Celebrity

Mike Pfarrer, University of GeorgiaA Pecha Kucha about Social Evaluations

Academy of Management Annual Meeting, 2012

i. What is it?

ii. What is it not?

iii. What are its pros and cons?

iv. Who’s studying it?

v. What’s next?

“Celebrity” in the vulgate…

Fame, Renown, Stardom, Popularity…

???

Firm Celebrity in the lingua franca

Celebrity as a “Social Approval” Asset

“High level of public attention” combined with “positive emotional responses from stakeholder audiences”

(Rindova et al., 2006: 51)

• Derived from non-conforming (“deviant”) behavior

• “Eye of the beholder” social evaluation

• Accrues benefits to the firm: it’s an asset

• So, fame/popularity still important, but there’s more!

Firm Celebrity: What Is It?

“Deviant” behavior generates attention and positive affect

• Nike’s colorful athletic shoes. Under Armour?

• Starbucks’ dark roast and slick “Italian” coffee bars

• Apple’s vertical integration in the PC industry

• Google’s … (you name it!)

What Is It Not?

Legitimacy: Reputation: Stigma: Status:

Read Deephouse & Suchman, 2008P = L + [L* (S + R + (S*R))]

What Are Its Pros?

• Intangible asset with VRIN characteristics

• Source of competitive advantage

• Easier to build than…

• Potential amplifying and buffering effects

What Are Its Cons?

• Managers must choose among scarce resources

• Can be transient. Media and public “fickleness”

• Emotionally charged: Affective frame is rapid, holistic

• May lead to extreme perceptions and outcomes

Who Is Studying It?

Pfarrer, Pollock, & Rindova. 2010. Academy of Management Journal.

Examine the effects of reputation and celebrity on:1. The likelihood of an earnings surprise2. How investors react to these surprises

Contributions:3. The simultaneous possession of both is rare4. Visibility alone is not sufficient5. Positive affect distinguishes celebrity from reputation

How Can You Measure It?

Content Analysis

• “Dramatic narratives” in BusinessWeek• Celebrity = high visibility and high positive affect

“There's a new generation of brands, including Amazon.com, eBay, and Starbucks, that have amassed huge global value with little

traditional advertising.”

• LIWC to analyze affective content• Discriminant validity with visibility, affect,

and reputation

What’s Next?

1. Distinct strategies for pursuing celebrity vs.

[SA asset]: What do managers choose under what circumstances?

2. Celebrity as a buffer or lightning rod?

3. Can celebrity wear off or morph into something else?

4. Infamy? Stigma?

What is celebrity, really?

Wisdom from Dr. Drew

“It's in our human nature to want to deify certain people. We have monarchies, aristocracies and celebrities.

What's really interesting, though, is that not only do we deify people, but we also have a tendency to scapegoat

them. We tend to sacrifice them, tear them down. Nobody is immune from our desire to scapegoat.”

http://www.videojug.com/interview/the-obsession-with-celebrities-2

What’s Next?

1. Opening the black box: measurement, validity, reality?

2. Content analysis techniques examining affectual content and collective cognitions: Q scores, JF coefficient

3. CEO celebrity: Wade et al., 2006; Hayward et al. 2004; Graffin (numerous!)

There is plenty left to do!