THE FACT AND CAUSES OF VARIATION IN STRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES

As organizations adapt to changes in environmental conditions and internal needs, they often develop new structures. Research has described several diverse processes by which this development takes place (cf. Chandler, 1962; Child, 1972; Pettigrew, 1973; Sproull, et al., 1978). The only explanations provided thus far for these divergent views is methodological artefact and observer bias (Allison, 1971). In this paper, three parallel case studies are used to show that such differences are real - different organizations do follow different development paths. Evidence is provided to suggest that this variation is caused by the differing structures of organizational control surrounding new structures.     

INTERPRETING EVENT CAUSES: THE COMPLEMENTARY ROLE OF CATEGORIZATION AND ATTRIBUTION PROCESSES

This study examined the complementary role categorization and attribution processes play in managers’interpretations of event causes. Categorization theory suggests that events with distinctive internal or external causes should be interpreted, respectively, as internal and external. Attribution theory and research on self-serving attributions, on the other hand, suggest that events with positive outcomes should be attributed to internal causes and events with negative outcomes to external causes. Study results showed a very significant interaction between distinctiveness of event causes (internal-external) and the valence of event outcomes (positive-negative). This interaction suggests that managers use categorization processes to interpret positive events, but more effortful attributional processes to interpret events with negative outcomes. There also was evidence of self-serving attributional biases in managers’interpretations of event causes, especially events with equivocal causes. Study findings appear to be unaffected by managerial position or background. We discuss the contribution this study makes to extant research and its implications for future research.     

鼹鼠斗智雄狮——中小空调厂商的发展战略

我国空调业近年来正以30%至40%的速度迅猛发展,因此在空调市场这种巨大的消费需求和相对较高的利润诱惑面前,经常有新生力量杀入,来抢食这块丰厚的市场蛋糕。但是,由于空调大腕们当时轻看了新生力量的杀入,就给了许多迅猛进入的中小空调厂商以机遇。他们像大山深处的小花,在不显山不露水的情况下悄然发展起来,至2002年已膨胀到400多家。其中一部分中小空调厂商已经完成了资本的原始积累,并开始显示出竞争实力。这一来,空调市场的大腕们震惊了,它们不愿看到自己身边站立起新的巨人。于是在2002年美的、长虹、科龙等均发出市场“洗牌”宣言。…     

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TYPES OF INNOVATION AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE

The relationship between adoption of administrative and technical innovations over time and its impact on organizational performance was studied. A confirmatory analysis of the data from 85 public libraries showed that, over consecutive time periods, changes in the social structure, portrayed by the adoption of administrative innovations, lead to changes in the technical system, portrayed by the adoption of technical innovations. Empirical support was also provided for Daft's (1982) framework for organizational innovation that was found to be effective in separating organizations based on their performance levels.     

CGE EVALUATION OF A UNIVERSITY'S EFFECTS ON A REGIONAL ECONOMY: AN INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT OF EXPENDITURE AND KNOWLEDGE IMPACTS

In recent years many universities have commissioned studies of the effects of their institutions on their local economies. Typically, these impact studies have concentrated on the demand-side stimuli to the regional economy that the university generates. Normally, the studies are undertaken with comparative-static input-output models. The present study employs a dynamic multiregional computable general equilibrium model to investigate supply-side as well as demand-side effects. There are a range of supply-side effects that have been investigated in the spatial econometrics literature. The supply-side impacts of the university that we examine in particular are a rise in the average skill level of the local workforce, and successful R&D outcomes. CGE modelling allows simulation of the associated productivity effects, while the dynamic features of the model allow for consequent effects on a region's population and capital stock growth rates to be taken into account.     

CONCEPTUALIZING LEADERSHIP PROCESSES: A STUDY OF SENIOR MANAGERS IN A FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPANY*

Established methodologies of leadership research have placed unnecessary constraints upon our capacity to examine creatively actual leadership practices and to generate fresh insights into their dynamics. A regeneration of leadership research depends upon the development of new frameworks of interpretation which yield new or deeper understanding of processes to which the term ‘leadership’is usually attributed. To this end, the article presents a conceptual framework founded upon well established traditions of social enquiry which have been underutilized in leadership research. The value of this framework is demonstrated through the analysis of data taken from an intensive field study of leadership processes amongst senior managers. It is argued that this methodology for leadership research serves to answer calls for increasing the practical relevance of leadership research without making unacceptable sacrifices to its intellectual credibility.     

FAILURE, UNCERTAINTY AND CONTROL: THE ROLE OF OPERATORS IN A COMPUTER INTEGRATED PRODUCTION SYSTEM

This article presents the findings of a case study which analyzed how new electronics and computing technology affected the role of process operators in a continuous process plant manufacturing pigments in Scotland. the first stage of the research was a participant observation study of the site over two years. Three years later, production managers and operators were interviewed, and an observation study was carried out over one full shift in the plant studied. the results demonstrate that the process operators required considerable skill, knowledge, experience and training to deal with process faults, cope with contingencies, and to control the process effectively. the operators reported that they found interest and challenge in the work. the impact of technical change on the quality of working life was, however, equivocal. the operators’ mobility was constrained, they were isolated from the rest of the plant, some messy manual tasks remained, and they were still dependent on the technical and chemical expertise of management and engineering staff to handle serious problems. Other operators were less enthusiastic about the work. Management expected the new systems to reduce human intervention and control. But the limitations of the computer controls and the high cost of error meant that effective production was more dependent on human presence and ability than in simpler batch production. Advances in computing technology may highlight the conflict between management desires to reduce human operator control and to design effective integrated production systems.     

INTERPRETATIONS ON AUTOMATIC: A DIFFERENT VIEW OF STRATEGIC ISSUE DIAGNOSIS*

Models of strategic decision-making and environmental scanning typically assume that decision-makers diagnose issues actively, using conscious and intentional effort to identify and to interpret potentially significant events, developments and trends. This article establishes that conditions in organizations put decision-makers ‘on automatic’in their diagnosis of strategic issues, with direct implications for the process and content of strategic action. Implications for theory and practice are established.     

走出知识产权和标准之争的阴影

中国有多少生产厂家,还记得2002年那尴尬而又屈辱的一幕? 一份由互联网实验室新近公布的<中国高科技标准战略研究报告>全面反思了中国的高科技发展之路.该报告让人们自然地回顾起2002年那次堪称教训的专利纠纷.当时,在欧洲口岸,多家中国DVD播放机因生产厂商涉嫌未支付专利使用费,而被扣留在国外港口.