Category Archives: Journal of Management Studies

Growing Institutional Complexity and Field Transition: Towards Constellation Complexity in the German Energy Field

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Abstract

By applying a dynamic approach to field-level institutional complexity, we explore how growing institutional complexity affects fields over time. We examine field transition processes, which are shaped by the number of logics, the nature of their relationships and the shifts in dominance. Focusing on Germany's energy field, our analysis identifies a variety of conflicts that arose among up to seven institutional logics in the context of the German energy transition, i.e., the transition towards a low carbon energy market. The paper makes two theoretical contributions to the institutional complexity and field literature. First, we develop a process model explaining the field-level consequences of two different types of growing complexity, namely increasing and accelerating complexity. Second, we identify conflicting logic constellations as a distinct form of complexity that we term constellation complexity. We discuss our contributions in light of the literature on institutional logics and fields and show how applying a dynamic perspective to institutional complexity supports scholars in conceptualizing field transition processes.

The Double‐Edged Sword of Error Sharing in Organizations: From A Self‐Disclosure Perspective

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Abstract

Extant research highlights the importance of error sharing for managing errors in organizations, but little work examines what happens to employees who disclose errors. Treating errors as sensitive information, we draw on the self-disclosure literature to propose that error sharing can influence leaders’ evaluations of employee ability and integrity, which affect leader trust in the employee; error visibility and severity work as contingency factors in the above links. We conducted two field studies and one experimental study to test our hypotheses. We used data collected in China from manufacturing companies (560 employees from 71 teams in Study 1), a high-reliability organization (359 employees from 104 teams in Study 2), and an online sample (356 participants in Study 3). Results show that error sharing impairs leader trust via the negative evaluation of the employee's ability but enhances trust via the positive evaluation of the employee's integrity; error visibility and severity moderate the relationships between error sharing and leader evaluation of employee integrity and leader trust such that the positive relationships are enhanced when errors are of lower visibility or higher severity. Our study offers a novel perspective to understand the relational consequences of error sharing at work.

Lifestyle Entrepreneurship: Literature Review and Future Research Agenda

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Abstract

Research in leading entrepreneurship and management journals has tended to conceptualize entrepreneurship as motivated by the goals of wealth, income, or social value creation. This research has thus largely overlooked entrepreneurial motivations such as the desire to engage in particular activities that the entrepreneurs find rewarding or the desire to live in particular locations. The literature on such Lifestyle Entrepreneurship (LE) includes research on artisan, artistic, craft, creative, fitness, hobbyist, leisure, sport, and tourism entrepreneurship. This literature has grown quickly over the last decade, but it is scattered across a range of domains, disciplines, and journals and lacks conceptual clarity. In this review, we take stock, synthesize and offer definitions and a framework for investigation of LE that allows for its development and theoretical integration with, and contribution to, existing entrepreneurship theory. We conceptualize LE in relation to its purpose and function, identify different types of LE, and examine their respective antecedents, behaviours, and outcomes. We propose a research agenda based on the merits of viewing LE as a distinctive and theoretically important domain for the study of entrepreneurship and highlight the vital role that LE plays in enriching both individual and social welfare.

The Management of Socio‐Political Issues and Environments: Toward a Research Agenda for Corporate Socio‐Political Engagement

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Abstract

Socio-political issues and environments are becoming more complex and challenging. In this introduction to the special issue on ‘The Management of Socio-Political Issues and Environments: Organizational and Strategic Perspectives’, we take stock of the burgeoning research on how firms interact with socio-political actors and environments over the last few decades, specifically research on Corporate Political Activity and Corporate Social Responsibility. We then argue that the socio-political environments and actors with which firms interact are in a state of flux, such that issues are more interrelated and dynamic, and actors are more diverse and demanding. As such, we propose a new concept of corporate socio-political engagement (CSPE), which represents a more holistic perspective to understanding complex interactions among firms and their social/political stakeholders, incorporating and transcending conventional notions and tactics documented in the extant nonmarket strategy literature. Using a two-dimensional framework that captures the identity of socio-political actor or the nature of socio-political issues (political, social, or both) as well as the relevant level of analysis at which the interactions unfold, we showcase the contributions of the special issue articles to this research agenda. Finally, we discuss and specify future research directions for revealing the multifaceted nature of CSPE.

Sea Change? Sensemaking, Firm Reactions, and Community Resilience Following Climate Disasters

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Abstract

Communities around the world face increasing risks of climate disasters such as floods, hurricanes, and droughts. What drives firms’ heterogeneous responses to a climate disaster, and what could be the consequences for community resilience? To address these questions, we theorize how different aspects of sensemaking (sense of place, time, certitude, and loss) affect firm responses. Then, aided by an elaborate thought experiment – a narrative scenario of a future flood hitting the Dutch coast – we theorize how heterogeneity in firms’ initial responses can trigger sensemaking-sensegiving cycles that spiral a community towards reconstruction or unplanned retreat. Our article advances understanding of firms’ heterogenous disaster responses, the drivers of community resilience, and uncovers potential tensions between organizational and community resilience. We also contribute to sensemaking theory by relaxing the popular assumption that sensegiving requires deliberation. Finally, our article showcases how narrative scenarios of future events can expand the methodological toolkit of organization theory and points to new opportunities for future interdisciplinary work.

Family Ownership and Alliance Intensity

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Abstract

In this paper, we study the relationship between family ownership and corporate alliance intensity. Theoretically, we propose that the tendency of family firms to pursue socioemotional wealth objectives exacerbates the level of information asymmetry they display vis-à-vis other firms, reducing their attractiveness as alliance partners. Based on a panel of US firms, we find that family firms join fewer alliances than non-family firms. In line with our arguments, we also find that analyst and media coverage, and the presence of dedicated institutional investors mitigate the negative relationship between family ownership and alliance intensity. By highlighting the role of family ownership in alliances, we provide new insights into the debate on the ability of family firms to develop. Moreover, we contribute to research on the antecedents of alliances by introducing the role of owners’ attributes and identifying a set of mechanisms that mitigate the informational hazards that family firms present to prospective partners.

Rethinking Control and Trust Dynamics in and between Organizations

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Abstract

Control and trust issues are at the heart of collaboration in and between organizations. In this introduction to the Special Issue (SI) on the control-trust dynamics, we first propose an integrative framework to take stock of the main themes discussed in both the micro and macro literature. We then contextualize how the papers in this issue flesh out key mechanisms underlying the interplay between control and trust over time. The remainder of the introduction highlights directions for future research by refining and extending our understanding of control and trust as mechanisms of collaboration across levels of analysis. Our future research suggestions are organized around the main building blocks of control-trust research: (1) constructs, (2) interactions, (3) actors, (4) temporal dynamics, (5) outcomes, and (6) context.

Technological Uncertainty, Value Appropriation, and Dense Versus Dispersed Patent Portfolios

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Abstract

Patented inventions play an important role in generating firm value, with conventional wisdom generally suggesting that dense patent portfolios promote greater value. We challenge the universality of this assumption and argue that the relationship between patent portfolio density and firm value depends on factors reflecting other key invention-related conditions and choices. Specifically, we hypothesize that dispersed patent portfolios are positively associated with firm value when technology inputs are young and the technology is far from the locus of inventive activity, and dense portfolios are positively associated with firm value under the opposite conditions. We examine these relationships using a stock return response model, finding support for our hypotheses based on data collected from firms patenting in the chemicals technology area.

Passing the Torch: Exploring how Tradition and Innovation Influence Coopetition among Street Performers

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Abstract

Understanding how and why firms concurrently compete and cooperate with each other represents an important and growing area of study. This research centres on how firms engage in coopetition. However, this does not account for how much of the modern world works – independently. Through an inductive field study of 80 New Orleans street performers, we explore how and why independent creative workers engage in competition and/or cooperation. In so doing, we advance theory on coopetition by extending its explanations to the individual level. We theorize the well-established nature of creative industries encourages the belief in the need for deviating from the status quo by engaging in creativity and innovation, which we refer to as a trailblazing mindset. At the same time, we find that the accumulation of a long history of creative practices also fosters traditions. We theorize that tradition encourages the belief in the need to act as vested actors, or custodians, by passing work traditions from one generation to the next to allow the tradition to endure, which we refer to as the torchbearing mindset. Thus, torchbearing fosters cooperation while trailblazing fosters competition.