In this paper, we argue that the ability of a firm to recognize the value of new, external information, assimilate it, and apply it to commercial ends is critical to its innovative capabilities. We label this capability a firm's absorptive capacity and suggest that it is largely a function of the firm's level of prior related knowledge. The discussion focuses first on the cognitive basis for an individual's absorptive capacity including, in particular, prior related knowledge and diversity of background. We then characterize the factors that influence absorptive capacity at the organizational level, how an organization's absorptive capacity differs from that of its individual members, and the role of diversity of expertise within an organization. We argue that the development of absorptive capacity, and, in turn, innovative performance are history- or path-dependent and argue how lack of investment in an area of expertise early on may foreclose the future development of a technical capability in that area. We formulate a model of firm investment in research and development (R&D), in which R&D contributes to a firm's absorptive capacity, and test predictions relating a firm's investment in R&D to the knowledge underlying technical change within an industry. Discussion focuses on the implications of absorptive capacity for the analysis of other related innovative activities, including basic research, the adoption and diffusion of innovations, and decisions to participate in cooperative R&D ventures. **

/pdf/absorptive-capacity-a-new-perspective-on-learning-and-1n1c9gg9x0.pdf

Absorptive capacity: a new perspective on learning and innovation

Lincoln, Yvonna, and Egon Guba, "Postpositivism and the Naturalist Paradigm," pp. 14-46 in Yvonna Lincoln and Egon Guba, Naturalistic Inquiry . Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1985.*

The Social Psychology of Organizations.

This Special Issue is the result of the inaugural summit hosted by the Gallup Leadership Institute at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2004 on Authentic Leadership Development (ALD). We describe in this introduction to the special issue current thinking in this emerging field of research as well as questions and concerns. We begin by considering some of the environmental and organizational forces that may have triggered interest in describing and studying authentic leadership and its development. We then provide an overview of its contents, including the diverse theoretical and methodological perspectives presented, followed by a discussion of alternative conceptual foundations and definitions for the constructs of authenticity, authentic leaders, authentic leadership, and authentic leadership development. A detailed description of the components of authentic leadership theory is provided next. The similarities and defining features of authentic leadership theory in comparison to transformational, charismatic, servant and spiritual leadership perspectives are subsequently examined. We conclude by discussing the status of authentic leadership theory with respect to its purpose, construct definitions, historical foundations, consideration of context, relational/processual focus, attention to levels of analysis and temporality, along with a discussion of promising directions for future research.

Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership

As a potential theory, the elemental resource-based view (RBV) is not currently a theoretical structure. Moreover, RBV proponents have assumed stability in product markets and eschewed determining resources' values. As a perspective for strategic management, imprecise definitions hinder prescription and static approaches relegate causality to a “black box.” We outline conceptual challenges for improving this situation, including rigorously formalizing the RBV, answering the causal “how” questions, incorporating the temporal component, and integrating the RBV with demand heterogeneity models.

http://lib.cufe.edu.cn/upload_files/other/4_20140522031922_Is_the_Resource-based_%E2%80%9CView%E2%80%9D_a_Useful_Perspective_for_Strategic_Management_Research%20(1).pdf

Is the Resource-Based “View” a Useful Perspective for Strategic Management Research?

Although previous researchers have proposed organizational demography as an important determinant of communication, no one has tested this relationship directly. Further, distinctions between the i...

Organizational Demography: The Differential Effects of Age and Tenure Distributions on Technical Communication

List of contributors Preface Part I. Current Approaches to the Study of Careers: Introduction to Part I 1. Generating new directions in career theroy: the case for a transdisciplinary approach Michael B. Arthur, Douglas T. Hall, and Barbara S. Lawrence 2. Trait-factor theories: traditional cornerstone of career theory Nancy E. Betz, Louise F. Fitzgerlad, and Raymond E. Hill 3. Careers, identities, and institutions: the legacy of the Chicago School of Sociology Stephen R. Barley 4. The utility of adult development theory in understanding career adjustment process Solomon Cytrynbaum and John O. Crites 5. Developmental views of careers in organizations Gene W. Dalton 6. Exploring women's development: implications for career theory, practice, and research Joan V. Gallos 7. The influence of race on career dynamics: theory and research on minority career experiences David A. Thomas and Clayton P. Alderfer 8. Asynchronism in dual-career and family linkages Uma Sekaran and Douglas T. Hall 9. Transitions, work histories, and careers Nigel Nicholson and Michael West 10. Career system profiles and strategic staffing Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld Part II. New Ideas for the Study of Careers: Introduction to Part II 11. People as sculptors versus sculpture: the roles of personality and personal control in organizations Nancy E. Bell and Barry M. Staw 12. Work, stress, and careers: a preventive approach to maintaining organizational health Janina C. Latack 13. Re-visioning career concepts: a feminist invitation Judi Marshall 14. Reciprocity at work: the separate, yet inseparable possibilities for individual and organizational development Michael B. Arthur and Kathy E. Kram 15. Career improvisation in self-designing organizations Karl E. Weick and Lisa R. Berlinger 16. Organization career systems and employee misperceptions James E. Rosenbaum 17. Blue-collar careers: meaning and choice in a world of constraints Robert J. Thomas 18. A political perspective on careers: interests, networks, and environments Jeffrey Pfeffer 19. Rites of passage in work careers Harrison M. Trice and David A. Morand 20. Pin stripes, power ties, and personal relationships: the economics of career strategy Jay B. Barney and Barbara S. Lawrence 21. Rhetoric in bureaucratic careers: managing the meaning of management success Dan Gowler and Karen Legge 22. The internal and external career: a theoretical and cross-cultural perspective C. Brooklyn Derr and Andre Laurent Part III. Future Directions for the Development of Career Theory: Introduction to Part III 23. Understanding individual experience at work: comments on the theory and practice of careers Lotte Bailyn 24. Propositions linking organizations and careers Paul C. Nystrom and Angeline W. McArthur 25. Careers and the wealth of nations: a macro-perspective on the structure and implications of career forms Rosabeth Moss Kanter Indexes.

Handbook of Career Theory

The article discusses the issue of time as it pertains to organizational research. The author believes that looking at research in terms of time is a powerful tool in assessing organizational phenomena. According to the author, temporal research allows researchers to gain more perspective when looking at organizational issues such as decision making, group performance and organizational transformation. The author notes that the field of temporal research is translated into concepts including pacing, timing and sequencing.

Time: A New Research Lens

With this first issue, Organization Science inaugurates a new editorial format called "Perspective." It is intended as an occasional forum for featuring theoretical or critical essays that challenge accepted thinking or established empirical approaches in organization studies. Perspective articles will be selected from among those already accepted for publication in Organization Science. The nomination will be made by the Senior Editor who accepted the paper for publication in Organization Science. The determination for publishing in Perspective will be made on the basis of demonstrated significant potential to redirect contemporary thought and methods relating to important topics and issues in the field. Perspective articles will appear in the earliest possible issue. The paper, "The Black Box of Organizational Demography," by Barbara Lawrence, undertakes the challenging task of questioning and clarifying the logical and methodological underpinning of organizational demography which so far has not been subject to sustained critical reflections. This thoughtful and balanced paper, which questions assumptions and identifies major problems affecting this well-established stream of research, offers new directions that could enrich and redirect organizational demography research.

https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/pdf/10.1287/orsc.8.1.1

The Black Box of Organizational Demography

Since its definition in the early 1980s, organizational demography has become an influential research area. Scholars map the relationship between demographic variables and organizational outcomes, examining such questions as whether increasing work group diversity leads to greater turnover and whether decreasing tenure similarity within a top management team leads to more numerous strategic reorientations. Asking such questions requires only a demographic predictor and an outcome, but answering them often requires additional theoretical constructs. For example, the relationship between work group diversity and turnover might be explained by communication and conflict. As work group diversity increases, communication within the group may become more difficult, resulting in greater conflict and thus increasing turnover. Despite the important, sometimes critical, role of such additional theoretical concepts, researchers often leave them loosely specified and unmeasured, creating a “black box” filled with vag...

Barbara S. Lawrence

Papers

Organizational Demography: The Differential Effects of Age and Tenure Distributions on Technical Communication

Handbook of Career Theory

Time: A New Research Lens

The Black Box of Organizational Demography

Perspective—The Black Box of Organizational Demography