Showing papers in "Academy of Management Review in 1984"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors synthesize these previously fragmented literatures around a more general "upper echelons perspective" and claim that organizational outcomes (strategic choices and performance levels) are partially predicted by managerial background characteristics.
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.
11,022 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a comparative model of organizations as interpretation systems is proposed, which describes four interpretation modes: enacting, discovering, undirected viewing, and conditioned viewing, each mode is determined by management's beliefs about the environment and organizational intrusiveness.
Abstract: A comparative model of organizations as interpretation systems is proposed. The model describes four interpretation modes: enacting, discovering, undirected viewing, and conditioned viewing. Each mode is determined by (1) management's beliefs about the environment and (2) organizational intrusiveness. Interpretation modes are hypothesized to be associated with organizational differences in environmental scanning, equivocality reduction, strategy, and decision making.
4,824 citations
TL;DR: A review of the book "Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life" by Terrence E. Deal and Allan A. Kennedy can be found in this paper.
Abstract: The article presents a review of the book “Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life,” by Terrence E. Deal and Allan A. Kennedy.
1,763 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a conceptual framework is established for the differentiation of entrepreneurs from small business owners, using the 1934 work of Schumpeter and recognizing the additions to the field of current writers.
Abstract: The literature of small business and entrepreneurship is explored. It is established that, although there is an overlap between entrepreneurial firms and small business firms, they are different entities. Using the 1934 work of Schumpeter and recognizing the additions to the field of current writers, a conceptual framework is established for the differentiation of entrepreneurs from small business owners.
1,396 citations
TL;DR: A model is presented that summarizes existing knowledge concerning job insecurity, points at its deficiencies, and identifies further research needed to understand the nature, causes, and consequences of this increasingly important phenomenon.
Abstract: A model is presented that summarizes existing knowledge concerning job insecurity, points at its deficiencies, and identifies further research needed to understand the nature, causes, and consequences of this increasingly important phenomenon. Such knowledge is crucial because job insecurity is a key element in a positive feedback loop that accelerates organizational decline.
1,364 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the dominant work-related values patterns in 53 countries and regions are used to suggest how definitions of the quality of life are affected by national culture patterns, and how these values are influenced by different cultures.
Abstract: Research data on dominant work-related values patterns in 53 countries and regions are used to suggest how definitions of the quality of life are affected by national culture patterns.
1,233 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a review of the book "Costing Human Resources: The Financial Impact of Behavior in Organizations, by Wayne F. Cascio", which is an excellent book.
Abstract: The article presents a review of the book “Costing Human Resources: The Financial Impact of Behavior in Organizations,” by Wayne F. Cascio.
884 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, it is argued that groups are likely to bring under normative control only those behaviors that ensure group survival, increase the predictability of group members' behavior, avoid embarrassing interpersonal situations, or give expression to the group's central values.
Abstract: This paper examines why group norms are enforced and how group norms develop. It is argued here that groups are likely to bring under normative control only those behaviors that ensure group survival, increase the predictability of group members' behavior, avoid embarrassing interpersonal situations, or give expression to the group's central values. Group norms develop through explicit statements by supervisors or co-workers, critical events in the group's history, primacy, or carry-over behaviors from past situations.
868 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a typology of rites and ceremonials is presented and the implications of cultural studies for research and practice are discussed. But the focus of these typologies often focuses on discrete cultural forms and fails to place phenomena studied within an overarching conception of culture.
Abstract: Studies of organizational culture often focus on discrete cultural forms and fail to place phenomena studied within an overarching conception of culture. Overlap and confusion in terminology occur across studies. To alleviate these problems, this paper offers distinguishing definitions and advocates studying rites and ceremonials, which consolidate multiple cultural forms. The paper also presents, illustrates, and discusses a typology of rites and ceremonials and examines the implications of cultural studies for research and practice.
818 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors draw on more than 200 empirical and theoretical studies of progress functions in industrial engineering, economics, and management to find policies that result in continuous cost improvements.
Abstract: Use of progress functions in strategic planning has led to the principle that firms can expect continuous cost improvements with cumulative output. But finding policies that result in continuous cost improvements requires a better understanding of the dynamics underlying firms' progress functions. This paper draws on more than 200 empirical and theoretical studies of progress functions in industrial engineering, economics, and management. Factors causing progress fall into four categories that vary in origin (exogenous or endogenous) and in type (autonomous or induced).
760 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed the relationship between individual job satisfaction and individual performance using the meta-analysis techniques of Hunter, Schmidt, and Jackson (1982) and found higher and more consistent correlations between overall job satisfaction with performance than those previously reported.
Abstract: The correlational literature concerning the relationships between individual job satisfaction and individual performance was analyzed, using the metaanalysis techniques of Hunter, Schmidt, and Jackson (1982). Higher and more consistent correlations between overall job satisfaction and performance were indicated than those previously reported. Relationships between JDI measures of job satisfaction and performance were not as high or as consistent as those found between overall job satisfaction and performance.
TL;DR: In this paper, a conceptual scheme based on two underlying dimensions, the conceptualization of fit and the domain of fit, is proposed to highlight differences among six schools of thought in the context of strategic management.
Abstract: Although the concept of “fit” appears to be a central theme in strategy literature, it has been inadequately defined as it relates to strategic management. A conceptual scheme based on two underlying dimensions—the conceptualization of fit and the domain of fit—is proposed to highlight differences among six schools of thought. Use of the classificatory scheme for addressing theoretical and managerial issues while employing the concept of fit in strategy research is discussed
TL;DR: The authors reviewed the driving force, organizational concept, assumptions, and literatures of three perspectives on organizations and identified three points of integration across the three perspectives: resource dependence, efficiency, and population perspectives.
Abstract: Three perspectives on organizations recently have been the object of increasing interest: the resource dependence, efficiency, and population perspectives. This paper reviews the driving force, organizational concept, assumptions, and literatures of each, then identifies three points of integration across the three perspectives. The suggested meta-theoretical framework within which the perspectives can be interpreted as selection processes may provide the basis for more elaborate theory development by enhancing debate and confrontation among different theoretical perspectives.
TL;DR: The concept of a “script” is presented as a framework for understanding the cognitive dynamics underlying many organizational behaviors and actions.
Abstract: The concept of a “script” is presented as a framework for understanding the cognitive dynamics underlying many organizational behaviors and actions. A script is a schematic knowledge structure held in memory that specifies behavior or event sequences that are appropriate for specific situations. “Script processing” is the performance of the behaviors or events contained in the knowledge structure. Many facets of organizational behavior can be effectively described, analyzed, and understood by using the script concept and processing notion.
TL;DR: In this article, three structural sources of power (i.e., hierarchical authority, resource control, and network centrality) are integrated in a theoretical synthesis to reveal the complex nature of intraorganizational power.
Abstract: Research on organizational power has become overly fragmented; a multitude of different sources of power have been identified. Consequently, an overall picture of intraorganizational power relations is difficult to obtain. In this paper, three structural sources of power—hierarchical authority, resource control, and network centrality—are integrated in a theoretical synthesis. The complex nature of intraorganizational power is revealed in the interactions, tensions, and conflicts among the three sources of power.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors reviewed over 50 planning-related studies from small firm settings and identified four major research thrusts from this literature, and summarized key issues and findings associated with each thrust, and future research guidelines are derived.
Abstract: Viewed historically, strategic planning research in small firms has emerged sporadically rather than in clear research tracks. This paper reviews over 50 planning-related studies from small firm settings. Four major research thrusts are identified from this literature. Key issues and findings associated with each thrust are summarized, and future research guidelines are derived.
TL;DR: The model presented posits that individual, organizational, and environmental attributes influence individual quit propensities of employees and, hence, expected turnover rates for the organization.
Abstract: Dysfunctional turnover is defined here as the level that produces a divergence between the organization's optimal balance of costs associated with turnover and the costs associated with retaining employees. Under this approach, the optimal level of aggregate turnover for most organizations will be (1) greater than zero and (2) variable across organizations, contingent on particular factors influencing retention costs and quit propensities. The model presented posits that individual, organizational, and environmental attributes influence individual quit propensities of employees and, hence, expected turnover rates for the organization.
TL;DR: In this paper, a framework is proposed that develops the dimensions of vertical integration strategies and proposes key factors that might augment their uses within various scenarios, which represent new hypotheses and conjectures about make-or-buy decisions that require empirical testing.
Abstract: A framework is proposed that develops the dimensions of vertical integration strategies and proposes key factors that might augment their uses within various scenarios. These represent new hypotheses and conjectures about make-or-buy decisions that require empirical testing. If the framework is valid, strategists could formulate better hybrid vertical integration strategies by recognizing the hypothesized effects of these forces on the industries that might be linked.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue for a view of strategic management as a creative activity and suggest a dialectic between free will and determinism in conceptualizations of strategic behavior, arguing that the secret to managerial effectiveness is through the application of scientific laws or principles.
Abstract: Contingency theories of management and economic theories of industrial organization both contribute to a mechanistic view of the strategic manager as “analyst.” In this view, the secret to managerial effectiveness is through the application of scientific laws or principles, be they “laws of organization” or “laws of the marketplace.” This paper argues for a view of strategic management as a creative activity and suggests a dialectic between free will and determinism in conceptualizations of strategic behavior.
TL;DR: In this paper, a model and several hypotheses/propositions that suggest how job performance may relate (!) directly to various forms of employee turnover and (2) to precursors of turnover are presented.
Abstract: Numerous attempts have been made to explain the processes leading to the decision to change jobs, but such efforts generally have not given attention to the possible influence of job performance on these processes. Presented here are a model and several hypotheses/propositions that suggest how job performance may relate (!) directly to various forms of employee turnover and (2) to precursors of turnover. The potential theoretical and applied relevance of the work is discussed.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors incorporate the political objective of domain maintenance into the existing typology of the strategic objectives of environmental management, and incorporate it into the framework of domain defense and domain maintenance.
Abstract: Conceptually, business political activity may have three major objectives: (1) to gain special monetary and anticompetitive favors from government—domain management; (2) to manage environmental turbulence created by governmental threats to the legitimacy of organizational goals and purposes—domain defense; and (3) to manage similar threats to the methods by which organizations pursue their goals and purposes—domain maintenance. This paper incorporates the political objective of domain maintenance into the existing typology of the strategic objectives of environmental management.
TL;DR: In this paper, it is suggested that the conduit metaphor implicitly engenders the assumption that successful communication is easy and requires little effort, and the practical and research implications of this argument are examined.
Abstract: Linguistic conceptions regarding what Reddy (1979) calls the “conduit metaphor” are applied to the teaching and practice of organizational communication. The argument is advanced that in “everyday” discourse and even current management textbooks, organizational communication frequently is explicated in terms of the conduit metaphor. Furthermore, it is suggested that the conduit metaphor implicitly engenders the assumption that successful communication is easy and requires little effort. The practical and research implications of this argument are examined.
TL;DR: In this article, a model of the expected effects of the mediating variables on organizational behavior is presented, and a set of derived hypotheses concerning the structure-technology-behavior relationship is developed.
Abstract: The properties of organized or team production affect three phenomena--free riding, shirking, and task visibility--that mediate the relationship between organizational structure and technology, on the one hand, and employee performance and satisfaction, on the other. Using transaction cost theory, a model of the expected effects of the mediating variables on organizational behavior is presented, and a set of derived hypotheses concerning the structure-technology-behavior relationship is developed.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the notion of collective strategy: the joint formulation of policy and implementation of action by the members of interorganizational collectivities, and propose an alternative way of characterizing the task of managing organization-environment relations.
Abstract: The field of business policy has variously characterized the task of managing organization-environment relations as: (a) responding to exogenous environmental threats and opportunities, (b) negotiating resource interdepen-dencies with outside stakeholders, and (c) strategically maneuvering vis-avis competitors in industrial arenas. An alternative way of characterizing the task of managing organization-environment relations is offered. This focuses on the notion of collective strategy: the joint formulation of policy and implementation of action by the members of interorganizational collectivities.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors develop specific testable propositions that link six managerial characteristics to strategy and effectiveness at two hierarchical levels: corporate and strategic business unit, respectively, and propose a testable proposition that links these characteristics to organizational effectiveness.
Abstract: Prior research relating general manager characteristics to organizational strategy has (a) tended to operationalize these characteristics in vague and untestable terms; (b) focused almost solely on the implications of differences in business unit level strategic mission; and (c) rarely examined strategy-general manager linkages in the context of a key criterion variable, namely, effectiveness. This paper develops specific testable propositions that link six managerial characteristics to strategy and effectiveness at two hierarchical levels: corporate and strategic business unit.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors derived a model of organization life cycles in three steps: (1) considering relationships of power distribution inside an organization with that around it, a typology of six configurations of organization power is produced; (2) considering intrinsic forces that work within each of these configurations to destroy it, the likely transitions between these configurations are identified; and (3) stringing these transitions together in sequences over time as organizations survive and develop, the model is developed.
Abstract: This paper derives a model of organization life cycles in three steps: (1) by considering relationships of power distribution inside an organization with that around it, a typology of six configurations of organization power is produced; (2) by considering intrinsic forces that work within each of these configurations to destroy it, the likely transitions between these configurations are identified; and (3) by stringing these transitions together in sequences over time as organizations survive and develop, the model is developed. Some implications of such a model in a society of large organizations are addressed briefly in conclusion.
TL;DR: In this paper, the physical structure, physical stimuli, and symbolic artifacts of office environments are examined in terms of the influence of physical environments on human behavior in various ways, and the implications of this work for both research and practice are considered.
Abstract: Physical settings in offices have largely been ignored by managers and scholars. Physical settings can influence behavior in numerous ways. This paper pulls together relevant research and writing and examines it in terms of the physical structure, physical stimuli, and symbolic artifacts that comprise office settings. The implications of this work for both research and practice are considered.
TL;DR: In this paper, four sets of multiple constituency models of organizational effectiveness, which employ relativistic, power, social justice, and evolutionary perspectives, are reviewed, and the implications of these findings are examined in the form of potential directions for research on organizational effectiveness.
Abstract: Four sets of multiple constituency models of organizational effectiveness, which employ relativistic, power, social justice, and evolutionary perspectives, are reviewed. Comparison of these perspectives shows that the construct of organizational effectiveness is both value-based and time-specific. The implications of these findings are examined in the form of potential directions for research on organizational effectiveness.
TL;DR: The capacity of a decision unit to induce innovation implementation within an adoption unit is crucial to organizational success as mentioned in this paper, and the interaction of these factors can determine the degree of successful innovation implementation.
Abstract: The capacity of a decision unit to induce innovation implementation within an adoption unit is crucial to organizational success. Risk and complexity are characteristics of innovations that can lead to resistance within organizational adoption units. Communication costs, types of power, and communication channels are structural characteristics that can be used by a decision unit to overcome this resistance. The interaction of these factors can determine the degree of successful innovation implementation within organizations.
TL;DR: A review of the book "Research in Organizational Behavior," vol. 5, edited by L.L. Cummings and Barry M. Staw can be found in this paper, where the authors present a review of their work.
Abstract: The article presents a review of the book "Research in Organizational Behavior," vol. 5, edited by L.L. Cummings and Barry M. Staw.