Susan Key

Toward a new theory of the firm: a critique of stakeholder “theory”

Argues that stakeholder theory may be an appropriate model to describe firm behavior and replace the dominant paradigm, the economic model of the firm. However, current conceptualizations of stakeholder theory do not meet the requirements of scientific theory. Thus, looks at the historic roots of stakeholder “theory”, critiques its current form, and suggests steps that may be taken for stakeholder theory to satisfy the conceptual requirements of theory. Specifically suggests that contractual interests may underlie stakeholder relationships just as they do the agency relationship between managers and stockholders as prescribed by traditional economic theory.

Organizational Ethical Culture: Real or Imagined?

Can companies be identified by how ethical they are? The concept of organizational culture suggests that organizations have identifiable cultures of which ethics are a part. By definition culture is the shared beliefs of an organizations members, hence the ethical culture of an organization would be reflected in the beliefs about the ethics of an organization which are shared by its members. Thus, it is logical to conceptualize the ethics of different organizations as existing on a continuum bounded at one end by unethical companies and at the other, highly ethical companies. This research assesses the efficacy of the existing measure of organizational ethical culture for identifying the ethical status of organizations on a this continuum. Results suggest that the Ethical Culture Questionnaire designed by Trevino, Butterfield and McCabe (1995) measures individual perceptions regarding organizational ethics but does not identify shared beliefs about an organizationÕs ethical culture.

Scanning behavior and strategic uncertainty

Studies which assess the relationship between scanning behavior (SB) and strategic uncertainty (SU) have shown mixed results. The lack of consistency in measurement constructs and differences in underlying assumptions for SU may explain these empirical inconsistencies. Earlier studies have adopted measurement constructs which ignore the interaction effect between the two dimensions of SU – variability and complexity. Our study suggests adopting new measurement constructs for SU that sort uncertainty into four distinct categories based on the interaction of the two environmental constructs, variability and complexity, as drawn from categorizations originally proposed by Duncan. This new measurement approach will provide a means to generate consistent results in research on the relationship between SB and SU. We provide a practical example using the strategic environment in the health care industry to illustrate for managers a more precise way to assess their external environment.

An exploration of leadership experiences among white women and women of color

Purpose – The specific aims for this paper are to deal with the conflicting research findings associated with the factors that influence the success of female leaders while using race (African American) as the core variable in this paper.Design/methodology/approach – A literature review was done. An empirical survey was designed and pre‐tested for face validity, relevance, clarity of items, and ease of administration and response. Two versions of the survey were pilot tested with two focus groups.Findings – The analysis centered on racial differences between Caucasian and African American female leaders. Chi‐square test was used for the primary original data, and t‐test for the mean subgroup scores obtained in Likert‐type items. The primary finding is that while Caucasian women and African American women face similar gender obstacles, the factors that determine their paths to success differ significantly.Research limitations/implications – The present study provides an excellent starting point to infuse r...

The Effect of Culture on Management Style

Abstract U.S. and Indonesian managers were surveyed to evaluate cross-cultural differences in managerial style. Four variables were compared and analyzed: autocratic and participative management, and individualism and collectivism. Indonesian managers endorsed a more autocratic style than U.S. managers and valued collectivism more than U.S. managers, while U.S. managers valued individualism more than the Indonesian managers. Additionally, a positive relationship was found between participative management style and individualism. There were no significant differences in the value both groups placed on participative management; both endorsed this concept positively. Results suggest that while there are differences between the preferred management styles of Indonesian and U.S. managers, both groups endorse similar management ideas. This paper concludes that culture affects the ideologies that managers are willing to endorse, and further study is needed to see if it similarly affects the management styles they actually exercise.