<i>A Behavioral Theory of the Firm</i>—40 Years and Counting: Introduction and Impact

Argote, Linda; Greve, Henrich R.

doi:10.1287/orsc.1070.0280

Cited by 515 publications

(382 citation statements)

References 158 publications

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“…A Behavioral Theory of the Firm has, since the pioneering studies of Simon (1945;1955), March and Simon (1958), and Cyert and March (1963), been acknowledged as a main perspective for understanding organizational behavior and decision-making (see also Argote and Greve, 2007). Yet little of this rich body of knowledge has spilled over to mainstream studies of boards and corporate governance.…”

Section: Behavioral Theory Concepts In Board Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward a Behavioral Theory of Boards and Corporate Governance

Ees¹,

Gabrielsson²,

Huse³

2009

Corporate Governance

280

227

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Manuscript Type: Review Research Question/Issue: A coherent alternative to an economic approach of corporate governance is missing. In this paper we take steps towards developing a behavioral theory of boards and corporate governance. Research Findings/Results: Building upon concepts such as political bargaining, routinization of decision making, satisficing, and problemistic search, a behavioral theory of boards and corporate governance will focus more on (1) interactions and processes inside and outside the boardroom; (2) the fact that decision making is made by coalitions of actors and objectives are results of political bargaining; and (3) the notion that not only conflicting, but also cooperating, interests are parts of the boards' decision making and control over firm resources. Theoretical Implications: The consequences are a new research agenda for boards and corporate governance. The agenda will focus on actual instead of stylized descriptions of board behavior. In a behavioral perspective the emphasis on problems of coordination, exploration, and knowledge creation may dominate over problems of conflict of interest, exploitation, and the distribution of value. A future research agenda based on a behavioral framework calls for novel and adventurous research designs. Practical Implications: A behavioral theory of boards and corporate governance will be closer to actual board behavior than the traditional economic approach and research about boards and corporate governance may thus become more actionable for practitioners.

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Section: Behavioral Theory Concepts In Board Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward a Behavioral Theory of Boards and Corporate Governance

Ees¹,

Gabrielsson²,

Huse³

2009

Corporate Governance

280

227

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…For more efficient decision making, they attend primarily to obvious options, and if these are satisfactory alliance partners, then they stop the search process and ignore the alternatives (Argote & Greve, 2007). This study considers that variations in the embeddedness of options assist these processes, facilitating partner selection from the choice set.…”

Section: Variation In Option Embeddednessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paradox of Choice in Alliance Formation: A Network Embeddedness Approach

Min¹

2015

IBR

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Prior research on network embeddedness suggests that relational embeddedness (i.e., the duration of previous alliances between two firms) and structural embeddedness (i.e., the number of partners common to both firms) facilitate alliance formation between firms. This study examines the opposite case-namely, the inhibition of alliance formation by relational and structural embeddedness. In this study, by considering these two types of embeddedness as drivers of partner choice sets, I propose that a choice set larger than a certain threshold size with sufficiently low variation in terms of the embeddedness of their options (i.e., relationally or structurally embedded potential partners) enables firms to recognize multiple options within the choice set. I also suggest that this in turn increases firms' uncertainty about these options' resources and reliability and inhibits the formation of alliances with them. These predictions are supported by empirical tests of code-share alliance data in the global airline industry from 1994 to 2006.

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“…The primary aim of the symposium is to situate this school of thought -one of the pioneering schools in Management Science and Organization Studies (Argote & Greve, 2007) -within the historical context of its emergence, and above all, within the academic lives of its founding fathers. The symposium therefore focuses on the lives and contribution of the founders of the Carnegie School.…”

Section: -The Carnegie Schoolmentioning

confidence: 99%