Adelaide Wilcox King

Construing Organizational Identity: The Role of Embodied Cognition

This paper presents a theory of organizational identity based on embodied cognition. Embodied cognitive science focuses on developing theories that reveal how humans’ capacities to process information and gain knowledge are functions of bodily experiences. What members come to know about an organization is a function of what they physically experience, as well as what is in their heads. We propose and examine four embodied capacities that members use to construe what they believe is central, distinctive, and enduring about their organizations. We suggest this approach reveals an important fourth dimension of OI: that an individual’s construal of organizational identity must also be ‘substantiated’ or verified by a member’s embodied experiences. We consider how an embodied construal of OI might add to three dominant perspectives on OI, and discuss how it might expand our understanding of six OI-related topics, ranging from individual organizational identification to large-scale organizational change. We close with suggestions for future research, including new empirical methods and perhaps a reexamination of organizational cognition as a whole.

Capturing knowledge and knowing through improvisation: what managers can learn from the thoracic surgery board certification process

To compete effectively in the information age, managers must take actions in ambiguous, complex, and rapidly changing environments. A thoracic surgeon facilitates actions that are consequential and difficult to reverse, that require individual and group expertise, and that are based on changing, complex inputs and environments that are often ambiguous and interact in unpredictable ways. We suggest that managers can benefit from learning we have gained from studying the thoracic surgery certification process.

Looking Inside Psychological Influences on Structuring a Firm’s Portfolio of Resources

This article explores ways that behavioral decision theory can predict and explain patterns of decisions that managers make in their efforts to maximize the economic value and scarcity potential of a firm’s portfolio of resources. The authors argue that psychology can offer a deeper and more nuanced look “inside” resource-based theory (RBT) as an efficiency-oriented, resource-focused analytical tool for discerning firm performance differences. The authors focus their inquiry on the resource acquisition, accumulation, and divestment processes that determine the components of a firm’s resource portfolio, developing a two-dimension framework to facilitate and extend the implementation of a decision-based approach to RBT. The first dimension describes three key psychological contexts of decisions, distinguishing among (a) perceptions of a firm’s existing resources, (b) the experience or competence of the decision makers, and (c) the framing of how alternatives are presented to decision makers. The second dimension captures the psychologically meaningful distinction between single choices made in isolation and simultaneous choices. Drawing on experimental and field research, the authors develop six testable propositions and explore potential for future theoretical and empirical contributions. The framework can help scholars specify the psychological foundations of a firm’s resource portfolio’s economic value and scarcity potential while helping managers delineate relevant considerations they must adopt to enhance a firm’s profitability.

Competências organizacionais e vantagem competitiva: o desafio da gerência intermediária

Although most managers recognize that a firm’s competencies are an important source of competitive advantage, many firms encounter difficulties when they attempt to identify and assess those competencies. Specific competencies are often ambiguous to managers, and individual perceptions of a firm’s competencies may vary significantly. This lack of specificity may mask significant misunderstanding and confusion about competencies. When this misunderstanding or confusion occurs among middle managers who are responsible for the day-to-day management of these competencies, the implications for an organization can be serious. We identify and examine key characteristics of competencies and the relationship between middle managers’ perceptions of competencies and firm performance. We report a study of middle managers at 17 organizations in two industries: textile manufacturing and hospitals. Results demonstrate the linkages between competency characteristics and firm success. In addition, we describe a method that any firm can use to assess its competencies, and we show how management can use the assessment to enhance the firm’s competitive advantage.

CAPTURING KNOWLEDGE AND KNOWING: WHAT MANAGERS CAN LEARN FROM THE THORACIC SURGERY BOARD CERTIFICATION PROCESS.

Management scholars and professionals continue to struggle with effective processes for measuring highly specialized knowledge. This challenge is becoming more critical as firms attempt to develop and extend core competencies, pursue growth strategies through mergers and acquisitions, and develop technological competencies. Particularly in professional service firms and high-tech firms, knowledge residing in human capital is complex, critical to achieving competitive advantage, and difficult to measure and manage. Based on recent conceptualizations of knowledge and knowing as action, we explore how knowledge is assessed and measured in a discipline that has a long and rich history of measuring complex, specialized knowledge: the medical specialty of thoracic surgery. Our in-depth exploration of the three-pronged approach of the thoracic surgery board certification process reveals important insights into assessing and developing knowledge in organizations. Four key lessons were learned. First, a systematic...

There's No "I" in Governance: The Rise and Fall of Narcissistic Executives as Outside Directors

Consistent with the view that narcissism is on the rise throughout society, organizational scholarship about narcissism is a burgeoning area that reveals wide ranging implications for both management practice and research. Recent studies have gone far in providing important insights into the ways that narcissistic CEOs influence the firms they lead. Our research extends this body of work by being the first to consider the impact that narcissists may have in a fundamental organizational context: board of directors. We specifically examine the tendencies of narcissistic executives to obtain board seats at other firms, to act in executing their responsibilities as outside board members, and to exit boards at critical times for an organization. We suggest that narcissism has an impact on governance in substantive, unexplored, ways, and that examining how narcissists respond when operating in a context where they are not the central player, but wield significant power nonetheless, adds important understanding ...

Do Boards Use Severance Contracts to Insure New CEOs Against Intense Monitoring

CEO severance contracts are often controversial, yet boards insist that they are essential in attracting top talent. Prior research suggests that these contracts help to allay prospective CEOs’ con...