Organizational learning and emotion: constructing collective meaning in support of strategic themes

Missing in the organizational learning literature is an integrative framework that reflects the emotional as well as the cognitive dynamics involved. Here, we take a step in this direction by focusing in depth over time (five years) on a selected organization which manufactures electronic equipment for the office industry. Drawing on personal construct theory, we define organizational learning as the collective re-construal of meaning in the direction of strategically significant themes. We suggest that emotions arise as members reflect on progress or lack of progress in achieving organizational learning. Our evidence suggests that invalidation – where organizational learning fails to correspond with expectations – gives rise to anxiety and frustration, while validation – where organizational learning is aligned with or exceeds expectations – evokes comfort or excitement. Our work aims to capture the key emotions involved as organizational learning proceeds

Family routines and next-generation engagement in family firms

By focusing on the impact of different types of family routines and how they change, this commentary builds on concepts regarding the influence of perceived parental support and psychological control on next-generation engagement in family firms. Drawing on the organizational routines literature and the family studies literature, I propose that attention to family routines, and how these routines change (or not) over time can reveal additional insights regarding next-generation engagement in the family business

Continuity and change - The planning and management of long distance walking routes in Scotland

In recent years a number of changes have taken place in Scotland in respect of issues of land management, access and the natural environment. These include the creation of Scotland’s first National Parks in 2002 and the introduction of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, which has enshrined in legislation the principle of responsible access in the countryside. The aim of this study was to consider the implications of these changes for a specific type of recreational land use in Scotland, Long Distance (Walking) Routes (LDRs). Using semi-structured interviews with representatives of a number of agencies and with other individuals closely involved with LDRs, the research considered the extent to which these changes have or may alter the rationale for the provision of LDRs, their funding and their management. The research indicates a need and a willingness to build on existing stakeholder approaches to management with a view to engaging a broader range of communities of interest. The main challenge for those involved with LDRs is how to fund future development of these routes. One aim of a more participatory stakeholder management approach is to help route managers to use public funds to lever funds from other source

Exploration and exploitation in the presence of network externalities

This paper examines the conditions under which exploration of a new, incompatible technologyis conducive to firm growth in the presence of network externalities. In particular, this studyis motivated bythe divergent evolutions of the PC and the workstation markets in response to a new technology: reduced instruction set computing (RISC). In the PC market, Intel has developed new microprocessors bymaintaining compatibilitywith the established architecture, whereas it was radicallyr eplaced byRISC in the workstation market. History indicates that unlike the PC market, the workstation market consisted of a large number of power users, who are less sensitive to compatibilitythan ordinaryusers. Our numerical analysis indicates that the exploration of a new, incompatible technologyis more likelyto increase the chance of firm growth when there are a substantial number of power users or when a new technologyis introduced before an established technologytakes off. (; ; ;

Two Cheers For Diversity: An Experimental Study Of Micro-level Heterogeneity In Problemistic Search

In this paper, we argue for an expanded view of problemistic search. Recent behavioral theory research suggests that individual search preferences influence problemistic search. We draw on this to challenge the view of problemistic search as a centrally directed organizational process that proceeds sequentially from local to distant search. We argue that search activities in organizations are heterogeneous – some individuals will first engage in local search while others may move directly to distant search. We propose that problemistic search at the macroorganizational level is therefore the result of a mix of local and distant search activities at the micro-level that shifts towards distant search in response to negative performance evaluation. We test this idea in a laboratory experiment using a repetitive task and performance feedback

A behavioral theory of alliance portfolio reconfiguration: Evidence from pharmaceutical biotechnology

Research summary: Extant research suggests that firms rationally evaluate external and/or internal contingencies when deciding how to reconfigure their alliance portfolios. We advance a behavioral perspective which assumes that managers are boundedly rational and thus rely on behavioral heuristics when making alliance portfolio reconfiguration decisions. In panel data on U.S.-listed biotechnology firms, we find that below-aspiration performance motivates a firm to form alliances with novel partners within the resource scope of its existing alliance portfolio. This effect is weakened by equity ties with existing partners and strengthened by firm-specific uncertainty. Conversely, above-aspiration performance leads to new alliances with existing partners but outside the resource scope of the firm’s existing alliance portfolio. Finally, as organizational slack increases, a firm forms alliances with novel partners focusing on new-to-the-portfolio resources. Managerial summary: We study why and how firms change the configuration of their alliance portfolios over time. We find that actual performance relative to performance objectives, and firms’ excess resources, are important drivers of such change. The more firms fail to meet their performance objectives, the more likely they are to form alliances with novel partners focusing on areas in which they already have one or more alliances with other partners. The more firms exceed their performance objectives, the greater their inclination to form alliances with their existing partners in areas in which they do not yet have alliances. The greater the stock of excess resources, the greater firms’ propensities to form alliances with novel partners focusing on areas in which they do not yet have alliances

Does family involvement in management reduce the risk of business failure? The moderating role of entrepreneurial orientation

This study explores the question of whether—and under which circumstances—family involvement helps avoid business failure. We hypothesize that it is family involvement in management, rather than ownership, which reduces the risk of failure during economic downturns; however, this effect is negatively affected by the firm’s entrepreneurial orientation (EO). We argue that EO hinders reaching consensuses on and commitment to family-centered goals, which are focused on long-term survival. We analyze 369 manufacturing firms in Spain from 2007 to 2013, and find that family involvement in management reduces the risk of business failure, but this effect decreases as EO increases