Organization Science
Volume 21, Issue 3, May/Jun 2010
1. Title: Fostering Team Innovation: Why Is It Important to Combine Opposing Action Strategies?
Authors:Diether Gebert, Sabine Boerner, and Eric Kearney
Abstract: We develop a framework that provides a general theoretical rationalefor the claim made by several authors that combining opposingaction strategies fosters team innovation. We distinguish betweenopen and closed strategies and posit that these are opposingbut complementary in that each fosters one of two processesnecessary for team innovation: open action strategies (e.g.,delegative leadership) promote knowledge generation, and closedaction strategies (e.g., directive leadership) enhance knowledgeintegration. We argue that each pole of a pair of opposing actionstrategies both energizes and detracts from elements of innovation.Thus, it could be expected that combining opposing action strategiesleads to an impasse, as the negative effects of each strategymight offset the positive effects of the opposite strategy.There is currently no viable explanation in the literature forwhy this mutual neutralization may not occur. We aim to fillthis gap by explicating why and how opposing action strategies,when implemented simultaneously, do not countervail each other'spositive effects, but rather yield positive synergies that fuelteam innovation.
2. Title: Structure and Learning in Self-Managed Teams: Why "Bureaucratic" Teams Can Be Better Learners
Authors: J. Stuart Bunderson and Peter Boumgarden
Abstract: This paper considers the effect of team structure on a team'sengagement in learning and continuous improvement. We beginby noting the uncertain conceptual status of the structure conceptin the small groups literature and propose a conceptualizationof team structure that is grounded in the long tradition ofwork on formal structure in the sociology and organization theoryliteratures. We then consider the thesis that, at least in self-managedteams dealing with stable tasks, greater team structure—i.e.,higher levels of specialization, formalization, and hierarchy—canpromote learning by encouraging information sharing, reducingconflict frequency, and fostering a climate of psychologicalsafety; that is, we examine a mediated model in which the effectof structure on learning and improvement in teams is mediatedby psychological safety, information sharing, and conflict frequency.This model was largely supported in a study of self-managedproduction teams in a Fortune 100 high-technology firm, althoughthe observed pattern of mediation was more complex than anticipated.Higher structure was also associated with actual productivityimprovements in a subsample of these teams. The theory and resultsof this study advance our understanding of team learning andunderscore the importance of team structure in research on teamprocesses and performance.
3. Title: Balancing Exploration and Exploitation Through Structural Design: The Isolation of Subgroups and Organizational Learning
Authors: Christina Fang, Jeho Lee, and Melissa A. Schilling
Abstract: The classic trade-off between exploration and exploitation inorganizational learning has attracted vigorous attention byresearchers over the last two decades. Despite this attention,however, the question of how firms can better maintain the balanceof exploration and exploitation remains unresolved. Drawingon a wide range of research on population and organization structure,we argue that an organization divided into semi-isolated subgroupsmay help strike this balance. We simulate such an organization,systematically varying the interaction pattern between individualsto explore how the degree of subgroup isolation and intergroupconnectivity influences organizational learning. We also testthis model with a range of contingency variables highlightedin the management research. We find that moderate levels ofcross-group linking lead to the highest equilibrium performanceby enabling superior ideas to diffuse across groups withoutreducing organizational diversity too quickly. This findingis remarkably resilient to a wide range of variance in factorssuch as problem complexity, environmental dynamism, and personnelturnover.
4. Title: Unlocking Knowledge Transfer Potential: Knowledge Demonstrability and Superordinate Social Identity
Authors: Aimée A. Kane
Abstract: This study presents a conceptual model of when and how knowledgedemonstrability and superordinate social identity impact thelikelihood that organizations capitalize on their knowledgeresources. To test the model, an experimental methodology wasused in which a member transfers from one group to another,transmitting knowledge in the form of a production routine.As predicted, work groups unlocked the knowledge transfer potentialarising from personnel movement more often when they shareda superordinate identity than when they did not share such anidentity, and this identity effect was moderated by knowledgedemonstrability. When knowledge was less demonstrable with concealedmerits, it was more likely to transfer between groups that shareda superordinate identity, compared to groups that did not sharesuch an identity. By contrast, when knowledge was more demonstrablewith apparent merits, it was as likely to transfer between groupsthat shared a superordinate identity compared to groups thatdid not share such an identity. As predicted, superordinateidentity induced knowledge consideration, the focusing of groupattention on determining the value of another's knowledge. Mediatedmoderation analyses revealed that this process underlies knowledgetransfer. Superordinate social identity induced thorough knowledgeconsideration, which was more important for recognizing thevalue of knowledge when its merits were concealed rather thanapparent. Because the merits of many organizational routinesand practices are concealed and superordinate identity appearsto be a key to unlocking the knowledge transfer potential ofless demonstrable knowledge, this study has important implicationsfor managing knowledge resources.
5. Title: How Much to Copy? Determinants of Effective Imitation Breadth
Authors: Felipe A. Csaszar and Nicolaj Siggelkow
Abstract: It is a common and frequently implicit assumption in the literatureon knowledge transfer and organizational learning that imitatingpractices from high-performing firms has a positive impact onthe imitating firm. Although a large body of research has identifiedobstacles to successful imitation, not much is known about whatbreadth of imitation is most effective. In this paper, we usea simulation model to explore how context and firm similarity,interdependence among practices, context and firm similarity,and time horizon interact in nontrivial ways to determine thepayoffs that arise from different breadths of imitation. Theresults of the model allow us to qualify and refine predictionsof the extant literature on imitation. In particular, the resultsshed light on the conditions under which increases in imitationbreadth, and hence investments that facilitate the faithfulcopying of more practices, are valuable. In addition, the resultsof the model highlight that imitation can serve two differentfunctions—mimicking high performers, and generating searchby dislodging a firm from its current set of practices—eachrequiring different organizational routines for its successfulimplementation.
6. Title: Social Capital for Hire? Mobility of Technical Professionals and Firm Influence in Wireless Standards Committees
Authors:Gina Dokko and Lori Rosenkopf
Abstract: The movement of personnel between firms has been shown to haveimportant implications for firms, yet there has been littledirect investigation of the underlying mechanisms. We proposethat in addition to their human capital, mobile individualscarry social capital, affecting the outcomes of the firms theyjoin and leave by altering the patterns of interaction betweenfirms. In this study, we examine how job mobility affects firminfluence in a technical standards setting committee for U.S.wireless telecommunications. We hypothesize and find that hiringindividuals who are richer in social capital increases firminfluence in technical standards setting committees by increasingthe hiring firm's social capital. We also find the benefitsof hiring social capital are attenuated when an interfirm relationshipis maintained by multiple individuals. In contrast, we findthat the loss of personnel does not affect a firm's social capitalor influence over standards directly but that it does have aneffect on firm social capital and influence contingent on changesin the firm's business strategy. In advancing these arguments,we address the broader question of individuals as carriers ofsocial capital and the conditions under which interpersonalconnections are appropriable by firms.
7. Title: Business Group Affiliation and Firm Search Behavior in India: Responsiveness and Focus of Attention
Authors: Balagopal Vissa, Henrich R. Greve, and Wei-Ru Chen
Abstract: This paper investigates the effects of organizational form onproblemistic search. We contrast how Indian firms affiliatedwith business groups and unaffiliated firms evaluate performanceand react by adjusting their internal technology search andexternal market search. We propose that, compared with unaffiliatedfirms, business group–affiliated (BG-affiliated) firmsare more externally oriented in setting aspiration levels andmore likely to respond to low performance in the market domain.We find support for an external orientation of BG-affiliatedfirms and find that group affiliation determines the responsivenessto performance feedback in different search domains. The findingssuggest a need to add considerations of organizational formand governance to the theory of organizational search.
8. Title: Minding the Gaps: Understanding Technology Interdependence and Coordination in Knowledge Work
Authors: Diane E. Bailey, Paul M. Leonardi, and Jan Chong
Abstract: In this paper, we broaden the concept of interdependence beyondits focus on task to include technology, defining technologyinterdependence as technologies' interaction with and dependenceon one another in the course of carrying out work. With technologiesincreasingly aiding knowledge work, understanding technologyinterdependence may be as important as understanding task interdependencefor theories of organizing, but the literature has yet to developways of thinking about technology interdependence or its impacton the social dynamics of work. We define a technology gap asthe space in a workflow between two technologies wherein theoutput of the first technology is meant to be the input to thesecond one. Using data from an inductive study of two engineeringoccupations (hardware engineering and structural engineering),we analyzed engineers' gap encounters (episodes in which a technologygap appeared in the course of action) and found striking differencesin how engineers minded the gaps. Hardware engineers mindedthe gaps by coordinating technologies via "bridges" that automateddata transfers between technologies. Structural engineers, incontrast, allowed technology gaps to persist even though traversinggaps consumed significant time and effort. Our findings highlighta difference between task and technology in the degree of coordinationnecessary for success. Managers in our study designed policiesaround technology interdependence and coordination not to managetechnology most efficiently, but to manage work and workersin a manner consistent with occupational structures and industryconstraints. We discuss the implications of our findings fortheories of organizing work.
9. Title: The Interactive Effects of Mood and Trait Negative Affect in Group Decision Making
Authors: Daan van Knippenberg, Hanneke J. M. Kooij-de Bode, and Wendy P. van Ginkel
Abstract: Extending the growing interest in affect in work groups, wepropose that groups with distributed information make higherquality decisions when they are in a negative rather than apositive mood, but that these effects are moderated by groupmembers' trait negative affect. In support of this hypothesis,an experiment (N = 175 groups) showed that positive mood ledto lower quality decisions than did negative or neutral moodswhen group members were low in trait negative affect, whereassuch mood effects were not observed in groups higher in traitnegative affect. Mediational analysis based on behavioral observationsof group process confirmed that group information elaborationmediated this effect. These results provide an important caveaton the benefits of positive moods in work groups, and suggestthat the study of trait x state affect interactions is an importantavenue for future research.
10. Title: Structural Logic of Intraorganizational Networks
Authors: Olaf N. Rank, Garry L. Robins, and Philippa E. Pattison
Abstract: In this study we examine the structural logic underlying complexintraorganizational networks. Drawing on different propositionsabout structural regularities in networks and using a comparativecase study, we empirically investigate the structural logicof collaborative networks for the strategic decision processin two German corporations. In both organizations, data weregathered on cooperative relationships between all managers belongingto the top two management levels. We model structural regularitiesat the dyadic and the extradyadic level by applying a classof multivariate exponential random graph models. Our findingscontribute to the existing literature in three ways: (1) Althoughnetworks are particularly likely to exhibit some types of structuralregularities (e.g., reciprocity and transitivity), there areother relational forms such as cycles that seem to be of limitedrelevance. (2) Structural regularities are not limited to asingle type of relation but may comprise instrumental and affectiverelational ties simultaneously. (3) An organization's formalcooperation structure has surprisingly limited influence onthe structural patterns of cooperation, whereas friendship tiesare embedded in managers' regular interaction patterns in manydifferent ways.
11. Title: Establishing the Value of Flexibility Created by Training: Applying Real Options Methodology to a Single HR Practice
Authors:Ales Berk and Robert Kase
Abstract: This paper refers to the conceptualizations of strategic flexibility,real options, and human resource (HR) options to build a modelfor valuing future-oriented and organizational flexibility-enhancingaspects of training. By adopting an indirect approach to measuringHR options by valuing particular investment projects in whichhuman capital is involved, we satisfy the conditions for applyingthe Black-Scholes option valuation model and avoid the problematicmeasurement of the stand-alone value of human capital. The proposedvaluation model is elucidated by a case study from the mobiletelecommunications industry. The results indicate that in rapidlygrowing markets based on emerging technology, the generationof HR options based on training should be encouraged. Broaderapplicability and limitations of the valuation model are discussedand directions for further development of the valuation modelare given.
12. Title: Perspective—Open to Negotiation: Phenomenological Assumptions and Knowledge Dissemination
Authors:Corinne Bendersky and Kathleen L. McGinn
Abstract: Phenomenological assumptions—assumptions about the fundamentalqualities of the phenomenon being studied and how it relatesto the environment in which it occurs—affect the disseminationof knowledge from subfields to the broader field of study. Micro-processresearch in organizational studies rests on implicit phenomenologicalassumptions that vary in the extent to which micro-processesare viewed as parts of larger systems. We suggest that phenomenologicalassumptions linking micro-processes to organizational contextshighlight the relevance of micro-process research findings tobroader organizational questions and therefore increase thelikelihood that the findings will disseminate to the largerfield of organizational research. We test this assertion byanalyzing studies of negotiation published in top peer-reviewedmanagement, psychology, sociology, and industrial relationsjournals from 1990 to 2005. Our findings reveal a continuumof open systems to closed systems phenomenological assumptionsin negotiation research. Analysis of the citation rates of thearticles in our data set by non-negotiation organizational researchindicates that more open systems assumptions increase the likelihoodthat a negotiation article will be cited in organizational studies,after controlling for other, previously identified effects oncitation rates. Our findings suggest that subfields can increasethe impact they have on the broader intellectual discourse bysituating their phenomena in rich contexts that illuminate theconnections between their findings and questions of interestto the broader field.