bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Communication Patterns as Determinants of Organizational Identification in a Virtual Organization
Authors: Wiesenfeld Batia M. , Raghuram Sumita , Garud Raghu
Published: October 2008

Recent advances in information technologies provide employees the freedom to work from any place and at any time. Such temporal and spatial dispersion, however, weakens the ties that bind organizations and their members. We suggest that organizational identification may be the critical glue linking virtual workers and their organizations. We explore the role that information technologies play in the creation and maintenance of a common identity among decoupled organization members.
Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning
Authors: March James G.
Published: October 2008

This paper considers the relation between the exploration of new possibilities and the exploitation of old certainties in organizational learning. It examines some complications in allocating resources between the two, particularly those introduced by the distribution of costs and benefits across time and space, and the effects of ecological interaction. Two general situations involving the development and use of knowledge in organizations are modeled. The first is the case of mutual learning between members of an organization and an organizational code. The second is the case of learning and competitive advantage in competition for primacy. The paper develops an argument that adaptive processes, by refining exploitation more rapidly than exploration, are likely to become effective in the short run but self-destructive in the long run. The possibility that certain common organizational practices ameliorate that tendency is assessed.
Cultural Leadership in Organizations
Authors: Trice Harrison M. , Beyer Janice M.
Published: October 2008

Although there is general recognition that leadership is important for organizational cultures, the issue of how leadership affects culture has received only scattered attention. Existing analyses have tended to focus on how leaders create or change cultures, ignoring the role that leadership plays in maintaining cultures. This paper focuses on how cultural leadership that innovates, by either creating or changing organizational cultures, is likely to differ from that which maintains organizational cultures. Hypothesized linkages are advanced between nine elements of cultural leadership—drawn from the literature on charisma—and its consequences. The predictions made are derived from a synthesis of existing theory and insights gained from descriptions of leadership in the scholarly and popular literatures. Both descriptions and theoretical considerations suggest that, while cultural innovation and maintenance leadership differs in some ways, the behaviors of effective cultural leaders do not. Cultural leadership apparently has some generic characteristics. Two variants of each of the basic types are identified and linked to extant conceptualizations of leadership. Implications discussed include the risks and advantages of organizations' having multiple cultural leaders at the same time.
The Influence of a Convergence in Understanding Between Technology Providers and Users on Information Technology Innovativeness
Authors: Lind Mary R. , Zmud Robert W.
Published: October 2008

The objective of this research was to determine if a convergence in understanding between providers and users of a technology would result in greater innovativeness regarding that technology. Two mechanisms were proposed for achieving greater convergence: (1) more frequent communication and (2) the use of richer communication channels. Here, convergence represents the degree of mutual understanding between the technology providers and the other business personnel about the firm's business activities and the importance of the technology in supporting those activities.

Frequency of communication indicated the degree to which the technology providers and the business personnel had communication contact, while richness of communication was determined by the type of communication channel used. These means of communication ranged from face to face, computer mediated, to written channels of communication. The convergence construct was operationalized in terms of the value chain framework where 14 business activities (primary and secondary to the value chain) were identified. Convergence thus represents the degree of mutual understanding between the technology providers and the business personnel regarding the importance of these business activities and the importance of the technology in supporting these activities. Innovativeness was determined through expert evaluation of information technology innovativeness.

This research was conducted in two United States divisions of a large multinational firm. The units of analyses for the research constructs were the departments in these two divisions. The constructs were measured over five periods of data collection so that longitudinal, causal analysis techniques (cross-lagged correlations and path analysis) were used to investigate the research model.

The following results were obtained: (1) convergence was found to be a predictor of innovativeness, (2) communication richness was a predictor of convergence, and (3) communication frequency was a predictor of both convergence and communication richness. This study provided two important extensions to the often-studied relationship between communication behaviors and innovativeness. First, this research showed empirically that the richness of communication influences innovativeness and, in fact, may be the more relevant predictor variable. Secondly, this research showed that convergence is an important intervening construct in the communication activity/innovativeness relationship. Interestingly, the research model only suggested a causal relationship for convergence on the importance of the primary business activities. Thus, the intent of this study to examine the proposition that frequent and rich communication exchanges produce a convergence in understanding among technology providers and users and, that this convergence directly promotes organizational innovativeness was supported.
Visual Data in Organizational Research
Authors: Meyer Alan D.
Published: October 2008

This paper urges organizational researchers to collect data from subjects in the form of pictures, diagrams, computer graphics, and other visual representations. Drawing on theoretical and empirical work in cognitive psychology, neurophysiology, linguistics, and artificial intelligence, it presents a rationale for collecting visual data, provides examples, and suggests research questions and settings where visual data may be preferable to verbal data.
The Effects of American- and Japanese-Style Employment and Compensation Practices on Innovation
Authors: Quinn Dennis P. , Rivoli Pietra
Published: October 2008

Success in the global marketplace increasingly requires that firms develop capabilities in innovation. In this paper we argue that firms can use employment and compensation practices to foster innovation and support for innovation by employees. Conversely, some employment and compensation systems will inhibit innovation.

A system that allows gain sharing by employees and provides employment assurance will foster innovation in the firm. However, a system that compensates employees with a fixed wage and allows for termination at will contains anti-innovative incentives. The former system is the prototypical Japanese system (particularly in large firms), while the latter system is the prototypical American system.

The commercial success of Japanese firms is increasingly attributed to successful innovation, particularly in processes. We argue that this success is partly attributable to the Japanese-style system of employment and compensation.

None of this suggests, however, that the Japanese-style practices constitute a universally superior system of employment and compensation. The Japanese-style system will not necessarily be beneficial to firms, nor be preferred by employees. The preferences of both employees and firms will depend upon market circumstances.

In stable domestic markets in relatively full employment economies, companies derive competitive advantage from mass production and scale economies. Under such circumstances, the American-style system is likely to be preferred by both employees and firms. However, when the firm operates in a volatile international market the preferences of both employees and firms will shift toward the Japanese-style system. The employment and compensation systems of both countries were well suited to the market circumstances under which they evolved.
Integrating Positivist and Interpretive Approaches to Organizational Research
Authors: Lee Allen S.
Published: October 2008

The interpretive approach to organizational research has been gaining increasing attention as a legitimate alternative to the more traditional positivist approach. The organizational literature has already provided thorough descriptions of each approach, and clarified the differences between them. Indeed, it often appears that the two approaches are opposed, with the differences irreconcilable.

This paper will go beyond the differences and establish an integrated framework for the two approaches. An actual, published organizational study will be used as an exemplar for the integrated framework (Nardulli 1978, 1979).
Technology Diffusion and Organizational Learning: The Case of Business Computing
Authors: Attewell Paul
Published: October 2008

The dominant explanation for the spread of technological innovations emphasizes processes of influence and information flow. Firms which are closely connected to pre-existing users of an innovation learn about it and adopt it early on. Firms at the periphery of communication networks are slower to adopt.

This paper develops an alternative model which emphasizes the role of know-how and organizational learning as potential barriers to adoption of innovations. Firms delay in-house adoption of complex technology until they obtain sufficient technical know-how to implement and operate it successfully.

In response to knowledge barriers, new institutions come into existence which progressively lower those barriers, and make it easier for firms to adopt and use the technology without extensive in-house expertise. Service bureaus, consultants, and simplification of the technology are examples. As knowledge barriers are lowered, diffusion speeds up, and one observes a transition from an early pattern in which the new technology is typically obtained as a service to a later pattern of in-house provision of the technology.

Thus the diffusion of technology is reconceptualized in terms of organizational learning, skill development, and knowledge barriers. The utility of this approach is shown through an empirical study of the diffusion of business computing in the United States, reporting survey and ethnographic data on the spread of business computing, on the learning processes and skills required, and on the changing institutional practices that facilitated diffusion.
Vertical Strategies and Market Structure: A Systematic Risk Analysis
Authors: Chatterjee Sayan , Lubatkin Michael , Schoenecker Timothy
Published: October 2008

This study examines the implications of vertical mergers on the risk characteristic of the merging firms. Specifically, the study focuses on three structural characteristics of the acquiring and acquired firm's market to explain the change in the systematic or environmental risk of the acquiring firm. These structural factors are the level of competition in the acquiring firm's industry, the level of competition in the acquired firm's industry, and the growth rate of the acquiring firm's industry. The findings suggest that vertical mergers are effective at reducing systematic risk particularly when the acquiring firm competes in a concentrated market. Further, this result appears to be stable across life cycle stages.
Organizational Learning and Personnel Turnover
Authors: Carley Kathleen
Published: October 2008

The impact of personnel turnover on an organization's ability to learn, and hence on its ultimate performance, is explored for organizations with different structures and different tasks. A model of organizational decision making is presented where: (1) the organization is faced with a continuous sequence of similar but not identical problems; (2) each problem is so complex that no one person has access to all of the information nor the skill to comprehend all of the information necessary to make the decision; (3) individual decision makers base their decisions on their own previous experience; and (4) there is personnel turnover. Using simulation the impact of turnover on the rate and level of learning for hierarchies and teams is examined. This research suggests that while teams in general learn faster and better than hierarchies, hierarchies are less affected by high turnover rates particularly when the task is nondecomposable. Institutionalized memory, as embodied in the memories of distributed individuals and in the advisory relationships between individuals, determines the consequences of personnel turnover.
Executive Succession and Organization Outcomes in Turbulent Environments: An Organization Learning Approach
Authors: Virany Beverly , Tushman Michael L. , Romanelli Elaine
Published: October 2008

This paper explores executive succession as an important mechanism for organization learning and, thus, for organization adaptation. We argue that executive succession can fundamentally alter the knowledge, skills and interaction processes of the senior management team. These revised skills and communication processes improve the team's ability to recognize and act on changing environmental conditions. Especially in turbulent environments, succession may be critical for improving or sustaining the performance of the firm. We explore continuity and change of CEOs and their executive teams as associated with first- and second-order organization learning, which are differentially important under stable versus turbulent environmental conditions. We also link these organization learning ideas to the nature of organization evolution. A series of hypotheses link executive-team succession and strategic reorientation to subsequent organization performance.

Results in a study of 59 minicomputer firms, all founded between 1968 and 1971, indicate that succession exerts a positive influence on organization performance. We also show that it is important to distinguish between CEO succession and executive-team change, which independently improve subsequent organization performance. The positive impact of succession is accentuated when it coincides with strategic reorientation. Finally we examined how longer term patterns in succession and reorientation affect organization performance. We discovered two modes of organization adaption in this turbulent industry. The most typical mode combines CEO succession, sweeping executive-team changes, and strategic reorientations. A more rare, and over the long-term more effective, adaptational mode involves strategic reorientation and executive-team change, but no succession of the CEO. Consistently high-performing organizations are managed to sustain a relatively high level of learning (through turnover of senior executives and strategic reorientation), and at the same time to maintain links with established organizational competencies (through retention of the CEO).
Environmental Fit Versus Internal Fit
Authors: Miller Danny
Published: October 2008

Many contingency researchers have argued that organizations must tailor their structures and decision making processes to fit the demands of their external environments–the exigencies of their markets. They claim, for example, that uncertain environments–those with high degrees of change and unpredictability in technology and in customer and competitor behavior–require more delegation of authority to highly trained specialists and quicker, more responsive decision making. However, such experts usually favor a slower, more analytical approach. Here, internal and external requirements appear to be inconsistent. These and similar inconsistencies indicate that the alignment among structural and process variables needed for good environmental fit seems sometimes to violate the dictates of internal consistency. It is reasonable, therefore, to expect that where such inconsistencies occur, organizations will choose between achieving internal match and external match: firms that closely match the demands of their environment will lack internal complementarity, and vice versa. The empirical research reported here demonstrates exactly this: organizations that achieve the best fit with environmental uncertainty have the weakest linkages among structural and process variables. An exploratory taxonomy supports these results. However, internal and external fit are not always incompatible. We found, for example, that fit with environmental diversity did not have any implications for internal fit. One of the implications of this research is that managers may have to perform their adaptive tasks sequentially striving for a harmonious alignment among their internal variables in order to achieve smooth functioning, but periodically disrupting this harmony to adjust to a changing environment.
Interpretive Barriers to Successful Product Innovation in Large Firms
Authors: Dougherty Deborah
Published: October 2008

The development of commercially viable new products requires that technological and market possibilities are linked effectively in the product's design. Innovators in large firms have persistent problems with such linking, however. This research examines these problems by focusing on the shared interpretive schemes people use to make sense of product innovation. Two interpretive schemes are found to inhibit development of technology-market knowledge: departmental thought worlds and organizational product routines. The paper describes in some depth differences among the thought worlds which keep innovators from synthesizing their expertise. The paper also details how organizational routines exacerbate problems with learning, and how successful innovators overcome both interpretive barriers. The main implication of the study is that to improve innovation in large firms it is necessary to deal explicitly with the interpretive barriers described here. Suggestions for practice and research are offered.
Autogenesis: A Perspective on the Process of Organizing
Authors: Drazin Robert , Sandelands Lloyd
Published: October 2008

This paper presents a perspective on organizational theory called ‘autogenesis’. This perspective has a long history in both the natural and social sciences, but is suggested particularly by recent developments in the field of self-organizing systems. According to this perspective, complex social organization can be explained in terms of the interplay of three distinct types of structure: (1) deep structure, which consists of a generative grammar (rules) for organizing; (2) elemental structure, which is the manifest form taken by individual social interactions; and (3) observed structure, which is the supra-individual group or organization as perceived by an observer of the system. The implications of this perspective for expanding the scope of theory and research on social organizations in general, and the process of organizing in particular, are discussed.
An Agency Perspective on New Technology Champions
Authors: Lawless Michael W. , Price Linda L.
Published: October 2008

Technology champions are members of organizations presenting new technology to fellow members who are potential users. They are widely accepted as instrumental in many implementation settings. In the perspective that dominates the current literature, champions are allied with outside technology, and users are slow to adopt innovation. Much effort has gone into describing traits of champions and solving problems in the process of getting users to accept the new technology. This focus emphasizes one particular view of the champion role, and leads to a constrained set of alternatives to manage technology championing. We propose instead that champions can be seen as agents of potential users, and implementation described in terms of constructs familiar in the agency model. This approach challenges some fundamental premises in the existing literature and introduces new propositions to the research on technology champions. They address alignment of self-interest between champions and users, implicit contracts, incentives and penalties, risk-bearing, and performance evaluation.
Technological Networking and Innovation Implementation
Authors: Pennings Johannes M. , Harianto Farid
Published: October 2008

This paper presents a theory of innovation which presumes that new technologies emerge from a firm's accumulated stock of skills. Among these we distinguish technological and networking skills. We examine two aspects of innovating firms: their inclination to adopt a technological innovation, and their propensity to implement innovation alone or with other firms. Historical conditions pertaining to organizational skills are examined to account for these aspects. Among the most important are a firm's cumulative stream of technological projects that have some affinity to the new technology. A second important antecedent can be inferred from a firm's history of technological networking. Networking includes licensing, joint ventures and long-term contracts and can be formed for technological reasons, or for reasons having to do with the delivery of products and services. Networking is deemed important for facilitating access to strands of technology that are alien to a firm. Linkages are also conducive for contemplating strategic partnerships through which a firm can share the risks of innovation with others and which make such partnerships comparatively easy. The study examined a sample of United States commercial banks during the period 1977–1987, some of which were engaged in a new technology: home banking. The findings indicate that technological networking is the best predictor of technological innovation. They reveal also that firms with extensive networking are more likely to implement the innovation with strategic partners. Finally, the paper discusses the implications of the findings for organization design and proposes an expanded theoretical framework for organizational innovation.
The Duality of Technology: Rethinking the Concept of Technology in Organizations
Authors: Orlikowski Wanda J.
Published: October 2008

This paper develops a new theoretical model with which to examine the interaction between technology and organizations. Early research studies assumed technology to be an objective, external force that would have deterministic impacts on organizational properties such as structure. Later researchers focused on the human aspect of technology, seeing it as the outcome of strategic choice and social action. This paper suggests that either view is incomplete, and proposes a reconceptualization of technology that takes both perspectives into account. A theoretical model—the structurational model of technology—is built on the basis of this new conceptualization, and its workings explored through discussion of a field study of information technology. The paper suggests that the reformulation of the technology concept and the structurational model of technology allow a deeper and more dialectical understanding of the interaction between technology and organizations. This understanding provides insight into the limits and opportunities of human choice, technology development and use, and organizational design. Implications for future research of the new concept of technology and the structurational model of technology are discussed.
Organization Science, Managers, and Language Games
Authors: Astley W. Graham , Zammuto Raymond F.
Published: October 2008

This paper examines the relationship between organization science and managerial practice. Science and practice are viewed as interdependent, yet semiautonomous, domains which engage in their own specialized forms of discourse or “language games.” The paper examines both the internal dynamics of these language games and the relationship between them. The analysis suggests a reinterpretation of the role played by organizational scientists in relation to practitioners. Organizational scientists should be viewed not as engineers offering technical advice to managers but as providers of conceptual and symbolic language for use in organizational discourse. This view's implications for enhancing the relationship between organization science and managerial practice is discussed.
The Weick Stuff: Managing Beyond Games
Authors: Donaldson Lex
Published: October 2008

Astley and Zammuto (Astley, W. Graham, Raymond F. Zammuto. 1992. Organization science, managers and language games. Organ. Sci. 3 (4) 443–460.) have contributed a provocative theoretical analysis of the present state of organizational science and suggest that the solution to current difficulties lies in a fuller realization of the concept of organizational science as a language game. They address contemporary criticisms that organizational research lacks applications and reject the view that renewed efforts should be made to create a body of organizational engineering knowledge which offers highly specific advice to managers. Instead Astley and Zammuto (Astley, W. Graham, Raymond F. Zammuto. 1992. Organization science, managers and language games. Organ. Sci. 3 (4) 443–460.) invoke the philosophical concept of a language game and see organization theory as primarily consisting of stories and myths to provide symbolic representation and legitimation for management. Far from being highly specific in terminology, preferred language games are seen as being stated in an abstract language, the better to widely generalize, and indeed as being ambiguous, so as to appeal broadly and to facilitate consensus in fraught situations.
Task Analyzability, Use of New Media, and Effectiveness: A Multi-Site Exploration of Media Richness
Authors: Rice Ronald E.
Published: October 2008

The present study explores the central tenet of media richness theory, derived from contingency theory: when (1) information processing capabilities match (2) information processing demands, (3) performance will improve. This article tests whether using communication media that differ (1) in media richness or social presence (2) in conditions of differing task analyzability (3) affects self-reported performance components such as quality of work, effectiveness, productivity, ability to obtain information, decision-making ability, access to others, etc.

The article first reviews the theoretical constructs of media richness and social presence, task characteristics, and performance, with particular reference to organizational computer-mediated communication media. It also identifies important but untested assumptions that media richness theory has, to date, made about the forms of the relationships among these variables. The theory assumes that use-performance relationships are nonmonotonic, that is, that the relationship between use and outcomes is positive when a medium's richness “fits” task requirements, and negative when it does not. The theory also assumes that use-performance relationships are symmetric, that is, that the relationship between use and outcomes in different task conditions is similar but opposite for “rich media” and “lean media.”

Hypotheses test the direction and form of relationships involving use of online databases in several pooled organizations, electronic mail in one organization, voice mail in two organizations, and videoconferencing in one organization, in task conditions varying in analyzability.

Results are mixed, depending on analytical method and dataset used, but show modest support for the contingent effect of task condition on the relationship between use of these new media and performance components. Results are stronger for information-lean media than for information-rich media. The results are generally monotonic and asymmetric, thus qualifying prior media richness assumptions.

Implications for theory and research include slight support but conceptual qualification of media richness theory, and an improved understanding of new organizational media. Implications for management and practice include a need to appreciate appropriate uses of and opportunities for different communication media in organizational contexts.

This paper is written with the assistance of: Paul J. Hart, Ph.D., Computer and Information Systems Department, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida; Jack Torobin, Ph.D., Delphi Communication Services, Los Angeles, California; Douglas Shook, Ph.D., Communication Sciences, Los Angeles, California; Joyce E. Tyler, M.A., Arthur Andersen, Inc., Alexandria, Virginia; Lynne Svenning, Ph.D., Telecommunications Research Group, Wilmington, Delaware; John Ruchinskas, Ph.D., Telecommunications Research Group, Los Angeles, California, and Arden, Delaware.
Organizational Considerations in the Evaluation of Capital Assets: Toward a Resource-Based View of Strategic Investment by Firms
Authors: Robins James A.
Published: October 2008

During the last three decades, sophisticated techniques for analysis of market investment have been developed by financial economists. At the same time, however, concepts and methods for analysis of resource allocation within firms have lagged behind market theory. The analysis of investment within firms has been based primarily on applications of economic theory that exhibit serious weaknesses.

The special problems associated with analysis of investment in firms have become an important concern of strategic management. Recent “resource-based” approaches to strategy have developed valuable insights into the limitations of economic analysis of the firm. Although the resource-based work has not yet provided formal methods comparable to the Capital Asset Pricing Model, it has made important progress in building foundations for an alternative analysis of economic organization.

This paper explores weaknesses in the financial economic analysis of the firm and examines alternative perspectives in the work on resource-based strategy. The paper focuses on problems associated with use of market models such as the CAPM for capital allocation within firms. Working from basic premises of transaction-cost economics, the paper identifies important flaws in financial-economic techniques for defining hurdle rates for capital projects. The paper discusses underlying logical problems associated with the application of market theory to complex organizations and examines ways that alternative approaches to resource allocation have begun to evolve within the field of strategic management.
The Structural Consequences of Downsizing
Authors: DeWitt Rocki-Lee
Published: October 2008

This paper examines the impact of downsizing strategy on dimensions and types of organizational structure. Four downsizing strategies are developed to address organization and environment decline. Understanding where and how these strategies modify an organization's activities helps clarity how downsizing impacts organization structure. Propositions are offered that show how downsizing can result in both mechanistic and organic shifts in organization structure.

Mechanistic shifts are caused by downsizing strategies that increase the domain of an organization and the structural processes used to support that domain. Organic shifts are caused by downsizing strategies that decrease the domain of an organization and the structural processes used to support that domain. The rationale provided for these shifts offers a strategic explanation for decreases in administrative intensity that lag decreases in organization size. Propositions about the impact of downsizing on organizational structure are offered as a stimulus to further thought and research.
Adapting to a Declining Environment: Lessons from a Religious Order
Authors: Ludwig Dean C.
Published: October 2008

This study examines the ten U.S. provinces of the largest religious order of Catholic priests and brothers, the Jesuits, and explores the structural/organizational adaptations which these ten provinces employed to accommodate dramatic reductions in membership. The organizational placement of roughly 11,000 individual members of these provinces is traced between the years 1965 and 1979.

The research indicates that, by increasing interorganizational cooperation and exchange of information and by enhancing the administrative component, these organizations were able to reduce slack resource requirements and were largely able to protect their core operations from the impact of decline. These observations differ dramatically from those reported in typical, for-profit organizations (e.g., Harrigan 1980).

Finally, to the extent that cutback did reach the core, an attempt is made to examine the width and depth of retrenchment at both the divisional and departmental levels and to determine whether the mode of retrenchment affected individuals' willingness to subsequently invest in the organization. The analysis suggests that narrower, deeper cuts at the departmental level may have had a positive effect on members' willingness to invest in the organizations, while narrower, deeper cuts at the division level may have contributed to more members deciding to leave the organizations.
The Influence of Auditors' Perceptions of Organizational Decline on Audit Risk
Authors: Schick Allen G. , Ponemon Lawrence A.
Published: October 2008

This paper builds upon the work of researchers who have examined the effects of decline on an organization's exchange partners. Its purpose is to examine the relationship between auditors' perceptions of oganizational decline and audit firms' specification of clients' audit risk. Based on relevant organizational decline and accounting literatures, we propose that perceptions of greater decline are associated with higher firm assigned audit risk. We also propose that larger, public and longer-term audit clients would make this connection stronger. The results reveal that the relationship of perceived decline to audit risk is quadratic (curved) rather than linear as anticipated. Assigned audit risk is high for smaller, privately held firms perceived to be rapidly declining or rapidly growing. Audit risk is even higher for larger, public client firms perceived to be in rapid decline. However, audit risk is relatively low for larger, public firms perceived to be rapidly growing. The time a firm is an audit client is not important. An implication of these findings is that research on the reactions of an organization's exchange partners to decline should be extended to include their reactions to rapid growth for certain types of organizations.
Top Managerial Prestige, Power and Tender Offer Response: A Study of Elite Social Networks and Target Firm Cooperation during Takeovers
Authors: D'Aveni Richard A. , Kesner Idalene F.
Published: October 2008

In this paper we explore the following research question: When faced with a tender offer, why do some firms resist and others cooperate? In the past, researchers have suggested that the manner in which firms respond to takeover attempts may be, in part, a function of managers' personal motivations. We contribute to this line of research by questioning whether other factors might be involved. Specifically, we examine whether cooperation may be a function of the friendliness of the bidding company and the social networks shared by executives in the two firms (i.e., bidder and target). We examine how the power and connections of managers affect their responses to tender offers. Our results suggest that these factors do indeed play a role. We found, for example, that target managers are more likely to cooperate under two conditions: (1) if they have less prestigious connections than managers in the bidding firm, and (2) if the target and bidding firms' share numerous ties to the same prestigious networks. In contrast, we found that target managers are more likely to resist a bidder's advances if: (1) the managers in both firms are poorly connected, or (2) the targets' managers hold more prestigious connections relative to the bidders. Together these findings suggest that cooperation and resistance may be a function of the social networks and power relationships that exist between and within firms. We discuss our findings within the framework of numerous organizational theories such as social class and social network theory, agency theory, and resource dependence. Although each of these perspectives suggests somewhat different results, we propose a reconciliation of these various perspectives. Specifically, we suggest that the variables of managerial power and connections may have different effects depending on whether we are observing firms before or after tender offers are made. It may be, for instance, that before a takeover offer is received, the power and prestige of target managers is associated with adoption of anti-takeover defenses (i.e., defenses designed to thwart takeover attempts). In fact, this finding has already been well documented in the literature. On the other hand, our findings suggest that after an offer is received, these same factors of prestige and power appear to be associated with resistance. Finally, our results call into question previous views that corporate takeovers are a mechanism for disciplining or ridding the company of incompetent managers. Instead, our findings suggest that the nature of the takeover process (i.e., cooperative versus resistant) may do little more than perpetuate existing social structures. Powerful and prestigious managers may not suffer the same negative effects of takeovers as their less prestigious and less powerful counterparts.
Death of the Lethargic: Effects of Expansion into New Technical Subfields on Performance in a Firm's Base Business
Authors: Mitchell Will , Singh Kulwant
Published: October 2008

This paper finds that industry incumbents that do not expand into new technical subfields tend to fare poorly in their established businesses, even if the market for the established products continues to exist. Firms that expand from their established businesses survive longer and achieve greater subsequent market share than competitors that do not expand. By some measures, however, a failed attempt to expand into a new subfield may be even more harmful to a base business than nonexpansion. The study employs conventional and accelerated event-time regression models to analyze market share and survival. The sample, which includes 371 incumbents in four base subfields of the medical diagnostic imaging industry between 1953 and 1989, examines performance following the emergence of five new technical subfields of the industry.
Organizational Culture and Performance: Proposing and Testing a Model
Authors: Marcoulides George A. , Heck Ronald H.
Published: October 2008

The purpose of this article is twofold: first, to propose and test a model concerning how an organization's culture affects organizational performance; and second, to demonstrate the application of LISREL modeling methodology to estimate and test this model. Organizational culture is hypothesized to consist of three interrelated dimensions: a sociocultural system of the perceived functioning of the organization's strategies and practices, an organizational value system, and the collective beliefs of the individuals working within the organization. Organizational culture is operationalized by several latent variables: organizational structure and purpose, organizational values, task organization, climate, and individual values and beliefs. These variables, in turn, are hypothesized to affect organizational performance. Analysis of data from 392 respondents who participated in the study confirms the fit of the proposed model to the data. The model presented in the study represents an initial attempt to describe and evaluate the effects of various dimensions of organizational culture. It appears that the comparison of visible aspects of culture across and within organizations can provide useful information for guiding the directions of organizations. By investigating the variables defined in this study further, it may eventually be possible to explain why some organizations are not performing at desired levels of productivity. A methodological tool has also been presented in this article. It is clear that the application of structural equation modeling techniques can provide organizational scientists with powerful analytic tools for furthering theory testing and development. Structural modeling can be used to construct, estimate, and test a variety of models in organization science.
The Formulation Processes and Tactics Used in Organizational Decision Making
Authors: Nutt Paul C.
Published: October 2008

One hundred and sixty-three decision cases were explored to determine how managers carry out formulation during organizational decision making. Four types of formulation processes were identified (called idea, issue, objective-directed, and reframing) as well as the tactics decision makers apply to carry out each process type. Decision adoption, merit, and duration were used to determine the success of each process and tactic. The implications of these findings for decision makers and researchers are discussed.
Managerial Incentives and Investment in R&D in Large Multiproduct Firms
Authors: Hoskisson Robert E. , Hitt Michael A. , Hill Charles W. L.
Published: October 2008

Incentives for division managers in large firms affect their risk orientation and thus their decisions to invest in R&D. This paper reviews theory and hypothesizes that division managers' incentive compensation that is based on financial performance is negatively related to risk taking as measured by R&D intensity. Results of a study of 184 major U.S. firms suggest that incentives based on short-term (annual) division financial performance are negatively related to total firm R&D intensity after controlling for industry R&D intensity, firm diversification, size and group structure. Furthermore, the results suggest that an emphasis on long-term financial incentives may mitigate the negative relationship between these incentives and R&D intensity, but does not promote risk taking. The results suggest the importance of emphasizing strategic controls [evaluating division managers based on operational understanding of strategies proposed (strategic criteria)] as opposed to the use of financial controls [evaluating division managers based on financial performance (often annual ROI)]. However, the use of financial controls becomes more common as firms diversify. Diversification increases the span of control of corporate executives and the diversity among divisions. In highly diversified firms, corporate executives are no longer able to fully understand the operations of the multiple and diverse divisions. Thus, they must not only decentralize operating authority to divisions, but they also cannot use strategic criteria to evaluate division managers. As a result, they begin to emphasize financial controls. The shift toward risk aversion caused by the use of incentives based on short-term financial outcomes can have important implications for long-term firm performance. The results of this study have implications for long-term competitiveness, especially for firms in R&D intensive industries where R&D expenditures may affect a firm's competitive position.
The Legalistic Organization: Definitions, Dimensions, and Dilemmas
Authors: Sitkin Sim B. , Bies Robert J.
Published: October 2008

The worse the society, the more law there will be. In Hell, there will be nothing but law, and due process will be meticulously observed.

Grant Gilmore (The Ages of American Law 1977, p. 111)
Explaining the Whistle-Blowing Process: Suggestions from Power Theory and Justice Theory
Authors: Near Janet P. , Dworkin Terry Morehead , Miceli Marcia P.
Published: October 2008

Review of research concerning whistle-blowing suggests that legal sanctions have been singularly unsuccessful in encouraging whistle-blowing but that legalistic responses by organizations seem to have been somewhat more successful. Below, we review three sets of studies that illustrate this point. The first set includes federal employees, both before and after a legal change intended to encourage whistle-blowing. The second study examines the effects of state laws, by comparing states with whistle-blowing statutes to those without such statutes. The third study focuses on whistle-blowers who are role prescribed and therefore have legalistic protections but not legal protections. Results from these three sets of studies suggest that legal procedures seem not to be effective in encouraging positive organizational responses to whistle-blowing, but legalistic responses designed by the organizations themselves have more positive effects both for the whistle-blowers and for the organizations themselves. We attempt to resolve this apparent paradox by considering two theoretical frameworks, power relations and justice theory, and using these frameworks to predict the behaviors of both whistle-blowers and their organizations when legal mechanisms are involved and when legalistic mechanisms are used. Finally, drawing on the implications of our theoretical analysis, we provide policy suggestions for the encouragement of legalistic mechanisms, in addition to legal mechanisms, to persuade organizations to respond positively to whistle-blowers.
Lying, Deceit, and Subterfuge: A Model of Dishonesty in the Workplace
Authors: Grover Steven L.
Published: October 2008

Honesty is a key element of ethical behavior in organizations, yet has received little theoretical or empirical attention. This article derives a model of the antecedents of deception in organizations. Self-interest theories, such as agency theory, and prosocial behavior theories of behavior are reviewed and an argument developed that intrapersonal conflict may meld the divergent theories and explain lying in organizations. Role theory identifies potential sources of intrapersonal conflict in organizations that may serve as antecedents to lying. Different types of role conflict are examined, each of which may lead to distress, and, in turn, may be resolved through deception: People may behave according to one role demand, and then state, or create the impression of, having behaved according to another role demand.
Control System and Task Environment Effects on Ethical Judgment: An Exploratory Study of Industrial Salespeople
Authors: Robertson Diana C. , Anderson Erin
Published: October 2008

The objective of this research was to determine the effects of a firm's control system and dimensions of the work task environment upon ethical judgments made by salespeople. Industrial field salespeople are likely to encounter ethical conflicts on a daily basis in their dealings with customers, competitors, and their own management. How they resolve such conflicts is believed to be a function of both individual characteristics and factors in the situation. This study focuses on situational factors in the form of organization design variables, particularly control system and task environment. The firm's control system includes its method of monitoring, supervising and compensating salespeople. The study develops fourteen ethics-related selling scenarios and assesses, via projective questioning, how 446 salespeople would react to them. Findings indicate that organization design does influence the behavior a salesperson considers appropriate to cope with ethical conflicts. In particular, salespeople operating under a more bureaucratic, input-based control system advocate more ethical behavior than do salespeople operating under a more output-based, laissez-faire control system. Also, salespeople who perceive the market to be competitive recommend less ethical behavior. However, the proportion of salary versus commission in the salesperson's compensation system does not have an effect on response. Differences are also discovered with respect to the salesperson's seniority, rank, and certain features of the task environment.