Boundary Conditions: What They are, How to Explore Them, Why We Need Them, and When to Consider Them

Busse, Christian; Kach, Andrew; Wagner, Stephan M.

doi:10.2139/ssrn.2713980

Cited by 158 publications

(258 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…The agenda provides a foundation for further exploration of SCI to more deeply explore the mechanisms, contexts, and boundary conditions of SCI (Busse et al. ; Stank et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supply Chain Integrity: A Key to Sustainable Supply Chain Management

Castillo

Mollenkopf

Bell

et al. 2018

J of Business Logistics

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A s stakeholders continue to increasingly hold firms accountable for environmental and social performance in their supply chains, the importance of understanding how firms can be more sustainable becomes more prescient. Based on the underlying premise of stakeholder theory that business and ethics decisions are intertwined, the current research introduces the concept of supply chain integrity (SCI) to explore how the interdependence of business and ethics decisions can lead to improvements in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices. Exploratory analysis employing secondary data sources in an elastic net (EN) logistic regression provides support for the proposed construct, by providing preliminary empirical evidence that SCI, measured through two subdimensions of structural and moral SCI, can be linked to firm sustainability. The research contributes to the supply chain management literature by: (1) introducing the concept of SCI; (2) performing an exploratory econometric analysis to provide initial validity of the SCI construct; and (3) providing a research agenda to guide further research on the concept of SCI and its role in SSCM.

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“…The agenda provides a foundation for further exploration of SCI to more deeply explore the mechanisms, contexts, and boundary conditions of SCI (Busse et al. ; Stank et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supply Chain Integrity: A Key to Sustainable Supply Chain Management

Castillo

Mollenkopf

Bell

et al. 2018

J of Business Logistics

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“…Felin and Foss (2009b: 654) highlighted this limitation and called on researchers to elaborate on the "boundary conditions" of performativity. Boundary conditions clarify in which contexts theories will provide good explanations or predictions (Busse, Kach, & Wagner, 2016;Whetten, 1989). Felin and Foss (2009b: 654) highlighted two boundary conditions of performativity-"objective reality" and "human nature"-and thereby convincingly showed that "the range of 'possible worlds' that social scientists may create are bounded by ex ante realities" (Felin & Foss, 2009a: 677).…”

Section: /53mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, the "visibility of effects" may have greater impact on the performativity of theories that are strongly prescriptive (Bazerman, 2005) or predictive (Lockwood, 2015), while "sensegiving by convinced actors" may play a greater role in the case of theories that refrain from clear prescriptions and predictions and thus leave more room for sensemaking with regard to anomalies. Distinguishing between different types of theories should help clarify in greater detail in which circumstances theories will become selffulfilling (see Busse et al, 2016: 16, on how differentiating constructs can help clarify boundary conditions).…”

Section: Why Some Theories Are More Likely To Become Self-fulfillingmentioning

confidence: 99%

When Do Theories Become Self-Fulfilling? Exploring the Boundary Conditions of Performativity

Marti

Gond

2018

AMR

128

146

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Management researchers increasingly realize that some theories do not merely describe, but also shape social reality; a phenomenon known as "performativity." However, when theories become performative or even self-fulfilling is still poorly understood. Taking this gap in current research as our starting point, we develop a process model to show that new theories will only become self-fulfilling (1) if they motivate experimentation, (2) if experimentation produces anomalies, and (3) if these anomalies lead to a practice shift. On that basis, we identify six boundary conditions that determine whether theories will come to shape social reality. To illustrate our argument, we explore the conditions under which theories that postulate a positive link between corporate social performance and corporate financial performance may become self-fulfilling. KEYWORDS:Anomalies, boundary conditions, corporate social performance (CSP), experimentation, performativity, socially responsible investing (SRI) 3/53In the course of the last decade, management scholars and other researchers in the social sciences increasingly realized that some theories do not merely describe, but also shape the patterns of social interaction that constitute social reality (Callon, 1998;. They dubbed this phenomenon "performativity." The most "intriguing" cases of performativity arise when theories become self-fulfilling; that is, when using theories increases the "conformity" between theories and social reality (MacKenzie, 2006: 18-19). A well-known example thereof is the Black-Scholes theory, where using that theory pushed option prices toward the prices that the theory predicted (MacKenzie & Millo, 2003). In such cases, theories can become self-fulfilling by reshaping the language, social norms, and institutional designs of traders, managers, policy-makers, or other actors (Ferraro, Pfeffer, & Sutton, 2005a).Further studies in this tradition examined, for example, how rational choice theory makes decision-making within organizations more rational (Cabantous & Gond, 2011) or how mainstream financial theories reinforce the currently widespread technocratic approach to financial regulation (Marti & Scherer, 2016).Most studies on performativity to date focus on theories that have successfully transformed social reality. However, because of this "success bias," the literature lacks a clear understanding of the conditions that determine whether theories become performative or not. This lack of understanding becomes particularly apparent where the "strongest" forms of performativity (MacKenzie, 2006: 19) are concerned; that is, when theories become self-fulfilling (Healy, 2015: 176). Current research thereby neglects the insight of Felin and Foss (2009b) that social reality is not invariably malleable. Keeping in mind these shortcomings of previous research on performativity, we set out to explore how boundary conditions determine whether a theory will become self-fulfilling or not. 4/53To analyze these boundary conditions, we start by developin...

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“…However, scholars frequently face conflicts between accuracy and simplicity (Thorngate ; Weick ; Busse et al. 2017a). The purpose of this research was not to measure SCSR as accurately as possible, but rather to offer an efficient, complexity‐reducing measurement instrument.…”

Section: Concluding Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Country Sustainability Risk to Inform Sustainable Supply Chain Management: A Design Science Study

Reinerth¹,

Busse

Wagner³

2018

J of Business Logistics

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The sustainability of our global supply chains is an essential concern in strategic supply chain management research. Modern information and communication technologies enable stakeholders to punish buying firms for any sustainability‐related grievances at their suppliers, even in remote locations. This study investigates how the notion of country sustainability risk can inform sustainable supply chain management, in particular with respect to sustainability risk assessment at the individual supplier level. Drawing on institutional theory, we provide insights surrounding the emergence of environmental, social, and governance‐related country‐level sustainability risks and show their implications for and application in sustainable supply chain management. The study employs a design science methodology, based on cooperation with a multidivisional German technology firm, to develop a supply chain sustainability risk (SCSR) map as technological solution design. This article contributes to the study of SCSR by reconciling the scholarly SCSR discourse with the buying firms’ pursuit of efficiency. Moreover, it elucidates the augmentation of a research agenda through a design science approach. In practical terms, the technological solution design can directly inform managers about SCSR at the country level and serves as a decision basis for the management of individual suppliers.

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Boundary Conditions: What They are, How to Explore Them, Why We Need Them, and When to Consider Them

Cited by 158 publications

References 68 publications

Supply Chain Integrity: A Key to Sustainable Supply Chain Management

Supply Chain Integrity: A Key to Sustainable Supply Chain Management

When Do Theories Become Self-Fulfilling? Exploring the Boundary Conditions of Performativity

Using Country Sustainability Risk to Inform Sustainable Supply Chain Management: A Design Science Study

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