THEORIES OF MACRO ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR THEORIES OF MACRO ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR A HANDBOOK OF IDEAS AND EXPLANATIONS CONOR VIBERT M.E.Sharpe Armonk, New York London, England Copyright © 2004 by M.E Sharpe, Inc All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher, M.E Sharpe, Inc., 80 Business Park Drive, Armonk, New York 10504 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Vibert, Conor, 1962– Theories of macro-organizational behavior : a handbook of ideas and explanations / Conor Vibert p cm Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN 0-7656-1294-1 (alk paper) Organizational behavior Corporations Complex organizations Management I Title HD58.7.V53 2004 302.3’5—dc22 2003057376 Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z 39.48-1984 ~ BM (c) 10 Contents Acknowledgments Introduction A Primer on Organization Theory Deborah Hurst and Conor Vibert Part I 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Functional Economic Theories of the Firm Neoclassical Economics Perspective Chicago School Perspective Bain-Mason Perspective Transaction Cost Perspective Network Perspective Agency Theory Perspective Stakeholder Perspective Resource-Based Theory Perspective Behavioral Perspective Game Theory Perspective Property Rights Perspective Knowledge Perspective Evolutionary Perspective Natural Environment Perspective Gregory R Berry Part II Functional Organization Theories 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Bureaucracy Perspective Contingency Perspective Strategic Choice Perspective Resource Dependence Perspective Population Ecology Perspective Institutional Perspective Chaos Perspective vii 10 15 19 22 26 29 33 41 45 50 54 59 64 69 73 77 83 85 89 93 98 102 107 111 vi CONTENTS Part III 24 25 26 27 28 29 Symbolic Interactionism Perspective Deborah Hurst and Conor Vibert Dramaturgical Perspective Metaphorical Perspective Sensemaking Perspective Jean Helms Mills Organizational Rules Perspective Albert J Mills Culture Perspective Part IV 30 31 32 33 34 35 Interpretive and Social Constructionist Perspectives Radical Humanist and Structuralist Perspectives Conor Vibert and Deborah Hurst Configuration Perspective Postmodern Perspective Critical Theory Perspective Marxist Perspective Poststructuralist Feminism Perspective Deborah Hurst Conclusion References Recommended Readings About the Author and Contributors Index 117 119 124 129 134 140 147 153 157 163 170 176 180 186 189 215 219 221 Acknowledgments At some point, all good things must come to an end Writing this book was an exciting challenge I would like to acknowledge a number of individuals who have supported this initiative My wife, Sonia, and our children, Colin, Brendan, Jennifer, and Sean (who was just a twinkle in our eye when I published my first book three years ago), are my true inspiration Sonia’s support and understanding, coupled with the children’s love, kept this project moving over four years I would like to acknowledge the work of two Acadia University students, Brett Eisner and Kevin Miller, for their support early in this project I would also like to thank Andrew Steeves and Deborah Hurst for their guidance on the organization of this book and editing of early drafts More recently, I owe a debt of gratitude to Dianne MacPhee, Jonathan Campbell, and Hope Corkum for their editing and support A special note of thanks is also due to my editor, Eric Valentine, and my publisher, Lynn Taylor, along with her associate Esther Clark Also worthy of thanks are my professional colleagues who contributed chapters to this endeavor as well as personal advice These include Deborah Hurst, Gregory R Berry, Jean Helms Mills, and Albert J Mills Scott Colwell, Edith Callaghan, Roy Soddaby, Janice Thomas, and Alex Kondra were helpful with insight regarding specific challenges I would also like to thank Bob Hinings, Royston Greenwood, Danny Miller, and Richard Field, whose mentoring earlier on in my career gave me the idea to pursue this endeavor Others offered support in far more subtle ways They include Maurice Tugwell, Doug Mosher, Orlene Bligh-Coldwell, Michael Leiter, Bill McLeod, Stephen Ash, Kelvin Ogilvie, Janice BamBrick, Delores Spencer, Heather Parrish, Joanne Te Bogt, Wanda Demone, Kerry LaFrance, Rosie Hare, Lisa Davidson, Heather Harvey, Joan Masterson, April Samson, Garry McIver, Cathy Carnegie, and finally, to vii viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Darrell Cook, without whose support this project would never have been completed To these individuals I offer my thanks Conor Vibert Wolfville, Nova Scotia THEORIES OF MACRO ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR Recommended Readings Aldrich, H 1979 Organizations and Environments Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Alvesson, M., and P.O Berg 1992 Corporate Culture and Organizational Symbolism Berlin: de Gruyter Ansoff, H.I 1984 Implanting Strategic Management Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Ashkenas, R., D Ulrich, T Jick, and S Kerr 1995 The Boundaryless Organization: Breaking the Chains of Organizational Structure San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Axelrod, R 1987 The Evolution of Cooperation New York: Penguin Bacharach, S.B 1989 “Organizational Theories: Some Criteria for Evaluation.” Academy of Management Review 14, no 4: 496–515 Becker, G.S 1964 Human Capital New York: Columbia University Press Calof, J 1997 “For King and Country and Company.” Business Quarterly (Spring): 32–37 Campbell, A., M Goold, and M Alexander 1995 “The Value of the Parent Company.” California Management Review 38, no 1: 79–97 Caves, R 1982 Economic Analysis and Multinational Enterprises Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Clegg, S 1975 Power, Rule and Domination London: Routledge and Kegan Paul Collis, D.J., and C Montgomery 1995 “Competing on Resources: Strategy in the 1990’s.” Harvard Business Review (July–August): 118–128 Commons, J.R 1950 The Economics of Collective Action New York: Macmillan Copeland, T., T Koller, and J Murrin 1990 Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies New York: Wiley Day, G.S., and D Reibstein 1997 Wharton on Dynamic Competitive Strategy New York: Wiley Day, G.S., and P Shoemaker 2000 Wharton on Managing Emerging Technologies New York: Wiley Doty, D.H., W.H Glick, and G.P Huber 1993 “Fit, Equifinality, and Organizational Effectiveness: A Test of Two Configurational Theories.” Academy of Management Journal 36, no 6: 1196–1250 Dunphy, D., and D Stace 1994 Beyond the Boundaries Sydney: Wiley 215 216 RECOMMENDED READINGS Euske E.J., and R.S Player 1996 “Leveraging Management Improvement Techniques.” Sloan Management Review (Fall): 69–79 Fahey, L 1999 Competitors New York: Wiley Fleisher, C.S., and B.E Bensoussan 2002 Strategic and Competitive Analysis Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall Fleisher, C.S., and D.L Blenkhorn 2001 Managing Frontiers in Competitive Intelligence Westport, CT: Quorum Foucault, M 1980 Power/Knowledge New York: Pantheon Ghemawat, P 1999 Strategy and the Business Landscape Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing Ghoshal, S., and C Bartlett 1996 “Rebuilding Behavioral Context.” Sloan Management Review (Winter): 23–36 Goffee, R., and G Jones 1996 “What Holds the Modern Company Together.” Harvard Business Review (November–December): 133–148 Grant, R.M 1991 “The Resource Based Theory of Competitive Advantage.” California Management Review (Spring): 114–135 Greenwood, R., C.R Hinings, and J Brown 1990 “The P2 Form of Strategic Management.” Academy of Management Journal 33, no 4: 725–755 Gulati, R 1995 “Does Familiarity Breed Trust? The Implications of Repeated Ties for Contractual Choice in Alliances.” Academy of Management Journal 38, no 2: 85–105 Hardy, C 1990 Retrenchment and Turnaround Berlin: de Gruyter Harmon, H.H 1967 Modern Factor Analysis Chicago: University of Chicago Press Harrigan, K.R 1985 Strategies for Joint Ventures Lexington, MA: D.C Heath ——— 1988 “Strategic Alliances and Partner Asymmetries.” In Cooperative Strategies in International Business, ed F.J Contractor and P Lorange Lexington, MA: Lexington Hinings, C.R., and R Greenwood 1988 The Dynamics of Strategic Change London: Basil Blackwell Jarillo, J.C 1988 “On Strategic Networks.” Strategic Management Journal 9, no 31: 31–41 Jemison, D.B., and S.B Sitkin 1986 “Corporate Acquisitions: A Process Perspective.” Academy of Management Review 11, no 1: 145–163 Kogut, B 1988 “Joint Ventures: Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives.” Strategic Management Journal 9: 319–332 Lorange, P., and J Roos 1992 Strategic Alliances: Formation, Implementation and Evolution Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Lynch, R.P 1990 The Practical Guide to Joint Ventures and Corporate Alliances New York: Wiley Macaulay, S 1963 “Non-contractual Relations in Business: A Preliminary Study.” American Sociological Review 28:55–67 RECOMMENDED READINGS 217 March, J.G., and H.A Simon 1958 Organizations New York: Wiley McGonagle, J.J., and C.M Vella 1998 Protecting Your Company against Competitive Intelligence Westport, CT: Quorum Miles, R.E., H Coleman Jr., and D Creed 1995 “Keys to Success in Corporate Redesign.” California Management Review (Spring): 128–145 Miles, R.E., and C.C Snow 1986 “Organizations: New Concepts for New Forms.” California Management Review 34, no 4: 62–73 ——— 1992 “Causes of Failure in Network Organization.” California Management Review: 53–72 Miller, D 1990 The Icarus Paradox: How Exceptional Companies Bring about Their Own Downfall New York: HarperCollins Miller, D., and P.H Friesen 1984 Organizations: A Quantum View Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Mintzberg, H 1998 Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour through the Wilds of Strategic Management New York: Free Press Morgan, G 1986 Images of Organizations Los Angeles: Sage Noordhaven, N.G 1992 “The Problem of Contract Enforcement in Economic Organization Theory.” Organization Studies 13, no 2: 229–243 Nystrom, P.C., and W.H Starbuck 1984 “To Avoid Crises, Unlearn.” Organizational Dynamics 12, no 4: 53–65 Pant, P.N., and W.H Starbuck 1990 “Innocents in the Forest: Forecasting and Research Methods.” Journal of Management 16, no 2: 433–460 Parkhe, A 1993 “Strategic Alliance Structuring: A Game Theoretic and Transaction Cost Examination of Interfirm Cooperation.” Academy of Management Journal 36, no 4: 794–829 Pearson, C., and I Mitroff 1993 “From Crisis Prone to Crisis Prepared: A Framework for Crisis Management.” Academy of Management Executive 7, no 1: 48–59 Perrow, C 1986 Complex Organizations: A Critical Essay 3rd ed New York: Random House Pettigrew, A.M 1990 “Longitudinal Field Research on Change: Theory and Practice.” Organizational Science 1, no 3: 267–292 Porter, M.E 1987 “From Competitive Advantage to Corporate Strategy.” Harvard Business Review (May–June): 43–59 ——— 1993 “How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy.” Harvard Business Review (March–April): 137–145 ——— 2001 “Strategy and the Internet.” Harvard Business Review (March): 63–78 Powell, W 1987 “Hybrid Organizational Arrangements: New Forms or Transitional Development.” California Management Review: 67–87 ——— 1990 “Neither Market nor Hierarchy: Network Forms of Organization.” Research in Organizational Behavior 12:295–336 218 RECOMMENDED READINGS Prahalad, C.K., and G Hamel 1990 “The Core Competence of the Corporation.” Harvard Business Review (May–June): 80–91 Rousseau, D.M., and J.M Parks 1993 “The Contracts of Individuals and Organizations.” Research in Organizational Behavior 15:1–43 Saul, J.R 1994 The Doubter’s Companion A Dictionary of Aggressive Common Sense Toronto, ON: Viking Penguin Scherer, F.M 1980 Industrial Market Structure and Economic Performance Chicago: Rand McNally Shoemaker, P 1995 “Scenario Planning: A Tool for Strategic Thinking.” Sloan Management Review (Winter): 25–40 Simon, H.A 1961 The New Science of Management Decision New York: Harper Sitkin, S.B., and A.L Pablo 1992 “Reconceptualizing the Determinants of Risk Behavior.” Academy of Management Review 17, no 1: 9–38 Stinchcombe, A.L 1990 Information and Organization Berkeley: University of California Press Stopford, J.M., and L.T Wells 1972 Managing the Multinational Enterprise New York: Basic Thompson, J.D 1967 Organizations in Action New York: McGraw Hill Tomer, J.F 1987 Organizational Capital: The Path to Higher Productivity and Well-Being New York: Praeger Ulrich, D., and D Lake 1990 Organizational Capability: Competing from the Inside Out Toronto, ON: Wiley Vibert, C 2000 Web-Based Analysis for Competitive Intelligence Westport, CT: Quorum Weick, K 1989 “Theory Construction as Discipline Imagination.” Academy of Management Review 14, no 4: 516–531 About the Author and Contributors About the Principal Author Conor Vibert, Ph.D., is an associate professor of business strategy at the Fred C Manning School of Business of Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, and the author of Web-Based Analysis for Competitive Intelligence (2000) At Acadia University, Vibert teaches business strategy and organization theory, while his current research interests focus on the management of higher risk alliance partners and the application of the Internet to contemporary business issues About the Contributors Gregory R Berry, Ph.D., is an associate professor of management at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas He teaches policy, business and society, and strategy courses to both undergraduate and graduate students His ongoing and funded research is focused on the environmental behavior of chemical firms Deborah Hurst, Ph.D., is an associate professor of organizational studies with the Centre for Innovative Management of Athabasca University in Alberta, Canada Her area of specialization is located within the study of cultural organization change with an interest in knowledge work and development of intellectual capital through ongoing competency development and virtual learning Albert J Mills, Ph.D., is a professor of management at Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia His research centers on the impact of organizational realities on people, in particular the problem of sex discrimination and employment equity Much of his research has been devoted to identifying how workplace discrimination develops, is maintained, and can be changed and eradicated Jean Helms Mills, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of organizational behavior at Acadia University in Nova Scotia, Canada Seventeen 219 220 ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND CONTRIBUTORS years with the airline industry has instilled in her the need to make sense of the culture of organizations Her most recent works include a chapter on rules, sensemaking, and formative contexts in the gendering of organization culture in The Handbook of Organizational Culture and Climate (2000) Index Agency theory perspective, 6, 16, 41– 44 adverse selection, 42 criticisms, 43 metaphor of the contract, 41 moral hazard, 42 positivist agency theory, 41–42 principal agency theory, 42 Alchian, A., and Demsetz, H., 65, 66 Alvesson, M., 132–133, 148–149, 151, 168–169, 172–173 Alvesson, M., and Deetz, S., 167–168, 172, 175 Anderson, W.T., 166 Aronowitz, S., 178 Axelrod, R., 16, 61 Bain, J.S., 16 Bain-Mason perspective, 6, 16, 22, 26– 28 criticisms, 28 implications, 27, 28 industrial organization economics, 26 structureconduct performance model, 26–27 Barney, J., 22, 27, 42, 43, 51, 52, 53, 75, 148 Barzel, Y., 66 Behavioral perspective, 6, 16, 54–58 bounded rationality, 54 criticisms, 57–58 features that characterize decision making, 55–56 garbage can model, 56 implications of, 54–55 order in a disorganized environment, 56 organized anarchy, 54 Bennis, W.G., 88 Berger, P.L., 122 Berger, P.L., and Luckman, T., 122 Bergquist, W., 165, 168 Boatright, J.R., 15, 17 Boje, D., 131 Bowman, E.H., Singh, H., and Thomas, H., 63 Browning, L., Beyer, J., and Shetler, J.C., 113–115 Bureaucracy perspective, 6, 85–88 criticisms, 87–88 implications, 87–88 rational features, 86 significance, 86 sources of authority, 87 Burrell, G., and Morgan, G., 11, 12, 15, 83, 87, 91, 117, 153, 158, 186 Burt, R.S., 36, 37 Buss, T.F., 179 Calas, M., and Smircich, L., 137, 139, 181 Chandler, A., 93, 94, 95, 96 Chaos perspective, 6, 111–116 application, 116 criticisms, 116 definitions of terms, 111–112 example of SEMATECH, 114–115 example of Visa, 115 insights into how organizations change, 113–114 usefulness, 114 Chicago School perspective, 6, 16, 22– 25 breakpoint analysis, 24 criticisms, 24–25 equilibrium, 24 221 222 INDEX Child, J., 91, 94, 95, 96 Choo, C.W., 71 Clegg, S., 166–167 Clegg, S., and Dunkerley, D., 143–144 Clegg, S and Hardy, C., 87 Coase, R., 16, 51 Cohen, M.D., March, J.G., and Olsen, J.P., 56 Configuration perspective, 8, 153, 157– 162 archetypes, 160 criticisms, 161–162 implications, 160 meanings of structure, 158 types of trajectories, 160–161 why common configurations, 157 Conner, K., 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 Contingency perspective, 6, 89–92 criticisms, 91 main argument, 89–90 strategic contingencies theory, 91 structural contingency theory, 89–92 structural elements, 90 structural functionalism, 90 tests of, 90 Cooper, R., 165, 168 Cooper, R., and Burrell, G., 164 Critical theory perspective, 8, 153, 170–175 common theses, 171 corporatism, 174 criticisms, 174–175 forms of rationality, 172–173 implications, 173–174 culture perspective, 147–152 benefits of learning about corporate culture, 147–148 categories, 149 empirical evidence, 151 impact of corporate culture, 149– 151 shortcomings, 151–152 Cyert, R.M., and March, J., 16, 54–55 Demsetz, H., 20–21, 43 Derrida, J., 165 Dimaggio, P.J., and Powell, W.W., 108 Donaldson, L., 32, 91, 92, 97, 101, 110, 161, 162 Donaldson, T., and Preston, L., 45, 46, 48 Dramaturgical perspective, 7, 117, 124– 128 criticisms, 128 definition, 125 impression management, 127–128 premise of, 125 the example of collective bargaining, 127 the example of Mad Cow disease in Alberta, 127 the example of SARS in Toronto, 127 usefulness of, 126 Drucker, P., 186 Dyas, G.P., and Thanheiser, H.T., 97 Daft, R., 88, 108 Daft R., and Weick, K., 121 Game theory perspective, 6, 16, 59–63 criticisms, 63 Economic theories of the firm, functional, 5–6 Edwards, R., 178–179 Eisenhardt, K., 41, 42 Eisenhardt, K., and Santos, F.M., 69, 72 Elster, J., 176 Evolutionary perspective, 6, 16, 73–76 criticisms, 75–76 description of firm, 74 implications, 73 summary, 74–75 unique concepts, 74 Fayol, H., 85 Feldman, M., 149 Feyeraband, P., 165 Fisher, I., 64 Fleisher C., Freeman, R.E., 46, 49, 78 Freidman, A., 78 INDEX Game theory perspective (continued ) dominant strategy equilibrium games, 61 essential elements, 59–60 lessons for managers, 63 mathematical games, 60 Nash equilibrium, 61 prisoner’s dilemma, 60 strategy of noncooperation, 61 use of, 62 Garud, R., and Van de Ven, A.H., 47 Gergen, K.J., 164, 166 Geroski, P., 29, 30 Giddens, G., 159 Gioia, D.A., and Pitre, E., 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 15, 83, 117, 153–155, 177, 186 Glazer, B., and Strauss, G., 121 Goffee, R., and Jones, G., 150 Goffman, E., 124, 127 Granovetter, M., 35 Grant, R.M., 5, 6, 15, 16, 17, 25, 69, 83 Grimes, A.J., 171 Grossman, S.J., and Hart, O., 65 Gulati, R., 34, 37, 40 Hall, R.H., 97, 101 Handy, C., 150–151 Hannan, M.T., and Freeman, J.H., 102, 103, 158 Hart, O., and Moore, J., 17, 65 Hart, S., 50–51, 80 Hayagreeva, R., and Pasmore, W.A., 10, 11 Helms Mills, J., 134–135, 139 Helms Mills, J., and Mills, A., 134– 135, 139, 141, 145, 146 Hinings, C.R., and Greenwood, R., 110, 159 Industrial organization economics See Bain-Mason perspective Institutional perspective, 6, 107–110 criticisms, 110 implications, 107 reasons for conformity, 108 223 Institutional perspective (continued ) strategies for repairing declining legitimacy, 109 Interactionism, Interpretivism, 5, Jensen, M., 65, 67 Jensen, M., and Meckling, W.H., 17, 41, 42, 43 Jones, G., 46, 47, 49, 66, 67, 89, 100, 102, 103, 104 Klassen, R.D., and Whybark, D.C., 82 Knowledge perspective, 6, 69–72 asset types, 70 copyrights, 70 criticisms, 71–72 employment contracts, 71 patent, 70 trademarks, 70 trade secrets, 70 Kogut, B., and Zander, U., 70 Kondra, A., and Hurst, D., 126 Kuhn, T., 11, 12 Levy, D., 114, 116 Liebeskind, J.P., 70, 71 Linguistic model, 154 Lyotard, J.F., 165 Mahoney, J.T., 51, 55, 74 Martin, J., 149 Martin, J., and Frost, P., 151–152 Mason, E.S., 26 Marxist perspective, 8, 153, 176–179 criticisms, 179 implications, 177–178 materialism, 176–177 summary of perspective, 177 Matusik, S., and Hill, C., 72 Meek, V.L., 151 Metaphorical perspective, 7, 117, 129– 133 examples of organizational metaphors, 129–132 implications, 132 224 INDEX Metaphorical perspective (continued ) Mickey Mouse, creation of, 131– 132 shortcomings, 133 Meyer, A.D., Tsui, A.S., and Hinings, C.R., 157 Meyerson, D., 149 Miles, R.E, and Snow, C.C., 158 Milgrom P., and Roberts, J., 19, 20, 21, 65, 68 Miller, D., 158 Miller, D., and Friesen, P., 158 Mills, A., 146 Mills, A., and Murgatroyd, S., 141, 147, 181 Mills, A., and Tancred, P., 180 Mintzberg, H., 158 Montagna, P., 163, 164 Moran, P., and Ghoshal, S., 32, 67, 76 Morgan, G., 88, 111, 129–130, 133, 158 Narayanan, R., and Nath, V.K., 109– 110 Natural environment perspective, 6, 77– 84 consumer demand, 79 corporate environmentalism, 77 criticisms, 82 demands on ecomanagement leaders, 80 evolution of ecomanagement, 78 global forces, 81 lifecycle costing, 79–80 regulatory climate, 79 shortcomings of the field of inquiry, 82 Nelson, R.R., and Winter, S.G, 16, 73– 75 Neoclassical economics perspective, 6, 16, 19–21 assumptions of, 20–21 criticisms, 21 theory of perfect competition, 19 theory of the firm, 19–21 Network perspective, 6, 16, 33–40 analytical tools, 35 benefits of network membership, 37 criticisms, 39 descriptions of, 38 embeddedness, 34–35 neither market nor hierarchy, 39 network organizations, 38–39 optimal form of network, 36 optimal network position, 36 research findings, 36 structural hole, 35–36 weak ties, 36 why networks might not arise, 37 Oliver, C., 107, 110 Organization theory, benefits to practitioners, 8–9 functional, 5–6, 12, 83 characterizations, 10 Organizational rules perspective, 7, 117, 140–146 criticisms, 146 definition of rules, 141 different forms of rules, 141–143 example of a chess game, 143–144 example of airline industry 144–145 summary, 146 Parker, M., 164, 168 Penrose, E., 51 Peters, T., 79 Pettigrew, A., 147 Pettigrew, A., and Fenton, E.M., 88, 89, 91, 158, 162 Pfeffer, J., 6, 43, 91, 92, 98, 99, 101, 105, 106, 122, 125–126, 175, 177 Pfeffer, J., and Salancik, G.R., 98, 99 Piasecki, B.W., Fletcher, K.A., and Mendelson, F.J., 77, 78, 79, 80, 81 Population ecology perspective, 6, 102– 106 criticisms, 105–106 features, 102–103 INDEX Population ecology perspective (continued ) implications, 105 summary, 104 variation, selection, retention, 103 Porter, M., 27, 28, 50 Postmodern perspective, 8, 153, 163– 169 criticisms, 167–169 definition of postmodernism, 165 meaning of modernism, 163–164 organization of a postmodern organization, 166–167 Poststructuralist feminism perspective, 8, 153, 180–185 concept of subjectivity, 183 criticisms, 184 goal of poststructuralist perspective, 182 method of analysis, 181 summary of perspective, 183 Powell, W.W., 35, 39 Property rights perspective, 6, 16, 64– 68 criticisms, 67–68 definition of, 64 forms of, 67 implications, 66 importance of, 66–67 relationship to a firm, 64–65 role of property rights, 66 Putnam, L.L., Phillips, N., and Chapman, P., 38, 129, 133 Radical humanism, 5, 7–8, 12, 153 Radical structuralism 5, 7–8, 12, 153, 154 Ranson, S., Hinings, B., and Greenwood, R., 159 Rapoport, A., 61 Resource dependence perspective, 6, 98–101 examples, 100 major premises, 98–99 shortcomings, 101 strategies to avoid compliance, 99 225 Resource-based theory perspective, 6, 50–53 as an explanation for organizational failure, 52 criticisms, 52 description of a firm, 51 summary of, 51 sustained competitive advantage, 50 Robbins, S., 90 Rousseau, D., and Parks, J.M., 43 Sathe, V., 149 Saul, J.R., 25, 174 Schein, E., 149 Scherer, F.M., 26 Schoonhoven, C.B., 91 Schreyogg, G., 90–91 Scott, W.R., 108 Semiotic model, 154 Sensemaking perspective, 7, 117, 134– 139 airport and aircraft carriers as examples, 138 criticisms, 139 implications, 138 properties, 135–137 usefulness, 137–138 Shelton, R., 80 Shoemaker, P.J.H., 16, Simon, H.A., 54, 55 Smircich, L., 152 Smircich, L., and Stubbart, C., 122 Social constructionism, 5, 7, 120, 122 Spender, J.C., 97 Spender, J.C., and Grant, R., 70, 71 Stakeholder perspective, 6, 45–49 criticisms, 49 ethical contracting, 48 nexus of contracts, 47 Stigler, G.J., 16, 22, 23, 24 Strategic choice perspective, 6, 93–97 Chandler thesis, 94 Child thesis, 95 criticisms, 97 226 INDEX Strategic choice perspective (continued) implications, 96 interpretivism, 96 propositions about managerial innovation, 94 Strauss, A.L., 121 Strebel, P., 24 Structuration theory, 158 Suchman, M.C., 108–109 Symbolic interactionism perspective, 117, 119–123 consequences, 120 definition, 120 implications, 122 organization as system of interpretations, 121 shortcomings, 123 Transaction cost perspective, 6, 16, 29– 32 bounded rationality, 30, 31 contracts, 30, 31 criticisms, 32 holdup behavior, 31 logic of, 31 market failure, 29, 30 opportunism, 30, 31 shirking behaviour, 31 Tsoukas, H., and Knudsen, C., 28, 32, 63, 75 Turner, S., 122 Tawney, R.H., 86 Teece, D.J., 27, 28 Theories of the firm, 15 Thietart, R.A., and Forgues, B., 112– 113 Tolbert, P.S., 35–37 Tolbert, P.S., and Zucker, L.G., 39–40, 110 Weber, M., 85 Weedon, C., 181–183 Weick, K., 134–137 Weick, K., and Roberts, K., 138–139 Williamson, O., 17, 30–31, 35 Wilmott, H., 149 Wilson, E., 88 Winter, S.G., 73, 75 Uzzi, B., 35–36 Vibert, C., ... perspective Theories of Macro- Organizational Behavior: A Handbook of Ideas and Explanations presents a series of well-established theories of organization and economic theories of the firm For each of. .. Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Vibert, Conor, 1962– Theories of macro- organizational behavior : a handbook of ideas and explanations / Conor Vibert p cm Includes bibliographical references... in the behavior of for-profit organizations Much of their insight has been anchored in a long series of research efforts falling under the heading of theories of the firm.” Theories of the firm