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SSRN Research Paper Series
The Social Science Research Network’s Research Paper Series includes working papers produced by Stanford GSB the Rock Center.
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Generalism Bias in Collective Strategy
Many organizations are made up of other organizations that have decided to act collectively — as with research and development consortia, industrial alliances, trade associations, and formal political coalitioins. These collective action…
What We Theorize When We Theorize That We Theorize: The 'Lay Theory' Construct in Developmental, Social, and Cultural Psychology
This chapter integrates research in several academic disciplines on the lay theories that people rely on when making sense of their social environments. First, drawing on philosophy of science, we establish several criteria for a theory and…
Altruism and Philanthropy: Religious and Secular Approaches
Abstract not available.
Intraorganizational Ecology of Strategy-Making and Organizational Adaptation: Theory and Field Research I
This paper presents an intraorganizational ecological perspective on strategy-making and examines how internal selection may combine with external selection to explain organizational change and survival. The perspective saves to illuminate data…
Organizational Images as Negotiated Accounts: A Dynamic Conception of Impression Management
Emergence of the symbolic management perspective in the organizational studies literature has turned attention to the use of impression management strategies by leaders. When events occur that have potential to either detract from or contribute…
Social Identity and Self-Presentational Concerns in Bargaining: Evidence of Bounded Individuality
Research on negotiations has flourished over the past several years. Much of this work has focused on cognitive biases in negotiations. However, the role social processes play in negotiations has received surprisingly little attention from…
An Empirical Test of Efficiency Wage Theory
Efficiency wage theorists explicitly recognize effort as a component of labor productivity. Where monitoring is costly or difficult, incentives to work are thought to be provided by higher than market clearing wages, unemployment, or both. Higher…
Differences Between the Careers of Women and Men Stanford MBA Graduates
Careers of Stanford MBA graduates from 1973 through 1985 were studied by questionnaire in 1987. The response rate was 56% after two mailings. The purpose was to compare the careers of female and male graduates. All female graduates in the…
Exit from Declining Industries: "Shakeout" or "Stakeout"
Data on thirty declining chemical products are used to test theories of exit. The results offer support for two different models. The first model predicts that small firms would be most likely to exit. The second model predicts that large…
Firm-Level Productivity and Management Influence: A Comparison of U.S. and Japanese Automobile Producers
This study compares the productivity of six major U.S. and Japanese motor vehicle manufacturers-General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Nissan and Mazda-from the early 1950’s through 1987. Techniques of productivity measurement, conventionally…
Wage Effects of Externalized Work: The Case of Temporary and Part-time Employees
Although there has been substantial growth in the proportion of temporary and part-time workers, there has been little research on the consequences of the form of labor contracting. Using the May 1985 version of the Current Population Survey to…
When the Going Gets Tough: The Effects of Resource Scarcity on Group Conflict and Cooperation
Abstract not available.
Externally Espoused Values and the Legitimation of Financial Performance
Organizations devote significant resources to the process of external legitimation of their activities. This paper focuses on a particular aspect of this process, espoused values. We begin by drawing on the organizational culture literature to…
Business, Strategy, Market Structure, and Risk Return Relationships: A Casual Interpretation
The present paper analyzes four questions both theoretically and empircally: 1) how are risk and return outcomes at the business-unit level related to each other?; 2) how does market share influence risk-return outcomes?; 3) to what extent is the…
A Political Perspective on Careers: Interests, Networks, and Environments
Abstract not available.
A Black Hole: Ambiguity in Organizational Cultures
This paper begins with a discussion of the wild ceremonial dances of Australian aborigines. It then proceeds, after a brief diversion into definitional matters to discuss elements of four organizational cultures:
- The U.S. Department…
Hybrid Organizations as Strategic Alliances: Theoretical and Practical Issues in Organizational Combinations
The phenomenon of hybridization, through which two or more extant frims form a new firm, raises significant questions for both scholars and managers. This paper outlines the unique characteristics common to these strategic alliances and shows how…