Scientific Seminar: Contemporary Issues in Corporate Governance

«Научный семинар: Современные проблемы корпоративного управления»

Professor Alexander Settles, Ph.D.

This is an introductory seminaron research methods in management. This course will cover the building blocks of rigorous research in management with a focus on research in corporate governance and strategic management.

Preliminary schedule of classes:

1. Introduction to the Class – September 7th

2. From Theory to Research & Introduction to Research Reviews – September 14th

3. Review of Most Citied Corporate Governance Research – September 21st

4. Research Design Choices and Causal Inferences – September 28th

5. Inferences Validity and Reliability – October 5th

6. Experiments & Quasi-experiments – October 12th

7. Review of Most Citied Management Research – October 19th

8. Survey Development & Qualitative Research Methods – October 26th

9. Models and Simulation Analysis & Levels of Analysis – November 2nd

Your grade in this class will be based on your performance on the following requirements:

1. 20% Homework Assignment – Research review due October 5th

2. 40% Research Proposal – if you miss a deadline you receive 0 for that portion of assignment

a. 5% Research Question due September 21st

b. 5% Annotated Bibliography due October 12th

c. 10% Introduction to your research proposal including the introduction, literature review, and hypotheses due October 19th

d. 20% Full research proposal due November 2nd

3. 20% Exam

4. 20% Class attendance and participation

Research Review

The research review should be a 2 page review of an empirical or conceptual paper. You should summarize the research question, variables, and key findings. Please see the examples from the Academy of Management Perspective.

Annotated bibliography

An annotated bibliography is a list of articles related to your topic. You should include the following: (1) Author; (2) Journal, date; (3) Independent variables (including how measured); (4) Dependent variables (including how measured); (5) Sample; and (6) Key findings.

Research Proposal format:

Your main writing assignment in this class is to prepare a research proposal that is 10-12 pages long Your proposal should include an introduction (literature review and conceptual argument, culminating in specific, novel, and testable hypotheses) and research method. You should model your research proposal on the introduction and method sections of articles published in top management journals (JAP, AMJ, ASQ, OBHDP, SMJ, etc.). The format would include:

  1. Introduction
  2. Literature Review
  3. Methods
  4. Data - proposed
  5. Research Plan
  6. Conclusion

1. Introduction to the Class – September 7th

Lecture Notes 1

2. From Theory to Research & Introduction to Research Reviews – September 14th

Sutton, R. I. & Staw, B. M. (1995).What theory is not. Administrative Science

Quarterly, 40, 371-384.

Mitchell, T. R. & James, L. R. (2001). Building better theory: Time and the specification of when things happen. Academy of Management Review, 26, 530-548.

Research Reviews from AMP

3. Review of Most Citied Corporate Governance Research – September 21st

La Porta, R; Lopez-de-Silanes, F; Shleifer, A; Vishny, RW. (1998) Law and finance, JOURNAL OF POLITICAL ECONOMY, 106, 6, 1113-1155.

Shleifer, A and Vishny, RW(1997) A survey of corporate governance, JOURNAL OF FINANCE, 52, 2, 737-783.

La Porta, R, Lopez-de-Silanes, F, and Shleifer, A. (1999) Corporate ownership around the world, JOURNAL OF FINANCE, 54, 2, 471-517.

JENSEN, M.C. (1993) THE MODERN INDUSTRIAL-REVOLUTION, EXIT, AND THE FAILURE OF INTERNAL CONTROL-SYSTEMS, JOURNAL OF FINANCE, 48, 3, 831-880.

Yermack, D. (1996) Higher market valuation of companies with a small board of directors, JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL ECONOMICS, 40,2, 185-211.

4. Research Design Choices and Causal Inferences – September 28th

Buchanan, D. A. & Bryman, A. (2007). Contextualizing methods choice in organizational research. Organizational Research Methods, 10: 483-501.

Bergh, D.D. & Fairbank, J. F. (2002). Measuring and testing change in strategic management research. Strategic Management Journal, 23, 359-366.

5. Inferences Validity and Reliability – October 5th

Boyd, B. K., Gove, S., & Hitt, M. (2005). Construct measurement in strategicmanagement research: Illusion or reality? Strategic Management Journal, 26: 239-

257.

Govindarajan, V. & Kopalle, P. K. (2006). Disruptiveness of innovations:Measurement and assessment of reliability and validity. Strategic Management

Journal, 27: 189-199.

6. Experiments & Quasi-experiments – October 12th

Audia, P. G., Locke, E. A., & Smith, K. G. (2000). The paradox of success: An archival and a laboratory study of strategic persistence following radical environmental change. Academy of Management Journal, 43, 837-854.

Bertrand, B. & Mullainathan, S. (2004). Are Emily and Greg more employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A field experiment on labor market discrimination. The American Economic Review, 94, 991- 1013.

Mayer, R.C. & Davis, J. H. (1999). The effect of the performance appraisal system

on trust for management: A field quasi-experiment. Journal of Applied Psychology,

84, 123-136.

7. Review of Most Citied Management Research – October 19th

AJZEN, I (1991) THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR, ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND HUMAN DECISION PROCESSES, 1991, 50, 2, 179-211.

BARNEY, J (1991) FIRM RESOURCES AND SUSTAINED COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE, JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT, 17, 1, 99 -120.

COHEN, WM and LEVINTHAL, DA (1990) ABSORPTIVE-CAPACITY - A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON LEARNING AND INNOVATION, ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCE QUARTERLY, 35,1, 128-152.

WERNERFELT, B. (1984) A RESOURCE-BASED VIEW OF THE FIRM, STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, 5, 2, 171-180.

8. Survey Development & Qualitative Research Methods – October 26th

Cycyota, C. S. & Harrison, D. A. (2006). What (not) to expect when surveying executives: A meta-analysis of top manager response rates and techniques over time. Organizational Research Methods, 9, 133-160.

Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14, 532-550.

9. Models and Simulation Analysis & Levels of Analysis – November 2nd

Davis, J. P., Eisenhardt, K. M., & Bingham, C. B. (2007). Developing simulation through simulation methods. Academy of Management Review, 32, 480-499.

Klein, K.J. & Kozlowski, S.W.J. (2000). From micro to meso: Critical steps in conceptualizing and conducting multilevel research. Organizational Research Methods, 3, 211-236.