Summarizing reviewer 1's comment (reading between the lines):
*The writing is currently pretty good: '''it is well done''', ... '''the paper is polished''', ... '''very nicely done'''.*It works as a whole. The reviewer didn't want anything cut: '''It is a collection of case studies and definitions''', and '''I don't have ... major comments'''.
Reviewer 3's comments are more problematic. As is often the case, I wonder whether the reviewer actually read the paper:
*The paper advances seven new measures, not 15 as the reviewer claims*Policy cartels are introduced in section 4.1 (out of 5), and aren't the main focus of the paper per se
*I never use the entire battery of measures -- different measures are applicable in different contexts
*A key point of the paper is to stop organizations from self-selecting into measures that they do well on
*All bar two sentences of the 'substantive material' in the review (i.e., from "First..." to the end) don't mention anything to do with the paper!
At this point in my career, I'm unique placed to give the response that every academic really wants to give to the 'self-aggrandizing idiot' that somehow always ends up controlling the fate of our hard work, namely:
:"Dear Reviewer. After carefully considering your comments, I would like the offer the following response: I find your suggestions for my beautiful paper to puerile/irrelevant/narcissistic/useless/stupid/all-of-the-above (delete as appropriate) and , so I'm going to ignore them and, by extension, you. Up yours."
However, it does seem that '''some ''' of reviewer 3's comments would lead to improvements in the paper. These are:
#Being clearer that standardized measures aren't a panacea
#A better discussion of gaming and incentives
#Justify the choices in the reduction of the measurement space Measurement is often reductive: What is left out? Is it important? Discuss the difference between the conceptual phenomenon and how it is operationalized.
#Test the effects of using a framework on various outcomes.
In my letter to the reviewer, I can explain that this paper is for a special issue and that the editors and I have agreed that this should not be and an empirical paper and that should not contain regressions or other tests. That might tamp down their vitriol somewhat.
====Reviewer 1's Comments====