Showing papers on "Empirical research published in 1987"
TL;DR: A review of institutional theories of organizations can be found in this paper, with a brief summary of the two current theoretical approaches to institutionalization in organizations, moves to identification of indicators of central concepts and then progresses to a review of empirical research.
Abstract: Institutional theories of organizations provide a rich, complex view of organizations. In these theories, organizations are influenced by normative pressures, sometimes arising from external sources such as the state, other times arising from within the organization itself. Under some conditions, these pressures lead the organization to be guided by legitimated elements, from standard operating procedures to professional certification and state requirement, which often have the effect of directing attention away from task performance. Adoption of these legitimated elements, leading to isomorphism with the institutional environment, increases the probability of survival. Institutional theories of organization have spread rapidly, a testimony to the power of the imaginative ideas developed in theoretical and empirical work. As rigor increases, with better specification of indicators and models, it is likely to attract the attention of an even larger number of organizational researchers. Institutional theory is inherently difficult to explicate, because it taps taken-for-granted assumptions at the core of social action. The main goal of this review, then, is to make institutional theory more accessible. The review begins with a brief summary of the two current theoretical approaches to institutionalization in organizations, moves to identification of indicators of central concepts, and then progresses to a review of empirical research. It concludes with two short sections, one on points of intersection with other theories of organization, the other on the "new institutionalism" in economics and political science.
2,513 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the role of emotions in mediating the effects of advertising is examined, and an approach that examines the manner in which intervening emotional reactions mediate the relationship between advertising content and attitudes toward the ad or brand is proposed.
Abstract: This article pursues the emerging interest in emotional aspects of consumer behavior, advocates a broadened view of consumption-related emotions, and focuses on the role of emotions in mediating the effects of advertising. Specifically, it proposes an approach that examines the manner in which intervening emotional reactions mediate the relationship between advertising content and attitudes toward the ad or brand. An illustrative application of this approach demonstrates its usefulness in assessing the role of emotions as mediators of consumer responses to advertising.
1,520 citations
TL;DR: The empirical section of this study found that environmental uncertainty influenced manufacturing strategy variables such as Manufacturing Flexibility, and the Role of Manufacturing Managers in Strategic Decision Making, which influenced business performance.
Abstract: In recent years, researchers and practitioners are paying increasing attention to the phenomenon of manufacturing strategy. However, there exists no formal theory of manufacturing strategy to explain the phenomenon. There is a real need for empirical studies for the development of such a theory. This study takes a step in that direction by clarifying, organizing and integrating terms and concepts relevant to manufacturing strategy in the process of conducting an empirical investigation of key manufacturing strategy variables.
The empirical section of this study based on data gathered from 35 manufacturers found that environmental uncertainty influenced manufacturing strategy variables such as Manufacturing Flexibility, and the Role of Manufacturing Managers in Strategic Decision Making. The manufacturing strategy variables, in turn, influenced business performance.
1,078 citations
TL;DR: The authors survey contending definitions of regimes and suggest dimensions along which regimes vary over time or across cases; these dimensions might be used to operationalize "regime change" and conclude that the major shortcoming of the regimes literature is its failure to incorporate domestic politics adequately.
Abstract: Over the last decade, international regimes have become a major focus of empirical research and theoretical debate within international relations. This article provides a critical review of this literature. We survey contending definitions of regimes and suggest dimensions along which regimes vary over time or across cases; these dimensions might be used to operationalize “regime change.” We then examine four approaches to regime analysis: structural, game-theoretic, functional, and cognitive. We conclude that the major shortcoming of the regimes literature is its failure to incorporate domestic politics adequately. We suggest a research program that begins with the central insights of the interdependence literature which have been ignored in the effort to construct “systemic” theory.
801 citations
TL;DR: In this article, four steps toward participation in social movements are distinguished: becoming part of the mobilization potential, becoming target of mobilization attempts, becoming motivated to participate, and overcoming barriers to participation.
Abstract: Four aspects of mobilization are distinguished: formation of mobilization potentials, formation and activation of recruitment networks, arousal of motivation to participate, and removal of barriers to participation. Four steps toward participation in social movements are then distinguished: becoming part of the mobilization potential, becoming target of mobilization attempts, becoming motivated to participate, and overcoming barriers to participation. The relevance of these distinctions is justified theoretically by the claim that different theories are needed to explain separate aspects of mobilization and participation, and practically with the argument that different efforts are required from movement organizations depending on which aspect they are handling. Empirical support from research on mobilization and participation in the Dutch peace movement is presented. Nonparticipation in a mass demonstration can be based on four grounds: lack of sympathy for the movement, not being the target of a mobilization attempt, not being motivated, and the presence of barriers. These results are interpreted in terms of the literature on mobilization and participation.
706 citations
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16 Mar 1987
TL;DR: In this article, the authors re-examine and reconsiders the model of empirical research underlying most empirical work, and consider four types of undoable questions to consider: those that are inherently impossible; those that were premature; those were overly complicated; and those that empirical and theoretical knowledge have nullified.
Abstract: This title re-examines and reconsiders the model of empirical research underlying most empirical work. The goal is neither a whitewash nor capital punishment, but rather it is to reform and mold empirical research into an activity that contributes as much as possible to a rigorous understanding of society. Without worrying about defining science or even determining the essence of the scientific enterprise, the goal is one that pools together logical thinking and empirically determined information. One of the fundamental issues to be addressed in this volume: are there questions currently studied that are basically unanswerable even if the investigator had ideal nonexperimental data? If so, what are the alternative questions that can be dealt with successfully by empirical social research, and how should they be approacheIn the chapters ahead, it will be important to keep in mind this doctrine of the undoable. Of course, one cannot simply mutter "undoable" when a difficult obstacle is encountered, turn off the computer, and look in the want ads for a new job-or at least a new task. Instead, it means considering if there is some inherent logical reason or sociological force that makes certain empirical questions unanswerable. There are four types of undoable questions to consider: those that are inherently impossible; those that are premature; those that are overly complicated; and those that empirical and theoretical knowledge have nullified.
552 citations
TL;DR: The MS/OR community has, as their common mission, the development of tools and procedures to improve problem solving and decision making as discussed by the authors, and the advances needed to combine human thinking with intelligent machines to achieve a more productive society.
Abstract: The MS/OR community has, as its common mission, the development of tools and procedures to improve problem solving and decision making. This report discusses the advances needed to combine human thinking with intelligent machines to achieve a more productive society. Areas of high potential include research in expert systems, conflict resolution, agenda setting, decision making in an organizational setting, and empirical studies of individual behavior. The resources currently being applied to research in decision making and problem solving are modest and are not commensurate with the opportunities or the human resources available for exploiting them.
480 citations
TL;DR: In this article, potential correlates of export marketing activity are identified through a literature search and are then used to discriminate between exporting and nonexporting firms, based on a set of firm and management characteristics.
444 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that to understand the behavior of productivity statistics, it is necessary to reexamine the basic assumptions underlying growth accounting, and they offer theoretical and empirical support for the assertion that the elasticity of output with respect to an input like capital or labor might differ from the share of the input in total factor income.
Abstract: This article argues that to understand the behavior of productivity statistics, it is necessary to reexamine the basic assumptions underlying growth accounting. In particular, it offers theoretical and empirical support for the assertion that the elasticity of output with respect to an input like capital or labor might differ from the share of the input in total factor income. The theories offered in support of this possibility allow for spillovers of knowledge, specialization with monopolistic competition, and endogenous accumulation of labor-saving technological change. Evidence on the form of aggregate production is drawn from data for many countries and for long historical time periods. The specific interpretation of the productivity slowdown that is offered is that a low elasticity of output with respect to labor causes labor productivity growth rates to fall when labor growth speeds up.
439 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a systematic critical review of 18 relevant empirical studies allows valuable insights into the planning-performance controversy and discloses controllable methodological inconsistencies and contingency variable interactions, an awareness of which can improve research designs.
Abstract: Although the effect of formal strategic planning on organization effectiveness remains an unresolved issue, a systematic critical review of 18 relevant empirical studies allows valuable insights into the planning-performance controversy The analysis discloses controllable methodological inconsistencies and contingency variable interactions, an awareness of which can improve research designs.
434 citations
01 Jan 1987
TL;DR: For instance, survey interviews have become the dominant method of data collection in empirical social research (Phillips, 1971; Kaase, Ott, & Scheuch, 1983); however, despite the popularity of the survey interview, the processes underlying the responses to survey questions are not well understood and a "theory of asking questions" has never been developed.
Abstract: Since the early 1940s, survey interviews have become the dominant method of data collection in empirical social research (Phillips, 1971; Kaase, Ott, & Scheuch, 1983). Despite the popularity of the survey interview, the processes underlying the responses to survey questions are not well understood, and a ”theory of asking questions” (Hyman, 1954) has never been developed. Thus, survey methodology today is characterised by rigorous knowledge about sampling procedures on the one hand, and a surprising lack of knowledge about the ”art” (sicl) of asking questions (e.g., Noelle-Neumann, 1963) on the other hand. Unfortunately, however, empirical research (e.g., Sudman & Bradburn, 1974) suggests that nonsampling error provides considerable limitations to the usefulness of survey data.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the effect of tariffs and exchange rates on U.S. prices of Japanese cars, trucks and motorcycles, and found that the pass-through relation varies across products, ranging from about 0.6 for trucks to unity for motorcycles.
Abstract: This paper examines the effect of tariffs and exchange rates on U.S. prices of Japanese cars, trucks and motorcycles. In particular, we test whether the long run pass-through of tariffs and exchange rates are identical: the symmetry hypothesis. We find that this hypothesis is easily accepted in our sample. We also find that the pass-through relation varies across products, ranging from about 0.6 for trucks to unity for motorcycles. These coefficients have very different implications for trade policy. We explain the results based on demand, cost and institutional conditions in each industry. We also find weak evidence that the pass-through of exchange rates has fallen in more recent years.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compare the consistency of replicated research results in physics and in the social sciences and suggest that the results of physical experiments may not be strikingly more consistent than those of social or behavioral experiments.
Abstract: " Research results in the social and behavioral sciences are often conceded to be less replicable than research results in the physical sciences. However, direct empirical comparisons of the cumulativeness of research in the social and physical sciences have not been made to date. This article notes the parallels between methods used in the quantitative synthesis of research in the social and in the physical sciences. Essentially identical methods are used to test the consistency of research results in physics and in psychology. These methods can be used to compare the consistency of replicated research results in physics and in the social sciences. The methodology is illustrated with 13 exemplary reviews from each domain. The exemplary comparison suggests that the results of physical experiments may not be strikingly more consistent than those of social or behavioral experiments. The data suggest that even the results of physical experiments may not be cumulative in the absolute sense by statistical criteria. It is argued that the study of the actual cumulativeness found in physical data could inform social scientists about what to expect from replicated experiments under good conditions. Psychologists and other social scientists have often compared their fields to the natural (the "hard") sciences with a tinge of dismay. Those of us in the social and behavioral sciences know intuitively that there is something "softer" and less cumulative about our research results than about those of the physical sciences. It is easy to chronicle the differences between soft and hard sciences that might lead to less cumulative research results in the soft sciences. One such chronicle is provided by Meehl (1978), who listed 20 such differences and went on to argue that reliance on tests of statistical significance also contributes to the poorer cumulativeness of research results in the social sciences. Other distinguished researchers have cited the pervasive presence of interactions (Cronbach, 1975) or historical influences (Gergen, 1973, 1982) as reasons not to expect a cumulative social science. Still others (Kruskal, 1978, 1981) have cited the low quality of data in the social sciences as a barrier to truly cumulative social inquiry. These pessimistic views have been accompanied by a tendency to reconceptualize the philosophy of inquiry into a format that implies less ambitious aspirations for social knowledge (e.g., Cronbach, 1975; Gergen, 1982). Cumulativeness in the scientific enterprise can mean at least two things. In the broadest sense scientific results are cumulative if empirical laws and theoretical structures build on one another so that later developments extend and unify earlier work. This idea might be called conceptual or theoretical cumulativeness. The assessment of theoretical cumulativeness must be rather subjective. A narrower and less subjective indicator of cumulativeness is the degree of agreement among replicated experiments or the degree to which related experimental results fit into a simple pattern that makes conceptual sense. This idea might be called empirical cumulativeness. The purpose of this article is to suggest that it may be possible to compare at least the empirical cumulativeness of psychological research with that of research in the physical sciences. An exemplary comparison suggests that the differences may be less striking than previously imagined. The mechanism for this comparison is derived from recent developments in methods for the quantitative synthesis of research in the social sciences. Some of the methods used in meta-analysis are analogous to methods used in the quantitative synthesis of research in the physical sciences. In particular, physicists and psychologists use analogous methods for assessing the consistency of research results, a fact that makes possible comparisons among quantitative reviews in physics and in psychology. One such comparison is reported in this article. This comparison was not chosen in a way that guarantees it to be representative of either social science research or physical science research. However, some effort was exerted to prevent the comparison from obviously favoring one domain or the other, and additional examples are provided to suggest that the case for the empirical cumulativeness of physical science could have been made to look far worse. More data would obviously be needed to support strong conclusions. It seems, however, that the "obvious" conclusion that the results of physical science experiments are more cumulative than those of social science experiments does not have much empirical sup-
TL;DR: The field of entrepreneurship is one of the newest research fields in management as mentioned in this paper, and most of the empirical research has been completed in the last decade; however, very little of the research is disseminated to entrepreneurs.
TL;DR: In this article, a critique of empirical studies that have been based on the actual-aspirational gap approach to residential satisfaction is presented, which suggests that empirical specifications should be disaggregated by household type and allow for nonlinear relationships between residential context and their associated levels of satisfaction.
Abstract: This article represents a critique of empirical studies that have beenbased on the actual-aspirational gap approach to residential satisfaction. The reexamination of this theory suggests that empirical specifications should be disaggregated by household type and allow for nonlinear relationships between residential context and their associated levels of satisfaction. A multivariate regression analysis of dwelling satisfaction that employs such an appropriate specification is estimated for various strata of a 1980 sample of Minneapolis homeowners. Results provide strong support for the disaggregated, nonlinear modeling approach and, by implication, opens questions with much prior empirical work in the field.
TL;DR: The authors examined the extent to which various measures are consistent using a large sample of trade flows, and the results have important implication for judging empirical studies based upon particular choices of a measure for comparative advantage.
Abstract: The commodity pattern of comparative advantage across countries is a central concept in international trade theory. Since the concept is based upon autarkic prices which are not observable in post-trade equilibria, its use in empirical research is most difficult. The literature reports numerous alternative indices that purport to "measure" comparative advantage. This paper examines the extent to which various measures are consistent using a large sample of trade flows. The results have important implication for judging empirical studies based upon particular choices of a measure for comparative advantage.
TL;DR: In this paper, a meta-analysis was conducted involving 21 independent studies and over 10,000 employees to discern selected population relationships and found that, with the exception of age and organizational tenure, associations do not differ significantly from zero.
Abstract: Empirical research and theoretical literature support the notion that demographic differences among employees are associated with job satisfaction. However, the evidence is inconsistent, and little is known about the stability of many of the reported relationships. A meta-analysis was conducted involving 21 independent studies and over 10,000 employees to discern selected population relationships. Results indicated that, with the exception of age and organizational tenure, associations do not differ significantly from zero. Large amounts of variance around each mean correlation, however, warranted a moderator analysis. Results indicated that the strength and pattern of associations differ by organizational type. Theoretical propositions and implications for future research in the area of demographic moderators are discussed.
TL;DR: This work empirically compares the single use of a greedy heuristic with repeated use ofA semi-greedy heuristic in the context of vehicle routing.
TL;DR: The theoretical errors of the approach are restated, its limitations for policy are indicated and economics can offer something more useful than a method for estimating the ‘benefits of the unattainable’.
Abstract: Decision support systems (DSSs) are more complex than most other traditional decision-aid systems. For what types of problems are they more effective, and what design characteristics make them more effective? The laboratory experiment reported here examined the effect of three design characteristics of these systems in the context of decision makers faced with ill-structured problems. The characteristics were presence or absence of decision-aid heuristics, degree of interaction between the user and the system, and whether or not the system was computerized. The dependent variables were (1) quality of user performance, (2) user productivity of ideas, (3) user confidence in the quality of his/her performance, (4) user satisfaction with the decision aid or support system, (5) changes in user attitude toward the problem addressed, and (6) changes in user attitude toward computers.
Use of heuristics and increased interaction had positive effects on decision quality, user productivity, and attitude toward computers; they had negative effects on user confidence, satisfaction, and attitude toward the problem addressed. Whether or not the system was computerized did not have a significant effect on any dependent variable. The findings concerning negative effects, in particular, suggest the need for research on the design of heuristics for addressing ill-structured problems—heuristics that will deliver the positive but not the negative effects observed in this study. The findings also suggest the need for research on how to benefit from computers in the context of solving ill-structured problems.
TL;DR: In this article, an alternative conceptualization based on interdependence theory is presented, which is used to explain the causes of interunit conflict and the effectiveness of coordination strategy. Hypotheses are presented, and future research is proposed.
Abstract: Conceptualizations of interdependence offered by Thompson (1967) and McCann and Ferry (1979) fail to satisfy basic requirements for empirical or practical investigations of complex organizations. An alternative conceptualization based on interdependence theory (Kelley & Thibaut, 1978; Thibaut & Kelley, 1959) is presented here and used to explain the causes of interunit conflict and the effectiveness of coordination strategy. Hypotheses are presented, and future research is proposed.
TL;DR: The results of this survey indicate that MIS has been undergoing significant shifts in terms of the research strategies employed by researchers, and there has been a shift from non-empirical research to empirical studies over the past nine years.
Abstract: The objective of this paper is to explore the historical progress of management information systems (MIS) from a philosophic scientific perspective. The study is based on the thematic analysis of research strategies of 536 articles published during the period 1977-1985. The results of this survey indicate that MIS has been undergoing significant shifts in terms of the research strategies employed by researchers. More specifically, there has been a shift from non-empirical research to empirical studies over the past nine years. However, it seems that in spite of recent progress in the demarcation of its boundaries, MIS has not made very significant progress as a scientific discipline. The paper takes the position that this state of the arts will not change until MIS develops a body of substantive theories specific to its domain.
TL;DR: Findings from bivariate analyses indicate most Model factors were significantly related to depressive symptoms and Multivariate analyses identified demographic factors, perceived economic opportunity, perceived distance between the two centers involved in the migration, and loss of interpersonal ties in Mexico as the most parsimonious subset of depression predictors within the Model.
Abstract: Empirical research in the field of migration and mental health is rare and its recent appearance follows decades of inconsistent reports in the research literature about the risks posed by numerous
TL;DR: Despite recent attention to organizational issues in the management of advertising, sales, new product development, and channels, there has been little empirical study of the management management of the mark-to-mark as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Despite recent attention to organizational issues in the management of advertising, sales, new product development, and channels, there has been little empirical study of the management of the mark...
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01 Jan 1987
TL;DR: The third volume of the series of four projected volumes as discussed by the authors, which covers a broad range of pension issues and utilizes new and richer data sources than have been previously available, provides valuable theoretical contributions to current thinking in an area that will most likely continue to be a source of controversy and debate for some time to come.
Abstract: In the past several decades, pension plans have become one of the most significant institutional influences on labor and financial markets in the U.S. In an effort to understand the economic effects of this growth, the National Bureau of Economic Research embarked on a major research project in 1980. Issues in Pension Economics , the third in a series of four projected volumes to result from thsi study, covers a broad range of pension issues and utilizes new and richer data sources than have been previously available. The papers in this volume cover such issues as the interaction of pension-funding decisions and corporate finances; the role of pensions in providing adequate and secure retirement income, including the integration of pension plans with social security and significant drops in the U.S. saving rate; and the incentive effects of pension plans on labor market behavior and the implications of plans on labor market behavior and the implications of plans for different demographic groups. Issues in Pension Economics offers important empirical studies and makes valuable theoretical contributions to current thinking in an area that will most likely continue to be a source of controversy and debate for some time to come. The volume should prove useful to academics and policymakers, as well as to members of the business and labor communities.
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TL;DR: The study of discrimination received a major impetus in the 1960's when increasing social attention focused upon race and gender differentials in market outcomes as mentioned in this paper, and a large amount of empirical work has been done to determine whether and how much discrimination actually exists, and to a lesser extent to test the implications of various theories.
Abstract: The study of discrimination received a major impetus in the 1960's when increasing social attention focused upon race and gender differentials in market outcomes. Gary Becker's The Economics of Discrimination (1957) strongly influenced empirical research by providing a definition of wage discrimination and suggesting a specific way in which it might operate. During the following years new theories were developed and refined in an attempt to explain why there appears to be continued discrimination in spite of market forces presumably operating against it. Similarly, a large amount of empirical work has been done to determine whether and how much discrimination actually exists, and to a lesser extent to test the implications of the various theories. Even so, the hope expressed by Becker in the preface of the second edition (1971) that our understanding of discrimination would increase so rapidly that the materials in his book would become obsolete before another decade began has clearly not been fulfilled. Here, we review what has been learned in the intervening years and suggest some fruitful directions for future research.1 The focus of this paper, like that of most of the empirical research in this area, is on determining the extent of discrimination rather than on testing alternative models of discrimination.
TL;DR: A review of the literature on conflict and cohesion can be found in this paper, where the authors present a reappraisal of empirical research on conflict in domestic and foreign conflict and the role of the state and environmental constraints on projection.
Abstract: James, P. Conflict and Cohesion: A Review of the Literature and Recommendations for Future Research. Cooperation and Conflict, XXII, 1987, 21-33.This essay contains a reappraisal of empirical research on conflict and cohesion. Behavioral studies of the linkage between domestic and foreign conflict are described in some detail. The consensus of that literature is that internal conflict is externalized only under very restricted conditions. However, in the process of reviewing this research, several important conceptual problems have been identified. Testing has focused on static rather than dynamic manifestations of conflict. Fragmentary indicators have been used to assess conflict at both levels of political interaction, and measurement is further complicated by the question of cross-national validity. In addition, the role of the state and environmental constraints on projection are in need of further exploration. It is recommended that all of these factors be considered in any new model of the conflict ...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify factors that help explain terrorist success in hostage-taking events and two measures of success are examined: logistical success and negotiation success. In the empirical analysis, the authors show that both measures are indicators of success.
Abstract: This article identifies factors that help explain terrorist success in hostage-taking events. Two measures of success are examined: logistical success and negotiation success. In the empirical esti...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe a research model which can guide empirical studies of technological innovation in business organizations, and the focus of the model is the strategic management of new product development processes.
Abstract: This paper describes a research model which can guide empirical studies of technological innovation in business organizations. The focus of the model is the strategic management of new product development processes. Variables that affect the success or failure of these processes are identified and several research hypotheses are suggested for empirical examination.