Digital Commons Network^™

Gamestop’S Next Play: Reconfiguring The Value Offering, A. Erin Bass, Erin G. Pleggenkuhle-Miles, Christopher Winchester, Thomas West

Management Faculty Publications

Theoretical basis

The theoretical basis for this case is a focus on strategic positioning as related to Porter’s generic strategies. The case describes GameStop’s previous differentiation approach, executed through physical stores and knowledgeable staff. With technological shifts and the introduction of digital downloads, this strategy is less effective. The case requires students to consider how GameStop might revise its generic strategy based on the new competitive landscape in which it operates.

Research methodology

In writing this case, the research team conducted thorough analysis through primary data collection in stores as well as secondary data collection through the use of market …

A Consensus-Based Transparency Checklist, Balazs Aczel, Barnabas Szaszi, Alexander Sarafoglou, Zoltan Kekecs, Šimon Kucharský,, Daniel Benjamin, Christopher D. Chambers, Agneta Fisher, Andrew Gelman, Morton A. Gernsbacher, Andrew A. Bennett, Eric-Jan Wagenmakers

Management Faculty Publications

We present a consensus-based checklist to improve and document the transparency of research reports in social and behavioural research. An accompanying online application allows users to complete the form and generate a report that they can submit with their manuscript or post to a public repository.

The Relocation Of Supply Chains From China And The Impact On The Chinese Economy, Shaomin Li

Management Faculty Publications

The U.S.-China trade war has had a huge impact on the supply chains in China, accelerating their relocation that had already begun due to rising taxes, costs of labor, and other input factors. The exodus reported in the past year is only the tip of the iceberg, as more serious effects will not become apparent immediately. A major effect of the relocation on China is job losses, which may reach as many as 5 million in the coming years. Given the unlikeliness of a quick end to the trade war and the reluctance of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to …

Imperatives Of Sustainable University Excellence: A Conceptual Framework, Tajammal Hussain, Jacob Eskildsen, Rick Edgeman, Muhammad Ismail, Alaa Mohamd Shoukry, Showkat Gani

Management Faculty Publications

This study envisions the architecture of a modern era university with sustainable standards of excellence. Sustainable University Excellence is herein defined as the ability of a university to excel in the core areas of knowledge creation and dissemination via the mobilization of human, social, intellectual, and financial capital to serve on socioeconomic and environmental fronts ethically, efficiently, and effectively to secure a sustainable future. Seven core performance domains of a university are explored: Teaching quality, research culture, technological capability building, accessibility, community engagement, internationalization, and environment, which should be prioritize in order to continuously advance along a sustainable excellence continuum. …

Values-Based Rivalry: A Theoretical Framework Of Rivalry Between Activists And Firms, Theodore L. Waldron, Chad Navis, Olivia Aronson, Jeffrey G. York, Desiree F. Pacheco

Management Faculty Publications

In this article we develop a theoretical framework to explain values-based rivalry between activists and firms by integrating and advancing key insights from competitive dynamics and social activist research. The first part of our framework conceptualizes the unique tensions, actions, and responses that characterize values-based rivalry and distinguish it from rivalry between firms. The second part of our framework conceptualizes the role of managers’ perceptions in shaping their firms’ likelihood of responding to activists’ actions during values-based rivalry. Overall, our conceptualization primarily expands competitive dynamics research to account for rivalry between dissimilar actors and, in doing so, broadens social activist …

How Dimensions Of Internationalization Shape The Mne's Renewal Capability: Multidimensional And Multilevel Considerations, Monica Riviere, A. Erin Bass

Management Faculty Publications

We investigate the theoretical and empirical implications of internationalization as a multidimensional and multilevel construct and its relationship to the renewal capability of the firm. Theoretically, internationalization describes a diverse range of cross-border activities by the multinational enterprise (MNE), and thus carries with it multiple dimensions of depth, breadth, and speed. Empirically, internationalization contains both within- and between-MNE variance, each with potentially different effects on the MNE's renewal capability. Using a unique, longitudinal dataset of 94 MNEs, we find support that each dimension and level of internationalization relates differently to the renewal capability of the MNE. At the within-level, the …

Exploring The Micro-Dynamics Of Adaptability: A Symbolic–Interpretative Perspective, Ivana Milosevic, A. Erin Bass, Mary Uhl-Bien

Management Faculty Publications

Much of the work in contemporary organizations could be considered adaptive work: it requires individuals to deviate from routines to meet the needs of changing contexts. Yet, despite this, the dynamics of adaptive work have been largely underexplored. In this paper, we address this by exploring adaptive work as a micro-dynamic of organizational adaptability by focusing on different symbols individuals use in their work. We discover that individuals use exogenous (symbols surrounding the work) and endogenous (symbols within the work) symbols to insert variability into the work and adapt to unexpected events. Exogenous symbols create adaptive space where variability and …

All Of The Above?: An Examination Of Overlapping Organizational Climates, Alice M. Brawley Newlin, Cynthia L.S. Pury

Management Faculty Publications

We examined the largely unexplored issue of strong associations between multiple specific climates (e.g., for safety and for service). Given that workplaces are likely to have more than one specific climate present, it is important to understand how and why these perceptions overlap. Individual ratings (i.e., at the psychological climate level) for seven specific climates and a general positive climate were obtained from 353 MTurk Workers employed in various industries. We first observed strong correlations among a larger set of specific climates than typically studied: climates for collaboration, communication, fair treatment, fear, safety, service, and work-life balance were all strongly …

From A To Z – Capacity Issues Of Arches And Zion National Parks, Mike Dixon, Alyssa Henke, Morgan Jones, Tyler Orr

Management Faculty Publications

After a long wait to enter the park, Caleb, an current MBA student, was handed a map by a ranger manning the entrance gate to Arches National Park (ANP). Caleb was warned that the park was expecting large crowds and heavy traffic throughout the day. The entrance into ANP began with a long road winding along the side of a cliff, which ultimately would bring him up to a massive plateau where he could begin to explore the park’s many hikes and scenic overlooks. Traffic was so heavy on this road that it took Caleb nearly an hour to simply …

Top Management Team Diversity, Equality, And Innovation: A Multilevel Investigation Of The Health Care Industry, A. Erin Bass

Management Faculty Publications

The role of women on top management teams (TMTs) is an increasingly important topic for both academics and practitioners. Despite increased attention to gender diversity on TMTs, there remains limited understanding of how gender diversity influences important outcomes of the firm, such as innovation. To this end, I investigate the relationships between two dimensions of TMT diversity—TMT gender diversity and TMT compensation equality—and firm innovation, and consider how TMT size influences these relationships. Using a unique, multilevel, longitudinal sample of publicly traded firms in the U.S. health care industry, I find TMT size to be a key driver in the …

The Cosmos Of A Public Sector Township: Democracy As An Intellectual Culture, Patturaja Selvaraj

Management Faculty Publications

The public sector plays an important role in responding to the rights of citizens and evolving norms of social interest (Qu 2015). Qu argues that the nature of public enterprise is never final and there is a constant negotiation between the private and the public emergence of life and rights. One such space where the tension between the private and the public manifests itself is the public sector township or the residential colony in India. The sociality of hierarchy in public sector organizations manifest itself in the public sector township and may nurture everyday aspirations, angsts and divides. The officer …

Seriously?: Estimates Of Gig Work Dependence Vary With Question Wording, Alice M. Brawley Newlin

Management Faculty Publications

In this presentation, Brawley Newlin examines whether "gig" workers respond differently to questions about their dependence on gig income based on question wording and/or based on objective dependence measures (e.g., number of dependent children, hours worked in the gig). Results show that about half of the variability in responses is due to question wording, and half is due to more objective dependence factors.

Decasticization, Dignity, And ‘Dirty Work’ At The Intersections Of Caste, Memory, And Disaster, Ramaswami Mahalingam, Srinath Jagannathan, Patturaja Selvaraj

Management Faculty Publications

In this qualitative study we examine the role of caste, class, and Dalit janitorial labor in the aftermath of floods in Chennai, India, in 2015. Drawing from a variety of sources including interviews, social media, and news coverage, we studied how Dalit (formerly known as ‘untouchable’) janitors were treated during the performance of janitorial labor for cleaning the city. Our study focuses on two theoretical premises: (a) caste-based social relations reproduce inequalities by devaluing Dalit labor as ‘dirty work’; and (b) Dalit subjectivities, labor, and sufferings including occupational hazards become invisible and ungrievable forcing Dalits to provide a counter narrative …

Work-Life Events Theory: Making Sense Of Shock Events In Dual-Earner Couples, Wayne S. Crawford, Meredith J. Thompson, Blake E. Ashforth

Management Faculty Publications

Dual-earner couples are increasingly prevalent and encounter demands arising from each partner’s commitment to various work and life domains. Unfortunately, there has been little theoretical progress in explaining how dual-earner couples navigate work-life shock events, which we define as disruptive, novel, and critical events that require investment of a couple’s resources. Drawing from identity and sensemaking theories, we develop a theory of work-life shock events to explain how dual-earner couples perceive and respond to these events. We theorize that partners initially make sense of the event as individuals and then engage in couple-level sensemaking. We argue that each individual’s shock …

Instrumental Stakeholder Theory Makes Ethically Based Relationship Building Palatable To Managers Focused On The Bottom Line, Jeffrey S. Harrison, Will Felps, Thomas M. Jones

Management Faculty Publications

We appreciate the opportunity to engage in this dialogue with Weitzner and Deutsch (2019) to clarify the meaning and intent of some of the arguments found in our article, “How Applying Instrumental Stakeholder Theory Can Provide Sustainable Competitive Advantage” (Jones, Harrison, & Felps, 2018). We are grateful for the high praise from the authors regarding the rigor and logic of our applications of resource-based criteria to instrumental stakeholder theory (IST). We begin this response by highlighting a few areas of agreement, followed by some points where we disagree.

Stakeholder Management: A Managerial Perspective, Jeffrey S. Harrison, Andrew C. Wicks

Management Faculty Publications

Scholars and practitioners have acknowledged the practical relevance of stakeholder theory as it has been applied to management. This chapter provides a brief foundation for understanding the basic principles of stakeholder management and some of its best known tools, including the development of an enterprise strategy, identification and prioritization of stakeholders, and measurement of the value firms create with and for stakeholders. We then share insights about implementation of stakeholder management based on interviews with high-level executives from a variety of well-known companies. We found that stakeholder principles have been applied in a variety of ways and under various labels. …

Stakeholder Theory, Robert A. Phillips, Jay B. Barney, R. Edward Freeman, Jeffrey S. Harrison

Management Faculty Publications

Though there is clearly a “family resemblance” to the work that is typically done under its bailiwick, stakeholder theory continues to resist precise circumscription. Like the organizations it attempts to understand, the boundaries of the theory remain contentious. While various attempts have been made to clearly define the parameters of stakeholder theory (i.e., Clarkson Center for Business Ethics, 1999; Donaldson & Preston, 1995; Freeman, et al., 2010; Jones & Wicks, 1999; Phillips, 2003; Phillips, Freeman & Wicks, 2003), none of these efforts has gained universal acceptance. The following, which combines ideas from a variety of well-known sources (Freeman, 1984; Freeman, …

Sustainable Wealth Creation: Applying Instrumental Stakeholder Theory To The Improvement Of Social Welfare, Thomas M. Jones, Jeffrey S. Harrison

Management Faculty Publications

This chapter briefly reviews core ideas and research results in the existing instrumental stakeholder theory (IST) literature and then applies the IST concept to the simultaneous pursuit of two objectives—advancing social welfare, the presumed goal of morally legitimate social systems in general, and preserving the key elements of shareholder wealth enhancement—the traditional goal of the corporation. In so doing, we expand the range of ethical approaches to IST beyond deontological principles (e.g., treat stakeholders fairly; be trustworthy in dealing with stakeholders) present in extant versions of IST, to a consequentialist focus (i.e., a utilitarian concern for “the greatest good for …

China's Intellectual Property Rights Provocation: A Political Economy View, Shaomin Li

Management Faculty Publications

It is well recognized that intellectual property rights (IPR) violations are at the heart of the economic conflict with China. Little agreement, however, exists about the origin and solutions for this provocation. Broadly speaking, two prescriptions have been proposed: the natural evolutionary and the rule of law views. While both have merits and add to our understanding, they do not go far enough to address the more fundamental IPR policy issue: China has benefited from a rule of law overseas and a rule through law at home, manufacturing unfair advantage to its firms, many of which are owned and/or influenced …

How Does Customer Service Offshoring Impact Customer Satisfaction?, Jonathan W. Whitaker, M. S. Krishnan, Claes Fornell, Forrest Morgeson

Management Faculty Publications

Information technology (IT) plays a vital role in customer relationship management (CRM), because CRM processes include the collection and analysis of customer information, firms use technology tools to interact with customers, and IT created the conditions under which firms can offshore CRM processes. Customers have negative perceptions toward offshoring, which suggests that firms might be reluctant to offshore IT-enabled CRM processes. However, firms have significantly increased offshoring for CRM processes, presenting a conundrum. Why would firms increase offshoring for CRM processes if there could be a risk to customer satisfaction?

This paper helps to resolve the conundrum by studying the …

Chronic Disease Management: How It And Analytics Create Healthcare Value Through The Temporal Displacement Of Care, Steven M. Thompson, Jonathan W. Whitaker, Rajiv Kohli, Craig Jones

Management Faculty Publications

The treatment of chronic diseases consumes 86% of U.S. healthcare costs. While healthcare organizations have traditionally focused on treating the complications of chronic diseases, advances in information technology (IT) and analytics can help clinicians and patients manage and slow the progression of chronic diseases to result in higher quality of life for patients and lower healthcare costs.

We build on prior research to introduce the notion of temporal displacement of care (TDC), in which IT and analytics create healthcare value by displacing the time at which providers and patients make interventions to improve healthcare outcomes and reduce costs. We propose …