Pub Date : 2022-10-16DOI: 10.1177/14761270221134985
Renfei Gao, Geoffrey P. Martin, H. Hu, J. Lu
Firm political connections are widely recognized to have both positive and negative implications, but why do firms build political connections in the first place? Distinct from prior research that typically views firm political connections as capital stock, we focus on board political capital building—selecting new directors with political backgrounds (PBs)—as a strategic decision. Drawing on the behavioral theory of the firm (BTOF), we examine how board political capital building is driven by performance shortfalls based on the logic of problemistic search—seeking the potential benefits of political connections while undertaking the potential downsides. Using director selection data on Chinese listed firms, we find that firms with higher performance shortfalls are more inclined to select new independent directors (IDs) with PBs. We further demonstrate that it is more feasible for firms with performance shortfalls to build lower-level board political capital but infeasible for them to build upper-level political capital.
{"title":"EXPRESS: Why Embrace a Double-Edged Sword? A Behavioral Theory of Board Political Capital Building","authors":"Renfei Gao, Geoffrey P. Martin, H. Hu, J. Lu","doi":"10.1177/14761270221134985","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14761270221134985","url":null,"abstract":"Firm political connections are widely recognized to have both positive and negative implications, but why do firms build political connections in the first place? Distinct from prior research that typically views firm political connections as capital stock, we focus on board political capital building—selecting new directors with political backgrounds (PBs)—as a strategic decision. Drawing on the behavioral theory of the firm (BTOF), we examine how board political capital building is driven by performance shortfalls based on the logic of problemistic search—seeking the potential benefits of political connections while undertaking the potential downsides. Using director selection data on Chinese listed firms, we find that firms with higher performance shortfalls are more inclined to select new independent directors (IDs) with PBs. We further demonstrate that it is more feasible for firms with performance shortfalls to build lower-level board political capital but infeasible for them to build upper-level political capital.","PeriodicalId":22087,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Organization","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2022-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42900653","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-10-07DOI: 10.1177/14761270221134287
R. David, Y. Lee
The market categories literature is reaching the adolescent stage. To ‘look forward’ and chart the next stages of this literature’s growth, we first need to ‘look back’ at what we have learned so far. We thus begin with a systematic review of the literature on market categories from the 1990s to the present. Our search of leading management and sociology journals yielded 100 empirical papers, which we group into eight themes. We then discuss in more detail the findings under the top three of these themes: category spanning, new category construction and category change. Based on our review, we then ‘look forward’ and offer suggestions for future research on market categories. Specifically, we call for more explicit attention to (1) agency, particularly in studies of category spanning, (2) market categories at the intersection of multiple institutional logics, (3) market categories as an outcome rather than antecedent and (4) construct clarity and consistency. We hope these recommendations will ensure a long and healthy future for this burgeoning literature.
{"title":"The short history and long future of research on market categories","authors":"R. David, Y. Lee","doi":"10.1177/14761270221134287","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14761270221134287","url":null,"abstract":"The market categories literature is reaching the adolescent stage. To ‘look forward’ and chart the next stages of this literature’s growth, we first need to ‘look back’ at what we have learned so far. We thus begin with a systematic review of the literature on market categories from the 1990s to the present. Our search of leading management and sociology journals yielded 100 empirical papers, which we group into eight themes. We then discuss in more detail the findings under the top three of these themes: category spanning, new category construction and category change. Based on our review, we then ‘look forward’ and offer suggestions for future research on market categories. Specifically, we call for more explicit attention to (1) agency, particularly in studies of category spanning, (2) market categories at the intersection of multiple institutional logics, (3) market categories as an outcome rather than antecedent and (4) construct clarity and consistency. We hope these recommendations will ensure a long and healthy future for this burgeoning literature.","PeriodicalId":22087,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Organization","volume":"20 1","pages":"709 - 721"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2022-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43516871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-10-07DOI: 10.1177/14761270221134285
Brayden G. King, J. Jasper
We offer a view of organizational strategy derived from the strategic interaction perspective in sociology. We apply the perspective to the study of nonmarket strategy and social movements—the subfield of strategy concerned with the interactions between stakeholder activists and firms. The strategic interaction perspective calls on scholars to (1) pay attention to the local interactions occurring in specific arenas and to the direct outcomes of those interactions; (2) focus on the agency that players have in choosing among arenas and in selecting different tactics in those arenas; (3) appreciate the complex motives for engaging in strategic interactions, including emotional connections to particular ideologies or collective identities; and (4) recognize that each interaction involves multiple outcomes beyond the financial, including cultural outcomes. We conclude the essay by deriving broader implications for the field of strategy.
{"title":"Strategic interactions and arenas: A sociological perspective on strategy","authors":"Brayden G. King, J. Jasper","doi":"10.1177/14761270221134285","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14761270221134285","url":null,"abstract":"We offer a view of organizational strategy derived from the strategic interaction perspective in sociology. We apply the perspective to the study of nonmarket strategy and social movements—the subfield of strategy concerned with the interactions between stakeholder activists and firms. The strategic interaction perspective calls on scholars to (1) pay attention to the local interactions occurring in specific arenas and to the direct outcomes of those interactions; (2) focus on the agency that players have in choosing among arenas and in selecting different tactics in those arenas; (3) appreciate the complex motives for engaging in strategic interactions, including emotional connections to particular ideologies or collective identities; and (4) recognize that each interaction involves multiple outcomes beyond the financial, including cultural outcomes. We conclude the essay by deriving broader implications for the field of strategy.","PeriodicalId":22087,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Organization","volume":"20 1","pages":"810 - 820"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2022-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42017604","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-10-01DOI: 10.1177/14761270221132308
Izuchukwu Mbaraonye, Mirzokhidjon Abdurakhmonov, Jason W. Ridge
We argue that because one of the key intentions of lobbying is to develop knowledge about the inner workings of the government, a crucial type of governmental interaction—government contracting—is associated with firms’ level of lobbying activity. We argue that firms’ contract scope (number of governmental agencies in which they contract) is negatively related to firms’ lobbying activity because it provides firms with broader knowledge of the government. We further argue that the relationship between government contract scope and firms’ lobbying activity is moderated by the extent of government contract dispersion (distribution of contracts across government agencies), firms’ government contract dependence (proportion of firms’ revenue that is derived from the government), and firms’ industry contract scope (availability of new government agencies for contracting). We find support for most of our theoretical arguments in a sample of S&P 1500 firms for years 2008 to 2018.
{"title":"EXPRESS: Swayed by prior interactions? How government contracting acts as a substitute for lobbying activity","authors":"Izuchukwu Mbaraonye, Mirzokhidjon Abdurakhmonov, Jason W. Ridge","doi":"10.1177/14761270221132308","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14761270221132308","url":null,"abstract":"We argue that because one of the key intentions of lobbying is to develop knowledge about the inner workings of the government, a crucial type of governmental interaction—government contracting—is associated with firms’ level of lobbying activity. We argue that firms’ contract scope (number of governmental agencies in which they contract) is negatively related to firms’ lobbying activity because it provides firms with broader knowledge of the government. We further argue that the relationship between government contract scope and firms’ lobbying activity is moderated by the extent of government contract dispersion (distribution of contracts across government agencies), firms’ government contract dependence (proportion of firms’ revenue that is derived from the government), and firms’ industry contract scope (availability of new government agencies for contracting). We find support for most of our theoretical arguments in a sample of S&P 1500 firms for years 2008 to 2018.","PeriodicalId":22087,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Organization","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2022-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49188395","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-26DOI: 10.1177/14761270221130876
M. Feldman, B. Pentland
In this essay, we suggest new research directions for the study of routines that intersect with and draw upon conversations about the reproduction of privilege and oppression as a strategic issue in organizations. We focus on how social inequality is reproduced and normalized by routines. We describe and illustrate how analyzing the dynamics of organizational routines can help us understand the production and reproduction of social inequality and the possibility of amelioration.
{"title":"Routine dynamics: Toward a critical conversation","authors":"M. Feldman, B. Pentland","doi":"10.1177/14761270221130876","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14761270221130876","url":null,"abstract":"In this essay, we suggest new research directions for the study of routines that intersect with and draw upon conversations about the reproduction of privilege and oppression as a strategic issue in organizations. We focus on how social inequality is reproduced and normalized by routines. We describe and illustrate how analyzing the dynamics of organizational routines can help us understand the production and reproduction of social inequality and the possibility of amelioration.","PeriodicalId":22087,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Organization","volume":"20 1","pages":"846 - 859"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2022-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48197665","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-24DOI: 10.1177/14761270221130253
Samer Faraj, P. Leonardi
Digital technologies, enabled by data, algorithms, and artificial intelligence, are creating new competitive opportunities. But how does one strategize when the technologies core to organizational action is constantly changing? We suggest that for strategy scholars to answer this question, they will need to rethink the concept of technology. We begin by discussing the conceptual treatment of technology in studies of strategy and strategizing, and, in so doing, we highlight the ways in which current conceptualizations of technology are problematic for theorizing about the role of technology in the digital age. We then advance a relational perspective on technology that overcomes many of these problems. We illustrate the potential utility of this perspective for theories of strategic organization by using it to reconceptualize the boundaries of the firm, the process of innovation, and the process of organizational knowing.
{"title":"Strategic organization in the digital age: Rethinking the concept of technology","authors":"Samer Faraj, P. Leonardi","doi":"10.1177/14761270221130253","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14761270221130253","url":null,"abstract":"Digital technologies, enabled by data, algorithms, and artificial intelligence, are creating new competitive opportunities. But how does one strategize when the technologies core to organizational action is constantly changing? We suggest that for strategy scholars to answer this question, they will need to rethink the concept of technology. We begin by discussing the conceptual treatment of technology in studies of strategy and strategizing, and, in so doing, we highlight the ways in which current conceptualizations of technology are problematic for theorizing about the role of technology in the digital age. We then advance a relational perspective on technology that overcomes many of these problems. We illustrate the potential utility of this perspective for theories of strategic organization by using it to reconceptualize the boundaries of the firm, the process of innovation, and the process of organizational knowing.","PeriodicalId":22087,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Organization","volume":"20 1","pages":"771 - 785"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2022-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44454991","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-13DOI: 10.1177/14761270221125819
J. Bartunek, J. Balogun
There are growing expectations that organizations should contribute to the sustainability of our planet. These have increased recognition of relationships between organizations and their external communities and what they might accomplish together. However, such recognition does not extend to appreciation of the contextual dynamics inherent in organization–community relationships that affect their ability to reach common ground in their joint efforts. In this essay we explore how interpretive, relational, and spatial contextual features previously addressed within organizations play roles in joint organization–community sustainability efforts. We present an example of the multi-decade development of a local foods economy in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, that has been spearheaded by multiple communities and organizations. We show how an Appreciative Inquiry Summit, one of a set of large group interventions developed by Organization Development consultants, made use of the contextual characteristics we discuss to foster shared overarching logics that enabled collaboration. We conclude with a research agenda designed to explore how relational, interpretative, and spatial contexts affect organization–community initiatives to accomplish sustainability, how planned change interventions might affect these contexts, and how such initiatives and their contexts unfold over time.
{"title":"Context and how it matters: Mobilizing spaces for organization-community sustainable change","authors":"J. Bartunek, J. Balogun","doi":"10.1177/14761270221125819","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14761270221125819","url":null,"abstract":"There are growing expectations that organizations should contribute to the sustainability of our planet. These have increased recognition of relationships between organizations and their external communities and what they might accomplish together. However, such recognition does not extend to appreciation of the contextual dynamics inherent in organization–community relationships that affect their ability to reach common ground in their joint efforts. In this essay we explore how interpretive, relational, and spatial contextual features previously addressed within organizations play roles in joint organization–community sustainability efforts. We present an example of the multi-decade development of a local foods economy in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, that has been spearheaded by multiple communities and organizations. We show how an Appreciative Inquiry Summit, one of a set of large group interventions developed by Organization Development consultants, made use of the contextual characteristics we discuss to foster shared overarching logics that enabled collaboration. We conclude with a research agenda designed to explore how relational, interpretative, and spatial contexts affect organization–community initiatives to accomplish sustainability, how planned change interventions might affect these contexts, and how such initiatives and their contexts unfold over time.","PeriodicalId":22087,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Organization","volume":"20 1","pages":"832 - 845"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2022-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43684728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-13DOI: 10.1177/14761270221127628
Flore Bridoux, J. Stoelhorst
We reflect on the past, present, and future of stakeholder theory, focusing on its link to strategy and organization scholarship. Stakeholder theory was originally conceived as a theory of strategic management, but for most of its history it largely developed without having a noticeable impact on strategy research. This has changed in the past decade, however, with the strategy field making a “stakeholder turn.” We highlight the streams of research at the forefront of this turn, including work on “behavioral stakeholder theory,” ‘stakeholder strategy theory,’ and “stakeholder governance.” We conclude with an outlook on how stakeholder theory can help strategy scholars develop a theory of managing value creation that explicitly acknowledges both the economic and moral nature of relationships in and around organizations.
{"title":"Stakeholder theory, strategy, and organization: Past, present, and future","authors":"Flore Bridoux, J. Stoelhorst","doi":"10.1177/14761270221127628","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14761270221127628","url":null,"abstract":"We reflect on the past, present, and future of stakeholder theory, focusing on its link to strategy and organization scholarship. Stakeholder theory was originally conceived as a theory of strategic management, but for most of its history it largely developed without having a noticeable impact on strategy research. This has changed in the past decade, however, with the strategy field making a “stakeholder turn.” We highlight the streams of research at the forefront of this turn, including work on “behavioral stakeholder theory,” ‘stakeholder strategy theory,’ and “stakeholder governance.” We conclude with an outlook on how stakeholder theory can help strategy scholars develop a theory of managing value creation that explicitly acknowledges both the economic and moral nature of relationships in and around organizations.","PeriodicalId":22087,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Organization","volume":"20 1","pages":"797 - 809"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2022-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41600794","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-13DOI: 10.1177/14761270221127881
M. Skov, Toke Bjerregaard, Jesper Rosenberg Hansen
Research has addressed how the practices and organization of strategy meetings shape strategy processes and outcomes. However, how interactive processes run between and feed into meetings—an integral aspect of how managers shape ongoing strategy emergence—remains relatively poorly understood. Through a strong processual-interactionist approach, we thus examine how in- and between-meeting practices interact and create combined effects in orchestrating ongoing flows of strategy formation. By considering strategy meetings as part of and punctuating chain-like, interactive processes of strategy formation, we develop an understanding of how in- and between-meeting practices dynamically interact—they enable, balance the effects of, and shape one another through the interaction flows in which they are engaged. The longitudinal case study reveals and explains the role of cross-over effects and coalescing between multiple simultaneous interaction flows, thereby advancing extant research on how series of interaction sequences shape strategy emergence and evolution.
{"title":"Orchestrating ongoing interaction flows of strategy formation in and between meetings","authors":"M. Skov, Toke Bjerregaard, Jesper Rosenberg Hansen","doi":"10.1177/14761270221127881","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14761270221127881","url":null,"abstract":"Research has addressed how the practices and organization of strategy meetings shape strategy processes and outcomes. However, how interactive processes run between and feed into meetings—an integral aspect of how managers shape ongoing strategy emergence—remains relatively poorly understood. Through a strong processual-interactionist approach, we thus examine how in- and between-meeting practices interact and create combined effects in orchestrating ongoing flows of strategy formation. By considering strategy meetings as part of and punctuating chain-like, interactive processes of strategy formation, we develop an understanding of how in- and between-meeting practices dynamically interact—they enable, balance the effects of, and shape one another through the interaction flows in which they are engaged. The longitudinal case study reveals and explains the role of cross-over effects and coalescing between multiple simultaneous interaction flows, thereby advancing extant research on how series of interaction sequences shape strategy emergence and evolution.","PeriodicalId":22087,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Organization","volume":"21 1","pages":"651 - 682"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2022-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46725749","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-13DOI: 10.1177/14761270221125881
M. Schultz
Grand Challenges have stimulated a search for new solutions at the interplay between fields and disciplines which previously have been separated. In this essay, I argue that a further development of temporal interplay between strategy and organizational identity may enrich studies of Grand Challenges, exemplified by how actors respond to climate change. This interplay is motivated by recent elaborations of the differences in temporality between strategy and organizational identity from a distinction between a dominant focus on the future (strategy) or the past (organizational identity) to a conceptualization of the differences in temporal structures between them. Using management research to contribute to the fight against climate change, sustained temporal interplay between strategy and organizational identity can advance our understanding of how organizations may act now for future climate goals. I suggest questions for future research focused on making an impact.
{"title":"The strategy–identity nexus: The relevance of their temporal interplay to climate change","authors":"M. Schultz","doi":"10.1177/14761270221125881","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14761270221125881","url":null,"abstract":"Grand Challenges have stimulated a search for new solutions at the interplay between fields and disciplines which previously have been separated. In this essay, I argue that a further development of temporal interplay between strategy and organizational identity may enrich studies of Grand Challenges, exemplified by how actors respond to climate change. This interplay is motivated by recent elaborations of the differences in temporality between strategy and organizational identity from a distinction between a dominant focus on the future (strategy) or the past (organizational identity) to a conceptualization of the differences in temporal structures between them. Using management research to contribute to the fight against climate change, sustained temporal interplay between strategy and organizational identity can advance our understanding of how organizations may act now for future climate goals. I suggest questions for future research focused on making an impact.","PeriodicalId":22087,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Organization","volume":"20 1","pages":"821 - 831"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2022-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43542390","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}