Strengthening U.S. Politicians’ Reputation

Reputation is a prime concern for politicians. Drawing from the literature in marketing and strategic management, this study aims to facilitate politicians to strengthen their reputation performance and to expand the theory of resource-based view (RBV) in the political arena. Using RBV, a tool that sees resources as key to superior firm performance, the researchers aim to develop a model of drivers and outcomes of social media in the United States. By applying correlation analysis, this research examines the relationship between social media and (1) specific organizational capabilities, and (2) political reputation performance. Data collected from 128 U.S. elected politicians to reveal that adaptation and relationship-building are statistically significant factors and have a relatively strong positive relationship with social media. In turn, social media is statistically significant and has a moderately high positive relationship with political reputation performance. The findings of this study provide important implications for political parties, political candidates, elected politicians, political advisors, and scholars, and offer guidance for future academic research.