Danny Miller

Bio: Danny Miller is an academic researcher from HEC Montréal. The author has contributed to research in topics: Consumption (economics) & Agency (sociology). The author has an hindex of 133, co-authored 512 publications receiving 71238 citations. Previous affiliations of Danny Miller include University of New Mexico & McGill University.

Learning across the life cycle: experimentation and performance among the hollywood studio heads.

Abstract: Guided by notions from the literature on organizational learning, this paper investigates how product- line experimentation and organizational performance change across the careers of top managers....

Ownership Preferences, Competitive Heterogeneity, and Family‐Controlled Businesses

Abstract: This article models ownership concentration, owner preferences, and competitive advantage. It argues that ownership structure and owner preferences can give rise to resources and capabilities that increase firm profits. The model is then used to explain how successful family-controlled businesses (FCBs) differ from firms with less concentrated ownership and less successful FCBs. Because of their ownership concentration and reduced monitoring costs, many FCBs will have a resource surplus. That surplus and the tendency toward long-term investment among some FCBs create unique competitive opportunities under conditions we specify.

Modeling streams and hydrogeomorphic attributes in oregon from digital and field data 1

Abstract: Managers, regulators, and researchers of aquatic ecosystems are increasingly pressed to con- sider large areas. However, accurate stream maps with geo-referenced attributes are uncommon over relevant spatial extents. Field inventories provide high-quality data, particularly for habitat characteristics at fine spatial resolutions (e.g., large wood), but are costly and so cover relatively small areas. Recent avail- ability of regional digital data and Geographic Information Systems software has advanced capabilities to delineate stream networks and estimate coarse-resolution hydrogeomorphic attributes (e.g., gradient). A spa- tially comprehensive coverage results, but types of modeled outputs may be limited and their accuracy is typically unknown. Capitalizing on strengths in both field and regional digital data, we modeled a syn- thetic stream network and a variety of hydrogeomorphic attributes for the Oregon Coastal Province. The synthetic network, encompassing 96,000 km of stream, was derived from digital elevation data. We used high-resolution but spatially restricted data from field inventories and streamflow gauges to evaluate, cali- brate, and interpret hydrogeomorphic attributes modeled from digital elevation and precipitation data. The attributes we chose to model (drainage area, mean annual precipitation, mean annual flow, probability of perennial flow, channel gradient, active-channel width and depth, valley-floor width, valley-width index, and valley constraint) have demonstrated value for stream research and management. For most of these attributes, field-measured, and modeled values were highly correlated, yielding confidence in the mod- eled outputs. The modeled stream network and attributes have been used for a variety of purposes, includ- ing mapping riparian areas, identifying headwater streams likely to transport debris flows, and characterizing the potential of streams to provide high-quality habitat for salmonids. Our framework and models can be adapted and applied to areas where the necessary field and digital data exist or can be obtained.

On Debris Flows, River Networks, and the Spatial Structure of Channel Morphology

Abstract: We evaluated the morphological effects of debris flows from headwater streams in larger, fish-bear­ ing channels of the central Oregon Coast Range, including their influence on fans, wood recruitment, and channel morphology. Continuous channel surveys (6. 4 km) were conducted in third- through fifth-order streams (drainage area <10 km2 and slope <7%) where debris fan effects at confluences were most evident. This basin size contains the majority of channels (67%) in the central Coast Range with gradients that are used by coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch Walbaum). The close spacing between headwater tributaries susceptible to debris flows (118 m average) resulted in long continuous sections of fish-bearing streams that were bordered by debris fans (103 m average) and debris fans impinging on 54% of the total channel length surveyed. Debris flows also supplied the majority of wood (58% of pieces) to the surveyed fish-bearing channels. The highest values of large wood, boulders, and channel gradients were associated with debris fans at confluences with headwater tributaries, while deeper sediment deposits were often associated with fans but also extended up and downstream from fans. The spacing and network pattern of debris flow-prone headwater tributaries influenced the spatial structure of channel morphology and aquatic habitats leading to a high degree of physical heterogeneity and patchiness in channel environments. Our study contributes to a growing emphasis on the role of tributary confluences in structuring channel morphology and aquatic habitats in mountain drainage basins and argues for including a confluence component to stream classification and habitat typing schemes. FOR. SCI. 53(2): 220-238.

Competitive advantage: creating and sustaining superior performance

Abstract: COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE introduces a whole new way of understanding what a firm does. Porter's groundbreaking concept of the value chain disaggregates a company into 'activities', or the discrete functions or processes that represent the elemental building blocks of competitive advantage. Now an essential part of international business thinking, COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE takes strategy from broad vision to an internally consistent configuration of activities. Its powerful framework provides the tools to understand the drivers of cost and a company's relative cost position. Porter's value chain enables managers to isolate the underlying sources of buyer value that will command a premium price, and the reasons why one product or service substitutes for another. He shows how competitive advantage lies not only in activities themselves but in the way activities relate to each other, to supplier activities, and to customer activities. That the phrases 'competitive advantage' and 'sustainable competitive advantage' have become commonplace is testimony to the power of Porter's ideas. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE has guided countless companies, business school students, and scholars in understanding the roots of competition. Porter's work captures the extraordinary complexity of competition in a way that makes strategy both concrete and actionable.

Upper Echelons: The Organization as a Reflection of Its Top Managers

Abstract: Theorists in various fields have discussed characteristics of top managers. This paper attempts to synthesize these previously fragmented literatures around a more general “upper echelons perspective.” The theory states that organizational outcomes—strategic choices and performance levels—are partially predicted by managerial background characteristics. Propositions and methodological suggestions are included.

Clarifying the Entrepreneurial Orientation Construct and Linking It To Performance

Abstract: The primary purpose of this article is to clarify the nature of the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) construct and to propose a contingency framework for investigating the relationship between EO and firm performance. We first explore and refine the dimensions of EO and discuss the usefulness of viewing a firm's EO as a multidimensional construct. Then, drawing on examples from the EO-related contingencies literature, we suggest alternative models (moderating effects, mediating effects, independent effects, interaction effects) for testing the EO-performance relationship.

Social Identity Theory and the Organization

Abstract: It is argued that (a) social identification is a perception of oneness with a group of persons; (b) social identification stems from the categorization of individuals, the distinctiveness and prestige of the group, the salience of outgroups, and the factors that traditionally are associated with group formation; and (c) social identification leads to activities that are congruent with the identity, support for institutions that embody the identity, stereotypical perceptions of self and others, and outcomes that traditionally are associated with group formation, and it reinforces the antecedents of identification. This perspective is applied to organizational socialization, role conflict, and intergroup relations.