding images to text reviews of products on consumer outcomes. This study advances the eWOM paradigm by exploring how many images are needed in a review in order to best affect consumer outcomes A simulation-based experiment was conducted, and hedonic and utilitarian revi...

In an attempt to better understand how intentional efforts to control one's reputation affect workplace outcomes, a series of hypotheses are developed to explore the relationship between three types of reputation and workplace outcomes. Based on existing theory, these hypotheses explore how social reputation, task reputation, and integrity reputati...

Since individuals are constrained in their ability to process information, they tend to engage in information processing shortcuts. When the individual is a member of the top management team with individual decision-making responsibility, not only is the information load very high, but the consequences of poor decisions can be wide reaching. Comput...

Online review platforms compete to attract and retain consumers and facilitate purchases. They invest in sophisticated algorithms that prioritize the order in which product reviews are presented, seeking to provide consumers with easy access to useful information about the ability of a product to meet a need. These algorithms collect and use review...

Retailers have little control over what their customers say about their products and services online. Review platforms (e.g., Yelp and Travelocity) are rife with negativity, from both real customers with bad experiences and from fake reviews created by competitors. These negative reviews have been shown to influence the purchasing behavior of futur...

Although the influence of trust on purchase intention is well studied in e-commerce, the emergence and rapid growth of the sharing economy has renewed the relevance of this relationship. Though the sharing economy lacks the institutional assurance mechanisms inherent in traditional industries, consumers must rely on trust to inform their selection...

Images are frequently used in online reviews, yet little research explores the effects that images have on online consumer behavior. This two-study investigation examines the effects of images in electronic word of mouth (eWOM) for both hedonic and utilitarian products. Results show that images affect the relationship between review text and purcha...

Extensive research has examined the influence of online product reviews on consumer behavior. However, few have investigated the influence of reviewer submitted images on consumer attitudes. This research examines consumer perceptions of trust, information quality and valence disparity using three simulated online reviews appearing on TripAdvisor.c...

Decision science researchers have studied the influence of information overload extensively. Current electronic word of mouth (eWOM) research suggests that too much or too little information in a review can lead to decreased trust and purchase intent. This study adds to that paradigm by exploring the effects of images on uncertainty reduction in eW...

This article examines the role that mobile self-efficacy plays in the relationship between word of mouth and mobile product reviews. Using a mobile product review simulator, the authors demonstrate an inverted U-shape relationship where individuals prefer moderate information quality rather than either low or excessive information quality when asse...

This article describes how mobile application adoption is growing dramatically. However, only a small proportion of mobile apps are paid for. This leads to the question: which factors dispose an individual to be willing to pay for an app? Using uncertainty reduction theory as a framework, along with transaction cost economics, this study considers...

While mobile application use has grown substantially in the past 10 years, research suggests that the majority of mobile applications are abandoned and often deleted shortly after being downloaded. This study seeks to explore the cognitive processes behind the decision to keep applications, while seeking to identify app characteristics, usage chara...

Purpose The purpose of this study is to empirically test the extent to which gossip plays a role in individual reputation development in the context of contemporary organizations. This study answers the continuous calls to integrate theory across fields by exploring the theoretical links between these two constructs. Design/methodology/approach Th...

Purpose Trust and purchase intent are established, dependent variables in electronic commerce research. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of online product reviews in the development of purchase intention, which has led to the development a substantial research effort in the realm of electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM). This study incorp...

Information overload has been studied extensively by decision science researchers, particularly in the context of task-based optimization decisions. Media selection research has similarly investigated the extent to which task characteristics influence media choice and use. This paper outlines a study which compares the effectiveness of web-based on...

Purpose The current, established scale used to measure personal reputation treats the construct as a unidimensional measure. For example, the scale fails to distinguish between individuals who are known for being socially popular versus those who are known for being experts in their field. This study aims to address this issue by developing a multi...

In an attempt to better understand how a negative reputation may affect one’s career, a series of hypotheses which offer an overview of negative personal reputation are tested, utilizing both a lab and a field study. Based upon the existing theory, these hypotheses explore negative reputation in the context of employees in organizations, suggesting...

Drawing from fields such as marketing psychology, strategy, social psychology, and organizational behavior, the present examination explores the individual and organizational bases for personal reputation; specifically, how different bases interact with one another to produce an individual's reputation within organizations. It is proposed that indi...

Existing models of legal claiming primarily address the contentious side of legal claiming by focusing on perceptions of injustice and subsequent affective reactions and behaviors. A smaller body of the literature has addressed internal complaints and employees’ invocation of legal rights in a non-adversarial manner, such as filing a request for fa...

The positive correlation between political skill and the reduction of the effects of stressors (i.e., strain reaction) in the workplace is well documented. This paper furthers the examination of this correlation by examining the impact of reputation as a mediator. It is posited that individuals possessing political skill are likely to build positiv...

Personal reputation has been argued to demonstrate important influences on work outcomes. However, substantive research on personal reputation is relatively scarce. This two-study investigation empirically supports and extends existing theory regarding the temporal development of personal reputation (i.e., antecedents and consequences), and thus co...

Interest in the effect that individuals' reputations have on their careers has increased in the literature and popular news media. In these examinations, questions arise regarding the difficulties in changing an individual's reputation. If an individual presents a negative "first impression," are they saddled with a harmful reputation for her tenur...

Negotiation is a fundamental process of business activity. As the world becomes more globalized and international business negotiation becomes more frequent, the importance of culture in negotiation becomes more and more salient. The majority of previous negotiation research has been conducted in either a western or an east vs. west environment, le...

Holding people answerable for their actions captures the essence of accountability, which is one of the most fundamental constructs in the organizational sciences and, unfortunately, one about which little is known. This study formulated and tested a model that sought to explicate the intermediate linkages between accountability and job performance...

Although felt accountability has predicted positive outcomes in some studies, it has demonstrated anxiety-provoking properties in others. This inconsistency has led researchers to search for moderating variables that explain why felt accountability promotes or impedes favorable outcomes. Building on these studies, the authors examine the moderating...

Knowledge is a vital component of organizational success embedded within the human resources of a firm (Grant, 1996). Knowledge is lost by organizations when it is not used or when knowledgeable individuals turnover. Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) are designed to help organizations capture, store, distill, and distribute knowledge embedded with...

Leaders do not necessarily have the best interests of the organization in mind when they make decisions. Many times, leaders treat their own personal goals as more important in relation to the goals of the organization and frequently adopt a short-term decision horizon. Thus, leaders become destructive and make decisions for their own good at the e...

In everyday life, as well as in work organizations, we engage in frequent and quite comfortable discourse about the nature of reputations, and wealso see personal reputation used as a basis for important human resources decisions (e.g., promotions, terminations, etc.). Unfortunately, despite its recognized importance, there has been very little the...

We developed a four-study research plan to examine the dispositional antecedents of political skill and its job performance consequences, and also to incorporate the mediating role of reputation, drawing upon a recent theoretical model of political skill in organizations. Study 1 established the psychometric properties of the two reputation scales...

The concept of destructive leadership has generated considerable interest and research by a number of scholars under rubrics such as “abusive supervision” and “incivility,” and certainly represents an appropriate forum for this special issue. In the present article, we examine the leader as a bully, and explore potential consequences of strategic l...

The Human Resources (HR) function in organizations has had a long and well-documented history, during which it has evolved through a number of distinct stages from a mere record-keeping function to one of strategic importance and bottom-line impact. Implicit in such characterizations is the reputation of HR as well as its effectiveness, and the foc...

Personal reputation has been acknowledged to have an important influence on work outcomes. However, substantive research has been relatively scarce to date. The 2-study research plan reported here supports reputation's role as a moderator of the relationships between political behavior and the work outcomes of uncertainty, emotional exhaustion, and...

Political skill is characterized by social perceptiveness and the ability to adjust one's behavior to different and changing situational needs to influence others. The authors argue that politically skilled individuals enjoy a sense of personal security that allows them to perceive interpersonal control over the process and outcomes of interpersona...

This dissertation involves an exploratory investigation that examined the antecedents and consequences of personal reputation in organizations. Using existing scales, this examination inspected personality, social effectiveness, expertise, and time as antecedents of personal reputation, and analyzed power, autonomy, and career advancement as conseq...

An examination of the mediating effects of image on the relationship of both Conscientiousness, as well as Collectives, on the dependent variable organizational citizenship behaviors is presented. Data gathered from China and from U.S. working adults found that image fully moderated the relationships. Practical implications as well as future resear...