Joseph Conaty

Structural constraints on organizational change: A longitudinal analysis

Abstract The results of a longitudinal study assessing the impact of internal constraints upon both organizational responsiveness to the environment and efforts to change structures for symbolic signaling of policy are presented. The causal model used is developed from a theoretical elaboration of Williamson, Thompson, and Meyer. The implications of the analysis for the signaling metaphor of organizational change are emphasized. The data indicate (i) that the varying resistance to change observed within core dimensions of organizational structure may be largely due to durable capital investments, (ii) that within capitalized dimensions of organizational structure, the resulting resistance to change leads to a longitudinal persistence of centralized decision making, and (iii) that failure to incorporate such constraints in analyses of organizational change leads to misleading results.

Comparative organization analysis: Sampling and measurement

Abstract This paper employs confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate the effects of using multiple indicators and heterogeneous samples in comparative organizational research. The results show that several indicators of different dimensions of organizational structure can be unified into a single measurement model and that theoretical constructs based upon these multiple indicators are applicable to a wide variety of organizational types. The findings imply that the development of a general theory of organizational structure need not be impeded by current sampling and measurement practices.

Population estimates from longitudinal records in otherwise data-deficient settings.

Existing methods for estimating population parameters in settings of data deficiency do not provide techniques for analysis of commonly available longitudinal data. In settings where complete population data is unavailable, longitudinal data recorded for only a subset of the total population are often available (e.g., event registers, genealogies). In this article we present and evaluate models which derive population parameters for the population subgroup underlying such longitudinal data. Using the distribution of individual times until first recorded event within a measurement interval, population parameters are estimated which provide basic denominator data for analyzing event occurrence. The models which we derive are especially suited to records which may include migration and population growth trends. The use of the models is demonstrated and evaluated through an application to genealogical records for a nineteenth-century population. Possible extensions of these models and their major limitations are also discussed.

Cross—National Occupational Attainment: Industrial Convergence or Rural Divergence

Recent cross-national research in social stratification and status attainment has followed three different but related traditions. The first tradition examines national occupational prestige hierarchies by comparing the relative prestige ratings given to different occupational titles by a cross-section of the population. The second tradition cross-classifies the broad occupational categories of respondents and their fathers to determine variations in the rates of intergenerational occupational mobility. The third tradition, which is the chief concern of this paper, examines cross-national similarities and differences in the model of status transmission and status achievement pioneered by Blau and Duncan (1967).