Impression management strategies, entrepreneurial reputation, and financial resource acquisition: an empirical study in entrepreneurship

This study aims to explore the diverse shades of financial resource acquisition within the South-Asian context of Pakistan with emphasis on the interrelationship between impression management tactics and entrepreneurial reputations. This paper provides valuable information about the various factors that influence the likelihood of obtaining funds within the context of a reputation-based model. Analyzing impression management strategies, including Self-Promotion, Ingratiation, Supplication, Exemplification, and Intimidation, we identified various effects on resource acquisition. As seen with Self-Promotion as the most influential strategy, other factors also appear to have mixed impacts, suggesting that success is contingent upon the strategies being adapted to specific conditions. Entrepreneurial reputation appears as an important element for moderating this relationship. The relationship between strategy and reputation reveals how reputation either enhances or mitigates impression management. When Intimidation is used, its effectiveness is lessened if there is a positive reputation to counteract it; however, this is not the case with Ingratiation. The findings of our study can guide entrepreneurs, business managers, and policymakers and underscore the need for timely management of organizational reputation and inclusive policymaking for distributive justice in the sharing of resources. In addition, we outline future research directions, together with options such as longitudinal analysis, cross-cultural comparisons, analysis of digital platforms, and the impact of new technologies on the financial resource acquisition processes. In this context, by focusing on these issues, our work enriches the understanding of financial resource acquisition processes occurring in reputation-based entrepreneurial environments.