Lawrence Gales

An analysis of board of director size and composition in bankrupt organizations

Abstract Research on corporate boards of directors has suggested that organizations rely on boards to control external interdependencies. As such, organizations often build large boards staffed with a large number of outsiders who have access to critical resources. Little work has been done, however, to investigate the impact of boards in problematic environments or during crisis situations. Using a matched pairs design, this study examined a sample of 127 bankrupt firms along with an equal number of nonbankrupt firms. In the period leading to bankruptcy declaration, declining firms experiences loss of outside directors and decline in overall board size. When compared to their nonbankrupt counterparts, bankrupt companies were also found to have significantly different board structures and to make more changes in their boards in the period after Chapter 11 filing. Possible reasons for these differences are discussed along with the implications of these findings for researchers and corporate directors.

User involvement in innovation projects: Toward an information processing model

Abstract This study examines user involvement at the project level as a specific form of information processing. The information processing perspective (Daft and Lengel, 1984, Daft and Lengel, 1986; Galbraith, 1977; Tushman and Nadler, 1980) provides a robust framework for understanding the rationale and dynamics of user involvement in innovations, and complements existing work in this phenomenon (Allen, 1977; Ives and Olson, 1984; Foxall and Johnston, 1987; von Hippel, 1976, 1977a, 1977b, 1981, 1988). Information processing provides the foundation for development of a contingency model of user involvement that emphasizes the importance of matching involvement to known and unknown uncertainty in projects and to the environmental context. In investigating the relationship between user involvement, organizational context and performance in 44 innovation projects, we found that the frequency of user involvement and number of users contacted increased as projects progressed from idea generation to commercialization. We also found that specific measures of uncertainty were related to user involvement. Additionally, we found a significant interaction between known uncertainty and frequency of user involvement with respect to project performance. Implications of these findings for project management and theory development are discussed.

An Analysis of the Impact of Supplier Strategies and Relationships on Small Retailer Actions, Perceptions, and Performance

Relationships between small hardware retailers and their wholesalers were examined. Retailers (n = 320) reported that closer relationships with wholesalers, characterized by greater formality and more frequent and intense communications, experienced less uncertainty, more autonomy, and made more frequent use of planning and advertising to control output markets. Supplier strategies had no systematic impact on small retailers’ financial performance.

Innovation project technology, information processing and performance: A test of the Daft and Lengel conceptualization

Abstract This study applies the Daft and Lengel (1984, 1986) information processing model to a sample of 45 innovation projects. In characterizing innovation projects as an unfolding process, we suggest that project-related technological variety and analyzability become more problematic as projects progress, requiring more information processing. Findings partially support our contentions that managers will match information processing to the project context. Results show significant increases in the amount and richness of information used as projects move from idea generation to commercialization. Additionally, at commercialization there is a significant interaction between project analyzability and emphasis on rich information with respect to project performance. Managers of successful low-analyzability projects emphasize rich information more than managers of successful high-analyzability projects. Furthermore, among high-analyzability projects, managers of successful projects emphasize rich information less than managers of unsuccessful projects. In concluding, we discuss the practical implications of these findings for innovation project managers, along with directions for further research in this field.

Managerial Search Activity: The Impact of Perceived Role Uncertainty and Role Threat

This empirical study examines both the individual and combined effects of role uncertainty and role threat on managerial information search activity. Results from a survey of 215 managers in six organizations suggest that search is a function of a complex interaction between levels of uncertainty and threat in the role context. Findings suggest that previous conceptualizations of the relationships among uncertainty, threat, and search activity may have been overly simplistic.

Information ties and innovation management: A qualitative assessment of information processing and the strength of weak ties

Abstract In a qualitative study of eight space research innovation projects, we find support for using Granovetters (1973, 1982) conceptualization of the strength of weak ties to assess the information-processing capacities of networks of relationships. We find that with increasing uncertainty networks are more likely to be weak tie networks. However, the most uncertain and equivocal projects tend to have small networks of relationships due to the lack of cohesiveness of the research domain.

A Three-Country Investigation on Some Organizational Justice Values and Perceptions

This study drew from some classic writings on justice values and conceptualized justice value facets (e.g., distributive justice value, interpersonal justice value, etc.) as formative constructs in...