Embracing Causal Complexity: The Emergence of a Neo-Configurational Perspective

Causal complexity has long been recognized as a ubiquitous feature underlying organizational phenomena, yet current theories and methodologies in management are for the most part not well suited to its direct study. The introduction of the Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) configurational approach has led to a reinvigoration of configurational theory that embraces causal complexity explicitly. We argue that the burgeoning research using QCA represents more than a novel methodology; it constitutes the emergence of a neo-configurational perspective to the study of management and organizations that enables a fine-grained conceptualization and empirical investigation of causal complexity through the logic of set theory. In this article, we identify four foundational elements that characterize this emerging neoconfigurational perspective: 1) conceptualizing cases as set theoretic configurations; 2) calibrating cases’ memberships into sets; 3) viewing causality in terms of necessity and sufficiency relations between sets; and, 4) conducting counterfactual analysis of unobserved configurations. We then present a comprehensive review of the use of QCA in management studies that aims to capture the evolution of the neo-configurational perspective among management scholars. We close with a discussion of a research agenda that can further this neoconfigurational approach and thereby shift the attention of management research away from a focus on net effects and towards examining causal complexity

Meeting the Student Learning Imperative: Building Powerful Partnerships Between Academic Libraries and Student Services

Provides an introduction to frameworks for collaboration between student services offices (e.g., Residence Life) and academic libraries based on emerging thinking about the role of student services programs in academic life. Focuses specifically on the significance for collaborative programming of statements about the role of "student affairs educators" issued by professional associations such as the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) and on models for initiating and sustaining collaborative projects within the academic library context

Net versus combinatory effects of firm and industry antecedents of sales growth

This study examines antecedents of sales growth using a two-step mixed-method approach including analyses of net effects and combinatory effects. Based on a sample of 453 respondents from manufacturing and service firms, this article shows how the combination of structural equation modeling (SEM) and fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) provides more detailed insights into the causal patterns of factors to explain sales growth. This article contributes to the extant literature by highlighting fsQCA as a useful method to analyze complex causality (specifically combinatory effects of antecedent conditions) and by discussing options regarding how this approach can be used to complement findings from conventional causal data analysis procedures that analyze net effects

Capturing Causal Complexity: Heuristics for Configurational Theorizing

Management scholars study phenomena marked by complex interdependencies where multiple explanatory factors combine to bring about an outcome of interest. Yet, theorizing about causal complexity can prove challenging for the correlational theorizing that is predominant in the field of management, given its “net effects thinking” that emphasizes the unique contribution of individual explanatory factors. In contrast, configurational theories and thinking are well-suited to explaining causally complex phenomena. In this article, we seek to advance configurational theorizing by providing a model of the configurational theorizing process which consists of three iterative stages—scoping, linking and naming. In each stage, we develop and offer several heuristics aimed at stimulating configurational theorizing. That is, these theorizing heuristics are intended to help scholars discover configurations of explanatory factors, probe the connections among these factors, and articulate the orchestrating themes that underpin their coherence. We conclude with a discussion of how configurational theorizing advances theory development in the field of management and organizations, and beyond

Lightcurve analysis and rotation period of 6372 Walker

6372 Walker is a main-belt asteroid discovered in 1985 by C.S. Shoemaker at Palomar Observatory and was last observed in May of 2018 (JPL, 2019). It has a diameter of 42.13 km and orbital period of 5.68 yr.peer-reviewe

International Evidence on the Determinants of Organizational Ethical Vulnerability

© 2018 British Academy of Management This paper proposes a model to explain what makes organizations ethically vulnerable. Drawing upon legitimacy, institutional, agency and individual moral reasoning theories we consider three sets of explanatory factors and examine their association with organizational ethical vulnerability. The three sets comprise external institutional context, internal corporate governance mechanisms and organizational ethical infrastructure. We combine these three sets of factors and develop an analytical framework for classifying ethical issues and propose a new model of organizational ethical vulnerability. We test our model on a sample of 253 firms that were involved in ethical misconduct and compare them with a matched sample of the same number of firms from 28 different countries. The results suggest that weak regulatory environment and internal corporate governance, combined with profitability warnings or losses in the preceding year, increase organizational ethical vulnerability. We find counterintuitive evidence suggesting that firms’ involvement in bribery and corruption prevention training programmes is positively associated with the likelihood of ethical vulnerability. By synthesizing insights about individual and corporate behaviour from multiple theories, this study extends existing analytical literature on business ethics. Our findings have implications for firms’ external regulatory settings, corporate governance mechanisms and organizational ethical infrastructure

Multilevel research: Foundations and opportunities in management

The purpose of this methodological insight is to analyze the foundations of multilevel research, answering two main questions: why this methodological approach is important for management research and how to conduct a multilevel study. We examine why multilevel research is relevant, emphasizing its potential, opportunities and basic principles. Moreover, we point out the main theoretical, methodological and analytic aspects to be considered for an appropriate application of multilevel research. The paper refers throughout to the basic literature on multilevel research, reviewing conceptual, methodological and empirical works.This work has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Research Grant ECO2015-67310-P)

Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Corruption

Corruption has become one of the most popular topics in the social scientific disciplines. However, there is a lack of interdisciplinary communication about corruption. Models developed by different academic disciplines are often isolated from each other. The purpose of this paper is to review several major approaches to corruption and draw them closer to each other. Most studies of corruption fall into three major categories: (i) rational-actor models where corruption is viewed as resulting from cost/benefit analysis of individual actors; (ii) structural models that focus on external forces that determine corruption; and (iii) relational models that emphasize social interactions and networks among corrupt actors. Focusing on actors’ behavior and the social context, this article explains corruption concepts taken from sociology, economics, organization studies, political science, social anthropology, and social psychology

The Role of the Institutional Framework in the Relationship between Earnings Management and Corporate Social Performance

This study examines the influence of the institutional framework of European countries: more specifically coordinated market economies and liberal market economies on the earnings management and corporate social performance nexus. Employing econometric models impervious to endogeneity, our results show that socially responsible firms (particularly those with high governance scores) in coordinated market economies engage in earnings management. These findings suggest that in countries in which institutional settings enable implicit undertakings of corporate social responsibility in firm policies, firm practices ostensibly related to corporate social performance may serve purposes other than meeting stakeholders’ ethical expectations and those of society at large