Business Commons^™

The Impact Of Growth Mindset Training On Entrepreneurial Action Among Necessity Entrepreneurs: Evidence From A Randomized Control Trial, Shad Morris, W. Chad Carlos, Geoffrey Kistruck, Robert Lount, Tumsify Elly Thomas

Faculty Publications

Although entrepreneurship training programs are designed to help necessity entrepreneurs acquire skills and capabilities to take entrepreneurial action, participants in these programs often fail to do so. In partnership with a local government agency, we conducted a randomized field experiment involving 165 entrepreneurs in rural Tanzania where in addition to providing technical-skills training, approximately half of the participants also received ‘growth mindset’ psychological training. Those who received the growth mindset training displayed more entrepreneurial action in their business than those in the control group. Importantly, higher levels of entrepreneurial self efficacy mediated the positive impact on entrepreneurial action displayed by …

Avoiding The Appearance Of Virtue: Reactivity To Corporate Social Responsibility Ratings In An Era Of Shareholder Primacy, Ben W. Lewis, W. Chad Carlos

Faculty Publications

We examine why organizations may at times decrease their performance after receiving a positive rating. We argue that in contrast to the prevailing assumption that organizations will strive for favorable ratings to achieve reputational benefits, incompatibility between a positive rating and a dominant institutional logic may cause recognized firms to question the perceived value of maintaining superior performance, thus leading them to strategically reduce their efforts on the rated dimension. Using a difference-in-differences design, we examine how companies responded to being rated as charitable organizations, an evaluation that we argue was generally perceived as incompatible with the dominant logic of …

How Has Covid-19 Changed Consumer Participation In Value Co-Creation?, Katelynne Hinckley

Student Works

This research documents value co-creative interactions between firms and consumers during the Covid-19 pandemic. I offer insights based on theory to explain how and why consumers are changing, especially in relation to service industries. The context of Covid-19 demands that both companies and consumers adapt by shouldering a greater burden of the value creation process in order to create value that is at least comparable to and, at most, exceeding that of pre-pandemic times. The extent to which a consumer or a firm becomes a greater participant than before is highly dependent on the industry and Covid-19 restrictions. While many …

Individual Performance And Taking On Firm-Specific Roles: The Case Of Business School Associate Deans, Jeff Dyer, David Kryscynski, Christopher Law, Shad Morris

Faculty Publications

The firm-specific human capital dilemma suggests that firms generally want employees to make firm-specific investments but that employees prefer not to make them. We suggest that individual performance may moderate this dilemma such that the dilemma increases as individual performance increases – i.e. firms may prefer high performers in firm-specific roles while high performers may resist these roles more than their lower performing counterparts. We examine our extended firm-specific human capital theory in a context where the classic firm-specific human capital dilemma likely exists: business academia. Using a unique dataset of 4,164 business school professors from 39 of the top …

Dancing With The Stars: The Practical Value Of Theory In Managing Star Employees, Shad Morris, Sharon A. Alvarez, Jay B. Barney

Faculty Publications

Star employees create disproportionate value for organizations. However, managing stars is decidedly difficult. Scholars have not yet appropriately addressed this practical problem. Much of the problem is interpreting our theoretical models that convey human capital from a static perspective. By combining incomplete contract theory with human capital research and theories of strategy, we show how existing theory can provide a framework for solving problems related to managing stars while also offering a platform for further research within the strategic human capital field. To do this, we recap extant theory and examine how stars create value for an organization by co-developing …

Time For Realignment: The Hr Ecosystem, Scott Snell, Shad Morris

Faculty Publications

The concepts of fit and alignment have been foundational to the field of strategic human resource management. And while the theoretical premises that underlie these concepts remain useful and intuitively compelling, the lack of empirical evidence to support them proves problematic. Part of the reason, we suspect, is that our research on fit and alignment does not fully reflect realities of contemporary organizations or the practical challenges faced by managers. We argue that HR researchers have an opportunity to reframe concepts of fit and alignment to better reflect the complexities and dynamics of contemporary models of strategy and organization. We …

Human Capital In Strategy 2008-2018, David Kryscynski, Shad Morris

Faculty Publications

As strategic human capital scholars we have been deeply influenced by the work of Russ Coff (1997, 1999) and other notable scholars (Barney, 1991; Castanias & Helfat, 1991, 2001, Lepak & Snell, 1999, 2002; Lippman & Rumelt, 1982) who have pushed us to think about human assets differently from other inanimate assets in strategy theory. For this virtual special issue we simply asked a question of recently published research on human capital in strategy: what are the dominant human capital themes in our premier strategy journal? This question guided a few assumptions, which then determined which articles we included in …

Innovative Accounting Interviewing: A Comparison Of Real And Virtual Accounting Interviewers, Matthew D. Pickard, Ryan Schuetzler, Joseph S. Valacich, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

Recent technological advances have made it possible to create automated, virtual interviewers, called embodied conversational agents (ECAs). We study how an ECA compares to a human interviewer in three experiments. In experiment 1, we show that two theoretically motivated factors—making the ECA facially and vocally similar to the interviewee—result in the ECA performing similarly to or better than human interviewers for six antecedents of disclosure quality. In two additional experiments, we show that employees are on average between 21 and 32 percent more likely to disclose violating internal controls to an ECA than to a human interviewer, even if the …

The Trouble With Twitter, Josh Kjar

Student Works

Freedom of speech and censorship balance on a precarious scale in the US. With the advent of social media, this balance has been troubled due to the migration of public conversation to a private space where freedom of speech is no longer ensured. This paper dives into the complexities of free speech and censorship, their current status in the US today, the way that social media and private ownership challenge their balance, and concludes with an argument for a democratized balance through modest government oversight.

Amphibious Entrepreneurs And The Origins Of Invention, Kurt Sandholtz, Walter W. Powell

Faculty Publications

In this chapter, we examine entrepreneurs who carry ideas, technologies, values, and assumptions between previously unrelated spheres of economic or cultural activity, and in the process, change the existing order of things. We label such individuals amphibious entrepreneurs and explore their characteristics via four case studies. Their stories suggest a distinct species within the genus of entrepreneur: more pragmatic than heroic, and as likely to invent by not knowing any better as by calculative creation. We discuss their role in creating interstitial spaces, contrast them to other boundary-spanning actors, and identify directions for future research at the intersection of social …

The Double-Edged Sword Of Jurisdictional Entrenchment: Explaining Human Resources Professionals’ Failed Strategic Repositioning, Kurt Sandholtz, Daisy Chung, Isaac Waisberg

Faculty Publications

To protect themselves against deskilling and obsolescence, professionals must periodically revise their claims to authority and expertise. Although we understand these dynamics in the broader system of professions, we have a less complete understanding of how this process unfolds in specific organizational contexts. Yet given the ubiquity of embedded professionals, this context is where jurisdictional shifts increasingly take place.Drawing on a comparative ethnographic study of human resources (HR) professionals in two engineering firms, we introduce the concept of jurisdictional entrenchment to explain the challenges embedded professionals face when they attempt to redefine their jurisdiction. Jurisdictional entrenchment describes a condition in …

Fight, Flight, And Freeze: Human Responses In A Business Strategy Environment, Michael Nixon

Student Works

Fight, flight, and freeze responses are a natural part of how we operate as humans. These responses permeate our lives and affect our decisions in major ways. This thesis first employs a case study to help the reader understand natural reaction processes, then analyzes case studies where businesses applied strategies that closely resembled these reaction processes. I then propose a framework to mimic physiological reaction processes to help companies arrive at the optimal solution.

Principles Or Templates? The Antecedents And Performance Effects Of Cross-Border Knowledge, James B. Oldroyd, Shad Morris, Jeff P. Dotson

Faculty Publications

Managers understand the importance of knowledge management systems for project-based work. Efforts are often made to ensure knowledge is codified and disseminated throughout the firm so employees can draw upon them to complete their projects. Unfortunately, however, such efforts often lead to stockpiles of information that remain untapped and underutilized. This study seeks to answer two questions. First, how can managers influence workers to utilize different types of codified knowledge in the first place? Second, do different types of codified knowledge have differential effects on performance? We find that increased individual experience drives the use of knowledge principles while workers …

3 Key Aspects To Building A Successful Online Apparel Business, Deana Mugimu

Student Works

Discuss three major elements that contribute to building a successful apparel business online. The three factors discussed include search engine optimization, brand/company focus, and content consistency. These elements are applicable to any other industry besides apparel. Both the interconnectedness of all three aspects and the value of doing each one is addressed.

The Price Of Praise In The Market For Virtue: A Paradox Of Rating And Recognizing Responsibility, Ben William Lewis

Faculty Publications

In this study, I investigate how organizations respond to positive social ratings. Drawing upon theoretical insights from the organizational literatures on reputation, information disclosure, and commensuration, I argue that positive social ratings that define a specific and fixed threshold for recognition can alter the market price for a signal of virtue, and thus lead high-performing organizations to reduce their subsequent social performance. To test this hypothesis, I examine how large public corporations responded to a social responsibility rating that evaluated and recognized their prior philanthropic efforts. I find that firms recognized for their generosity were more likely to reduce their …

Project Management Online Course – An Instructional Design Project, Fred R Hyatt

Student Works

Project management is a subject that is in demand at today’s institutions of higher learning. It is a valuable skill for employees in sectors from instructional design to information technology, and in many other fields. This report summarizes a project to create an online course with content similar to the IS 405 Project Management course in the Marriott School of Business at Brigham Young University. A brief literature search is described along with a design model based on the combination of Merrill’s First Principles and Gibbon’s Layer Theory of Instructional Design. The scope of the project was adjusted to be …

Gone With The Wind: The Evolving Influence Of Social Movements And Counter Movements On Entrepreneurial Activity In The U.S. Wind Industry, W. Chad Carlos, Wesley D. Sine, Brandon H. Lee, Heather A. Haveman

Faculty Publications

Social movements can disrupt existing industries and inspire the emergence of new markets by drawing attention to problems with the status quo and promoting alternatives. We examine how the influence of social movements on entrepreneurial activity evolves as the markets they foster mature. Theoretically, we argue that the success of social movements in furthering market expansion leads to three related outcomes. First, the movement-encouraged development of market infrastructure reduces the need for continued social movement support. Second, social movements’ efforts on behalf of new markets increase the importance of resource availability for market entry. Third, market growth motivates countermovements that …

The Risk Of Being Ranked: Investor Response To Marginal Inclusion On The 100 Best Corporate Citizens List, Ben William Lewis, W. Chad Carlos

Faculty Publications

Despite the proliferation of lists and rankings that recognize firms for superior performance, empirical studies have been limited in their ability to causally evaluate how inclusion for the marginal firm influences shareholder value. Using a regression discontinuity design, we address this limitation by examining how investors responded to firms that were just barely included or excluded from the 100 Best Corporate Citizens list. Contrary to prevailing theoretical expectations, our findings indicate that marginal firms that were included in the ranking experienced negative abnormal returns compared to marginal firms that were excluded. We discuss how these findings inspire future research on …

Pragmatism And Pluralism: A Moral Foundation For Stakeholder Theory In The 21st Century, Paul C. Godfrey, Ben William Lewis

Faculty Publications

Donaldson and Preston (1995) defined the three pillars of stakeholder as descriptive, instrumental, and normative. Because of their close alignment between the instrumental and normative pillars and the moral philosophies of utilitarianism and deontology, the latter became the default moral foundations of stakeholder theory. In this chapter, we argue that the moral foundation of the descriptive pillar, pragmatism, provides a moral foundation for twenty-first century stakeholder theory. As we show, pragmatism and its close cousin pluralism fits a stakeholder theory concerned with the descriptive questions that characterize current work in stakeholder theory. Pragmatism and pluralism both see eudemonia, or human …

Manu Militari: The Institutional Contingencies Of Stakeholder Relationships On Entrepreneurial Performance, Shon R. Hiatt, W. Chad Carlos, Wesley D. Sine

Faculty Publications

This study examines how ventures can leverage relationships with heterogeneous government stakeholders to enhance survival in different institutional environments. We consider how the distinct resources provided from venture ties to military and political actors represent complementary strategic assets that differentially influence performance in varying political and economic environments as well as under conditions of violence and political conflict. Empirically, we examine the effect of these respective stakeholder relationships on new venture survival across 10 countries over a 65-year period. By distinguishing between the resources obtained through relationships with different types of government stakeholders and showing how the value of these …

Status Spillovers, Brian P. Reschke, Pierre Azoulay, Toby E. Stuart

Faculty Publications

When an actor experiences a sudden gain in status—for example, when a scientist wins a Nobel Prize, or a film director wins an Oscar—what does this increase do to the fates of that actor’s many ‘neighbors’? Do they bask in the reflected glory of the prize recipient, and therefore gain with her? Or, does competition for attention ensue, attenuating the recognition neighbors otherwise would have received? We investigate these questions in science. Using expert-assigned article keywords, we identify papers that are topically related to publications of future appointees to the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). In difference-in-difference specifications we …

Strategic Silence: Withholding Certification Status As A Hypocrisy Avoidance Tactic, W. Chad Carlos, Ben William Lewis

Faculty Publications

We examine why organizations that obtain prominent certifications may at times elect not to publicize them. Drawing on the impression management literature, we argue and show that concerns about being perceived as hypocritical may cause organizations to strategically withhold their certification status. Using a longitudinal panel of corporations that were members of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, a prominent environmental certification, we show that in the face of reputational threats, organizations are less likely to publicize their certification status when the threat appears to directly contradict the claims implied by the certification. Our findings suggest that the threat of hypocrisy …

An Architectural Framework For Global Talent Management, Shad S. Morris, Scott Snell, Ingmar Björkman

Faculty Publications

A unique characteristic of the multinational corporation is that it consists of culturally diverse employees that embody both firm-specific and location-specific human capital. This paper takes an architectural approach to describe how different types of human capital develop from the individual level, to the unit level, and then to the firm level in order to build a talent portfolio for the multinational corporation. Depending on the company’s strategy (multidomestic, meganational, transnational), different configurations of the talent portfolio tend to be emphasized and integrated to achieve competitive advantage. Implications for theory and practice are discussed and a research agenda is introduced.

From Warning To Wallpaper: Why The Brain Habituates To Security Warnings, Bonnie Anderson, Anthony Vance, C. Brock Kirwan, Jeffrey L. Jenkins, David Eargle

Faculty Publications

Warning messages are fundamental to users' security interactions. Unfortunately, research has shown that they are largely ineffective. A key contributor to this failure is habituation: decreased response to a repeated warning. Previous research has inferred the occurrence of habituation to warnings or measured it indirectly, such as through the proxy of a related behavior. Therefore, there is a gap in our understanding of how habituation to security warnings develops in the brain. Without direct measures of habituation, we are limited in designing warnings that can mitigate its effects. In this study, we use neurophysiological measures to directly observe habituation as …

Compliance Police Or Business Partner? Institutional Complexity And Occupational Tensions In Human Resource Managment, Kurt Sandholtz, Tyler N. Burrows

Faculty Publications

Faced with institutional demands, organizations often create departments whose work is divorced from technical imperatives. This paper examines workers in one such department: Human Resources. Analysis of HR's recent history and evidence from an ethnographic study of HR work highlight the institutional origins of conflict between HR's established "compliance police" role and the "business partner" expectations of line managers. The paper outlines a theory of how organizational responses to institutional complexity contribute to persistent tension in HR and other heteronomous occupations.

More Harm Than Good? How Messages That Interrupt Can Make Us Vulnerable, Jeffrey L. Jenkins, Bonnie Anderson, Anthony Vance, C. Brock Kirwan, David Eargle

Faculty Publications

System-generated alerts are ubiquitous in personal computing and, with the proliferation of mobile devices, daily activity. While these interruptions provide timely information, research shows they come at a high cost in terms of increased stress and decreased productivity. This is due to dual-task interference (DTI), a cognitive limitation in which even simple tasks cannot be simultaneously performed without significant performance loss. Although previous research has examined how DTI impacts the performance of a primary task (the task that was interrupted), no research has examined the effect of DTI on the interrupting task. This is an important gap because in many …

How Users Perceive And Respond To Security Messages: A Neurois Research Agenda And Empirical Study, Bonnie Anderson, Anthony Vance, C. Brock Kirwan, David Eargle, Jeffrey Jenkins

Faculty Publications

Users are vital to the information security of organizations. In spite of technical safeguards, users make many critical security decisions. An example is users' responses to security messages—discrete communication designed to persuade users to either impair or improve their security status. Research shows that although users are highly susceptible to malicious messages (e.g., phishing attacks), they are highly resistant to protective messages such as security warnings. Research is therefore needed to better understand how users perceive and respond to security messages. In this article, we argue for the potential of NeuroIS—cognitive neuroscience applied to information system (IS)—to shed new light …

Firm-Specific Human Capital Investments As A Signal Of General Value: Revisiting Assumptions About Human Capital And How It Is Managed, Shad S. Morris, Sharon A. Alvarez, Jay B. Barney, Janice C. Molloy

Faculty Publications

Research Summary:

Prior scholarship has assumed that firm-specific and general human capital can be analyzed separately. This paper argues that, in some settings, this is not the case because prior firm-specific human capital investments can be a market signal of an individual’s willingness and ability to make such investments in the future. As such, the willingness and ability to make firm-specific investments is a type of general human capital that links firm-specific and general human capital in important ways. The paper develops theory about these investments, market signals, and value appropriation. Then the paper examines implications for human resource management …

Scaling Up Your Story: An Experiment In Global Knowledge Sharing At The World Bank, Shad Morris, James B. Oldroyd, Sita Ramaswami

Faculty Publications

Timely and effective knowledge transfer is increasingly important in today’s technologically advanced global market. However, a myopic focus on efficiency has frequently rendered most organizational knowledge ineffective. By coupling technology with a formal system that captures informal stories in an engaging and entertaining way, actors within an organization may be more willing to listen to what geographically dispersed colleagues are doing, and may be more likely to ascribe value to that information. Focusing on the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group, we conducted interviews with those sharing and using knowledge, and performed content analyses of 175 knowledge-sharing narratives. …

Pipes, Pools And Filters: How Collaboration Networks Affect Innovative Performance, Harpeet Singh, David Kryscynski, Xinxin Li, Ram Gopal

Faculty Publications

Innovation requires inventors to have both "new knowledge" and the ability to combine and configure knowledge (i.e. "combinatory knowledge") and such knowledge may flow through networks. We argue that both combinatory knowledge and new knowledge are accessed through collaboration networks, but that inventors' abilities to access such knowledge depends on its location in the network. Combinatory knowledge transfers from direct contacts, but not easily from indirect contacts. In contrast, new knowledge transfers from both direct and indirect contacts, but is far more likely to be new and useful when it comes from indirect contacts. Exploring knowledge flows in 69,476 patents …