We examine the contagion processes whereby practices originating in one organizational population spread into and diffuse within a second. We theorize that “endemic” innovations native to one population spread to other populations through two distinct forms of contagion. We test this...

In 1990 Alan Meyer, Geoffrey Brooks, and James Goes published a 2x2 framework for categorizing theories of change used by scholars in management and organization studies. This framework distinguished modes of change (continuous vs. discontinuous change), and levels of analysis...

Organizational fields undergo upheavals. Shifting industry boundaries, new network forms, emerging sectors, and volatile ecosystems have become the stuff of everyday organizational life. Curiously, profound changes of this sort receive scant attention in organization theory and research....

In this study, we examine how business units of multidivisional firms adapt their activities in response to poor performance at the corporate and business unit levels. By linking performance feedback theory with theories of attention and M-form organizations, we show that corporate structure...

This study examines firms' responses to performance assessments relative to multiple aspiration levels. We argue that comparisons of performance to multiple aspiration levels over time affects the interpretative clarity of feedback and, consequently, shapes a firm's responsiveness. We further...

This study examines the effects of different uncertainty types on interorganizational imitation in firm exit decisions. We draw upon herding models to conceptualize exit decisions as being based on a firm's private information, which the firm updates with information inferred from observing the...

Corporate venture capital (CVC) is increasingly viewed as an important mechanism for external R&D that can help fuel innovation, growth, and strategic renewal opportunities for established firms. However, despite the popularity of CVC units, the conditions prompting decision-makers to adopt and...