Bilian Ni Sullivan

Learning from Complexity: Effects of Prior Accidents and Incidents on Airlines' Learning

Using data on accidents and incidents experienced by U.S. commercial airlines from 1983 to 1997, we investigated variation in firm learning by examining whether firms learn more from errors with heterogeneous or homogeneous causes. We measured learning by a reduction in airline accident and incident rates, while controlling for other factors related to accidents and incidents. Our results show that heterogeneity is generally better for learning, as prior heterogeneity in the causes of errors decreases subsequent accident rates, producing a deeper, broader search for causality than simple explanations like “blame the pilot.” The benefits of heterogeneity, however, apply mainly to specialist airlines. Generalist airlines learn, instead, from outside factors such as the experience of others and general improvements in technology. These results suggest a theory of learning across organizational forms: complex forms benefit from simple information, and simple forms benefit from complex information. The implications of our study for learning theories and work on organizational errors are discussed.

Notes on the Evolution of a Research Community: Organization Studies in Anglophone North America, 1945-2000

Since the Second World War, the field of organizations studies has grown substantially in the number of researchers, number of publications, and amount of research produced. It has moved from being a combination of established disciplines to becoming a quasi-discipline of its own, with its own journals and professional associations. It has established a standardized set of ancestors, a stylized history. It has solidified an academic home in business schools. This history has implications for understanding both the future of organizations research and the social dynamics of the development of scholarly communities.

Organizations Non Gratae? The Impact of Unethical Corporate Acts on Interorganizational Networks

In this study, we examine the effects of illegal/unethical acts on interfirm networks. We hypothesize that the quality of network partners will decline and overall network structure will change after a firm commits an unethical act. More specifically, we posit that the decline in partner quality is primarily driven by higher quality firms leaving the network, and the focal firm being forced to replace them with lower quality ones. We also propose that partner prominence and network cohesion will be affected after these acts, and that the changes in partner quality and network structure will be greater for those acts perceived as more illegitimate. We test these hypotheses using a sample of 200 large firms in the United States and data on unethical acts by these firms. Our results show that the quality of a firms network partners declines after the firms commission of an unethical act, and that the deterioration in partner quality tends to be greater for acts of greater illegitimacy. Our results also show declines in network prominence and cohesion for firms involved in these activities. We discuss the implications of our results for the literatures on interfirm networks and unethical corporate activities.

Competition and Beyond: Problems and Attention Allocation in the Organizational Rulemaking Process

This study investigates how an organization allocates attention and generates solutions in response to new problems challenging existing routines, under the influences of different contexts surrounding problems and solutions. By examining the formation of airline safety rules by the Federal Aviation Administration, I show that although different types of problems compete for attention at the rule proposal stage when the organization searches for solutions to problems, at the rule finalization stage, attention is guided by “urgency” induced by the aggregate flow of new problems, which interacts with certain institutional factors and with an a priori “priority” given to different types of rules. The implications of the study on theories of organizational attention are discussed.

Which signal to rely on? The impact of the quality of board interlocks and inventive capabilities on research and development alliance formation under uncertainty

In this study, we demonstrate that the quality of a firm’s board interlocks and a firm’s inventive capabilities can serve as signals of its quality as a research and development alliance partner to other firms. The extent of the signaling effects, however, varies under different types of uncertainty. Using research and development alliance, patent and board interlock data from the US biotechnology industry during the period 1990–2003, we find that the board interlock quality as well as the strength and focus of a firm’s inventive capabilities have positive and significant effects on the likelihood of research and development alliance formation. Importantly, we further find that the impact of the strength of a firm’s inventive capabilities is weaker, while the impact of the quality of the firm’s board interlocks is stronger, under both market uncertainty and firm-specific uncertainty. The implications for studies of board interlocks, uncertainty, and research and development alliances are discussed.

Persistently learning: How small-world network imprints affect subsequent firm learning:

We integrate and extend organizational imprinting and organizational learning theories in a study of how firms’ small-world networks at founding have enduring effects on firm learning. We show that firms embedded in networks having denser clustering and shorter path lengths at founding are subsequently more inclined toward exploratory learning. We also demonstrate that subsequent network positions (closeness centrality and structural holes) strengthen the initial small world network imprinting effect. Results based on a sample of US venture capital firms from 1995 to 2003 largely support our hypotheses. Contributions to imprinting theory, the organizational learning literature, and inter-firm network studies are discussed.

Compelled to Help:Effects of Direct and Indirect Exchange on Perceived Obligation in Professional Networks

The article discusses the level of perceived responsibility among managers and non-management personnel to help other employees in their business networks. The hypothesis, which is tested with two empirical studies, is that managers are motivated to help by direct and indirect or generalized social exchange. The socio-emotional factors in the sense of obligation, especially with those who provide valued resources, are mentioned. The study suggests that reciprocity impacts perceived obligation. The research methods include random effects regression models.

THE CONTINGENT ROLE OF SMALL WORLD NETWORKS ON FIRM PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FROM VENTURE CAPITAL FIRMS.

In this study, we explore the contingent role that the small world networks play in firm performance, arguing that firms may have various benefits in small world networks, depending on their intern...