Irene Goll

RATIONAL DECISION-MAKING AND FIRM PERFORMANCE: THE MODERATING ROLE OF ENVIRONMENT

This study investigates the moderating roles of environmental munificence and dynamism in the relationship between process rationality and organizational performance. Based on a sample of 62 manufacturing firms, the study found that environmental munificence and dynamism moderate the relationship between rationality and performance. Further, the study found that rationality is strongly associated with performance in environments high in munificence and dynamism.

The Relationships between Top Management Demographic Characteristics, Rational Decision Making, Environmental Munificence, and Firm Performance

This study examines the relationships between top management demographics, rational decision making (RDM), munificence, and firm performance. We expect top management demographics to influence rational decision making, and rational decision making to influence firm performance. In addition, we hypothesize a moderating effect of environmental munificence on the rational decision making-firm performance relationship. To test these hypotheses, we conducted a survey that measured RDM. Top management demographic characteristics, environmental munificence, and firm performance were collected from archival sources. We examined the relationships between RDM and top management age, tenure, and education level, using regression analyses. The results of this study provide support for the assertion that top management demographic characteristics influence decision making, and for the role of environmental munificence as a moderator in the relationship between decision making and organizational performance.

Knowledge capability, strategic change, and firm performance: The moderating role of the environment

Purpose – This paper seeks to examine the relationships between knowledge capability, strategic change, and firm performance in the US airline industry from regulation to deregulation.Design/methodology/approach – This is a longitudinal study with a cross‐sectional time series research design. A theoretical model is tested in which knowledge capability exerts a direct effect on strategic change; strategic change then influences firm performance. The environment moderates the relationship between strategic change and firm performance. The sample of the study includes the major US air carriers from 1972 to 1995. Knowledge capability is operationalized as the education level and functional diversity of top management. Strategic change is measured as change in hub concentration, a key variable for the airlines. The data for the present study come from archival sources.Findings – Time series statistics with fixed effects are used to examine the relationships between the variables. The results support the theor...

Top management team demographic characteristics, business strategy, and firm performance in the US airline industry: The role of managerial discretion

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on top management demographic characteristics, business strategy, and firm performance in the major US airlines.Design/methodology/approach – The relationships between management characteristics and business strategy are examined as well as the business strategy – firm performance relationships before and after airline deregulation. This is a longitudinal study (1972‐1995) that includes data from publicly available sources. Pooled cross‐sectional time series regression analyses were used with fixed‐effects to test specific hypotheses. The management demographics include age, tenure, education, and functional background. Business strategy was measured as low cost, differentiation, and scope. The study includes three measures of firm performance.Findings – There were significant management demographics‐business strategy relationships in the deregulatory period. There were also significant business strategy‐firm performance relationships with deregulation.Origi...

Conceptualizing and Measuring Corporate Ideology

The present study focuses on corporate ideology, an important element of culture, which refers to the explicit and publicly expressed beliefs and values of an organizations key decision-makers. Although the literature suggests that ideology affects strategy, practices, and performance, few studies have measured the construct. The present study identifies the dimensions of corporate ideology and develops a typology of ideology. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken in which questionnaires were mailed to 645 of the largest manufacturing companies in the U.S. The response rate was 25 percent. The results of the study identify three dimensions of ideology: progressive decision-making, social responsibility, and organicity. They suggest that ideologies have some tendency to fall along a continuum from traditional to progressive. The importance of this finding to strategy and performance are explained within a contingency framework.

Corporate Ideology, Diversification and Firm Performance

The literature suggests that the fit between corporate culture and strategy influences firm performance. The present study examines the moderating effect of diversification strategy on the link between corporate ideology, a component of culture, and firm performance. A cross-sectional survey of the largest manu facturing firms in the United States was conducted measuring corporate ideo logy and diversification strategy. A moderated regression analysis was con ducted and it was found that the interaction between ideology and diversification exerts a significant effect on firm performance thus supporting the importance of strategic fit.

Predictors of Social Entrepreneurship Success: A Cross-national Analysis of Antecedent Factors

Abstract Even though the practice of social entrepreneurship has a long history, the field has only begun to gain academic attention in the past few decades. However, most of the literature to date focuses on theoretical and conceptual issues, and there continues to be a paucity of empirical work in this discipline. Using the number of social entrepreneurs in a country as a proxy for prevalence of the phenomenon is a strong predictor – the validity of the results was confirmed using two reputable databases of social entrepreneurs, i.e., the Ashoka and Schwab Foundations. Furthermore, the components of national-level attitudes for general entrepreneurship, i.e., perceived opportunity, no fear of failing, and aspirations of new technology, were found to be positively correlated with social entrepreneurship at the country level. Yet, national-level attitudes for networking and opportunities for start-ups, generally correlated with general entrepreneurship, were negatively correlated with social entrepreneurship. We also discuss the implications of our findings and discuss their consequences as well as suggestions for future research.

The effects of 9/11/2001 on business strategy variability in the US air carrier industry

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the effects of 9/11/2001 on strategic variability in the US air carrier industry. The paper also seeks to examine the role of firm size in these relationships.Design/methodology/approach – The paper tests two different perspectives on organizational adaptation to environmental jolts: the punctuated equilibrium model and institutional isomorphism. The two counter hypotheses predict either increasing or decreasing variability in strategic response to 9/11, respectively. This is a longitudinal study of the US air carrier industry. The sample includes the major, national, and large regional air carriers in the US from 1979 (post‐deregulation) to 2008. The data come from archival sources. The study includes measures of variability in differentiation and low cost strategies as well as scope.Findings – Time series regressions examine the effects of the 9/11 jolt on business strategy variability in the majors, nationals, and large regionals. The results lend some support to bo...

Environmental Jolts, Clocks, and Strategic Change in the U.S. Airline Industry: The Effects of Deregulation and the 9/11/2001 Terrorist Attacks

This study examines the effects of two major environmental jolts, the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 and the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks, on strategic change and performance in the U.S. air carrier industry. The sample includes the Major U.S. air carriers during two periods of time: deregulation (1974-1986) and 9/11/2001 (1997-2008). Data were collected from archival sources and analyzed using cross-sectional time series regressions with fixed effects. The results show that following both environmental jolts, the initial response of the airlines was emphasis on cost control. However, over the long run, there was a deceleration of the emphasis on cost control. Further, following deregulation, the long run response involved the acceleration of differentiation change. We also found a significant relationship between strategic change and firm performance. The results contribute towards a reconciliation of the conflicting predictions of the repetitive momentum hypothesis and the deceleration hypothesis.

Strategic responses to deregulation and their performance implications in the U.S. airline industry

This study examines the relationships between deregulation, business strategy (low cost, differentiation, and scope), size, and firm performance in the U.S. airline industry based on archival data for the Major, National, and Large Regional air carriers in the U.S. from 1972 to 1995. Cross-sectional time series regression analysis shows that deregulation had a significant impact on the strategic choices made by airlines. Results also support a significant relationship between business strategy and firm performance. Further, the study found that firm size moderates the environment-business strategy relationship and the business strategy-firm performance relationship, thereby supporting the salience of firm size as a contingency variable in strategy studies.