Showing papers in "Journal of Management Studies in 2020"

Strategic CSR: A Concept Building Meta-Analysis

Abstract: This study develops the concept of Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility (Strategic CSR) by meta -analyzing the available empirical evidence on the relationship between CSR and corporate financial performance (CFP). Using meta -analytic structural equation modeling on effect size data from 344 primary studies, our study documents four empirical mechanisms explaining how CSR positively affects CFP: by 1) enhancing firm reputation, 2) increasing stakeholder reciprocation, 3) mitigating firm risk, and 4) strengthening innovation capacity. We propose these four mechanisms to identify four causally relevant attributes that allow us to conceptually distinguish Strategic CSR from CSR more generally. Our findings indicate that the four mechanisms combined explain 20 percent of the CSR -CFP relationship, suggesting that considerable room remains for future empirical research . The development of an empirically informed, causal conceptualization of Strategic CSR respond s to a long -heard call for better -specified concepts in empirical CSR research.

Advancing theory with review articles

Abstract: Reviewing a body of work presents unique opportunities for making a theoretical contribution. Review articles can make readers think theoretically differently about a given field or phenomenon. Yet, review articles that advance theory have been historically under‐represented in Journal of Management Studies. Accordingly, the purpose of this editorial is to propose a multi‐faceted approach for fashioning theoretical contributions in review articles, which we hope will inspire more authors to develop and submit innovative, original, and high‐quality theory‐building review articles. We argue that advancing theory with review articles requires an integrative and generative approach. We propose a non‐exhaustive set of avenues for developing theory with a review article: exposing emerging perspectives, analysing assumptions, clarifying constructs, establishing boundary conditions, testing new theory, theorizing with systems theory, and theorizing with mechanisms. As a journal, Journal of Management Studies is a journal of ideas – new ideas; ideas drawn from reflections on extant theory and ideas with potential to change the way we understand and interpret theory. With this in mind, we think that advancing theory with review articles is an untapped source of new ideas.

What has changed? The Impact of Covid Pandemic on the Technology and Innovation Management Research Agenda

Abstract: Whereas the pandemic has tested the agility and resilience of organizations, it forces a deeper look at the assumptions underlying theoretical frameworks that guide managerial decisions and organizational practices In this commentary, we explore the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on technology and innovation management research We identify key assumptions, and then discuss how new areas of investigation emerge based on the changed reality

Creating High-Impact Literature Reviews: An Argument for ‘Integrative Reviews’

Abstract: In this article, we argue that integrative literature reviews are among the most useful vehicles for advancing knowledge and furthering research in a topic domain. Integrative literature reviews are strongly anchored in a representative description of a field, but add new insights via a critical analysis and synthesis of the field’s literature. Based on this definition, we explicate the ways that scholars can (1) define the ‘space’ for an integrative review (i.e., how they can justify and bound an integrative review), and (2) synthesize insights gained from the review to develop a new perspective or point of view on the literature. We illustrate these points with several of the most highly‐cited manuscripts published in the Academy of Management Annals. Finally, we close by arguing why these points make integrative reviews most useful for advancing knowledge and furthering research in the area of management.

The Problematizing Review: A Counterpoint to Elsbach and Van Knippenberg’s Argument for Integrative Reviews

Abstract: In this paper we provide a counterpoint to conventional views on integrative reviews in knowledge development, as exemplified by Elsbach and Van Knippenberg (2020). First, we critique their proposed integrative review by identifying and problematizing several key assumptions underlying it, particularly their idea that the integrative review can simply build on existing studies and lead the way to knowledge. Second, based on this critique, we propose as an alternative the problematizing review, which is based on the following four core principles: the ideal of reflexivity, reading more broadly but selectively, not accumulating but problematizing, and the concept that ‘less is more’. In contrast to the integrative review, which regards reviews as a ‘building exercise’, the problematizing review regards reviews as an ‘opening up exercise’ that enables researchers to imagine how to rethink existing literature in ways that generate new and ‘better’ ways of thinking about specific phenomena.

COVID-19 and the future of family business research

Abstract: The world is witnessing dramatic changes brought about by Covid-19 and its aftermath, with significant implications for the management of organizations, and hence management studies We argue that the pandemic and its social and economic reverberations are triggering particularly salient challenges for family businesses (FBs) ? the most ubiquitous form of business organization in any world economy ? that call into question some fundamental assumptions at the core of FB research

COVID 19 and entrepreneurship: Time to pivot?

Abstract: I thank JMS for this invitation to explore how COVID 19, and its aftermath, leads us to question some of the fundamental assumptions of entrepreneurship research In this dialogue, I highlight five fundamental assumptions of the field that are challenged by COVID 19 that may require a research pivot, i e , that may require a change in research direction on specific topics

Organizational Culture and COVID-19

Abstract: COVID-19 and the large scale social and economic shock which it bought has already profoundly transformed organisational cultures Well known symbols of organisational life such as open plan workplaces filled with people wearing suits have been replaced by Perspex screens and personal protective equipment Rituals such as water cooler chat have been replaced with zoom calls The underlying values and assumptions of many organisations seem to have shifted from exploration and creativity towards safety and resilience This profound change represents a major challenge for managers They are asking themselves how they can build a company culture when everyone is working from home (Howard-Greenville, 2020) But it also represents a significant opportunity for researchers to investigate how such a large scale transition in society unsettles organisational culture and how those cultures might adapt

Entrepreneurial Hustle: Navigating Uncertainty and Enrolling Venture Stakeholders through Urgent and Unorthodox Action

Abstract: Entrepreneurs need to act under conditions of uncertainty and resource constraints to bring new, often‐unrecognizable products to market and convince an unknown set of stakeholders to support their endeavours. The type of action entrepreneurs take to navigate uncertain entrepreneurial contexts is underspecified. We analysed 48 interviews with entrepreneurs to inductively identify an action‐oriented construct we labelled as entrepreneurial hustle – an entrepreneur’s urgent, unorthodox actions that are intended to be useful in addressing immediate challenges and opportunities under conditions of uncertainty. In a follow‐up study, we use an experimental vignette approach to assess the impact of an entrepreneur’s hustle on venture stakeholders. Findings suggest that entrepreneurial hustle positively influences stakeholder perceptions of the entrepreneur’s leadership effectiveness and a venture’s legitimacy, mediated by perceptions of the entrepreneur’s ability‐based trustworthiness. We conclude that entrepreneurial hustle is a fundamental behaviour that enables entrepreneurs to enrol new venture stakeholders and lead their entrepreneurial efforts.

Global value chains in the post-COVID world: Governance for reliability

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has delivered a profound shock to global value chains (GVCs) To date, popular and academic press has predicted significant changes in GVC configurations due to COVID-19 (FT, 2020;Panwar, 2020) It has been argued that the pandemic has illuminated pre-existing underlying fragilities of GVCs (Silverthorne, 2020), and that lead firms are likely to respond by reshoring operations, vertically integrating, and reducing the geographic footprint of their networks

Thriving in the New Normal: The HR Microfoundations of Capabilities for Business Model Innovation. An Integrated Literature Review

Abstract: Firms need to respond to the increasing competition and change of the current New Normal environment by being more innovative, and especially in developing new business models. This paper seeks to explore how microfoundations, particularly with respect to human resource management, play a key role in facilitating innovation in business models through the development of key needed capabilities. Four themes are identified with respect to business model innovation (BMI) in the New Normal: BMI as an enabler to create and operate across industries and product-markets; BMI as a mechanism for firms to better navigate changing institutional landscapes; BMI as giving rise to business model portfolios; and concurrent and cumulative innovations that can lead to BMI. This paper also develops a conceptual framework that presents a synoptic view of the five essential capabilities for BMI, which include analogical reasoning, sensemaking, dynamic capabilities, organisational ambidexterity, and organisational learning. Finally, it is shown how the microfoundations of a bespoke, development-oriented BMI HR architecture can support the advancement of these capabilities and thus contribute to the strategic HR literature.

Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic for Gender Equity Issues at Work

Abstract: As we write this commentary in the summer of 2020 in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, we are observing a world of work (and of unemployment) vastly different than it was six short months ago In this commentary, we focus on the effects the coronavirus pandemic has had, and may continue to have, on gender equity issues in organizations and society

The Surprising Duality of Jugaad: Low Firm Growth and High Inclusive Growth

Abstract: Western theories on creativity emphasize the importance of access to resources and the generation of innovations as a source of sustainable competitive advantage for firms. However, perhaps the emphasis on slack resources and the firm as the level of analysis may be less appropriate for understanding the benefits of individual creative problem solving in resource-poor environments of the east; focusing solely on the firm is not sufficiently inclusive and may underestimate the benefits of creative problem solving under resource scarcity. Through an inductive interpretive case study of 12 problem solvers in the highly resource-poor environment of rural India, we identified the antecedents, dimensions and duality of outcomes for an Indian cultural source of creative problem solving called jugaad. Jugaad relies on assertive defiance, trial-and-error experiential learning and the recombination of available resources to improvise a frugal quick-fix solution. Our inductive framework provides new insights into the dual outcomes of creative problem solving from an eastern perspective; jugaad is unlikely to be a source of competitive advantage for firm growth but represents a source of enhanced wellbeing for inclusive growth.

Writing impactful review articles

Abstract: Literature reviews lie at the core of the theorizing process: they provide a reference point for mapping a field of study and form the baseline for developing theoretical contributions. The two Point‐Counterpoint articles presented here seek to reflect on the purpose of literature reviews, and offer alternative strategies for writing impactful review articles.

The Turnover Intention–Behaviour Link: A Culture‐Moderated Meta‐Analysis

Abstract: Turnover intention is widely regarded as a direct antecedent to and proxy for actual voluntary turnover behaviour. However, previous studies have found the turnover intention‐behaviour link to be highly heterogeneous and not necessarily strong. This study adopts a cross‐cultural perspective, examining how the link varies as a function of Hofstede’s four work‐related cultural dimensions. Data from 152 independent samples were meta‐analysed, representing the testing of 216,093 employees from 18 nations across 9 geographical regions. The multilevel meta‐analytic results reveal significantly stronger turnover intention‐behaviour links for countries higher in power distance, higher in individualism, and lower in masculinity.

Institutions and Actorhood as Co‐Constitutive and Co‐Constructed: The Argument and Areas for Future Research

Abstract: We argue that in order to overcome the reductionism and essentialism in institutional theory there is a need to acknowledge that institutions and social actors are co-constitutive and co-constructed in processes of communication. We elaborate this argument by drawing on the phenomenological foundation of institutional theory and point to promising areas of future re-search: the multimodal nature of institutions, the mediated and mediatized character of modern communication, and the contestedness of all social orders and their legitimation.

Saving Our Oceans: Scaling the Impact of Robust Action Through Crowdsourcing

Abstract: One approach for tackling grand challenges that is gaining traction in recent management literature is robust action: by allowing diverse stakeholders to engage with novel ideas, initiatives can cultivate successful ideas that yield greater impact. However, a potential pitfall of robust action is the length of time it takes to generate momentum. Crowdsourcing, we argue, is a valuable tool that can scale the generation of impact from robust action. We studied an award-winning environmental sustainability crowdsourcing initiative and found that robust action principles were indeed successful in attracting a diverse stakeholder network to generate novel ideas and develop these into sustainable solutions. Yet we also observed that the momentum and novelty generated was at risk of getting lost as the actors and their roles changed frequently throughout the process. We show the vital importance of robust action principles for connecting ideas and actors across crowdsourcing phases. These observations allow us to make a contribution to extant theory by explaining the micro-dynamics of scaling robust action's impact over time.

How Collective Engagement Creates Competitive Advantage for Organizations: A Business‐Level Model of Shared Vision, Competitive Intensity, and Service Performance

Abstract: We argue that collective engagement can serve as a unique value‐creation capacity at the business level by linking shared vision and service performance. We also propose that competitive intensity will be a market indicator by which management can enhance the effect of shared vision on collective engagement, and indirectly strengthen service performance (through collective engagement). Furthermore, we argue that this distinctive value‐creation capability, embedded in collective engagement, generates competitive advantage; specifically, one that competing organizations will struggle to replicate. We examine our moderated‐mediation model by using a three‐time‐point method derived from five different sources in 198 retail‐service branches. Our findings indicate that collective engagement, fueled by shared organizational vision, improves service performance. Furthermore, as this conditional indirect effect of shared vision on service quality and customer satisfaction was solely generated through collective engagement rather than other mechanisms (i.e., commitment and involvement), it creates a competitive advantage for engagement‐oriented organizations.

Identity and identification during and after the pandemic: How might COVID-19 change the research questions we ask?

Abstract: In any work context, individuals need a sense of who they are ? what identity or identities are most salient, that is, relevant and valued ? in order to navigate that context COVID-19 cannot erase this fundamental need However, COVID-19 is challenging how individuals are meeting this need and thereby the wisdom of scholars? conventional focus on the organization as the prime locus of individual?s work-based identity

Connecting Eastern and Western Perspectives on Management: Translation of Practices Across Organizations, Institution and Geographies

Abstract: The exchange of academic knowledge increasingly flows in both directions, from West to East and East to West. The result is a rich and ever increasing development of theory and understanding of practice, which is expected only to gain further momentum in the future. This paper seeks to help establish a foundation for further development of this fertile exchange of ideas between East and West. We reflect on the research focus of the main theories in management studies in East and West. We discuss the topics of East and West in selected areas of management studies, including competitive strategy, strategic leadership, and the human resource management to offer avenues for future research. Translating practices between the two contexts creates institutional, leadership, strategy and organizational challenges while providing new promising research avenues and opportunities to integrate East and West perspectives. We also offer a more critical view on the relationship between West and East, focusing specifically on the role of power and power relations in making sense of how management and organization studies treat issues of cultural, institutional and philosophical divergence.

An Institutional Theory Approach to the Evolution of the Corporate Social Performance – Corporate Financial Performance Relationship

Abstract: In the present study, we integrate research from the dynamic institutional theory literature to develop a set of theory‐driven hypotheses regarding how the institutionalization of corporate social performance (CSP) in the organizational field over the period 1991–2008 impacts the CSP‐ corporate financial performance (CFP) relationship for firms in the marketplace. The results of our panel time series and dynamic linear estimation models suggest that early CSP adopters are more likely to experience both greater firm profitability and increased stock market valuation as a result of their higher CSP levels. However, they also tend to incur more firm‐idiosyncratic risk for being ahead of the market’s CSP expectations. We also demonstrate that the significant rise in CSP adoption and activities over time, as CSP has become institutionalized, has resulted in CSP becoming a weaker driver of both firm profitability and stock market valuation.

People, Actors, and the Humanizing of Institutional Theory

Abstract: In much contemporary institutional scholarship, the term ‘actor’ is used as a shorthand for any entity imbued with agency. Talking about actors in institutions thus serves the necessity of allocating agency before returning to the analysis of institutional structures and processes. We find this approach to actorhood limiting, conceptually and normatively. Grounded in the perspective of pragmatist phenomenology, we assert the need for distinguishing between persons and actors, and the value of integrating the person into institutional analysis. We conceive of persons as humans with a reflective capacity and sense of self, who engage with multiple institutions through the performance of institutional roles. People may acquire actorhood by temporarily aligning their self with what is expected from a particular actor‐role in an institutional order. Conversely, institutions enter people’s lifeworld as they are personified in people’s social performances. We outline this perspective and examine conceptual and normative implications that arise from the integration of human experience in institutional analysis.

Packs, Troops and Herds: Prosocial Cooperatives and Innovation in the New Normal

Abstract: Prosocial organizations are emerging to tackle the effects of a New Normal. As they navigate its fragile and liquid institutional membranes, they prioritize cooperative forms of governance. These forms allow for collaboration and democratic decision-making necessary for the development of innovative solutions in this new context. At the same time, the high coordination costs of cooperatives lead to significant market pressures. Therefore, understanding when and under what conditions these new cooperatives innovate and strive is important as it provides insight into whether and how these ventures can become a viable alternative in this changing landscape. Using configurational analyses of organizational enablers leading to innovation in 40 entrepreneurial cooperatives, we identify three approaches: Attentive Pack, Eclectic Troop, and Wandering Herd, showing that innovative outcomes can indeed emerge under traditional cooperative features emphasizing collectivism. However, the pursuit of higher novelty requires a shift to more individualistic, business-as-usual, approaches. The New Normal does indeed enhance entrepreneurial activity, but of a different kind comprising novel sets of antecedents and outcomes, which we show can easily become the new dominant form of venturing required in this new context.

The role of dialectical interrogation in review studies: Theorizing from what we see rather than what we have already seen

Abstract: Review‐centric works receive increasing attention for generating insightful contributions to management and organization studies. Despite this, the literature on theory building has taken little note of their place in the theorizing process. This deserves attention, however, given the challenges reviews face in theorizing in the absence of new empirical observations. Accordingly, these works run the risk of merely summarizing ‘what we have already seen’, instead of ‘maximizing what we see’. Drawing on the strategies of theorizing from similarities and theorizing from anomalies, we propose dialectical interrogation as a critical step in theorizing through which review scholars imaginatively engage in a back and forth inquiry between the phenomenal world of a given field and existing theory. By analysing selected review studies from top management journals, we reveal that theorizing outcomes occur through two ways of dialectical interrogation (consolidative and disruptive). We contribute by demonstrating that review scholars can enter into powerful theorizing through the consolidative or disruptive interrogation of the review data with extant theory to detect emergence and novelty alongside puzzles, conflicts and paradoxes. Dialectical interrogation can address the shortcomings of current theorizing in review‐centric works and bears potential for advancing theories of management and organization studies.

The bribery paradox in transition economies and the enactment of ‘new normal’ business environments

Abstract: We develop a novel, sensemaking perspective on corruption in transition economies. Prior research has focused on understanding why some entrepreneurs are more likely to pay bribes than others. It typically assumes that paying bribes will lead to an intended – albeit unfair – competitive advantage. We challenge this assumption and uncover a bribery paradox: drawing upon sensemaking logic, we argue that beyond gaining an immediate benefit from bribing, entrepreneurs who frequently pay bribes may in the longer run be enacting a ‘new normal’ business environment perceived as high in obstacles, especially in transition countries. As sensemaking is grounded in identity construction and one’s social context, we argue that owners of family firms will be especially vulnerable to the dangers of perceiving greater obstacles over time and enacting an obstacle‐ridden ‘new normal’ business environment. We find empirical support for our framework on a sample of 310 privately‐held small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) from 22 transition economies.

Negative Spillovers Across Partnerships for Responsible Innovation: Evidence from the 2014 Ebola Outbreak

Abstract: Humanity faces ongoing and contemporaneous grand challenges. Occasionally, abrupt shocks escalate a grand challenge’s salience over others. Prior research has advocated forming partnerships to address grand challenges via responsible innovation. Yet, it remains unclear how temporal changes in the salience of a grand challenge impact innovation performances of partnerships. We address this research gap by bridging the literature on issue salience, responsible innovation and interorganizational relationships. We argue that shocks either aid or harm the performance of partnerships for responsible innovation depending on whether their domains are directly or indirectly affected. The Ebola outbreak in 2014 sets the empirical context to test our theory. We find that while the innovation performance of Ebola partnerships formed after the outbreak rose eleven-fold, the performance of partnerships treating Influenza fell by 84.9 percent. Our theory and findings have immediate implications for today’s COVID-19 outbreak, cautioning against salience shifts among concurrent grand challenges.

The Implications of COVID-19 for Nonmarket Strategy Research

Abstract: The COVID-19 virus ignited social and economic turmoil around the world Not since the Spanish Flu of 1918 had we seen a pandemic of such scale and severity The resultant global transformation of industries, supply chains, work, communication, and institutional frameworks suggests we are entering a period of non-ergodic change, in which the future cannot be extrapolated from the past (North, 1999) This means that we do not know the probability distribution or the outcomes from the virus So, we must find a way to coexist and build our resilience