The effects of media reputation on third-party funding of Swiss universities

Purpose–This study analyzed the effects of the visibility and evaluation of universities in news mediacoverage on the development of their private and public third-party funds. Design/methodology/approach–The paper uses the concept ofmedia reputationto investigate the effectsof news media coverage on the outcome of funding decisions by firm managers and scientific experts.Extensive news media data from 2011 to 2017, collected with manual content analysis, were combined witheconomic data on Swiss universities. Findings–The results show that a more positive evaluation in the news media leads to the positivedevelopment of private, but not public, third-party funding. Surprisingly, visibility in the news media has anegative effect on private third-party funding. Research limitations/implications–The effects of media reputation are dependent on the stakeholdersunder review. However, this study’s design does not yield evidence on direct causal effects. Further studiescould, therefore, use surveys to analyze the decision-making processes of individuals regarding their relativedependency on news media consumption. Practical implications–This study demonstrates that positive evaluation in the news media represents anasset for universities when striving for more private third-party funding. Public relations (PR) activities aimedat the news media, therefore, can help universities attract additional funding. Social implications–The paper shows that in a digitized media environment, the news media still representan important source for information about scientific organizations. Originality/value–The study was the first to analyze the effects of media reputation on the third-partyfunding of universities