Michael C. White

Why Study the Complexity Sciences in the Social Sciences

Over the past two decades, several new perspectives have emerged in the physical and natural sciences and are collectively referred to as the complexity sciences. Insights from these emerging perspectives have implications that merit consideration for developments and extensions of existing work at the metatheoretical, theoretical, and methodological levels in organization theory. The purpose of this manuscript is to: (a) provide an overview of the complexity sciences, (b) provide a justification and rationale for their inclusion into the social sciences, and (c) review the current organizational literature which utilizes and applies concepts from the complexity sciences to organizational phenomena.

Research Productivity of Graduates in Management: Effects of Academic Origin and Academic Affiliation

We examined the relationships among status of academic origin, status of academic affiliation, and research productivity for a sample of doctoral graduates in management. Contrary to expectations, ...

A Comparison of Loglinear Modeling and Logistic Regression in Management Research

There is little formal guidance in the applied statistical literature concerning the relationship between loglinear modeling and logistic regression. In order to more clearly delineate this relationship, this manuscript compares and contrasts loglinear modeling and logistic regression analysis and demonstrates the advantages and disadvantages of each technique. In addition, a formal comparison of the statistical assumptions and numerical calculation problems for both of these techniques is provided.

The `Qualitative' Versus `Quantitative' Research Debate: A Question of Metaphorical Assumptions?

A great deal of criticism has been aimed at empirical-analytic research because of its narrow focus. However, a similar criticism can be leveled at qualitative research. The purpose of this manuscript is not to champion one approach at the expense of the other, but rather to focus on discussing the assumptions of each methodological approach in terms of metaphorical thinking.

Determinants of faculty research productivity in information systems: An empirical analysis of the impact of academic origin and academic affiliation

This manuscript provides guidance to Deans and other academic decision makers in the hiring process and dispels the validity of a widely held assumption commonly used as a decision factor in the selection process. This paper investigates: (a) whether graduates of prestigious information systems (IS) doctoral programs (graduates with high-status academic origins) are more likely to be successful in their academic careers (as measured by research productivity) than graduates of less prestigious programs, (b) whether IS faculty who are employed by esteemed universities (faculty with high-status academic affiliations) are more productive researchers than IS faculty employed by lower-status institutions, and (c) examines faculty productivity in terms of Lotka’s Law [Lotka, 1926]. The findings indicate that in the IS field, productivity does not follow a Lotka distribution. Moreover, our study also shows that academic affiliation is a significant determinant of research productivity in terms of quantity (as measured by publication counts) and quality (as measured by citation counts). Contrary to common expectations, however, the analysis shows that the status of a faculty member’s academic origin is not a significant determinant of research productivity in the field of information systems. Therefore, continued reliance on academic pedigree as a primary criterion for hiring decisions may not be justified in the IS discipline.

ASSOCIATION OF INDICATORS AND PREDICTORS OF TIE STRENGTH

Arguments deriving from the importance of the strength of social ties between individuals are being applied in social and organizational analysis; however, lack of empirical verification of the components of the construct and lack of consistency in the use of proxy measures have made difficult the resolution of controversies surrounding the relative merits of strong and weak ties. This study examined the relations between predictors and indicators of Granovetters 1973 construct of tie strength. Marsden and Campbells 1984 finding of “contamination” of indicators by predictors is supported by this analysis.

The Problem of Prediction and Control in Theoretical Diversity and the Promise of the Complexity Sciences

Discovering the temporal limits to predictability is a prime area for research into a perspective of social organization as a complex adaptive system with emergent properties. However, to the extent that these insights on predictability and control apply to social systems, both the objectivist and subjectivist positions can be considered the true state of affairs. The purpose of this manuscript is to (a) examine the present state of theoretical diversity in organization theory, particularly, the notion of paradigm incommensurability, and (b) how the problem of prediction and control may be dealt with by the emerging complexity sciences.

Effect of Background and Organizational Position on Executive Planning

Abstract This study examines the premise that differences in background and organizational position affect the way decision makers approach planning. A group of 171 executive planners in the United States were asked to indicate how likely they would be to use each of eight planning aids. Demographic and organizational information, including type of planning usually performed, type of organization (service or manufacturing), level in the organization, and gender, was collected and used in a factorial design. The results suggest that background variables influenced how the decision makers approached planning problems.

Strategic inertia: The enduring impact of CEO specialization and strategy on following strategies

Abstract This study examined the influence of predecessor CEO specialization and beginning strategy on both predecessor and successor ending strategy in 173 Fortune 1000 firms over a 25-year history. The results revealed a condition of strategic inertia where predecessor CEO specialization and beginning strategy were simultaneously, but independently, significant in predicting not only the ending strategy of the predecessor CEO, but also the ending strategy of the succeeding CEO.

The processing of information by students and business planners

Abstract Evidence that students and practitioners in business organizations approach problems differently has raised questions concerning the validity of using students as subjects in research. This issue was addressed by presenting both students and practitioners with planning problems differing in environmental volatility, system adaptation, and planning requirements. Different combinations of these factors produced 12 distinct planning situations. Eight information-processing strategies were identified that have been described in the literature as planning tools. Each aid has been prescribed as being more appropriate for use in some planning situations than in others. The present study tested hypotheses that planners would use the information-processing aids prescribed for specific situations and that students and practitioners would approach the problems differently. Results indicated that the use of information-processing aids did not correspond closely to the theoretical prescriptions. Other implici...