Knowledge that Transforms

Computer-based technology is often credited with making decentralized decision-making possible, helping firms to respond rapidly to changing market conditions. Research on this subject, however, shows contradictory effects: some studies support decentralization and others support centralization. This longitudinal study examines how one form of computer-based technology, programmable automation (PA), affects centralization. Unlike previous studies, it attempts to clear up some of the confusion surrounding technology’s effect on centralization by distinguishing between strategic and operating decisions, and between decision-making authority and influence. As expected, PA flattened the hierarchy. It had no effect on strategic decision-making power, but surprisingly, did influence centralized line-operating authority and influence. This finding is particularly striking because firms with decentralized line-operating decision-making are more likely to adopt PA.

Kipnis and Schmidt (1988) challenged the traditional between-person focus in upward influence research by the clustering of tactics to identify four broader styles individuals use in influence attempts. Using two diverse samples, findings supported the existence of three of the four styles identified by Kipnis and Schmidt (Tactician, Shotgun, and Bystander). Tests of hypotheses linking theoretical correlates to specific styles suggest that configurational approaches to influence use should not be ignored by researchers.

This research introduces and demonstrates the application of Latent Class Modeling (LCM) in an important management setting. The study examines the grouping of nations and reviews a number of the key approaches to grouping nations by culture. An alternative approach to grouping nations is proposed, based on workplace attitudes and values, and using LCM. Results suggest that groups of nations can be identified using LCM and that this approach demonstrates that group membership may, in many instances, span historical, language or geographic differences. Managerial implications of the findings are discussed, along with recommendations for future research.

An extensive comparison of the sample-weighted method (Hunter & Schmidt, 1990), and a newer unweighted method (Osburn & Callender, 1992) of meta-analysis is presented using actual data. Several of the advantages of the unweighted method predicted by Osburn and Callendar’s simulation research did not always hold in actual application. Specifically, the unweighted method did not always produce larger estimates of observed variance, credibility intervals, and confidence intervals than the sample-weighted method when large sample outliers are present. Also, Osburn and Callender’s research on mean sampling variance formulae did not generalize to meta-analysis using the average correlation estimator to measure sample error variance. Finally, results show that while both methods may generate similar parameter and variance estimates in primary meta-analysis, they may lead researchers to reach different substantive conclusions in the analysis of moderators.

To date, the most promising attempt to explain departure rates of executives of acquired firms examined the conditions that create perceptions of relative standing, but did not gauge the perceptions themselves. This study extends this line of research by surveying the post-merger perceptions of the top managers of firms acquired in friendly, related deals. We used a two-stage data collection design with the attempt to explain turnover in the first three years following the acquisition, and also predict it in the fourth year.

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is used to create a measure of managerial efficiency in an attempt to reassess the conflicting theories concerning the impact of organizational performance on managerial firings, and the counter-theories concerning the impact of manager hirings on organizational performance. The analysis uses data for 147 college basketball teams from 1984–1991. The results indicate that winning, not efficiency, is the key criterion used in determining managerial retention. Yet, when managers of losing teams are dismissed, the teams tend to do even worse. However, if the efficiency of the new manager is greater than that of the former, the disruptive effect of succession is minimized. Because administrators appear to focus on winning not efficiency, they will often select new managers that are less efficient than departed managers. These results are unique to this literature and indicate promise for the use of DEA in analyses of the internal efficiencies of organizations.

This study investigated whether conscientiousness and ability interact in the prediction of job performance. Although few studies have directly addressed this issue, there is limited evidence that ability moderates the relationship between conscientiousness and job performance. Specifically, it has been reported that the relationship of conscientiousness to performance is positive for high ability and near zero or negative for low ability. Results in the present study provided no support for the interaction of GMA and conscientiousness. Moderated hierarchical regression analyses for three independent samples of participants (146 managers in sample 1, 103 sales representatives in sample 2, and 121 managers in sample 3), showed that the interaction did not account for unique variance in the prediction of supervisory ratings of job performance beyond that accounted for by GMA and conscientiousness. These findings indicate that ability does not moderate the relationship of conscientiousness to job performance. Practical implications for employee selection practices, and theoretical implications for models of job performance, are discussed.

Little theoretical attention has been given to divestiture; that is, to the question of why two firms that face similar environments make different selling decisions and reap different performance outcomes from a sale. This article proposes a framework of divestiture built around the core concept of seller responsiveness, which is defined as the readiness of the management at the selling firm to respond to the need to divest. The data show how divestiture context, management characteristics, and governance attributes influence seller responsiveness and, in turn, the price the divesting firm receives. Finally, the framework’s implications for research and practice are discussed.

Driven by concerns about negative reactions among employees, most firms have traditionally avoided reducing compensation in response to competitive pressures or labor market opportunities. Thus, recent moves by a number of firms to reduce compensation raises questions about why, increasingly, firms differ in their willingness to lower compensation in response to pressures and/or opportunities. Using organizational level data obtained from over 400 human resource managers, this study examines determinants of efforts to reduce compensation—both in real and nominal terms. The results suggest that efforts to lower compensation are related to competitive pressures faced by the firm and to human resource policies and practices. These human resource policies and practices are thought to affect sensitivity to environmental change and the degree to which reductions generate incidental costs for the firm. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.