erep

theoryand technologyofreputation

::: http://megatron.iiia.csic.es/eRep :::

BUSINESSINSTITUTIONSMARKET REGULATIONGRID SYSTEMSONLINE COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENTS

SOCIALKNOWLEDGE

for

eGOVERNANCE

Copyright 2009 ISTC-CNRConsiglio Nazionale delle RicercheIstituto di Scienze e Teconologie della Cognizionevia S.Martino della Battaglia, 4400185 Rome, ItalyThis work was supported by the European Community under the FP6programme (eRep project, contract number CIT5-028575).

Reputation is defined as social knowledge that allows for theaccomplishment of various social decisions.From the dawn of humankind, reputation has helped regulatesociety, but it has become even more crucial in this modern age ofconnectivity, characterized by a dramatically enlarging range ofinteractions and the continual generation of new types ofaggregation. Reputation thus gets applied, under several names, toregulate new societal ties, just as it used to regulate the old ones.But despite this critical role, reputation generation, transmission,and use remain unclear.This booklet presents the outcomes of a scientific researchproject pertaining to reputation, carried out by a cross-disciplinaryresearch team known as eRep. The project approached reputationas a complex phenomenon related to the formation andcirculation of social evaluations and attempted to consider its roleand impact on the maintenance of social order.The theoretical framework for this project grounded reputationwithin a social and cognitive perspective. Thus, the analysisfocused on how reputational dynamics might be exploited toachieve desired outcomes. We applied this approach to threeconcrete cases. First, in an electronic auction context, we studiedthe salience of competing signals, both reputational and objective,through laboratory experiments. Second, for Internet services, weconfirmed the validity of a reputational system for selectingdependable service providers in a simulated grid. Third, in aconceptual experiment describing a market in which good sellersare rare and volatile, we explored the role of false reputation. Thisbooklet reports briefly on the findings, as well as the methodologyand technology that produced them.Finally, we suggest some practical implications and suggestionsaimed at specific interest groups.

CONTENTS

businessreaders interested or involved in local policymakingresearch groupsreaders interested or involved in management of online communities

A. Theory of Reputation

A.1 An ancient artifact for modern challenges A.2 Image and reputation: two levels of information A.3 Benevolence or prudence

B. Research findings

B.1 How Reputation mechanism can reduce Internet fraudB.2 On the Effects of Reputation in the Internet of ServicesB3. When false reputation spreadsB.4 How the research was carried out: the processB.5 How the research was carried out: the technology

C. Interpretation

C.1 Opportunities and Challenges in a Connected WorldC.2 A theory for understanding and driving reputation dynamics in the societyC.3 Reputation for business and institutionsC.4 Reputation theory and technology for research groups

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