11:15-1:45 Wed. Room 125 Blegen Hall, Spring Quarter, 1999

Prof. David Knoke, 939 Social Sciences Bldg, 624-4300

Office Hours: Wed 10:00-11:00 a.m.

Organization studies is an interdisciplinary field that draws its conceptual, theoretical, and methodological tools from sociology, management, political science, economics, and applied fields such as law and public administration. A quarter-term course is insufficient to survey thoroughly the numerous distinct approaches to diverse organizational phenomena (more than five dozen are available, with more coming every year), even though we’ll restrict our attention to the macro-level of analysis (defined as the systemic, field, population, interorganizational, and intraorganizational structural levels, but excluding the interpersonal and social psychological levels). Consequently, this course concentrates on a relative handful of the most basic macro-organizational analytic orientations that must become familiar to anyone pursuing serious scholarship in this discipline. Furthermore, we’ll eschew the historical roots of these perspectives to concentrate on the debates raging during recent years.

Each week we’ll investigate a distinct theoretical perspective on macro-organizational behavior. The required and supplementary readings mostly emphasize original statements, with intermittent review articles that attempt to summarize the situation. Although analytic theoretical expositions predominate, the list also includes some empirical research reports because organizational knowledge advances through the intimate interplay of ideas with data. Our collective goal is to acquire a sufficient grasp of contemporary theories to pursue independent advanced study, and ultimately, to contribute original research results to the discipline.

I left the final two weeks open for students’ choice of topics to investigate; we’ll make a collective decision closer to the midterm after becoming more familiar with available options.

I deliberately minimized the number of required readings (· ) to give us enough time to ponder the issues they raise, and so that everyone will likely read these materials in advance of our weekly meeting. I encourage you to read some of the supplementary articles, and any other materials you may uncover on your own, to develop greater depth in topics of personal interest.

The time required to obtain copyright permissions for numerous articles makes purchase of them as a set from a duplication outlet prohibitive. As an alternative, one unstapled copy of each required paper has been placed on reserve in the Wilson Library.

To accomplish course objectives, it is conducted as a seminar. The weekly class meetings consist of three parts on each macro-theoretical perspective: (1) a systematic description of its core elements; (2) a constructively critical evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses; and (3) potential directions that future research and theorizing might take.

In a seminar, all students are expected to take an active role in aiding one another’s learning through preparation and participation. Weekly class preparation includes reading the required papers in advance, while class participation includes informed listening and active contribution to the discussions.

Each week, different students will serve as our discussion leaders. Their responsibility is to communicate to the class about the required readings and some of the supplementary articles/books. They should summarize (with use of visual aids) additional insights on that week’s theory. They must also prepare and hand out to the class a detailed discussion guide that systematically outlines and assesses that perspective (see attached). As much as possible, class time should be devoted to interpreting and evaluating the merits and shortcomings of the organizational perspective, going beyond just regurgitating the details of individual papers.

Course grades are based on the following criteria: participation in class discussion (10%), leading a class discussion (20%), the topical guide (30%), and the course paper (40%).

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: No course incompletes or deadline extensions will be made without a written explanation from a medical authority. The instructor's office hour is XXXXXXXX in Room 939 Social Sciences Bldg. Other times by appointment (Phone: 624-6816; main office 624-4300; email: knoke@atlas.socsci.umn.edu).

This material is available in alternative formats upon request. Please contact Gwen Gmeinder, Department of Sociology, 624-4300, 909 Social Sciences. A copy of this syllabus is available for downloading from the World Wide Web at http://www.soc.umn.edu/~knoke

Name: _________________ OT perspective: _______________________________ Date: ________

Describe the conceptual anatomy of this OT perspective:

1. State the central research problem or question.

- In what organizations or practices is the problem/question grounded?

2. Diagram and state the central framework/theory that is proposed.

- Define key concepts (constructs or variables).

- How are these concepts related or compared in the framework/theory?

3. Identify the logical structure of this framework/theory:

- State the key assumptions, propositions and conclusions.

- State the logical syllogisms or inductive/deductive links in the argument.

4. Summarize the empirical evidence for and against the framework/theory.

- Outline the research designs and methods used to collect and analyze data.

- Summarize the major conclusions and inferences drawn from the research.

Constructively assess this OT perspective:

1. Identify the strengths/weaknesses of its logical structure and research methods.

2. How would you correct these weaknesses and build in these strengths?

3. Suggest fruitful ways to relate this perspective with other OT perspectives.

Discussant: David Knoke

• Knoke, David. 2000. "Complementary Theories of Change." Forthcoming in Changing Organizations. Boulder, CO: Westview.
• Astley, Graham and Andrew Van de Ven. 1983. "Central Perspectives and Debates in Organizational Theory." Administrative Science Quarterly 28:245-73.

Hatch, Mary Jo. 1997. Organization Theory: Modern, Symbolic, and Postmodern Perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

McKelvey, Bill. 1997. "Quasi-Natural Organization Science." Organization Science 8:352-380.

Stern, Robert N. and Stephen R. Barley. 1996. "Organizations and Social Systems: Organization Theory’s Neglected Mandate." Administrative Science Quarterly 41:146-162.

Barnett, William P. and Glenn R. Carroll. 1995. "Modeling Internal Organizational Change." Annual Review of Sociology 21:217-236.

Williamson, Oliver E. (ed.) 1995. Organization Theory: From Chester Barnard to the Present and Beyond. Second Ed. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Prahalad, C.K. and Gary Hamel. 1994. "Strategy as a Field of Study: Why Search for a New Paradigm?" Strategic Management Journal 15:17-34.

Zald, Mayer N. 1993. "Toward a Reconceptualization of the Foundations of the Field," Organizational Science 4:513-528.

Scott, W. Richard. 1992. "Three Perspectives on Organizations." Pp. 27-122 in Organizations: Rational, Natural, and Open Systems, 3rd Ed., by W. Richard Scott. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Clegg, Stewart R. 1990. Modern Organizations: Organization Studies in the Postmodern World. London: Sage Publications.

Discussant: ________________________________________

• Williamson, Oliver. 1994. "Transaction Cost Economics and Organization Theory." Pp. 77-107 in The Handbook of Economic Sociology, edited by Neil J. Smelser and Richard Swedberg. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
• Moschandreas, Maria. 1997. "The Role of Opportunism in Transaction Cost Economics." Journal of Economic Issues 31:39-57.
• Eisenhardt, Kathleen M. 1989. "Agency Theory: An Assessment and Review." Academy of Management Review 14:57-74.
• Menard, Claude. 1995. "Markets as Institutions Versus Organizations as Markets? Disentangling Some Fundamental Concepts." Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 28:161-182.

Conner, Kathleen R. and C.K. Prahalad. 1996. "A Resource-Based Theory of the Firm: Knowledge Versus Opportunism." Organization Science 7:477-501.

Ghoshal, Sumantra and Peter Moran. 1996. "Bad for Practice: A Critique of Transaction Cost Theory." Academy of Management Review 21:13-47.

Williamson, Oliver E. 1996. "Efficiency, Power, Authority and Economic Organization." Pp. 11-42 in Transaction Cost Economics and Beyond, edited by John Groenewegen. Boston: Kluwer Academic.

Pitelis, Christos. 1996. "Seven Reasons Why ‘Beyond’ Transaction Cost Economics to Thesmoecomonics." Pp. 271-287 in Transaction Cost Economics and Beyond, edited by John Groenewegen. Boston: Kluwer Academic.

Chiles, Todd H. and John F. McMackin. 1996. "Integrating Variable Risk Preferences, Trust and Transaction Cost Economics." Academy of Management Review 21:73-99.

Schulze, William S. 1994. "The Two Schools of Thought in Resource-Based Theory." Advances in Strategic Management 10:127-151.

Conner, Kathleen. 1991. "A Historical Comparison of Resource-Based Theory and Five Schools of Thought Within Industrial-Organization Economics: Do We Have a New Theory of the Firm?" Journal of Management 17(1):121-154.

Donaldson, L. 1990. "The Ethereal Hand: Organization Economics and Management Theory." Academy of Management Journal 15(3):369-381.

Robins, James A. 1987. "Organizational Economics: Notes on the Use of Transaction-Cost Theory in the Study of Organizations." Administrative Science Quarterly 32:68-86.

Discussant: ________________________________________

• Van de Ven, Andrew H. and Marshall Scott Poole. 1995. "Explaining Development and Change in Organizations." Academy of Management Review 20:510-540.
• Nelson, Richard R. 1994. "Evolutionary Theorizing about Economic Change." Pp. 108-136 in The Handbook of Economic Sociology, edited by Neil Smelser and Richard Swedberg. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
• Baum, Joel A.C. and Jitendra V. Singh. 1994. "Organizational Hierarchies and Evolutionary Processes: Some Reflections on a Theory of Organizational Evolution." Pp. 3-20 in Evolutionary Dynamics of Organizations, edited by Joel A.C. Baum and Jitendra V. Singh. New York: Oxord University Press.
• Brown, Shona and Kathleen M. Eisenhardt. 1997. "The Art of Continuous Change: Linking Complexity Theory and Time-Paced Evolution in Relentlessly Shifting Organizations." Administrative Science Quarterly 42:1-34.

Nelson, Richard R. 1994. "The Co-Evolution of Technology, Industrial Structure, and Supporting Institutions." Industrial and Corporate Change 3:47-64.

Baum, Joel A.C. and Jitendra V. Singh. 1994. "Organization-Environment Coevolution." Pp. 379-401 in Organizational Evolution: New Directions, edited by Jitendra V. Singh. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Van de Ven, Andrew H. and Raghu Garud. 1993. "The Coevolution of Technical and Institutional Events in the Development of an Innovation." Pp. 425-443 in Evolutionary Dynamics of Organizations, edited by Joel A.C. Baum and Jitendra V. Singh. New York: Oxord University Press.

Foss, Nicolai J. 1993. "Theories of the Firm: Contractual and Competence Perspectives." Journal of Evolutionary Economics 3:127-144.

Barney, Jay B. 1992. "Integrating Organizational Behavior and Strategy Formulation Research: A Resource-Based Analysis." Advances in Strategic Management 8:39-61.

Romanelli, Elaine. 1991. "The Evolution of New Organizational Forms." Annual Review of Sociology 17:79-103.

Discussant: ________________________________________

• Amburgey, Terry L. and Hayagreeva Rao. 1996. "Organizational Ecology: Past, Present, and Future Directions." Academy of Management Journal 39:1265-1286.
• Barron, David N., Elizabeth West and Michael T. Hannan. 1994. "A Time to Grow and a Time to Die: Growth and Mortality of Credit Unions in New York City, 1914-1990." American Journal of Sociology 100:381-421.
• Baum, Joel A.C. and Walter W. Powell. 1995. "Cultivating an Institutional Ecology of Organizations." American Sociological Review 60:529-538.
• Hannan, Michael T. and Glenn Carroll. 1995. "Theory Building and Cheap Talk About Legitimation: Reply to Baum and Powell." American Sociological Review 60:539-544.

Peli, Gabor, Jeroen Bruggeman, Michael Masuch and Breanndan O. Nuallain. 1994. "A Logical Approach to Formalizing Organizational Ecology." American Sociological Review 59:571-593.

Hannan, Michael T., Glenn Carroll, Elizabeth A. Dundon and John C. Torres. 1995. "Organizational Evolution in a Multinational Context; Entries of Automobile Manuffacturers in Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy." American Sociological Review 60:509-528.

Aldrich, Howard E. and Gabriele Wiedenmayer. 1993. "From Traits to Rates: An Ecological Perspective on Organizational Foundings." Advances in Entrepreneurship, Firm Emergence, and Growth 1:145-195.

Baum, Joel A.C. and Christine Oliver. 1992. "Institutional Embeddedness and the Dynamics of Organizational Populations." American Sociological Review 57:540-559.

Hannan, Michael T. and Glenn Carroll. 1992. Dynamics of Organizational Populations: Density, Competition, and Legitimation. New York: Oxford University Press.

Singh, Jitendra V. and Charles J. Lumsden. 1990. "Theory and Research in Organizational Ecology." Annual Review of Sociology 16:161-195.

Hannan, Michael T. and John Freeman. 1989. Organizational Ecology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Zucker, Lynne G. 1989. "Combining Institutional Theory and Population Ecology: No Legitimacy, No History." American Sociolgical Review 54:542-545.

Young, Ruth. 1988. "Is Population Ecology a Useful Paradigm for the Study of Organizations?" American Journal of Sociology 94:1-24.

Hannan, Michael T. and John Freeman. 1988. "Setting the Record Straight on Organizational Ecology: Rebuttal to Young." American Journal of Sociology 95:425-438.

5. April 28 POWER and RESOURCE DEPENDENCE THEORIES

Discussant: ________________________________________

• Pfeffer, Jeffrey. 1987. "A Resource Dependence Perspective on Intercorporate Relations." Pp. 25-55 in Intercorporate Relations: The Structural Analysis of Business, edited by Mark Mizruchi and Michael Schwartz. New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Pfeffer, Jeffrey. 1997. "Developing and Exercising Power and Influence." Pp. 136-155 in New Directions for Organization Theory: Problems and Prospects, by Jeffrey Pfeffer. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Grandori, Anna. 1993. "Notes on the Use of Power and Efficiency Constructs in the Economics and Sociology of Organizations." Pp. 61-78 in Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Organization Studies, edited by Siegwart M. Lindenberg and Hein Schreuder. Oxford, England: Pergamon Press.
• Davis, Gerald F. 1994. "The Corporate Elite and the Politics of Corporate Control." Current Perspectives in Social Theory, Supplement 1:215-38.

Fligstein, Neil and Peter Brantley. 1992. "Bank Control, Owner Control, or Organizational Dynamics: Who Controls the Large Corporation?" American Journal of Sociology 98:280-307.

Mizruchi, Mark S. 1996. "What Do Interlocks Do? An Analysis, Critique, and Assessment of Research on Interlocking Directorates." Annual Review of Sociology 22:271-298.

Davis, Gerald F. and Tracy A. Thompson. 1994. "A Social Movement Perspective on Corporate Control." Administrative Science Quarterly 39:141-73.

Useem, Michael. 1993. Executive Defense: Shareholder Power and Corporate Reorganization. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Ocasio, William. 1994. "Political Dynamics and the Circulation of Power: CEO Succession in U.S. Industrial Corporations, 1960-1990." Administrative Science Quarterly 39:285-312.

Pfeffer, Jeffrey. 1992. Managing with Power: Politics and Influence in Organizations. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Cyert, Richard and James G. March. 1992. A Behavioral Theory of the Firm. 2nd Ed. New York: Blackwell.

Pfeffer, Jeffrey. 1992. Managing with Power: Politics and Influence in Organizations. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Scott, John. 1991. "Networks of Corporate Power: A Comparative Assessment." Annual Review of Sociology 17:181-203.

Fligstein, Neil. 1990. The Transformation of Corporate Control. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Discussant: ________________________________________

• Hirsch, Paul M. 1997. "Sociology Without Social Structure: Neoinstitutional Theory Meets Brave New World." American Journal of Sociology 102:1702-1723.
• Barley, Stephen R. and Pamela Tolbart. 1997. "Institutionalization and Structuration: Studying the Links between Action and Institution." Organization Studies 18(1):93-117.
• Greenwood, Royston and C.R. Hinings. 1996. "Understanding Radical Organizational Change: Bringing Together the Old and New Institutionalism." Academy of Management Review 21:1022-1054.
• Suchman, Mark C. 1995. "Managing Legitimacy: Strategic and Institutional Approaches." Academy of Management Review 20:571-610.

Fligstein, Neil. 1996. "Markets as Politics: A Political-Cultural Approach to Market Institutions." American Sociological Review 61:656-673.

Posner, RichardA. 1993. "The New Institutional Economics Meets Law and Economics." Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics 149:73-87.

Scott, W. Richard. 1995. Institutions and Organizations: Attempting a Theoretical Synthesis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Kraatz, Matthew S. and Edward J. Zajac. 1996. "Exploring the Limits of the New Institutionalism: The Causes and Consequences of Illegitimate Organizational Change." American Sociological Review 61:812-836.

Baum, Joel A.C. and Christine Oliver. 1992. "Institutional Embeddedness and the Dynamics of Organizational Populations." American Sociological Review 57:540-559.

Jepperson, Ronald L. and John W. Meyer. 1991. "The Public Order and the Construction of Formal Organizations." Pp. 204-231 in The New Institutionalism in Organizational Analysis, edited by Paul J. DiMaggio and Walter W. Powell. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Leblibici, Huseyin, Gerald Salancik, Anne Copay and Tom King. 1991. "Institutional Change and the Transformation of Interorganizational Fields." Administrative Science Quarterly 36:333-363.

Jacoby, Sanford M. 1990. "The New Institutionalism: What Can It Learn from the Old?" Industrial Relations 29:316-340.

Discussant: ________________________________________

• Knoke, David and Miguel Guilarte. 1994. "Networks in Organizational Structures and Strategies." Current Perspectives in Social Theory, Supplement 1:77-115.
• Ring, Peter Smith and Andrew H. Van de Ven. 1992. "Structuring Cooperative Relationships Between Organizations." Strategic Management Journal 13:483-498.
• Powell, Walter W. 1990. "Neither Market Nor Hierarchy: Network Forms of Organizations." Research in Organizational Behavior 12:295-366.
• Osborn, Richard N. and John Hagedoorn. 1997. "The Institutional and Evolutionary Dynamics of Interorganizational Alliances and Networks." Academy of Management Journal 40:261-278.

Uzzi, Brian. 1997. "Social Structure and Competition in Interfirm Networks: The Paradox of Embeddedness." Administrative Science Quarterly 42:35-67.

Davis, Gerald F. and Henrich R. Greve. 1997. "Corporate Elite Networks and Governance Changes in the 1980s." American Journal of Sociology 103:1-37.

Jackson, Matthew O. and Asher Wolinsky. 1996. "A Strategic Model of Social and Economic Networks." Journal of Economic Theory 71:44-74.

Uzzi, Brian. 1996. "The Sources and Consequences of Embeddedness for the Economic Performance of Organizations: The Network Effect." American Sociological Review 61:674-698.

Powell, Walter W. and Laurel Smith-Doerr. 1994. "Networks and Economic Life." Pp. 368-402 in The Handbook of Economic Sociology, edited by Neil Smelser and Richard Swedberg. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Auster, Ellen R. 1994. "Macro and Strategic Perspectives on Interorganizational Linkages: A Comparative Analysis and Review with Suggestions for Reorientation." Advances in Strategic Management 10B:3-40.

Nohria, Nitin and Robert G. Eccles (eds.). 1992. Networks and Organizations: Structure, Form and Action. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Knoke, David. 1990. Political Networks: The Structural Perspective. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Discussants: ________________________________________

• Kanter, Rosabeth Moss and Paul S. Myers. 1991. "Interorganizational Bonds and Intraorganizational Behavior: How Alliances and Partnerships Change the Organizations Forming Them." Pp. 329-44 in Socioeconomics: Toward a New Synthesis, edited by Amitai Etzioni and Paul R. Lawrence. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.
• Krackhardt, David and Daniel J. Brass. 1994. "Intraorganizational Networks: The Micro Side." Pp. 207-229 in Advances in Social Network Analysis, edited by Stanley Wasserman and Joseph Galaskiewicz. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
• Burt, Ronald S. 1997. "The Contingent Value of Social Capital." Administrative Science Quarterly 42:339-365.
• Westphal, James D., Ranjay Gulati and Stephen M. Shortell. 1997. "Customization or Conformity? An Institutional and Network Perspective on the Content and Consequences of TQM Adoption." Administrative Science Quarterly 42:366-394.

Podolny, Joel M. and James N. Baron. 1997. "Relationships and Resources: Social Networks and Mobility in the Workplace." American Sociological Review 62:673-693.

Oliver, Amalya L. 1997. "On the Nexus of Organizations and Professions: Networking Through Trust." Sociological Inquiry 67

Krackhardt, David and Jeffrey R. Hanson. 1993. "Informal Networks: The Company Behind the Chart." Harvard Business Review (July-August):104-111.

Ibarra, Herminia. 1993. "Personal Networks of Women and Minorities in Management: A Conceptual Framework." Academy of Management Review 18:56-87.

Ibarra, Herminia and Steven B. Andrews. 1993. "Power, Social Influence and Sense Making: Effects of Network Centrality and Proximity on Employee Perceptions." Administrative Science Quarterly 38:277-303.

Burt, Ronald S. 1992. Structural Holes: The Social Structure of Competition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Brass, Daniel J. 1992. "Power in Organizations: A Social Network Perspective." Research in Politics and Society 4:295-323.

Rice, Ronald E. and Carol Aydin. 1991. "Attitudes Toward New Organizational Technology: Network Proximity as a Mechanism for Social Information Processing." Administrative Science Quarterly 36:219-244.

Krackhardt, David. 1990. "Assessing the Political Landscape: Structure, Cognition and Power in Organizations." Administrative Science Quarterly 35:342-369.

Discussant: ________________________________________

Discussant: ________________________________________