Who shall get more? How intangible assets and aspiration levels affect the valuation of resource providers
Abstract
In this study, we identify the effects of reputation and status by determining how they are differently valued by organizations that are concurrently pursuing different goals. Building on research on intangible assets and on aspiration levels, we develop a framework to explain organizations’ valuation of resource providers. We expect organizations to value resource providers who possess a specific type of intangible asset higher as their performance, relative to aspirations, decreases on the outcome more closely tied to that particular asset. We also expect to observe this sensitivity primarily when the organization has a low level of the intangible asset in question. Based on this framework, we derive specific hypotheses using the differential relationships between reputation and status, as two types of intangible assets, and product quality and revenues, as two types of goals. We find support for our hypotheses using a longitudinal dataset on National Basketball Association teams and players.