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This paper reanalyzes Miller and Friesen's (1984a) life cycle data by statistically assessing their conclusions regarding the life cycle imperative. Three separate models were tested: a three-phase model, a four-phase model and a five-phase model. Using the del procedure for the prediction analysis of cross-classification tables, a sensitivity analysis showed that there is support for the life cycle progression hypothesis, but only when firms that stay in the same phase are not treated as errors. When firms that stay the same are increasingly weighted as errors, del values drop significantly. In general, the three- and four-phase models show better support for the life cycle hypothesis than the five-phase model originally used by Miller and Friesen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two studies investigating the growth patterns of new ventures are presented. In the first study, a stage-of-growth model theorized to apply specifically to technology-based new ventures was developed from two cases. Stages are described as a configuration of organizational design variables representing a firm's response to the sets of dominant problems it faces at sequential times. The second study explored relationships between stages of growth and a theorized pattern of dominant problems using a data base of 105 firms. Partial support emerged for the link between dominant problems and stages of growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction In response to the long-standing perspective in the strategic management literature that industry and competitive structures determine firm performance (Bain 1956; Porter 1985), there has been a recent increase [...]

Multilevel theory is a powerful tool for mapping out organizational phenomena. Since it demonstrates how organizational members at one level can interact with and influence members at other levels, this construct provides a mechanism for describing the increasing complex processes that occur in organizations. To illustrate its application, a multilevel perspective of creativity in organizations is presented and used to explain how periodic crises can reframe the negotiated order of belief structures about the importance of creativity.