Adaptation across multiple landscapes: Relatedness, complexity, and the long run effects of coordination in diversified firms

Research SummaryWe study the effect of coordination between businesses on the adaptation of diversified firms. Using a simulation‐based approach, we show that coordination between businesses limits adaptation, causing the relative performance of diversified firms to decline relative to their focused counterparts over time, with this effect being strongest for moderate levels of relatedness between, and complexity within, businesses. Given complexity, firms diversifying into moderately related businesses may therefore be better off limiting coordination between businesses to a few key activities—if they diversify at all—sacrificing short run synergies for long run flexibility. Our study thus offers a novel argument for conglomerate diversification, while linking work on the costs of coordination in diversified firms to the literature on organizational adaptation.Managerial SummaryWhile coordination of activities between businesses enables a diversified firm to realize synergies, it may also limit the flexibility of each business to adapt to changing conditions over time. Thus, the very cross‐business coordination that gives a diversified firm an advantage relative to its single business competitors in the short run may cause it to fall behind them in the long run. Using a mathematical simulation, we show that this negative effect is strongest for firms coordinating across moderately related businesses with activities that are highly interdependent. Multibusiness firms—especially moderately related diversifiers in complex businesses—may thus be better off coordinating only those activities that yield the greatest synergies, foregoing more marginal synergies in the short run for the sake of long run flexibility.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152004/1/smj3060.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152004/2/smj3060_am.pd

Politics, Governance, and Leadership: What Can We Learn From the Academy of Management’s Response to EO13769?

Organization design seeks to balance potentially conflicting objectives while achieving a broader mission. EO13769 created a challenge for the president of the Academy of Management in leading through these conflicts, as President Anita McGahan describes: how to be true to her own moral values while leading an organization with well-established design constraints, and members with diverse opinions. This article shares the perspectives of 12 scholars on the lessons we can learn from Professor McGahan’s leadership of a constraining organization through a challenging time

Innovation, resources and corporate transactions: The dynamics of technology and corporate scope

This dissertation studies the dynamic relationship between corporate scope and firm resources. Specifically, it examines the role of technological innovation by the firm and its rivals in driving changes in corporate scope, as well as the subsequent effect on firm innovation of these corporate scope changes. Chapter 2 presents a theoretical model of the co-adaptation of firm resources and corporate scope, where the completion of successful innovation by the firm as well as innovation by firm\u27s rivals changes the opportunities available to the firm, prompting it to reallocate its scarce resources and thus alter both its corporate scope and its balance of exploration and exploitation. A number of propositions related to the effect of innovation on corporate scope and the moderating role of firm resources are developed. Chapter 3 proceeds to test some of these propositions by examining technological innovation as an antecedent of scope change in a sample of US manufacturing firms from 1982-2002, finding a positive relationship between innovation and the firm\u27s propensity to undertake both scope-increasing acquisitions and scope-decreasing divestments. Chapter 4 then completes the loop by studying post-divestment innovation. Focus-increasing divestments are found to be positively related to post-divestment innovation productivity and negatively related to post-divestment technological diversity, though these effects are moderated by complementary resources, market opportunity and appropriability regimes. Overall, the dissertation provides a rich theoretical description of the co-evolution of corporate scope and firm resources, one that accounts for both the endogeneity of firm investment decisions and the effect of various moderators. It thus contributes to the literature on firm evolution by bringing together insights from competitive and corporate strategy. In addition, it provides large-sample quantitative evidence for the co-adaptation of technology and scope that has consequences for both the literature on divestments and the literature on technology and innovation

Evaluation of low-pressure pneumoperitoneum laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has become the most standard procedure for management of symptomatic cholelithiasis or acute cholecystitis in patients without and specific contraindications. Exposure of gallbladder anatomy during laparoscopic cholecystectomy requires creation of pneumoperitoneum by carbon dioxide insufflation. However, the application of carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum may induce undesirable consequences due to either hypercapnea or increased intraabdominal pressure. The physiological changes observed during laparoscopic surgery are a result of patient position, introduction of exogenous insufflation gas and increased intraabdominal pressure due to pneumoperitoneum. Although laparoscopic cholecystectomy results in less postoperative pain and reduced analgesic consumption as compared with open cholecystectomy. The type of pain after laparoscopy differs considerably from that after laparotomy i.e; visceral pain. Shoulder pain is a common complaint following laparoscopic surgery, initially being recognised by gynaecologists during early experience with laparoscopic sterilization. The present study was conducted to evaluate the technique of low-pressure pneumoperitoneum during laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Fifty patients admitted for elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy were included in the study. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed using standard four ports. Low pressure pneumoperitoneum was generated using carbon dioxide insufflation at a pressure of 8 mmHg. Rest of the steps followed were same as in conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy. No major intraoperative or postoperative complication was noted. No conversion was required to standard pressure laparoscopic cholecystectomy or open cholecystectomy. Low-pressure pneumoperitoneum offers the surgeon the same safety and versatility during laparoscopic cholecystectomy as it confers during normal pressure pneumoperitoneum and helps in reducing immediate postoperative complications especially postoperative shoulder pain