Inertia and Change in the Early Years: Employment Relations in Young, High Technology Firms

[Excerpt] This paper considers processes of organizational imprinting in a sample of 100 young, high technology companies. It examines the effects of a pair of initial conditions: the founders\u27 models of the employment relation and their business strategies. Our analyses indicate that these two features were well aligned when the firms were founded. However, the alignment has deteriorated over time, due to changes in the distribution of employment models. In particular, the \u27star\u27 model and \u27commitment\u27 model are less stable than the \u27engineering\u27 model and the \u27factory\u27 model. Despite their instability, these two blueprints for the employment relation have strong effects in shaping the early evolution of these firms. In particular, firms that embark with these models have significantly higher rates of replacing the founder chief executive with a non-founder as well as higher rates of completing an initial public stock offering. Some implications of these findings for future studies of imprinting and inertia in organizations are discussed

On the Observed Robustness of Disturbance-Observers; A Technical Explanation and Simulation Validation

This paper examines the ability of a real-time "disturbance-observer" to adapt-to and closely estimate the time-behavior of a disturbance-input w(t) (and of it's state-vector z(t)) even when the actual w(t) time-behavior deviates from the observer's "internal-copy" of the nominal/predicted w(t)-behavior. By means of technical explanations and confirming simulation studies of numerical examples, the disturbance-observer's adaptive ability is explained in terms-of the underlying spline-model used to derive the disturbance state-model and the intrinsic dynamic characteristics of a state-observer

Engineering Bureaucracy: The Genesis of Formal Policies, Positions, and Structures in High-Technology Firms

[Excerpt] This article examines the impact of organizational founding conditions on several facets of bureaucratization—managerial intensity, the proliferation of specialized managerial and administrative roles, and formalization of employment relations. Analyzing information on a sample of technology start-ups in California\u27s Silicon Valley, we characterize the organizational models or blueprints espoused by founders in creating new enterprises. We find that those models and the social composition of the labor force at the time of founding had enduring effects on growth in managerial intensity (i.e., reliance on managerial and administrative specialists) over time. Our analyses thus provide compelling evidence of path dependence in the evolution of bureaucracy—even in a context in which firms face intense selection pressures—and underscore the importance of the logics of organizing that founders bring to new enterprises. We find less evidence that founding models exert persistent effects on the formalization of employment relations or on the proliferation of specialized senior management titles. Rather, consistent with neo-institutional perspectives on organizations, those superficial facets of bureaucracy appear to be shaped by the need to satisfy external gatekeepers (venture capitalists and the constituents of public corporations), as well as by exigencies of organizational scale, growth, and aging. We discuss some implications of these results for efforts to understand the varieties, determinants, and consequences of bureaucracy

Potassium-magnesium antagonism in high magnesium vineyard soils

The Iowa wine and grape industry underwent a rapid phase of growth at the turn of the 21st century that is continuing to evolve and develop today. Cultivar trials across the state found that `Marquette\u27 grapevines were performing poorly in eastern Iowa while other cultivars performed well. A preliminary investigation suggested a magnesium induced potassium deficiency and/or above optimum soil pH as the cause of poor growth of `Marquette\u27. Soils in the upper Mississippi Valley are derived from limestone and dolomite bedrock resulting in their characteristically high pH and high magnesium properties, which often inhibits potassium uptake. Recommendations to amend these soil types for grape production do not exist but are essential for optimizing grapevine yield. This study was undertaken to determine how to amend vineyard soils with a low potassium/magnesium concentration and above optimum pH. The multi-year pot culture study included two cultivars, Marquette and St. Croix, and four soil amendment treatments. Soil amendment treatments compared all combinations of potassium/magnesium concentration (0.24 and amended to 0.50) and soil pH (7.2 and amended to 6.2) in a two-by-two factorial. Results indicated potassium additions increased the soil potassium/magnesium concentration as well as increased the petiole potassium concentration. Decreasing the pH alone decreased available soil magnesium but had no effect on the potassium/magnesium concentration. This suggests that it is only necessary to add potassium to increase the potassium/magnesium concentration in these soils

Determinants of Managerial Intensity in the Early Years of Organizations

This paper examines how founding conditions shape subsequent organizational evolution— specifically, the proliferation of management and administrative jobs. Analyzing quantitative and qualitative information on a sample of young technology start-ups in California’s Silicon Valley, we examine the enduring imprint of two aspects of firms’ founding conditions: the employment blueprints espoused by founders in creating new enterprises; and the social capital that existed among key early members of the firm—their social composition and social relations. We find that the initial gender mix in start-ups and the blueprint espoused by the founder influence the extent of managerial intensity that develops over time. In particular, firms whose founders espoused a bureaucratic model from the outset subsequently grew more administratively intense than otherwise-similar companies, particularly companies whose founders had initially championed a “commitment” model. Also, firms with a higher representation of women within the first year subsequently were slower to bureaucratize than otherwise-similar firms with a predominance of males. Our analyses thus provide compelling evidence of path-dependence in the evolution of organizational structures and underscore the importance of the “logics of organizing” that founders bring to new enterprises. Implications of these results for organizational theory and research are discussed

Logistics Planning: Putting Math to Work In a Business Setting

The optimization of business procedures benefits all aspects of the product. Maximizing efficiency can lead to more profits for the business, cheaper products for the consumer, and less fuel consumption for the environment. Tracing the history of optimization, we can see that people have always strived for the most efficient way to allocate scarce resources. However, the field of optimization did not blossom until innovations in mathematics allowed us to solve a majority of real world problems. The discovery of linear and nonlinear programming in the 1940s allowed us to optimize problems that were unsolvable before. This paper introduces how linear programming works and then introduces how uncertainty can affect an agent\u27s optimal decision. Expected value and expected utility theory yield different results when accounting for the risk preferences of an individual. In order to optimize a decision for an agent, utility and risk preference must be accounted for

Impact of wearable physical activity monitoring devices with exercise prescription or advice in the maintenance phase of cardiac rehabilitation: systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundPhysical activity (PA) is a component of cardiac rehabilitation (CR). However, life-long engagement in PA is required to maintain benefits gained. Wearable PA monitoring devices (WPAM) are thought to increase PA. There appear to be no reviews which investigate the effect of WPAM in cardiac populations. We firstly aimed to systematically review randomised controlled trials within the cardiac population that investigated the effect WPAM had through the maintenance phase of CR. We specifically examined the effect on cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), amount and intensity of daily PA, and sedentary time. Secondly, we aimed to collate outcome measures reported, reasons for drop out, adverse events, and psychological impact from utilising a WPAM.MethodsA systematic search (up to January 2019) of relevant databases was completed, followed by a narrative synthesis, meta-analysis and qualitative analysis.ResultsNine studies involving 1,352 participants were included. CRF was improved to a greater extent in participants using WPAM with exercise prescription or advice compared with controls (MD 1.65mL/kg/min;95% confidence interval [CI; 0.64-2.66]; p=0.001; I-2=0%). There was no significant between group difference in six-minute walk test distance. In 70% of studies, step count was greater in participants using a WPAM with exercise prescription or advice, however the overall effect was not significant (SMD 0.45;95% [CI; -0.17-1.07] p=0.15; I-2=81%). A sensitivity analysis resulted in significantly greater step counts in participants using a WPAM with exercise prescription or advice and reduced the heterogeneity from 81 to 0% (SMD 0.78;95% [CI;0.54-1.02];

Typecasting and legitimation : a formal theory

We develop a unifying framework to integrate two of organizational sociology’s theory fragments on categorization: typecasting and form emergence. Typecasting is a producer-level theory that considers the consequences producers face for specializing versus spanning across category boundaries. Form emergence considers the evolution of categories and how the attributes of producers entering a category shapes its likelihood of gaining legitimacy among relevant audiences. Both theory fragments emerge from the processes audiences use to assign category memberships to producers. In this paper, we develop this common foundation and clearly outline the arguments that lead to central implications of each theory. We formalize these arguments using modal expressions to represent key categorization processes and the theory-building framework developed by Hannan, Polos, and Carroll (2007). Categorization in market contexts has attracted considerable interest in recent years, spurred in large part by Zuckerman’s (1999) seminal work in capital markets. Empirical work on this subject covers a range of topics, including category emergence, proliferation, and erosion (Carroll and Swaminathan 2000; Ruef 2000; Rao, Monin, and Durand 2005; Bogaert, Boone, and Carroll 2006; Pontikes 2008), the consequences of different categorical positions and category structures for individual producers (Zuckerman and Kim 2003; Hsu, 2006; Negro, Hannan, and Rao 2008; Hsu, Hannan, and Koçak 2008), and the role of audience members in structuring understanding of categories (Boone, Declerck, Rao, and Van Den Buys 2008; Koçak 2008; Koçak, Hannan, and Hsu 2008).This paper focuses on two theory fragments, typecasting and form emergence, which exemplify the different emphases in research approaches. Typecasting theory focuses on well-established categories and considers the implications for individual producers of specializing in versus generalizing across categorical boundaries (Zuckerman, Kim, Ukanwa, and von Rittman 2003). Research suggests that audiences have an easier time making sense of specialists but that a clear association with a single category restricts the range of future opportunities. Form-emergence theory considers how the attributes of producers associated with an emerging category shapes its likelihood of gaining legitimacy among relevant audiences (McKendrick and Carroll 2001; McKendrick, Jaffee, Carroll, and Khessina 2003). Work in this area finds that a category is more likely to become a well-established form when new entrants have focused identities (as in the case of de-novo entrants, the producers who begin as members of the category). These theory fragments have progressed largely independently of one another. This is not surprising given differences in levels of analysis and key outcomes. Yet, they are clearly conceptually connected. Both theory fragments address the positioning of producers in a space of categories and the effect of such positions on an audience’s understandings. In this paper, we flesh out these connections to clarify the processes that lie at heart of theories of ategorization. In particular, demonstrate that a common foundation, a theory of partiality in memberships, gives rise to predictions central to both of these fragments. We use the formal theory-building tools and framework developed by Hannan, Pólos, and Carroll (2007) and extended by Pólos, Hannan, and Hsu (2008). These accounts developed modal constructions that allow for subtle formalization of key sociological concepts such as legitimation, identity, and social form, which revolve around the beliefs held by relevant audiences. As we aim to illustrate, this approach to theory building has Series: DBS Working Papers in Economics We begin with a brief overview of key concepts from recent heoretical work by Hannan et al. (2007) on category and form emergence. We extend this theory to develop a theorem that fits the typecasting imagery developed by Zuckerman and colleagues. Then, with a few additional considerations, we establish a formal proof of a foundation for McKendrick and Carroll’s arguments regarding form emergence

Modal constructions in sociological arguments

This paper introduces modal logics to a sociological audience. We firstprovide an overview of the formal properties of this family of models andoutline key differences with classical first-order logic. We then build amodel to represent processes of perception and belief core to social theories. To do this, we define our multi-modal language and then addsubstantive constraints that specify the inferential behavior of modalities forperception, default, and belief. We illustrate the deployment of this language to the theory of legitimation proposed by Hannan, Polos, andCarroll (2007). This paper aims to call attention to the potential benefits ofmodal logics for theory building in sociology