printProfessional Reputation in the Digital Society:
from Social Capital to Networked Assemblage
Shutova M.V.
Senior Lecturer at Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University; Associate Research Fellow of the Laboratory for Research of Sociotechnical Systems of the Sociological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Postgraduate student of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education “A. I. Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University”, St. Petersburg, Russia mvshutova@etu.ru
Shutova M.V. Professional Reputation in the Digital Society: from Social Capital to Networked Assemblage. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2025. No 5. P. 90-99
The advent of the digital era has transformed modern society from centralized hierarchical management structures to decentralized information networks that interconnect individuals, institutions, and states. The dominant metaphor of society has shifted from a pyramid to a rhizome. This transformation has made professional reputation a critical prerequisite for career success and professional development. This study employs the methodological framework of actor- network theory, particularly J. Law’s ontological turn, to explore the social dimensions of professional reputation as an independent actor. The research examines the interactions between reputation and its subject and between reputation and the general public. Professional reputation is conceptualized as the discursive assessment of an individual’s qualities and actions regarding professional success. Its sociality emerges through its integration into existing interaction systems, which shape public perceptions of professional reputation. These perceptions align with the internal needs of social groups, often diverging from the attributes that the individual associates with their reputation. From the perspective of actor- network theory, professional reputation functions as a dynamic network of interactions, where present assessments are shaped by records of past interactions and extrapolated into the future. The subject of reputation acts as a “translation center,” strategically leveraging these records to inform calculated actions. In the digital society, indicators of professional reputation span both the physical and social worlds. Quantitative metrics – such as the number of professional connections or rankings – combine with qualitative factors, such as the strength and significance of those connections, to shape the contours of professional reputation.
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