What’s in it for them? Advantages of Higher Status Partners in Exchange Relationships

This article explores the motivations that high-status firms have to enter exchange relationships with lower-status partners. We argue that high-status firms can secure greater effort from lower-status partners and that the amount of effort will be propor- tional to their status advantage over these partners. We further propose that such effort will translate to increased performance by mediating the negative consequences of affiliations with lower-status partners. This increase in performance constitutes the motivation for high-status firms to enter exchange relationships with lower-status partners. Findings using data on Formula One racing support our argument

A good professional reputation is in the eye of the beholder

Reputation is audience-specific, write Gokhan Ertug, Tamar Yogev, Yonghoon Lee and Peter Hedströ

Who shall get more? How intangible resources and aspiration levels affect the valuation of resource providers

In this study, we identify the effects of reputation and status by determining how they are differently valued by organizations that are concurrently pursuing different goals. Building on research on intangible assets and on aspiration levels, we develop a framework to explain organizations??? valuation of resource providers. We expect organizations to value resource providers who possess a specific type of intangible asset higher as their performance, relative to aspirations, decreases on the outcome more closely tied to that particular asset. We also expect to observe this sensitivity primarily when the organization has a low level of the intangible asset in question. Based on this framework, we derive specific hypotheses using the differential relationships between reputation and status, as two types of intangible assets, and product quality and revenues, as two types of goals. We find support for our hypotheses using a longitudinal dataset on National Basketball Association teams and players

Who shall get more? How intangible resources and aspiration levels affect the valuation of resource providers

In this study, we identify the effects of reputation and status by determining how they are differently valued by organizations that are concurrently pursuing different goals. Building on research on intangible assets and on aspiration levels, we develop a framework to explain organizations??? valuation of resource providers. We expect organizations to value resource providers who possess a specific type of intangible asset higher as their performance, relative to aspirations, decreases on the outcome more closely tied to that particular asset. We also expect to observe this sensitivity primarily when the organization has a low level of the intangible asset in question. Based on this framework, we derive specific hypotheses using the differential relationships between reputation and status, as two types of intangible assets, and product quality and revenues, as two types of goals. We find support for our hypotheses using a longitudinal dataset on National Basketball Association teams and players

New blood as an elixir of youth: Effects of human capital tenure on the explorative capability of aging firms

The relationship between firm age and innovation has been an enduring topic of interest. We contribute to this research by studying how the effect of firm age on the quality of explorative and exploitative innovations is affected by the firm-specific and industry tenure of the talent resources (employees) that the firm utilizes. We start with the baseline predictions that firm age is related to the development of better exploitative innovations and worse explorative innovations. However, the tenure of employees intervenes in these relationships, by way of bringing in new knowledge, mental models, and beliefs. We predict that longer firm-specific and industry tenure of employees enhances the positive effect of firm age on the quality of exploitative innovations, while amplifying the negative effect of firm age on the quality of explorative innovations. In addition, for both the baseline and the moderating effect, we also formulate a prediction comparing the quality of explorative innovations with those of exploitative innovations. We find support for the moderating effects of human capital tenure for the quality of explorative innovations, but not for the quality of exploitative innovations. We reason that the latter may be due to the need for some level of exploration even in exploitative innovations, at least in the setting we study—the video game industry. Our results suggest that the negative effects of firm age on the quality of explorative innovations can be mitigated by talent resources (employees) the firm uses who have lower firm-specific and industrywide tenure. </jats:p

Corona crisis and inequality: why management research needs a societal turn

As the world struggles to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, the stark inequalities in our societies have been laid bare, and the interplay between organizations and societies has also become evident yet again. This crisis underscores the need for management scholars to take a societal turn and examine how organizational practices interact with societal economic inequality. To illustrate this approach, we discuss organizational practices – corporate social responsibility, work design, recruitment and selection, and compensation management – that can contribute to the normalization, reinforcement, and reduction of economic inequalities in society. We conclude by calling on scholars of inequality, as well as of broader management research, to take a societal turn to enhance the relevance and impact of management research