Knowledge@ASB: Reputation Building

Feedback constantly informs the decisions of consumers and managers. But what happens when the information received is unreliable or biased? In an online marketplace, when everyone says they are happy, the feel-good factor may cause the quality of goods to drop as the sellers of top-notch products have no way of differentiating themselves. In an organisation, incredible feedback may mean the wrong person gets promoted – or fired. Ultimately, feedback impacts on reputations. New research from the Australian School of Business shows offering different levels of confidentiality for disclosure is one vital feedback fix.