Bruce A. Walters

Strategic information and strategic decision making: the EIS/CEO interface in smaller manufacturing companies

Executive information systems (EIS) often focus on providing external data to top management for environmental scanning. However, for many executives, the need for internal information may be just as strong, in order to provide an accurate appraisal of the firms ability to capitalize on opportunities. Yet much of the environmental scanning research to date focuses on the external environment. To place a framework on this issue, categories for both internal and external data are derived from the management literature. A survey of CEOs for small manufacturing firms indicates that internal information is just as important in analysis of new situations as is the external information. Additionally, the CEOs place no particular order on access to the information. EIS should be designed to allow for access to all categories of information in an order selected by the executive and provide important internal information for making strategic decisions.

Complexity Absorption and Performance: A Structural Analysis of Acute-Care Hospitals

This study assesses the degree to which a complexity absorption response enhances performance in an industry increasingly described as highly complex: acute-care hospitals. Business-level strategy, organizational structure, and analytical comprehensiveness are viewed as mechanisms through which executives can increase internal complexity. A case is made that hospitals are well served to pursue a hybrid (or combination) strategy, employ an organic structure, and engage in a high degree of information acquisition and use. In keeping with a complexity absorption view, results indicate that these elements generally exhibit stronger associations with performance as dynamism increases.

Decisions, Decisions! How Judgment Policy Studies Can Integrate Macro and Micro Domains in Management Research

An effective bridge for spanning the macro—micro divide in management studies requires strong disciplinary foundations on each side of the chasm, along with the versatility to address a range of management issues. This will likely involve simultaneous multilevel, multiparty action—response research. The authors argue that judgment policy studies are especially suited to developing the interactive multilevel context theories that are necessary to narrow the divide across multiple areas of management research. Literally millions of organization members go through judgment processes every day, on many topics, and their choices critically affect individual, group, and organizational success. The authors provide examples—using the literatures on trust, diversity climate, workplace romance, and strategy implementation—to demonstrate how judgment policy analysis methods can help narrow the macro—micro divide in each area. The authors also briefly discuss available techniques for analyzing individuals’ judgment policies and suggest other high-potential areas for future macro—micro bridge building in management, via judgment policy studies, including business ethics, entrepreneurial opportunity identification, and international management.

TMT Departures and Post-IPO Outside Director Additions: Implications for Young IPO Firms’ Survival and Performance

We draw on resource‐based logic to argue that relatively stable TMTs and boards are beneficial for young IPO firms because of the need to maintain and develop valuable firm‐specific capabilities and psychological attachment of pre‐IPO TMTs. Using panel data from 272 young IPO firms, we find that pre‐IPO TMT member exits negatively affect young IPO firms’ survival and performance. This negative effect is greater when more post‐IPO outside directors are added. We also find that the above interaction is positively and negatively associated with survival and performance when TMT ownership declines substantially and when firms have a founder CEO, respectively.

An Investigation of the Impact of Academicians as Directors

In this study, we investigated the impact of academicians as board members on firm outcomes. Based on popular theories of corporate governance, we contend that firms with academicians as directors would have more vigilance on their boards, would perform better based on accounting measures, and would be perceived as more valuable based on a market measure. Using a matched-pair design, our results showed that firms with academician directors do not have more vigilance on their boards and do not differ based on their accounting performance. However, they are perceived to be more valuable, which signifies the possible positive impact of academicians on one of the organizational outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Strategic Decision-Making Among Top Executives in Acute-Care Hospitals

Abstract Recent changes within the dynamic healthcare industry have necessitated further assessment of the strategic thought processes associated with financial success. Therefore, this study explored hospital executives use of a comprehensive strategy-making process and its impact on performance in acute care hospitals. Taken as a whole, the strategy-making process is found to be positively associated with financial performance. Supplementary analysis, investigating the unique effects of environmental planning, scanning and analysis, revealed that, when considered separately, scanning and analysis contribute significantly to performance, whereas strategic planning, as classically defined, does not. Implications for decision-making in hospital settings are discussed.

Detrimental effects of post-IPO corporate governance changes: The case of young entrepreneurial firms

Purpose The authors contend that immediately following the initial public offering (IPO), the new owners that replace the original ones are likely to request changes in two corporate governance mechanisms, board of directors and top management teams (TMTs). Following these alterations, the purpose of this paper is to propose that such changes will be detrimental for the performance of young entrepreneurial firms. Design/methodology/approach This study examines the post-IPO governance changes in young entrepreneurial firms. The sample consists of 185 companies that went public between 2001 and 2005. A hierarchical linear regression approach with the appropriate control variables is adopted to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings The results revealed that, following the changes in ownership structure post-IPO, changes are observed in one of the corporate governance mechanisms the authors considered, boards of directors, but not TMTs. Consistent with the general theme of this study, the authors also observed a negative impact of changes in boards of directors on subsequent firm performance; this was not the case with TMTs. Research limitations/implications Contrary to the fundamental contentions of agency theory, the results highlight the need for adopting a different approach for young entrepreneurial firms. Practical implications The findings highlight the importance of preserving the entrepreneurial efficacy of young entrepreneurial firms. Originality/value This paper challenges the fundamental contentions of agency theory in the case of young entrepreneurial firms. The results demonstrate that post-IPO shareholders’ interference with the governance mechanisms results in lower performance.