Suleika Bort

Fashion in Organization Theory: An Empirical Analysis of the Diffusion of Theoretical Concepts

We discuss whether organization theory is susceptible to fashion. Theories of scientific progress often assert that scientists’ research is guided exclusively by the need to solve problems that are left unexplained by existing theories. In contrast, we argue that scientists, to some extent, create and follow fashions. We formulate a number of hypotheses on fashion in scientific communication and test them with a sample of 44 concepts that were published and discussed in 1784 articles in organization studies journals from the year 1960 until 2005. We suggest that conditions such as reputation of authors and of the outlets in which concepts are published, or the provision of a methodology for empirical analyses, increase the attractiveness of academic publications and eventually set off a fashion. Overall, our results show that fashion is present in communication within organization studies while demonstrating that the field is characterized by trends toward positivistic empirical studies and economic reasoning. We conclude by discussing whether fashion has positive or negative effects on theory development, whether it is avoidable at all in the field of science, and how evaluation systems impact on fashion and innovation in organizations theory.

Reducing Uncertainty in Scholarly Publishing: Concepts in the Field of Organization Studies, 1960-2008

In this paper, we investigate the dynamics in the field of organization studies. We focus on the market for scholarly publishing and trace how many and which kinds of concepts have been developed and diffused in publications over the last 48 years. We argue that scholars in the publishing market must deal with two kinds of uncertainty: uncertainty on the delicate balance of maintaining research that is both novel and attentive to existing schools of thought, and uncertainty related to the heterogeneity of institutional logics that guide research in the field. We propose that concepts are a means of uncertainty reduction for two reasons. First, working with concepts allows considering both novelty and continuity. Second, working with concepts in a way that follows the dominant field logic helps to reduce uncertainty about what is valued as publishable in the field. We find that the number of concept articles in organization studies has increased, particularly concept articles that align with the dominant logic of positivism.

Institutional pressure and an organization’s strategic response in Corporate Social Action engagement: : The role of ownership and media attention

This study investigates the relationship between institutional pressure and a firm’s strategic behavior in the context of Corporate Social Action. We posit that as an organization’s susceptibility to institutional pressure increases, its proclivity to conform to and alleviate environmental concerns and pressures to establish or maintain its legitimacy increases. To explain variation in a firm’s strategic response to institutional pressures and its engagement in Corporate Social Action, we focus on two factors: public ownership and media attention. Analysis of the largest publicly traded German firms indicates that greater public ownership reduces a firm’s propensity to engage in Corporate Social Action, while firms with less public ownership are more proactive in social engagement. However, when confronting greater media attention, firms with greater public ownership are more reactive in pursuing conforming strategies and increasing Corporate Social Action engagement.

Regional Networks, Alliance Portfolio Configuration, and Innovation Performance

To maintain and enhance innovation performance, many firms nowadays look for resources from external sources such as strategic alliances and regional network embeddedness. While considering the important interdependencies among different alliances, research has established an alliance portfolio perspective. From an alliance portfolio perspective, firms can consciously configure the dimensions of their alliance portfolios such as partner characteristics, relational properties, or structural properties. However, within the context of alliance portfolio configuration, the role of regional networks has been largely overlooked. As most high-tech firms are regionally clustered, this is an important research gap. In addressing this gap, this study explores the link between regional network density, alliance portfolio configuration, and its contribution to firm innovation performance. We examine how regional network density and alliance partner diversity influences firm level innovation output. We also investigate the moderating effect of overall network partner status and partner diversity on the link between regional network density and innovation performance. Our empirical evidence is derived from a longitudinal quantitative study of 1,233 German biotechnology firms. We find that regional network density and alliance partner diversity has an inverted U-shape effect on firm level innovation performance. However, overall network status as well as alliance partner diversity negatively moderates the link between regional network density and innovation output. Thus, our study contributes to a better understanding of the link between regional networks, alliance portfolio configuration, and firm level innovation performance.

The favored “logic‐in‐use” research: The referring to concepts in organization studies publications

Purpose – Since research evaluations have made their way into the academic system and the “publish or perish” doctrine pressures researchers to enlarge their publication list, it has become apparent that having a good idea is not enough. The idea must also comply with the favored “logic‐in‐use” research. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the favored “logic‐in‐use” research while investigating the dealing with concept articles in organization studies publications.Design/methodology/approach – The methodology of this paper is based on articles referring to 44 identified concepts published in 39 different business and management journals between 1960 and 2005.Findings – This paper demonstrates the favored “logic‐in‐use” research that is embedded within an empirical quantitative research setting. It also illustrates the growing importance of articles referring to already established concepts in the field of organization studies.Originality/value – This paper demonstrates the consequences of the “publ...

Alliance Portfolio Diversity and Innovation: The Interplay of Portfolio Coordination Capability and Proactive Partner Selection Capability

This study seeks to explain how the innovation potential entailed in the structural characteristics of a diverse alliance portfolio can be leveraged by two different alliance management capabilities of a focal firm: portfolio coordination and proactive partner selection. An analysis of German biotechnology firms, based on database and survey data, indicates that each alliance management capability positively interacts with portfolio diversity to foster innovation. In addition, regarding their joint influence as capability bundle on the portfolio diversity–innovation link, portfolio coordination and proactive partner selection seem to substitute rather than complement each other. These results suggest that firms realize innovation benefits from a diverse set of external alliance partners only when they focus on and apply internal coordination or partner selection routines to manage these alliances, thus acting as either portfolio coordinators or portfolio configurators.

Portfolio Diversity and Innovation: The Role of Alliance Management Capabilities

Alliance research has recently shifted its focus from a dyadic to a portfolio level introducing the diversity of alliance partners as influential driver of firm innovation. However, empirical resea...

What Drives CSA Reporting Engagement among Large Firms

This study investigates the relationship among institutional pressure, institutional ownership, financial performance, and corporate social action (CSA). We argue that institutional pressure induces firms to increase their engagement in CSA, as CSA can be used as a mechanism to increase a firm’s reputation and legitimacy and to alleviate institutional pressure. However, firms strategically differentiate the extent of their organizational response in terms of CSA engagement. We highlight two attributes that can explain variations in CSA engagement among firms: financial performance and ownership control. Using data on the largest publicly traded German firms, we find that organizations with greater financial performance are more likely to reactively engage in CSA and that firms with a high ownership concentration (held by a major shareholder or group of shareholders) are more likely to proactively engage in CSA.

Interview: Fashion, Innovation and Science

Andreas Muller: We are sitting here together with Alfred Kieser and Suleika Bort for an interview about their participation in the conference “Narrative and Innovation”. Alfred Kieser is a former Professor of the University of Mannheim, Holder of the Chair of Business Administration and Organizational Behavior and Suleika Bort was formerly his assistant and has now finished her Ph.D. thesis on the role of concepts in organizational studies and organizational theory.