Len J. Treviño

Winning the tournament for named professorships in management

We apply tournament theory to explain the process within which selection of named professorships takes place and a procedural justice test to justify winning the named professorship tournament. Specifically, we estimate the probability that management professors hold one of the highest rewards for academic research productivity, a named professorship, as a function of his or her research credentials, as measured by the number of articles published in a small core of elite management journals. Alphabetically, these are Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of Operations Management, Management Science, Operations Research, Organization Science, and Strategic Management Journal. Although each of the eight journals is positively related to the probability of attaining a named professorship, the Academy of Management Review and the Academy of Management Journal emerge as the two most influential management journals.

Meritocracies or Masculinities? The Differential Allocation of Named Professorships by Gender in the Academy

This study analyzes differential appointments by gender to the rank of named professorship based on a sample of 511 management professors. This sample represents approximately 90% of our original survey sample of faculty at Tier 1 American research universities, with 10 or more years of experience since receiving their PhD, and whose contact information we could obtain online. Contrary to the tenets of the meritocratic evaluation model, we find that, after controlling for research performance and other factors, women are less likely to be awarded named professorships, particularly when the endowed chair is awarded to an internal candidate. Furthermore, we find that women derive lower returns from their scholarly achievements when it comes to appointments to endowed chairs. Our study suggests that a masculine-gendered environment dominates management departments, leading to shifting standards when it comes to the highest senior appointments in academe.

ICT Development and the Regional vs. Global Strategies of MNEs

This paper investigates the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on the spatial dispersion of FDI. Using a gravity model, we find that geographic distance remains negative for bilateral FDI activities and ICT advances in source countries have no statistically significant impact on outward FDI. However, ICT advances in host countries have a positive moderating effect on the relationship between distance and FDI. In other words, although ICT does not change the regional orientation of MNEs, it has increased the ability for a country to attract FDI by increasing its attractiveness as an FDI destination in a region.

Gendered Communication and Career Outcomes A Construct Validation and Prediction of Hierarchical Advancement and Non-Hierarchical Rewards

This research introduces and tests a measure that captures gendered communication style, a multi-dimensional construct with masculine and feminine facets. In Study 1, we follow a well-regarded content adequacy procedure to develop and test items to represent each of these facets and further validate the new measurement instrument across two samples of working adults. Study 2 replicates the instrument’s factor structure and tests the relationships between perceived masculine and feminine communication styles and multiple indicators of career success. Results generally support our hypotheses that masculine communication style is related to hierarchical advancement (e.g., number of promotions, advancement to higher managerial levels), whereas feminine communication style is related to non-hierarchical rewards (e.g., higher compensation, increased span of control). Unexpectedly, feminine communication style also positively predicts two indicators of hierarchical career success. Furthermore, an interaction effect suggests that gendered communication style has more of an impact on women’s compensation than on men’s.

The modern economic theory of bureaucracy as a precursor to new public management

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to suggest that the modern economic theory of bureaucracy developed by economists Breton and Wintrobe is a heretofore unrecognized precursor to the new public management (NPM) construct. Design/methodology/approach - After presenting a comparison of the modern economic theory of bureaucracy to the basic principles of NPM, this paper offers a treatment of Breton and Wintrobes modern economic theory of bureaucracy that uses the compelling episodic example of the 1944 attempt by the Nazi SS to deceive, through the now infamous Theresienstadt “Embellishment,” the International Red Cross and world communities about the existence of the Nazi Holocaust bureaucracy. Findings - The comparison of the conceptual elements of the two models and the integration of the historical episodic example support the view that the modern economic theory of bureaucracy is a precursor to NPM. Originality/value - This is the first study to date to present the modern economic theory of bureaucracy as a precursor to the principles of NPM. As such, future research in either area that recognizes the connection made in the present study is potentially enhanced.

Institution building in retreat: The effects of co-devolution on MNE-emerging economy relationships

Purpose n n n n nThe purpose of this paper is to describe co-devolutionary processes of multinational enterprise (MNE)/emerging economy institutional relationships utilizing concepts from “old” institutional theory as well as the institutional aspects of socially constructed realities. n n n n nDesign/methodology/approach n n n n nThe authors develop a set of propositions that explore the new concept of a co-devolutionary relationship between MNEs and emerging economy institutions. Guided by prior research, the paper investigates MNE/emerging economy institutional co-devolution at the macro-(MNE home and host countries), meso-(MNE industry/host country regulative and normative institutions) and micro-(MNE and host country institutional actors) levels. n n n n nFindings n n n n nMNE/emerging economy institutional co-devolution occurs at the macro-level via negative public communications in the MNE’s home and host countries, at the meso-level via host country corruption and MNE adaptation, and at the micro-level via pressures for individual actors to cognitively “take for granted” emerging economy corruption, leading to MNE divestment and a reduction in new MNE investment. n n n n nResearch limitations/implications n n n n nBy characterizing co-devolutionary processes within MNE/emerging economy institutional relationships, the research augments co-evolutionary theory. It also assists in developing more accurate specification and measurement methods for the organizational co-evolution construct by using institutional theory’s foundational processes to discuss MNE/emerging economy institutional co-devolution. n n n n nPractical implications n n n n nThe research suggests the use of enhanced regulation, bilateral investment treaties and MNE/local institution partnerships to stabilize MNE/emerging economy institutional relationships, leading to more robust progress in building emerging economy institutions. n n n n nOriginality/value n n n n nThe research posits that using the concepts of institutional theory as a foundation provides useful insights into the “stickiness” of institutional instability and corruption in emerging economies and into the resulting co-devolutionary MNE/emerging economy institutional relationships.