Getting Known by the Company You Keep: Publicizing the Qualifications and Former Associations of Skilled Employees

Abstract

When product quality cannot be ascertained in advance of purchase, producers must convince relevant audiences that they are worthy of consideration as quality players. We propose that quality-oriented producers will selectively publicize information about their skilled employees in anticipation of signaling benefits, which include the accrual of visibility and the projection of quality-based identities. We validate our perspective on publicizing affiliation information by analyzing how a sample of Australian wine producers publicized specific career information about their skilled employees (i.e., their winemakers), including the names of certain former employers of these individuals.