Search

An editorial is presented on the articles that won the Impact Award for theoretical contributions as well as practical value that were published in the "Academy of Management Journal." It mentions Blake E, Ashforth's paper on managing workers in what are considered dirty jobs, Robin Ely's research on women's construction of gender identity in the workplace, and the importance of research in less examined occupations.

An introduction is presented in which the editors of the journal discuss its Special Research Forum (SRF) in management and the topics of the articles within it including identity threat, societal attitudes toward vulnerable populaces, and discrimination upon the basis of race and gender.

This article presents some helpful suggestions on how researchers can write an interesting and convincing paper based on case-based research. A single case study, unless the subject is extremely interesting, will be hard to make interesting enough to hold readers' attention. Case-based research is often criticized for having a biased sample of cases. The main object of case studies should be to provoke thought and new ideas, rather than to poke holes in existing theories. Theories are only simplifications of a much more complex reality.

The article presents an introduction to the December 1988 issue of "Academy of Management Journal."

The article reports the author's opinions regarding aspects of organizational behavior. The author focuses on examining employees' need for control in and outside of the organizational setting. A study focusing on the job satisfaction levels of managers of pulp mills is discussed. The opinions of Julian Rotter regarding the subject of employee behavior are also included.

The article examines whether the discipline of management science has placed an undue emphasis on the development of theory at the expense of research which observes and reports actual facts. It is well known that the leading scholarly periodicals in the field require articles to contribute to management science theory to be accepted for publication. This unnecessarily limits research, since the collection of previously unknown facts by itself will contribute to the development of theory. The bad effect forced theoretical discussion has on the comprehensibility and readability of academic writing is noted. Articles in scholarly periodicals in related fields such as marketing research and finance which introduce previously unknown facts are presented as a comparison. There is said to be an inherent contradiction in the emphasis of pure theory in a field devoted to the study of real world decision making.

This article presents information regarding the policies of the "Academy of Management Journal" for accepting and publishing submissions. The editors are looking for work that contributes to theory and has meaningful new insights. They strongly suggest peer reviews of research prior to data collection and recommend consulting "Publishing in the Organizational Sciences," for more information. It also describes the publication's mission regarding the support of research into management theory and management practice.

The article presents an introduction to the August 1998 issue of "Academy of Management Journal."

The article presents an introduction to the December 1987 issue of "Academy of Management Journal."

The article discusses social responsibility and stock valuation. An empirical study was made of investors valuation of nine paper companies after substantial publicity was released about their pollution tendencies. Cross-section valuation models were prepared for the four quarters beginning just prior to the publicity. Both institutional purchases and price changes were analyzed to determine the impact of undesirable publicity. The authors look at a correlation between profitability and good pollution control.

The article announces that scholars Mark de Rond and Jaco Lok have won the journal's Best Article Award for 2016 for their article "Some Things Can Never Be Unseen: The Role of Context in Psychological Injury at War," as well as runner-up awards for journal authors including Gavin J. Kilduff, George C. Banks, and Johanna Mair.

This article discusses management research and what makes it interesting. In a well-known paper, "That's Interesting!" Murray Davis argued that what most makes scholarly work interesting is that it disconfirms some (but not all) of the assumptions held by its audience. Davis' arguments about what constitutes interesting research are summarized, including something that engages readers' attention, something that stands out for readers "in contrast to the web of routinely taken-for-granted propositions which make up the structure of their everyday life." Some perspectives from a Brazilian scholarly journal, "Revisita de Administracao de Empresas," are also presented.

This article describes a field study in which insights from the resource-based view of the firm were combined with models of capital investment decision making to investigate the decision processes used to make capital investments in capabilities. The study shows that different decision processes are used to invest in existing and new capabilities and that current models in the literature need to be adapted to capture the differences, which relate primarily to information requirements and management roles. The results suggest adopting a contingency approach to managing capital investment in capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including significant societal problems (Grand Challenges) management research could be used to address, and information on manuscript submission and acceptance.

This study seeks to promote an understanding of the practices of reviewers for the Academy of Management's Journal (AMJ) and Review (AMR). A survey of reviewers for the two journals revealed that the practices of those reviewing empirical articles for AMJ varied little from the practices of those reviewing nonempirical articles for AMR. Factor analysis revealed three dimensions of significance identifying differences among reviewers' practices. We termed them thoroughness, guidance, and substance. Further analysis of indexes derived from those factors and their correlates provided insight into forces at work in reviewers as they participated in the review process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Women as Managers Scale (WAMS), reported to be a measure of stereotypic attitudes toward women in management, has appeared in recent literature as both an independent and a dependent variable. Examples include Garland and Price (1977), Terborg and Ilgen (1975), Cohen and Leavengood (1978), and Stevens and DeNisi (1980). The purpose of this paper is to call attention to recent evidence indicating the possibility of differential subgroup reliability and dimensionality for the WAMS. This study was considered a routine prelude to a much more complete study of worker attitudes toward women. The following results have caused the authors to reassess the use of the WAMS for the study and subject sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes some of the most important findings of a longitudinal study of the birth and early development of an innovative organization. Paradoxically, those features of the organization that led to its success as an innovation in the short run were incompatible with requirements for survival in the longer run. These findings underscore the advantages of a biographical approach to organizational analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper challenges conventional descriptions of planning as necessarily tied to setting specific goals. The author describes a more intuitive planning process which proceeds by identifying arenas of activity and preferred styles of acting. The choice of planning mode is contingent upon task, organizational, and people characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critically reviews one of the most important but least understood concepts in management--organizational climate. A contingency approach is proposed, various measures are discussed, and the studies are reviewed. Recommendations for future research are enumerated based on an analysis of the existing literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article relates a message from the outgoing editor of the Academy of Management Journal (AMJ), and welcomes the new editor, Gregory Northcraft. The article encourages members to read the revised guidelines for submission to the periodical, and describes the process of handing over the responsibilities of receiving incoming papers. The author discusses the progress that was accomplished during her term as editor, but also states that there is much more that should be done. The article announces a special research forum with a theme of 'a new time.'

This paper is concerned with the problem of obtaining judgments from individual group members and combining these individual judgments to arrive at a group decision according to a process which minimizes error. Two preconditions for such a process are established first, based on prior research: (1) that individual judgments should be obtained by means of a nominal group format, and (2) that expression of the individual judgments should be recorded on some type of rating scale. Based on these premises, the research reported here examined the following variables to determine the effect of each on the error contained in the group judgments: (a) the number of intervals on the rating scale used by individual group members; (b) the aggregation rule used to transform individual judgments into a single group representative judgment; (c) the number of group members; and (d) the accuracy of the judgments of the individual group members. Some guidelines for the practicing administrator wishing to structure decision-making processes in accordance with the Implications of this study are then suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a Markov chain model to deal with the dynamic, multivariate, and probabilistic nature of a human need system. The proposed model offers a powerful tool to analyze the prevailing states and to predict the future state of the need system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the first of a series of papers designed to report the various stages of a longitudinal research project on the study of managerial effectiveness. The purposes of this article are: (1) to set forth the various dimensions of the overall research effort; (2) to present a review of the research on the prediction of managerial success or effectiveness; and, (3) to establish the focus for a second paper subsequently to appear in the Academy of Management Journal describing the results and implications of an intermediate research effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This manuscript investigates the role of individual team members’ breadth of functional experience for their interteam coordination behavior. Integrating personal construct and social identity theories, we examine interpersonal cognitive complexity as a mediating variable and organizational identification as a moderator. We test our hypotheses across two independent field studies, comprising an international peace support training mission (Study 1) and a municipality administration (Study 2). Corroborating our predictions, interpersonal cognitive complexity appeared as a conditional mediating variable that can translate an individual’s breadth of functional experience into interteam coordination. The strength and direction of this indirect relationship, however, depended on the individual’s identification with the organization as a whole. Moreover, on the team level of analysis, we found members’ overall interteam coordination to positively relate with team performance in Study 2. All in all, this paper advances new knowledge on the antecedents, mechanisms, contingency factors, and team-level consequences of members’ boundary spanning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author comments on how ecumenical trends in business affect the area of management theory. The author discusses the ecumenical trends he witnessed at the International Meetings of The Institute of Management Sciences (TIMS) on August 20-25, 1967, such as noticing the international character of the meetings and the wide subject areas of study of the attending colleges. The author discusses the admission standards of the Academy of Management, and warns that if the Academy moves in the ecumenical direction and includes more members in its scope, the organization must be prepared for the influx of people and subject matters at its meetings.

This paper examines the link between affective experience and decision-making performance. In a stock investment simulation, 101 stock investors rated their feelings on an Internet Web site while making investment decisions each day for 20 consecutive business days. Contrary to the popular belief that feelings are generally bad for decision making, we found that individuals who experienced more intense feelings achieved higher decision-making performance. Moreover, individuals who were better able to identify and distinguish among their current feelings achieved higher decision-making performance via their enhanced ability to control the possible biases induced by those feelings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An examination of how an individual working within the field of management research can increase the relevance of their work. The author notes that many scholars who work in the fields of research and writing find themselves working within a closed loop of communication, speaking with the same researchers and reading the same academic publications. The author urges scholars to reach outside this loop and engage individuals in management to discover what type of research they would benefit from.

This paper investigates competitive tension, or the strain between a focal firm and a given rival that is likely to result in the firm taking action against the rival. Drawing on the awareness-motivation-capability perspective, we show how perceived competitive tension, as constructed from managers' and industry stakeholders' competitor assessments, is influenced by the independent and interactive effects of three factors: relative scale, rival's attack volume, and rival's capability to contest. Our results provide a new avenue for studying competitors and the relationship between competitor analysis and interfirm rivalry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops and tests a theory of the performance determinants of a firm's nonmarket strategy in shaping public policy outcomes. Building on the concept of political market attractiveness, we argue that nonmarket performance is influenced by both the characteristics of a firm's regulatory and political environment, especially rivalry among interest groups or politicians, and by internal capabilities that enable a firm to mitigate political transaction costs. Using data on regulatory filings for rate increases made by U. S. Electric utilities over a 13-year period, we find empirical support for our approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the importance of the editorial review process and the importance of having a fair and effective means of evaluating submitted works. Editors of journals such as the "Academy of Management Journal" (AMJ) must also be careful that in upholding the scientific standards of reliability and validity they don't become so conservative that they sacrifice innovation, variety, and risk taking. The author also outlines the AMJ editorial board selection process that insures the preservation of innovation while maintaining quality.

In this paper, we present a longitudinal study of organizational responses to environmental changes that induce members to question aspects of their organization's identity. Our findings highlight the role of organizational culture as a source of cues supporting "sensemaking" action carried out by leaders as they reevaluate their conceptualization of their organization, and as a platform for "sensegiving" actions aimed at affecting internal perceptions. Building on evidence from our research, we develop a theoretical framework for understanding how the interplay of construed images and organizational culture shapes changes in institutional claims and shared understandings about the identity of an organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how to make management research relevant to practitioners. By the early 21st century criticism had emerged that management scholars were bypassing relevance in favor of rigorous papers that were largely read only by other academics. Some have argued that a better synthesis needs to be achieved between theory and practice, but the author maintains the real solution can be found only in changing the system. Rather than writing for the academy, researchers need to identify and study practical issues they find compelling.

This paper explores the effects of partner substitutability and alliance network structure on organizational profitability. Although firms are expected to benefit from the exclusive resources brought in by resource-rich, nonsubstitutable alliance partners, the costs of allying with such partners could offset those benefits. Analyzing alliances in the U.S. telecommunications industry, we show that a firm facing nonsubstitutable partners was better off when its alliances were embedded in third-party ties, which allowed the firm to gain indirect leverage on such partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the Code of Ethical Conduct for all members of the Academy of Management to abide by in the U.S. The paper includes the Academy's credo, which promotes the discovery, sharing, and applying of managerial knowledge, and discusses their five major responsibilities as Academy members. With regards to student-educator relationships, the Academy insists on professionalism, respect, fairness, and concern. Research by Academy members must be done honestly and with the intent to advance managerial knowledge. The Academy depends on cooperation, involvement, and leadership from its members. In terms of management practice, exchange of ideas and information between the academic and organizational communities is essential. Finally, members of the Academy of Management are committed to providing academic environments that are free of sexual harassment.

This paper develops a resource-based perspective for predicting the sequencing of a firm's resources that best provides for firm growth. The sequencing that generated the highest firm growth combines a Penrosian (1959) perspective with the more recent resource-based literature. This resource development path may be generalizable to other industries, such as airlines, telecommunications, and railroads, that have been deregulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides an introduction to the March 1, 1975 issue of the "Academy of Management Journal."

A letter to the editor is presented in response to "Project management: an incentive contracting decision model," from an earlier issue.

An editorial is presented which explores the utilization of artificial intelligence in the field of management, with an emphasis on research opportunities. The application of the narrower field of machine learning to management research with a brief discussion on both its benefits and challenges is presented. Also, four strategies- predictive selection, predictive refinement, formative discovery, and reductive discovery- the Academy of Management Journal can apply to utilize machine learning are discussed. [EPC]

A tremendous amount of research has explored the relationship between managerial pay and firm performance. The authors argue that this research has generally been limited because it ignores other criteria that can be used to determine managerial pay, as well as the influence of a firm's governance structure and various contingencies. The authors' analysis leads to a general framework for research on executive pay. This framework is used to evaluate the present state of research in this field and the contribution of the six papers in this special research forum, and to identify directions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study of the complete life-spans of eight naturally-occurring teams began with the unexpected finding that several project groups, studied for another purpose, did not accomplish their work by progressing gradually through a universal series of stages, as traditional group development models would predict. Instead, teams progressed in a pattern of "punctuated equilibrium," through alternating inertia and revolution in the behaviors and themes through which they approached their work. The findings also suggested that groups' progress was triggered more by members' awareness of time and deadlines than by completion of an absolute amount of work in a specific developmental stage. The paper proposes a new model of group development that encompasses the timing and mechanisms of change as well as groups' dynamic relations with their contexts. Implications for theory, research, and practice are drawn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports a meta-analytic literature review testing cognitive, affective, and contingency models of the effects of participation in decision making on employees' satisfaction and productivity. Contingency models received no support. Results from field studies provided some support for cognitive models, and strong support for affective models linking participative climate with worker satisfaction. Methodological variations such as research setting and type of participant were important moderators in subgroup analyses. We discuss the implications of such variations for task complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines several contextual variables that are thought to affect the relationship between a firm's innovative inputs and outputs. Six-year patterns for a sample of mature industrial-product business units drawn from the PIMS data base indicate evidence that innovative efficiency is related to all four classes of variables examined: technological opportunity, scale and R&D experience of the business, market linkages, and manufacturing suitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper continues a line of research into the effect of environmental characteristics and uncertainty on strategic planning. Results suggest that measures of uncertainty and the environment need to be analyzed independently, and that uncertainty is a strong moderator of environmental characteristics and industry groupings but does not consistently affect strategic planning activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports an exploration of the discriminant validity of job design as measured by the JDS and JCI and job satisfaction as measured by the JDI, MSQ, IOR, and Stogdill's satisfaction with work scale (SWS). Job satisfaction as measured by the JDI or MSQ could not be adequately discriminated from job design measures obtained from either the JDS or the JCI. The IOR and S WS could be discriminated from the JDS and JCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the development of a theory relating differences between privately-held and publicly-held companies to differences in their strategies and management processes. Results of a study of matched pairs of publicly-held and privately-held firms are reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops and tests a model which states in level specific fashion the effects that size, routineness, and the number of different specialties have on the span of control. The number of specialties supervised was found to decrease spans at lower and middle levels and increase them at upper levels. Routineness had little effect at any level. Size had little effect at lower levels but a positive effect at middle ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the results of a longitudinal study of company-wide reorganizations in divisionalized companies. Characteristics, beliefs, and strategies of top management groups were found to be fully as important as contextual factors in predicting organizational choices. Constellations of contextual factors seem to establish a range of feasible options for reorganization within which top management usually has considerable scope for choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the boundary role person (BRP) as an influence agent and investigates an aspect of his potential ability to influence the decision outcomes of other organizational members. It was found that as their information requirements increase under conditions of higher perceived environmental uncertainty, the constituent members attribute to the BRP greater power in the decision making process. The results further suggest that, in light of the BRP's position in the transference of information across the organization's boundary, the reliance on expert power appears to be the most effective basis of social power for dealing with other organizational members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports results of two studies which investigated elements of the current (House & Dessler, 1973; House & Mitchell, 1974) and initial (House, 1971) versions of the path-goal theory of leadership. The first constituted a replication and the second a longitudinal study which tested several assumptions about causation which underlie both versions of the theory. The findings largely supported the theory with the notable exception of the hypotheses concerning subordinate performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper builds a case for the refocusing of research away from the search for additional determinants of individual performance, turnover, and absenteeism, as now practiced in organizational research. Several new research directions are specified and, for one of these paths, a sample study is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]