REPUTATION MANAGEMENT AS AN INSTRUMENT OF STATE STIMULATION OF THE INNOVATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Abstract
The article substantiates reputation management as an instrument of public governance for stimulating the innovative development of social entrepreneurship. The relevance of the study is determined by the growing need for transparent and evidence-based mechanisms that reduce information asymmetry between social enterprises, public authorities, investors, donors and other stakeholders, particularly in the context of Ukraine's post-war recovery and European integration. The research applies systems, institutional and stakeholder approaches, together with comparative analysis, structural-logical modelling and synthesis to examine the role of reputation in supporting public policy objectives and improving cooperation among stakeholders involved in the social economy. The study conceptualizes reputation as an institutional resource in public policy rather than merely a communication tool, and proposes a public reputational mechanism grounded in verified information, transparent procedures, and proportional accountability. A conceptual model of state reputation management is developed, along with approaches for forming a reputational passport for a social enterprise and assessing its verified reputational capacity. The proposed mechanism integrates identification, verification, incentive, and communication elements into a coherent framework that strengthens trust, improves the transparency of state support, and encourages socially oriented innovation. The findings demonstrate that evidence-based reputation management can reduce transaction costs, facilitate access to public, donor, and investment resources, improve cooperation between social enterprises and public institutions, and create favorable conditions for scaling innovative solutions. The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of applying the proposed approaches when designing public policies and support programmes for social entrepreneurship by central and local authorities, development agencies, financial institutions, donors and international partners, as well as in strengthening the institutional capacity of the social economy ecosystem.
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Lange, D., Lee, P. M., Dai, Y. (2011). Organizational Reputation: A Review. Journal of Management, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 153-184. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310390963
Deephouse, D. L., Carter, S. M. (2005). An Examination of Differences Between Organizational Legitimacy and Organizational Reputation. Journal of Management Studies, vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 329-360. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2005.00499.x
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Carpenter, D. P., Krause, G. A. (2012). Reputation and Public Administration. Public Administration Review, vol. 72, no. 1, pp. 26-32. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2011.02506.x (accessed: 28.07.2026).
Busuioc, M., Lodge, M. (2016). The Reputational Basis of Public Accountability. Governance, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 247-263. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12161
Nicholls, A. (2010). The Legitimacy of Social Entrepreneurship: Reflexive Isomorphism in a Pre-Paradigmatic Field. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 611-633. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2010.00397.x
Doherty, B., Haugh, H., Lyon, F. (2014). Social Enterprises as Hybrid Organizations: A Review and Research Agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 417-436. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12028
Ebrahim, A., Battilana, J., Mair, J. (2014). The Governance of Social Enterprises: Mission Drift and Accountability Challenges in Hybrid Organizations. Research in Organizational Behavior, vol. 34, pp. 81-100. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2014.09.001
Ebrahim, A., Rangan, V. K. (2014). What Impact? A Framework for Measuring the Scale and Scope of Social Performance. California Management Review, vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 118-141. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1525/cmr.2014.56.3.118
Rawhouser, H., Cummings, M., Newbert, S. L. (2019). Social Impact Measurement: Current Approaches and Future Directions for Social Entrepreneurship Research. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 82-115. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1042258717727718
Mazzucato, M. (2018). Mission-Oriented Innovation Policies: Challenges and Opportunities. Industrial and Corporate Change, vol. 27, no. 5, pp. 803-815. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/dty034
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