Knowledge that Transforms

In this article we integrate contextual and cognitive explanations for gender-based selection in the workplace; we also consider the implications of this integration for understanding gender segregation. We argue that decision makers' propensity to use applicant gender as a basis for hiring and promotion decisions varies systematically across organizational contexts. We explore specific ways in which organizational context influences decision makers' development and use of gender-associated schemas of typical jobholders. We also argue that the interaction between context and cognition may be partially responsible for the persistence of gender segregation. Finally, we discuss the implications of our approach for the practice of personnel selection and research on selection and gender segregation.

Faced with turbulent national and international environments, entire U.S. industries — most notably steel and automobiles — have revealed a distinct propensity to overlook radically new types of competitors, cling to traditional technologies, and remain mired in similar, yet outdated, strategic postures. In this article, we ascribe the adaptive failures of entire industries not only to the microcultures of single organizations, but also to what we term interorganizational “macro-cultures” — relatively idiosyncratic beliefs that are shared by managers across organizations. More specifically, we propose that value-added networks linking organizations into collectivities both induce and reflect the existence and persistence of more or less homogeneous macrocultures. In turn, homogeneous macrocultures (a) increase the level of inertia these organizations experience, (b) influence the inventiveness of organizations and the diffusion of innovations among them, and (c) increase the similarity of member organizat...