The Future of the Past in Management and Organization Studies

Wadhwani, R. Daniel; Bucheli, Marcelo

doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199646890.003.0001

Cited by 48 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…We share other scholars’ concerns about the limitations of studies that use mega‐databases or purely quantitative methods to define general trends of how firms make political connections (Suddaby, Foster, & Mills, ) and agree with Doz () regarding the benefits of case studies for the analysis of MNCs’ strategies. As firms are affected by the changes occurring in the larger context in which they operate, we consider that firms’ decisions need to be analyzed “temporarily situated” and, therefore, studied through a methodology that integrates the analysis of their decisions within the context surrounding them (Wadhwani & Bucheli, , p. 9). This is why our analysis of the context in which legitimization strategies were implemented is based on studies of Chilean history that focus on the parallel evolution of the country’s elite, political parties, and the economy.…”

Section: Methods and Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While the analysis of the context on the macrolevel or institutional environment requires a detailed reading of the evolution of a society and its political system, the understanding of a firm’s strategic decisions require a microlevel analysis, which is why we conduct archival research. Following the methodology advocated by Decker (), Kipping, Wadhwani, and Bucheli (), and Taylor (), we read our archival sources in light of the historical context in which they were written and the agenda of those who produced them; we also take special precautions to avoid reading into them anachronistic concepts that would not apply to the historical moment in which they were produced (Zan, ). In this sense, we do not use our archival sources as mere “data” to feed longitudinal quantitative analysis, but approach them through careful contextualization (Lipartito, ; Yates, ).…”

Section: Methods and Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Political connections, the liability of foreignness, and legitimacy: A business historical analysis of multinationals’ strategies in Chile

Bucheli

Salvaj

2018

Global Strategy Journal

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Research Summary: We conduct a historical analysis of the multinational corporations’ strategy of creating connections with a host country’s elite as a way of legitimizing its operations in contexts characterized by long‐term political, social, and economic changes. We argue that the success or failure of these strategies depends on (a) the perceived legitimacy of these connections among a host country’s society during times of change and (b) the capability of the multinational’s political connections to shield it from challenges arising when the host country’s social structure is undergoing deep transformations. We outline and follow a business historical approach that combines the theoretical frameworks of international business, strategy, organizational theory, and political science to analyze multinationals operating in Chile’s energy and telecommunications sectors from 1932 to 1973. Managerial Summary: Western multinationals face hard challenges when trying to legitimize their operations vis‐à‐vis the host country’s societies in emerging and underdeveloped countries. One strategy developed by multinationals to neutralize potential challenges to their legitimacy has been to establish connections with influential members of the host country’s elites. We study how this strategy fares in host countries that are undergoing dramatic political and economic changes. We first argue that overtly maintaining open connections with an elite that is viewed as a relic of an illegitimate past can become a liability. And, second, that highly visible connections are more likely to become a liability in times of political and social change than less visible ones. We illustrate our arguments with a historical study of the strategies followed by American telecommunications and oil multinationals in Chile.

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Section: Methods and Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methods and Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Political connections, the liability of foreignness, and legitimacy: A business historical analysis of multinationals’ strategies in Chile

Bucheli

Salvaj

2018

Global Strategy Journal

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“…Data problems can partly be overcome through deep immersion in the sources, the triangulation of the different sources, and the explicit recognition of the veracity of some sources being greater than others (Kipping, Wadhwani & Bucheli, ; Wadhwani, ; Zundel et al, ). Experiment design is significantly improved when differences in the contextual settings are “controlled for” by minimizing the differences as much as possible to compensate for the inability to select true “control populations.” An example of this more recent controlled comparative historical method is Godley's comparison of Jewish immigrant entrepreneurs in New York and London between 1880 and 1914 and their change in entrepreneurial behavior in the two locations as they adopted American and British cultural values (Godley, ).…”

Section: The Comparative Historical Methods and Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent work in strategic management and organizational studies suggests the need for more work on how the space of experience can have significant consequences for firms and industries. History, as a conscious means of knowing rather than a passive accretion of past events, becomes a socially constitutive aspect of organizational behavior (Suddaby, ; Wadhwani & Bucheli, ). Interpreting the past can enable managers to develop a coherent organizational identity, gain legitimacy in an emergent industry, and influence how organizational actors perceive strategic change (Anteby & Molnár, ; Dalpiaz & Di Stefano, ; Foster et al, ; Hatch & Schultz, ; Kirsch, ; Suddaby et al, ; Suddaby & Foster, ; Vaara, Sonenshein, & Boje, ; Zundel, Holt, & Popp, ).…”

Section: Space Of Experience and Understandingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Different expectations: A comparative history of structure, experience, and strategic alliances in the U.S. and U.K. poultry sectors, 1920–1990

Godley

Hamilton

2019

Strategic Entrepreneurship

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Research Summary This comparative historical analysis demonstrates how memory and reflexive interpretations of the past can shape entrepreneurial willingness to collaborate with larger firms in an industry. Emphasizing the importance of spatial metaphors and periodization for developing historical knowledge, the paper focuses on how the historical space of experience explains how entrepreneurs make strategic choices regarding collaboration under conditions of complexity and uncertainty. Comparing the U.S. and U.K. emerging poultry sectors offers a methodologically novel analysis of an important but little‐studied agribusiness sector, offering a dual reading that compares two versions of historical reasoning both theoretically and empirically. Managerial Summary Historical experience matters to entrepreneurs, shaping their expectations about markets and opportunities, including possibilities for strategic alliances with larger firms. Rather than assuming that the events of the past structurally determine entrepreneurial expectations for the future, we demonstrate how experience, interpretation, and memory shape the nature of competition and collaboration in emerging industries. Our approach relies on the comparative method, suggesting a new way to consider how uses of the past might shape entrepreneurship in industries other than the U.S. and U.K. poultry industries that serve as our empirical focus.

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“…Every organization has a history determining its footprint, its modus operandi, its memory (Langenmayr F., 2016) and its actions. The use of the past on part of both the managers and the organizations is a proactive way to consider history, a way to create an identity and a way to behave in time, shaping both the present behaviors and the future ones (Wadhwani & Bucheli, 2014). …”

Section: Ambidextrous Organizations Between Routine and Black Swansmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ambidexterity: a possible balance to manage complexity

Franco¹,

Cerimele

2018

Knowledge and Performance Management

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The present article originates from the effort to answer the following question: is it possible for an organizational structure to steer between organizational routines and Black Swans? (Taleb, 2007). Unexpected, unique and low-frequency events are “unknown variable” that, despite the planning and precautions deployed, catch an organization off-guard, and might have catastrophic consequences. Unexpected events impact organizations, undermining the knowledge and redefining the list of competences that an organization needs in order to be competitive. The main goal of the present article is to shed light on the role and the challenges that firms undertake in their defining moments of adaptation of their organizational assets – the structure –. The rational pattern of adaptation is exemplified by the use of ambidextrous organizational structures, which focus on activities that can be defined as exploration and exploitation. Within the analysis of “the science of complexity”, parallels, paradoxes and metaphors representing a synthesis of a largely shared doctrine will be investigated: firms need to utilize known variables, or sometimes unknown ones, that are inevitably complex, in order to find the right fit, react swiftly to change, successfully compete, and obtain results.

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The Future of the Past in Management and Organization Studies

Cited by 48 publications

References 57 publications

Political connections, the liability of foreignness, and legitimacy: A business historical analysis of multinationals’ strategies in Chile

Political connections, the liability of foreignness, and legitimacy: A business historical analysis of multinationals’ strategies in Chile

Different expectations: A comparative history of structure, experience, and strategic alliances in the U.S. and U.K. poultry sectors, 1920–1990

Ambidexterity: a possible balance to manage complexity

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