Author
Robert J. David
Other affiliations: Desautels Faculty of Management
Bio: Robert J. David is an academic researcher from McGill University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Institutional theory & Entrepreneurship. The author has an hindex of 13, co-authored 24 publications receiving 2709 citations. Previous affiliations of Robert J. David include Desautels Faculty of Management.
Papers
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors take stock of the large body of extant research and provide a systematic assessment of empirical evidence and conclude that a more thorough empirical grounding of the theory's foundation is crucial to its future development, and offer several strategies for doing this.
Abstract: Transaction cost economics (TCE) is one of the leading perspectives in management and organizational studies, yet debate continues regarding its empirical support. In this paper, we take stock of the large body of extant research and provide a systematic assessment of empirical evidence. In all, 308 statistical tests from 63 articles, selected according to a set of clear criteria, were examined across various dimensions. We assess not only the level of empirical support for the theory, but also the degree of paradigm consensus present in the empirical literature. Our analysis shows that results are mixed: while we found support in some areas (e.g., with regard to asset specificity), we also found considerable disagreement on how to operationalize some of TCE's central constructs and propositions, and relatively low levels of empirical support in other core areas (e.g., surrounding uncertainty and performance). We conclude that a more thorough empirical grounding of the theory's foundation is crucial to its future development, and offer several strategies for doing this. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
1,093 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors trace institutional change in the US electric power industry over a 40-year period and find that when the institutional environment is stable, incumbent organizational forms and embedded logics present formidable obstacles to entrepreneurial activity.
320 citations
TL;DR: The past few decades have witnessed a dramatic expansion of management education, consulting, and the formalization of management practice, with a widespread diffusion of management ideas across sectors and continents.
Abstract: The past few decades have witnessed a dramatic expansion of management education, consulting, and the formalization of management practice, with a widespread diffusion of management ideas across sectors and continents. This book describes and analyzes this worldwide flow of management ideas and the key carriers of these ideas.
296 citations
TL;DR: It is argued that there are a number of benefits to explicitly articulating the links between institutional theory and contemporary studies of entrepreneurship, and work that relates to two key questions, how do institutions affect entrepreneurial choices and how is entrepreneurship related to changes in institutions are reviewed.
Abstract: Although there are many potential points of intersection between institutional theory and contemporary studies of entrepreneurship, these have generally remained distinct literatures, with the connections left more implicit than explicit. We argue that there are a number of benefits to explicitly articulating the links between these bodies of scholarship. In this context, we review work that relates to two key questions we believe are especially likely to benefit from the integration of these literatures---namely, how do institutions affect entrepreneurial choices? And how is entrepreneurship related to changes in institutions? We conclude by considering a number of topics for future research suggested by this integration.
265 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze changes over time in the types of consulting firms offering total quality management services, showing that fashionable practices can return to their technical roots after the hype is over, reversing the usual institutional trajectory.
Abstract: We analyze changes over time in the types of consulting firms offering total quality management services. When TQM was a booming management fashion, consultants tended to be generalists with weak links to the technical foundations of the practice; after the fashion went bust, TQM consulting was increasingly populated by specialists with quality control expertise. These results suggest that fashionable practices can return to their technical roots after the hype is over, reversing the usual institutional trajectory. They also help explain why fashion booms are so fragile and how management practices can be sustained once a boom is over.
213 citations
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TL;DR: This article found that personal networks and underlying project quality are associated with the success of crowdfunding efforts, and that geography is related to both the type of projects proposed and successful fundraising, while the vast majority of founders seem to fulfill their obligations to funders, but that over 75% deliver products later than expected, with the degree of delay predicted by the level and amount of funding a project receives.
Abstract: Crowdfunding allows founders of for-profit, artistic, and cultural ventures to fund their efforts by drawing on relatively small contributions from a relatively large number of individuals using the internet, without standard financial intermediaries. Drawing on a dataset of over 48,500 projects with combined funding over $237M, this paper offers a description of the underlying dynamics of success and failure among crowdfunded ventures. It suggests that personal networks and underlying project quality are associated with the success of crowdfunding efforts, and that geography is related to both the type of projects proposed and successful fundraising. Finally, I find that the vast majority of founders seem to fulfill their obligations to funders, but that over 75% deliver products later than expected, with the degree of delay predicted by the level and amount of funding a project receives. These results offer insight into the emerging phenomenon of crowdfunding, and also shed light more generally on the ways that the actions of founders may affect their ability to receive entrepreneurial financing.
2,621 citations
01 Jan 2008
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them, and describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative.
Abstract: What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.
2,134 citations
TL;DR: It is suggested that scholars avoid the tendency to test models reflecting early incarnations of the RBV and instead test those that incorporate its more contemporary theoretical extensions.
Abstract: The resource-based view (RBV) is one of the most widely accepted theories of strategic management. However, to date no systematic assessment of the RBV's level of empirical support has been conducted. In response, a sample of RBV-grounded empirical articles was analyzed from which it was found that the RBV has received only modest support overall and that this support varies considerably with the independent variable and theoretical approach employed. It is therefore suggested that scholars avoid the tendency to test models reflecting early incarnations of the RBV and instead test those that incorporate its more contemporary theoretical extensions. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
1,870 citations
TL;DR: The role of technology in organizational life is discussed in this paper, where the authors examine the research that has been done on technology, and categorize this literature into two research streams according to their view of technology: discrete entities or mutually dependent ensembles.
Abstract: We begin by juxtaposing the pervasive presence of technology in organizational work with its absence from the organization studies literature. Our analysis of four leading journals in the field confirms that over 95% of the articles published in top management research outlets do not take into account the role of technology in organizational life. We then examine the research that has been done on technology, and categorize this literature into two research streams according to their view of technology: discrete entities or mutually dependent ensembles. For each stream, we discuss three existing reviews spanning the last three decades of scholarship to highlight that while there have been many studies and approaches to studying organizational interactions and implications of technology, empirical research has produced mixed and often‐conflicting results. Going forward, we suggest that further work is needed to theorize the fusion of technology and work in organizations, and that additional perspe...
1,855 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present theoretical and definitional issues associated with the concept and propose a conceptual account of institutional entrepreneurship that helps to accommodate them, and highlight future directions for research on institutional entrepreneurship, and conclude with a discussion of its role in strengthening institutional theory as well as in the field of organization studies.
Abstract: As well as review the literature on the notion of institutional entrepreneurship introduced by Paul DiMaggio in 1988, we propose a model of the process of institutional entrepreneurship We first present theoretical and definitional issues associated with the concept and propose a conceptual account of institutional entrepreneurship that helps to accommodate them We then present the different phases of the process of institutional entrepreneurship from the emergence of institutional entrepreneurs to their implementation of change Finally, we highlight future directions for research on institutional entrepreneurship, and conclude with a discussion of its role in strengthening institutional theory as well as, more broadly, the field of organization studies
1,827 citations