Jamal Shamsie

The Resource-Based View of the Firm in Two Environments: The Hollywood Film Studios From 1936 to 1965

This article continues to operationally define and test the resource-based view of the firm in a study of the major U.S. film studios from 1936 to 1965. We found that property-based resources in th...

Experiencing the Improbable: Rare Events and Organizational Learning

Organizations that go through rare and unusual events, whether they are costly or beneficial, face the challenge of interpreting and learning from these experiences. Although research suggests that organizations respond to this challenge in a variety of ways, we lack a framework for comparing and analyzing how organizational learning is affected by rare events. This paper develops such a framework. We begin by first outlining two views of rare events. The first view defines rare events as probability estimates, usually calculated from the frequency of the event. The second view defines rare events as opportunities for unique sensemaking based on the enacted salience of specific features of the rare events. We next use these definitions to explore how rare events trigger learning, and then examine the kind of learning processes that are triggered by rare events. We conclude with a discussion of promising areas of research on learning from rare events.

Strategic Responses to Three Kinds of Uncertainty: Product Line Simplicity at the Hollywood Film Studios

This paper explores the impact of Milliken’s (1987) three kinds of uncertainty on product line simplicity--specifically on the range of product variations a firm offers. Environmental state uncertainty represents an inability to forecast industry or market events; it results in part from the demand and competitive volatility facing aU firms equally in an industry. Organizational effect uncertainty represents an inability to predict the effect of any given environmental state or event on one’s own firm; it results in part from a lack of skills, knowledge and resources that couM help managers understand or influence market reactions. Finally, decision response uncertainty represents an inability to predict the consequences of a specific decision. It derives from the ignorance and risks perceived in making individual decisions. The thesis of this research is that whereas environmental state uncertainty will give rise to product variations, paradoxically, organization effect and decision response uncertainty will discourage such variations. These ideas are explored and largely supported in a study of the film genres of the major Hollywood film studios between the years 1936 and 1965.

Critical Push: Strategies for Creating Momentum in the Motion Picture Industry

In a growing number of industries, higher rates of new product introduction leave firms with a short window of opportunity during which they must overcome obstacles to market acceptance. We argue that relatively autonomous information providing institutions that have primarily emerged to alleviate consumer uncertainty may also end up assisting firms in generating momentum for their new products. We examine the linkage between these institutions and strategy in the motion picture industry, showing that studios incorporate the anticipated response of critics into their pre-production, production, and post-production decisions.

Probing the Unobtrusive Link: Dominant Logic and the Design of Joint Ventures at General Electric

Prahalad and Bettis (1986) have proposed that the successful management of highly diversified firms can be attributed to the concept of a corporate “dominant logic” that guides all of its business units. We argue that dominant logic addresses the problem of balancing the needs of business units against those of the corporation as a whole. We also suggest that the presence of a clear and consistent dominant logic must lead to a high degree of consistency in the strategic moves that are undertaken by each of the business units within the diversified firm. Based on a study of the joint ventures initiated by General Electric between 1984 and 1993, we show that the design of these ventures follows a pattern that is consistent with the presence and influence of dominant logic. Finally, we demonstrate that the early failure of joint ventures can generally be linked to a shift away from this dominant logic.

Looking Inside the Dream Team: Probing Into the Contributions of Tacit Knowledge as an Organizational Resource

Despite growing evidence that suggests that tacit knowledge can serve as a critical resource, there has been little effort to understand how such a form of personalized knowledge can provide strong advantages to an entire group or organization. In this paper, we develop four different categories of tacit knowledge that are derived from the basic tenants of the resource-based framework. More specifically, we distinguish between the discrete and linked forms of productive tacit knowledge that is possessed by individuals and administrative tacit knowledge that is held by managers within an organization. Next, we evaluate the role of each of these four different forms of tacit knowledge by focusing on the contribution of players and managers of professional sports teams. Our analysis of a large sample of Major League Baseball teams from 1985 to 2001 provides significant support for the importance of each of these categories of tacit knowledge for the performance of an organization.

The business of culture : strategic perspectives on entertainment and media

Contents: A.P. Brief, J.P. Walsh, Foreword. Preface. Introduction. J. Lampel, J. Shamsie, T.K. Lant, Toward a Deeper Understanding of Cultural Industries. W.R. Scott, Observations on Research on Cultural Industries. Part I: The Process of Value Creation. J. Keyton, f.l. smith, Conflicts Over Creative Control: Power Struggle on Prime Time Television. J. Lampel, The Genius Behind the System: The Emergence of the Central Producer System in the Hollywood Motion Picture Industry. M.A. Glynn, Maestro or Manager?: Examining the Role of the Music Director in a Symphony Orchestra. Part II: The Challenge of Positioning. M.A. Schilling, Game Not Over: Competitive Dynamics in the Video Game Industry. A.B. Eisner, Q.R. Jett, H.J. Korn, Playing to Their Strengths: Strategies of Incumbent and Start-Up Firms in Web-Based Periodicals. J. Shamsie, D. Miller, W. Greene, A Question of Timing: Strategies for Scheduling Television Shows. Part III: The Nature of Markets. N. Anand, Charting the Music Business: Billboard Magazine and the Development of the Commercial Music Field. J.A. Ahlkvist, R. Faulkner, Are They Playing Our Song? Programming Strategies on Commercial Music Radio. J. Shamsie, Skating on Thin Ice: Confronting Knowledge Ambiguity in the U.S. Motion Picture Industry. Part IV: The Role of Technology. C. Jones, From Technology to Content: The Shift in Dominant Logic in the Early American Film Industry. T. Dowd, From 78s to MP3s: The Embedded Impact of Technology in the Market for Prerecorded Music. T.K. Lant, P.F. Hewlin, Silicon Alley.com: Struggling for Legitimacy in New Media. Part V: The Impact of Globalization. J. Lampel, B. Honig, Let the Children Play: Muppets in the Middle of the Middle East. W.L. Guild, M.L. Joyce, Surviving in the Shadow of Hollywood: A Study of the Australian Film Industry. J. Lampel, J. Shamsie, Uncertain Globalization: Evolutionary Scenarios for the Future Development of Cultural Industries. Conclusions. J. Lampel, J. Shamsie, T.K. Lant, Untangling the Complexities of Cultural Industries: Directions for Future Research. W.R. Scott, Promising and Neglected Types of Studies on Cultural Industries.

Toward a deeper understanding of cultural industries

Contents: A.P. Brief, J.P. Walsh, Foreword. Preface. Introduction. J. Lampel, J. Shamsie, T.K. Lant, Toward a Deeper Understanding of Cultural Industries. W.R. Scott, Observations on Research on Cultural Industries. Part I: The Process of Value Creation. J. Keyton, f.l. smith, Conflicts Over Creative Control: Power Struggle on Prime Time Television. J. Lampel, The Genius Behind the System: The Emergence of the Central Producer System in the Hollywood Motion Picture Industry. M.A. Glynn, Maestro or Manager?: Examining the Role of the Music Director in a Symphony Orchestra. Part II: The Challenge of Positioning. M.A. Schilling, Game Not Over: Competitive Dynamics in the Video Game Industry. A.B. Eisner, Q.R. Jett, H.J. Korn, Playing to Their Strengths: Strategies of Incumbent and Start-Up Firms in Web-Based Periodicals. J. Shamsie, D. Miller, W. Greene, A Question of Timing: Strategies for Scheduling Television Shows. Part III: The Nature of Markets. N. Anand, Charting the Music Business: Billboard Magazine and the Development of the Commercial Music Field. J.A. Ahlkvist, R. Faulkner, Are They Playing Our Song? Programming Strategies on Commercial Music Radio. J. Shamsie, Skating on Thin Ice: Confronting Knowledge Ambiguity in the U.S. Motion Picture Industry. Part IV: The Role of Technology. C. Jones, From Technology to Content: The Shift in Dominant Logic in the Early American Film Industry. T. Dowd, From 78s to MP3s: The Embedded Impact of Technology in the Market for Prerecorded Music. T.K. Lant, P.F. Hewlin, Silicon Alley.com: Struggling for Legitimacy in New Media. Part V: The Impact of Globalization. J. Lampel, B. Honig, Let the Children Play: Muppets in the Middle of the Middle East. W.L. Guild, M.L. Joyce, Surviving in the Shadow of Hollywood: A Study of the Australian Film Industry. J. Lampel, J. Shamsie, Uncertain Globalization: Evolutionary Scenarios for the Future Development of Cultural Industries. Conclusions. J. Lampel, J. Shamsie, T.K. Lant, Untangling the Complexities of Cultural Industries: Directions for Future Research. W.R. Scott, Promising and Neglected Types of Studies on Cultural Industries.

Uncertain Globalization: Evolutionary Scenarios for the Future Development of Cultural Industries

Contents: A.P. Brief, J.P. Walsh, Foreword. Preface. Introduction. J. Lampel, J. Shamsie, T.K. Lant, Toward a Deeper Understanding of Cultural Industries. W.R. Scott, Observations on Research on Cultural Industries. Part I: The Process of Value Creation. J. Keyton, f.l. smith, Conflicts Over Creative Control: Power Struggle on Prime Time Television. J. Lampel, The Genius Behind the System: The Emergence of the Central Producer System in the Hollywood Motion Picture Industry. M.A. Glynn, Maestro or Manager?: Examining the Role of the Music Director in a Symphony Orchestra. Part II: The Challenge of Positioning. M.A. Schilling, Game Not Over: Competitive Dynamics in the Video Game Industry. A.B. Eisner, Q.R. Jett, H.J. Korn, Playing to Their Strengths: Strategies of Incumbent and Start-Up Firms in Web-Based Periodicals. J. Shamsie, D. Miller, W. Greene, A Question of Timing: Strategies for Scheduling Television Shows. Part III: The Nature of Markets. N. Anand, Charting the Music Business: Billboard Magazine and the Development of the Commercial Music Field. J.A. Ahlkvist, R. Faulkner, Are They Playing Our Song? Programming Strategies on Commercial Music Radio. J. Shamsie, Skating on Thin Ice: Confronting Knowledge Ambiguity in the U.S. Motion Picture Industry. Part IV: The Role of Technology. C. Jones, From Technology to Content: The Shift in Dominant Logic in the Early American Film Industry. T. Dowd, From 78s to MP3s: The Embedded Impact of Technology in the Market for Prerecorded Music. T.K. Lant, P.F. Hewlin, Silicon Alley.com: Struggling for Legitimacy in New Media. Part V: The Impact of Globalization. J. Lampel, B. Honig, Let the Children Play: Muppets in the Middle of the Middle East. W.L. Guild, M.L. Joyce, Surviving in the Shadow of Hollywood: A Study of the Australian Film Industry. J. Lampel, J. Shamsie, Uncertain Globalization: Evolutionary Scenarios for the Future Development of Cultural Industries. Conclusions. J. Lampel, J. Shamsie, T.K. Lant, Untangling the Complexities of Cultural Industries: Directions for Future Research. W.R. Scott, Promising and Neglected Types of Studies on Cultural Industries.

Equilíbrio em cena: o que aprender com as práticas organizacionais das indústrias culturais

ABSTRACT In this paper we outline fi ve polarities that are shaping organizational practices in cultural industries. First, managers must reconcile expression of artistic values with the economics of mass entertainment. Second, they must seek novelty that differentiates their products without making them fundamentally different in nature from others in the same category. Third, they must analyze and address existing demand while at the same time using their imagination to extend and transform the market. Fourth, they must balance the advantages of vertically integrat-ing diverse activities under one roof against the need to maintain creative vitality through fl exible specialization. And fi nally, they must build creative systems to support and market cultural products but not allow the system to suppress individual inspiration, which is ultimately at the root of creating value in cultural industries. PALAVRAS-CHAVE Bens culturais, arte, industria do entretenimento, criatividade. KEYWORDS Cultural goods, art, entertainment industries, creativity.