IIMB STRATEGY VIRTUAL SEMINAR SERIES 2022
Beyond Bounded Rationality: Exploring the role of Imagination in Strategy-Making
Date: Oct 21
Shubha Patvardhan A qualitative researcher with an interest in field studies, Shubha is curious about organizational outliers and pursuing questions that inform the foundational assumptions of strategic management and organizational theories. Her recent work explores “forward-looking” strategies by which firms only adapt to the future but also seek to “shape” it. She is currently exploring the cognitive origins of forward-looking strategies—specifically, the role of imagination in strategy-making. Shubha’s research interests include identity at the organizational- and field-levels, and organizational fields in general.
Shubha’s research has been published in journals such as Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, Academy of Management Annals, and Research in Organizational Behavior. Shubha received her PhD from the Department of Management & Organization at The Pennsylvania State University’s Smeal College of Business. She has also been a Research Fellow of the Judge Business School, Cambridge University. Shubha earned her B.A. (Economics) from Bangalore University and MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur India.
Abstract: Imagination is often described as a distinguishing feature of great strategies. Yet imagination is underrepresented in the field’s foundational assumptions about managerial cognition that are largely focused on cognitive processes of perception. In this paper, with the aim of explicitly introducing imagination into the cognitive repertoire of strategists, I define imagination and distinguish it from other related constructs. Conceptualizing imagination as ranging from the mundane ("incremental imagination") to the profound ("radical imagination"), I theorize the processual contours of the relatively unexplored radical form of imagination—which I argue as the source of “great,” forward looking strategies that shape the future and solve grand challenges of society. Overall, the ideas in this paper contribute to the micro foundations of strategic management and organizational theory, by developing a more expansive notion of managerial agency— as not only “boundedly rational” and “adapting” to the environment, but as also capable of “creative rationality” and “shaping” the environment.
Date: Oct 21
Shubha Patvardhan A qualitative researcher with an interest in field studies, Shubha is curious about organizational outliers and pursuing questions that inform the foundational assumptions of strategic management and organizational theories. Her recent work explores “forward-looking” strategies by which firms only adapt to the future but also seek to “shape” it. She is currently exploring the cognitive origins of forward-looking strategies—specifically, the role of imagination in strategy-making. Shubha’s research interests include identity at the organizational- and field-levels, and organizational fields in general.
Shubha’s research has been published in journals such as Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, Academy of Management Annals, and Research in Organizational Behavior. Shubha received her PhD from the Department of Management & Organization at The Pennsylvania State University’s Smeal College of Business. She has also been a Research Fellow of the Judge Business School, Cambridge University. Shubha earned her B.A. (Economics) from Bangalore University and MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur India.
Abstract: Imagination is often described as a distinguishing feature of great strategies. Yet imagination is underrepresented in the field’s foundational assumptions about managerial cognition that are largely focused on cognitive processes of perception. In this paper, with the aim of explicitly introducing imagination into the cognitive repertoire of strategists, I define imagination and distinguish it from other related constructs. Conceptualizing imagination as ranging from the mundane ("incremental imagination") to the profound ("radical imagination"), I theorize the processual contours of the relatively unexplored radical form of imagination—which I argue as the source of “great,” forward looking strategies that shape the future and solve grand challenges of society. Overall, the ideas in this paper contribute to the micro foundations of strategic management and organizational theory, by developing a more expansive notion of managerial agency— as not only “boundedly rational” and “adapting” to the environment, but as also capable of “creative rationality” and “shaping” the environment.
Breaking (through) taboo: the unfolding process of micro-macro emancipations in the fem-tech industry
Date: Oct 14
Dr. Neva Bojovic is an Assistant Professor of Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability at Kedge Business School. She investigates emergence of novel technologies, practices, and fields. She is especially interested in strategies that managers, entrepreneurs, and organizations use to facilitate social change and change societal perceptions around the issues, fields, or product categories they organize around. Prior to academia, Neva worked in the media industry.
Abstract: Oftentimes, we look into entrepreneurship as the process of constructing a narrative around certain ideas, projects and futures and convincing others into these narratives. Indeed, entrepreneurship is enacted in discussions, with customers to identify their needs, and test emerging products, with investors to support the company, and with many other partners and stakeholders along the way. However, who can speak, what can be said and how is regulated by aesthetic regimes in place, excluding some topics from the discussions as “matters out of place”. We investigate the challenges that arise when entrepreneuring occurs in settings where the entrepreneurial activity is veiled with taboo – a social constraint that makes it difficult to speak about their products and with their customers. Drawing on a dataset of 110 interviews of entrepreneurs supplemented by 13 interviews of industry experts in the fem-tech sector, we identify that entrepreneurs take multiple strategies in breaking taboo that lead to different forms of emancipation. We reflect in how the unfolding micro-macro emancipations lead to reconfiguration of what can be said and how.
Date: Oct 14
Dr. Neva Bojovic is an Assistant Professor of Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability at Kedge Business School. She investigates emergence of novel technologies, practices, and fields. She is especially interested in strategies that managers, entrepreneurs, and organizations use to facilitate social change and change societal perceptions around the issues, fields, or product categories they organize around. Prior to academia, Neva worked in the media industry.
Abstract: Oftentimes, we look into entrepreneurship as the process of constructing a narrative around certain ideas, projects and futures and convincing others into these narratives. Indeed, entrepreneurship is enacted in discussions, with customers to identify their needs, and test emerging products, with investors to support the company, and with many other partners and stakeholders along the way. However, who can speak, what can be said and how is regulated by aesthetic regimes in place, excluding some topics from the discussions as “matters out of place”. We investigate the challenges that arise when entrepreneuring occurs in settings where the entrepreneurial activity is veiled with taboo – a social constraint that makes it difficult to speak about their products and with their customers. Drawing on a dataset of 110 interviews of entrepreneurs supplemented by 13 interviews of industry experts in the fem-tech sector, we identify that entrepreneurs take multiple strategies in breaking taboo that lead to different forms of emancipation. We reflect in how the unfolding micro-macro emancipations lead to reconfiguration of what can be said and how.
Mobile Money as a steppingstone: Addressing voids in credit-market institutions through digital platforms
Date: Oct 7
Valentina A. Assenova is the Edward B. and Shirley R. Shils Endowed Term Assistant Professor of Management at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Her research centers on the formation, growth, and funding of early-stage firms, with a focus on emerging and developing economies. She has collaborated with organizations such as FINCA International and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation on projects and initiatives that advance entrepreneurship and economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. She holds a Ph.D., M.Phil., and M.A. from Yale University, an M.B.A. from the University of Cambridge, and a B.Sc. in Economics from the Wharton School.
Abstract: Digital platforms often emerge to meet the needs left unaddressed by missing or underdeveloped institutional infrastructure (i.e., “institutional voids”). We examine the case of “mobile money” and the role it has played in filling voids in credit-market institutions that limit access to credit for potential borrowers in emerging and developing economies. We argue that the proliferation of mobile money has increased access to credit from formal financial institutions among previously underserved and excluded borrowers in two ways: (i) through end-user certification, and (ii) strategic actions by incumbent organizations. We examine the evidence for these mechanisms in the context of the growth in mobile money penetration and usage in emerging economies with voids in credit-market institutions. We find support for both mechanisms contributing to the steppingstone effect of mobile money that increases users’ access to credit from formal financial institutions. Our findings suggest that digital platforms such as mobile money can become steppingstones that bridge institutional voids.
Date: Oct 7
Valentina A. Assenova is the Edward B. and Shirley R. Shils Endowed Term Assistant Professor of Management at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Her research centers on the formation, growth, and funding of early-stage firms, with a focus on emerging and developing economies. She has collaborated with organizations such as FINCA International and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation on projects and initiatives that advance entrepreneurship and economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. She holds a Ph.D., M.Phil., and M.A. from Yale University, an M.B.A. from the University of Cambridge, and a B.Sc. in Economics from the Wharton School.
Abstract: Digital platforms often emerge to meet the needs left unaddressed by missing or underdeveloped institutional infrastructure (i.e., “institutional voids”). We examine the case of “mobile money” and the role it has played in filling voids in credit-market institutions that limit access to credit for potential borrowers in emerging and developing economies. We argue that the proliferation of mobile money has increased access to credit from formal financial institutions among previously underserved and excluded borrowers in two ways: (i) through end-user certification, and (ii) strategic actions by incumbent organizations. We examine the evidence for these mechanisms in the context of the growth in mobile money penetration and usage in emerging economies with voids in credit-market institutions. We find support for both mechanisms contributing to the steppingstone effect of mobile money that increases users’ access to credit from formal financial institutions. Our findings suggest that digital platforms such as mobile money can become steppingstones that bridge institutional voids.
Mobile Money as a steppingstone: Addressing voids in credit-market institutions through digital platforms
Aparajita Agarwal an alumnus of IIMB, is a fourth year doctoral student in the Management Department at Wharton with research interests in entrepreneurship, economic development through technology and innovation and impact investing. Prior to joining Wharton, Aparajita worked in industry for ten years. She worked as a strategy consultant at the Boston Consulting Group and then as the advisor to the Chairperson of the Godrej Group. Just before starting her academic pursuits, Aparajita launched key initiatives for Amazon in India and UK. Aparajita holds an MS from Wharton, an MBA from IIM Bangalore and is an Information Systems graduate from BITS Pilani.
Abstract: Digital platforms often emerge to meet the needs left unaddressed by missing or underdeveloped institutional infrastructure (i.e., “institutional voids”). We examine the case of “mobile money” and the role it has played in filling voids in credit-market institutions that limit access to credit for potential borrowers in emerging and developing economies. We argue that the proliferation of mobile money has increased access to credit from formal financial institutions among previously underserved and excluded borrowers in two ways: (i) through end-user certification, and (ii) strategic actions by incumbent organizations. We examine the evidence for these mechanisms in the context of the growth in mobile money penetration and usage in emerging economies with voids in credit-market institutions. We find support for both mechanisms contributing to the steppingstone effect of mobile money that increases users’ access to credit from formal financial institutions. Our findings suggest that digital platforms such as mobile money can become steppingstones that bridge institutional voids.
Abstract: Digital platforms often emerge to meet the needs left unaddressed by missing or underdeveloped institutional infrastructure (i.e., “institutional voids”). We examine the case of “mobile money” and the role it has played in filling voids in credit-market institutions that limit access to credit for potential borrowers in emerging and developing economies. We argue that the proliferation of mobile money has increased access to credit from formal financial institutions among previously underserved and excluded borrowers in two ways: (i) through end-user certification, and (ii) strategic actions by incumbent organizations. We examine the evidence for these mechanisms in the context of the growth in mobile money penetration and usage in emerging economies with voids in credit-market institutions. We find support for both mechanisms contributing to the steppingstone effect of mobile money that increases users’ access to credit from formal financial institutions. Our findings suggest that digital platforms such as mobile money can become steppingstones that bridge institutional voids.
How do Multinational Firms Respond to Country Positioning in the New World Order? Evidence from the Effect of Country Membership in the AIIB on FDI
Date: Sep 9
Srividya Jandhyala is an Associate Professor of Management at ESSEC Business School. Her research focuses on business-government relations in international settings, examining both cooperation between the public and private sectors as well as conflicts and disputes between them. She has examined phenomena such as political risk, foreign investment in emerging markets, diplomacy in international business, and legal dispute resolution. Her research has been published in a wide range of journals such as Administrative Science Quarterly, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Conflict Resolution, World Development, and Strategy Science. Prior to joining ESSEC in Singapore, she served on the faculty of the George Washington University in Washington, DC. She was previously a Fung Global Fellow and Visiting Research Scholar at Princeton University and received her PhD in Management from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. She currently serves as a Representative-at-Large for the Organization and Management Theory Division for the Academy of Management.
Abstract: China’s economic growth and efforts to increase its influence in the global arena are shaping a “new world order”. For multinational corporations (MNCs), understanding where a host country will stand in this future world order is of tantamount importance but, in a time of transition and uncertainty, they have to rely on signals. We conceptualize a country’s membership in the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as a key signal of closer political and economic positioning to China. We examine how MNCs perceive and respond to such a signal. On the one hand, MNCs might increase investments if they perceive AIIB membership as offering greater economic opportunities due to connections with a rising economic power. On the other hand, MNCs might lower investments if they associate AIIB membership with greater political risk from possible Chinese influence in the host country’s internal and international affairs. Using a difference-in-differences approach, our empirical analysis of 183 countries between 2005-2020 suggests that, on average, AIIB membership is associated with an increase in foreign direct investments. However, the effect is positive only for democracies, where competitive markets and stronger checks and balances enhance the positive effects of access to the Chinese market while limiting undue Chinese political influence.
Date: Sep 9
Srividya Jandhyala is an Associate Professor of Management at ESSEC Business School. Her research focuses on business-government relations in international settings, examining both cooperation between the public and private sectors as well as conflicts and disputes between them. She has examined phenomena such as political risk, foreign investment in emerging markets, diplomacy in international business, and legal dispute resolution. Her research has been published in a wide range of journals such as Administrative Science Quarterly, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Conflict Resolution, World Development, and Strategy Science. Prior to joining ESSEC in Singapore, she served on the faculty of the George Washington University in Washington, DC. She was previously a Fung Global Fellow and Visiting Research Scholar at Princeton University and received her PhD in Management from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. She currently serves as a Representative-at-Large for the Organization and Management Theory Division for the Academy of Management.
Abstract: China’s economic growth and efforts to increase its influence in the global arena are shaping a “new world order”. For multinational corporations (MNCs), understanding where a host country will stand in this future world order is of tantamount importance but, in a time of transition and uncertainty, they have to rely on signals. We conceptualize a country’s membership in the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as a key signal of closer political and economic positioning to China. We examine how MNCs perceive and respond to such a signal. On the one hand, MNCs might increase investments if they perceive AIIB membership as offering greater economic opportunities due to connections with a rising economic power. On the other hand, MNCs might lower investments if they associate AIIB membership with greater political risk from possible Chinese influence in the host country’s internal and international affairs. Using a difference-in-differences approach, our empirical analysis of 183 countries between 2005-2020 suggests that, on average, AIIB membership is associated with an increase in foreign direct investments. However, the effect is positive only for democracies, where competitive markets and stronger checks and balances enhance the positive effects of access to the Chinese market while limiting undue Chinese political influence.
Time Perspective, Firm Resources, and Dynamic Capabilities
Date: April 25
Dr. Ludvig Levasseur serves as an Assistant Professor in Entrepreneurship at Indian Institute of Management Bangalore and as a Junior Research Fellow at the Institute for Development Strategies of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs of Indiana University. He published in journals such as Journal of Organizational Behavior, Asia Pacific Journal of Management, British Journal of Management, and Journal of Business Research. He completed his PhD in Management from PSL-Université Paris-Dauphine in 2016.
Abstract: Research on time has received significant and continued attention in the management domain. However, few management scholars have investigated subjective/psychological time (i.e., the individual and collective experience, interpretation, and perception of time), and the specific aspect of time perspective (TP). This is problematic because the (positive and negative) affective, cognitive, psychological, and temporal dynamics (investigated through the TPs) of decision-makers (e.g., CEOs, business unit managers) can lead to firm resources that are differently deployed and firm dynamic capabilities that are differently developed and, concomitantly with efficiency, yield benefits that vary in magnitude. We discuss the relevance and importance of studying TP in strategic management research and we develop propositions on how TP influences the deployment of firm resources and development of dynamic capabilities, challenging the overreliance on objective/clock time in strategy research. We develop TP-related theoretical and methodological implications for future research.
Date: April 25
Dr. Ludvig Levasseur serves as an Assistant Professor in Entrepreneurship at Indian Institute of Management Bangalore and as a Junior Research Fellow at the Institute for Development Strategies of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs of Indiana University. He published in journals such as Journal of Organizational Behavior, Asia Pacific Journal of Management, British Journal of Management, and Journal of Business Research. He completed his PhD in Management from PSL-Université Paris-Dauphine in 2016.
Abstract: Research on time has received significant and continued attention in the management domain. However, few management scholars have investigated subjective/psychological time (i.e., the individual and collective experience, interpretation, and perception of time), and the specific aspect of time perspective (TP). This is problematic because the (positive and negative) affective, cognitive, psychological, and temporal dynamics (investigated through the TPs) of decision-makers (e.g., CEOs, business unit managers) can lead to firm resources that are differently deployed and firm dynamic capabilities that are differently developed and, concomitantly with efficiency, yield benefits that vary in magnitude. We discuss the relevance and importance of studying TP in strategic management research and we develop propositions on how TP influences the deployment of firm resources and development of dynamic capabilities, challenging the overreliance on objective/clock time in strategy research. We develop TP-related theoretical and methodological implications for future research.
How institutions affect CSR practices in the Middle East and North Africa: A critical review
Date: April 21
Tanusree Jain is an Assistant Professor in Ethical Business at Trinity Business School. She holds a PhD from ESADE Business School (2015) in CSR and Corporate Governance. She received her initial education in India with a Bachelors and Masters of Commerce (University Topper), an Mphil in Organization Behavior from Delhi School of Economics (First Class), and a Master of Research in Management Sciences from ESADE (Spain). Tanusree’s research in situated at the intersection of CSR and Corporate governance. Her PhD work led to the conceptualization and measurement of corporate stakeholder orientation and its comparative assessment across emerging and western geographies. Her current research interests include assessing antecedents of corporate stakeholder orientation, impact of CSR regulations, and various aspects of diversity such as women on boards. She is also interested in emerging country research, particularly India and the Middle East. She is a member of the AOM, SBE, EGOS and IABS. Her PhD research received SBE Founder's Award for Emerging Scholar in Business Ethics in 2013. She is an Associate Editor of Business Ethics: A European Review (BEER) and an invited reviewer for Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Management Studies, Corporate Governance: An International Review, Business & Society, Management International Review, California Management Review, and British Journal of Industrial Relations. She is the co-founder of CSRintel (www.csrintel.com)- a knowledge initiative that guides corporate and public policy on CSR.
Abstract: This systematic literature review integrates the Varieties of Institutional Systems (VIS) framework and Patchwork Institutions lens to unpack how institutional heterogeneity in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) impacts the practice of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Our review of 154 articles published between 1995–2017 extracts the variegated nature of institutions in MENA countries and sheds light on how country-specific institutional forces affect CSR. Doing so, we take the first step to move away from a monolithic understanding of the institutional effects on CSR in MENA, acknowledging the role that collective actors play in shaping the institutional realities affecting CSR.
Date: April 21
Tanusree Jain is an Assistant Professor in Ethical Business at Trinity Business School. She holds a PhD from ESADE Business School (2015) in CSR and Corporate Governance. She received her initial education in India with a Bachelors and Masters of Commerce (University Topper), an Mphil in Organization Behavior from Delhi School of Economics (First Class), and a Master of Research in Management Sciences from ESADE (Spain). Tanusree’s research in situated at the intersection of CSR and Corporate governance. Her PhD work led to the conceptualization and measurement of corporate stakeholder orientation and its comparative assessment across emerging and western geographies. Her current research interests include assessing antecedents of corporate stakeholder orientation, impact of CSR regulations, and various aspects of diversity such as women on boards. She is also interested in emerging country research, particularly India and the Middle East. She is a member of the AOM, SBE, EGOS and IABS. Her PhD research received SBE Founder's Award for Emerging Scholar in Business Ethics in 2013. She is an Associate Editor of Business Ethics: A European Review (BEER) and an invited reviewer for Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Management Studies, Corporate Governance: An International Review, Business & Society, Management International Review, California Management Review, and British Journal of Industrial Relations. She is the co-founder of CSRintel (www.csrintel.com)- a knowledge initiative that guides corporate and public policy on CSR.
Abstract: This systematic literature review integrates the Varieties of Institutional Systems (VIS) framework and Patchwork Institutions lens to unpack how institutional heterogeneity in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) impacts the practice of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Our review of 154 articles published between 1995–2017 extracts the variegated nature of institutions in MENA countries and sheds light on how country-specific institutional forces affect CSR. Doing so, we take the first step to move away from a monolithic understanding of the institutional effects on CSR in MENA, acknowledging the role that collective actors play in shaping the institutional realities affecting CSR.
Singing Your Own Praises: Digital Cultural Production and Gender Inequality
Date: Feb 24
Abhishek Nagaraj is Assistant Professor at the Haas School of Business, UC-Berkeley. He got his PhD in Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is an applied micro-economist who studies the role of digital information in shaping scientific and technological innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. In his past work he has studied the impact of geographic mapping information such as NASA satellite imagery and crowd-sourced OpenStreetMap in shaping regional innovation and entrepreneurship. In addition to his research, Abhishek also teaches The Entrepreneur's Playbook: A How-To Guide for Start-Up Strategy, a class focused on strategic decision-making in a startup context.
Abstract: New technologies are constantly transforming how culture is produced. Production-of-culture scholars have long posited that technological change influences the diversity of content in cultural fields. But how does such change affect demographic diversity among producers of culture? We study the advent of digital recording technologies in the production of music, and ask whether their adoption has shifted the allocation of artistic gigs between male and female artists. If so, how? Specifically, we argue that digital cultural production has the potential to increase gender inequality. Digitization reduces barriers to entry, but also necessitates greater self-promotion on the part of artists to stand out in a crowded labor market. Insofar as male artists can promote themselves more readily than can female artists, digital cultural production inadvertently increases the allocation of artistic gigs to male artists, though this self-promotion deficit can be mitigated when women benefit from audience endorsements. We develop and test this theory using in-depth interviews and a novel quantitative dataset relating to the labor market for studio singers in the Indian Hindi film industry (“Bollywood”). This paper contributes to the study of culture, technology, labor markets and gender, and explores the implications of technological change for women in the arts.
Date: Feb 24
Abhishek Nagaraj is Assistant Professor at the Haas School of Business, UC-Berkeley. He got his PhD in Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is an applied micro-economist who studies the role of digital information in shaping scientific and technological innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. In his past work he has studied the impact of geographic mapping information such as NASA satellite imagery and crowd-sourced OpenStreetMap in shaping regional innovation and entrepreneurship. In addition to his research, Abhishek also teaches The Entrepreneur's Playbook: A How-To Guide for Start-Up Strategy, a class focused on strategic decision-making in a startup context.
Abstract: New technologies are constantly transforming how culture is produced. Production-of-culture scholars have long posited that technological change influences the diversity of content in cultural fields. But how does such change affect demographic diversity among producers of culture? We study the advent of digital recording technologies in the production of music, and ask whether their adoption has shifted the allocation of artistic gigs between male and female artists. If so, how? Specifically, we argue that digital cultural production has the potential to increase gender inequality. Digitization reduces barriers to entry, but also necessitates greater self-promotion on the part of artists to stand out in a crowded labor market. Insofar as male artists can promote themselves more readily than can female artists, digital cultural production inadvertently increases the allocation of artistic gigs to male artists, though this self-promotion deficit can be mitigated when women benefit from audience endorsements. We develop and test this theory using in-depth interviews and a novel quantitative dataset relating to the labor market for studio singers in the Indian Hindi film industry (“Bollywood”). This paper contributes to the study of culture, technology, labor markets and gender, and explores the implications of technological change for women in the arts.
Category Labels, Category Distance and Resource Acquisition: A Study of Crowdfunding Campaigns
Date: Feb 10
Diego Zunino is an Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at SKEMA Business School, Université Côte d’Azur (GREDEG), and a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Copenhagen Business School. He received his PhD from Copenhagen Business School. Diego is interested in social evaluations in general, and in the context of digital economy and entrepreneurial finance, in particular.
Abstract: Entrepreneurial projects on crowdfunding face a major challenge in raising funds from resource providers. We used categorization theory to understand how resource providers evaluate entrepreneurial projects on crowdfunding platforms. We argue that category labels are an efficient way for entrepreneurs to communicate the social context of their project on crowdfunding platforms because they efficiently convey meaning with minimal cognitive effort. We further argue that resource providers on crowdfunding platforms have a taste for unconventional features and value ambiguity generated by the recombination of multiple categories and the information gap generated by more distant categories. We analyzed the descriptions of 30,844 crowdfunding projects presented on Indiegogo and Kickstarter from 2010 to 2017 and found that resource providers value projects that include category labels and more distant category recombinations.
Date: Feb 10
Diego Zunino is an Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at SKEMA Business School, Université Côte d’Azur (GREDEG), and a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Copenhagen Business School. He received his PhD from Copenhagen Business School. Diego is interested in social evaluations in general, and in the context of digital economy and entrepreneurial finance, in particular.
Abstract: Entrepreneurial projects on crowdfunding face a major challenge in raising funds from resource providers. We used categorization theory to understand how resource providers evaluate entrepreneurial projects on crowdfunding platforms. We argue that category labels are an efficient way for entrepreneurs to communicate the social context of their project on crowdfunding platforms because they efficiently convey meaning with minimal cognitive effort. We further argue that resource providers on crowdfunding platforms have a taste for unconventional features and value ambiguity generated by the recombination of multiple categories and the information gap generated by more distant categories. We analyzed the descriptions of 30,844 crowdfunding projects presented on Indiegogo and Kickstarter from 2010 to 2017 and found that resource providers value projects that include category labels and more distant category recombinations.
Innovation and profitability following antitrust intervention against a dominant platform: The wild, wild west?
Date: January 21
Sruthi Thatchenkery is an Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the University College London School of Management. She received her PhD in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University. Her research interests lie at the intersection of competition, innovation, and strategy, with a particular emphasis on managerial perceptions.
Abstract: Entrepreneurial projects on crowdfunding face a major challenge in raising funds from resource providers. We used categorization theory to understand how resource providers evaluate entrepreneurial projects on crowdfunding platforms. We argue that category labels are an efficient way for entrepreneurs to communicate the social context of their project on crowdfunding platforms because they efficiently convey meaning with minimal cognitive effort. We further argue that resource providers on crowdfunding platforms have a taste for unconventional features and value ambiguity generated by the recombination of multiple categories and the information gap generated by more distant categories. We analyzed the descriptions of 30,844 crowdfunding projects presented on Indiegogo and Kickstarter from 2010 to 2017 and found that resource providers value projects that include category labels and more distant category recombinations.
Date: January 21
Sruthi Thatchenkery is an Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the University College London School of Management. She received her PhD in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University. Her research interests lie at the intersection of competition, innovation, and strategy, with a particular emphasis on managerial perceptions.
Abstract: Entrepreneurial projects on crowdfunding face a major challenge in raising funds from resource providers. We used categorization theory to understand how resource providers evaluate entrepreneurial projects on crowdfunding platforms. We argue that category labels are an efficient way for entrepreneurs to communicate the social context of their project on crowdfunding platforms because they efficiently convey meaning with minimal cognitive effort. We further argue that resource providers on crowdfunding platforms have a taste for unconventional features and value ambiguity generated by the recombination of multiple categories and the information gap generated by more distant categories. We analyzed the descriptions of 30,844 crowdfunding projects presented on Indiegogo and Kickstarter from 2010 to 2017 and found that resource providers value projects that include category labels and more distant category recombinations.
IIMB STRATEGY VIRTUAL SEMINAR SERIES – SUMMER 2020
Engagement and Isolation in the Post-COVID World Order: Where Does China Stand?
Presenter: G Venkat Raman, Professor, IIM Indore
Date: August 27 @ 2pm IST
G Venkat Raman is faculty in the Area of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIM Indore.
Abstract: China’s alleged perfidy and opaqueness in its handling of the COVID-19 outbreak have triggered international outrage. Read more Will the damage to China’s reputation as a responsible state actor in the aftermath of the COVID outbreak also threaten its current domination of international manufacturing, trade, and commerce? What are the external sources of the nationalist turn in China’s foreign policy under the leadership of Xi Jinping? The COVID-19 outbreak has exacerbated populist demands in various countries to “decouple” and reduce their interdependence with China. The post-COVID hostility toward China built upon the broader anti-globalization sentiment in the major Western nations over the past few years. The manifestations of this protectionist shift in the West include Brexit, the withdrawal of the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the rapid deterioration of the US’ relationship with China. Apart from the US, Japan and India have begun to take significant measures to reduce their trade and investment relationship with China. These decoupling efforts by major economies are occurring when the institutions of global economic governance, namely the World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund, have lost much of their erstwhile influence. The European Union has failed to institute a common fund or issue Corona bonds to fashion a collective response to the COVID crisis. The major international public health body in the United Nations, the World Health Organization, remains highly vulnerable to bullying tactics by major contributors like the US. This paper assumes that these trends in world politics are primarily a manifestation of the hegemonic transition in which US retrenchment is simultaneously accompanied by China’s ascent.
Presenter: G Venkat Raman, Professor, IIM Indore
Date: August 27 @ 2pm IST
G Venkat Raman is faculty in the Area of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIM Indore.
Abstract: China’s alleged perfidy and opaqueness in its handling of the COVID-19 outbreak have triggered international outrage. Read more Will the damage to China’s reputation as a responsible state actor in the aftermath of the COVID outbreak also threaten its current domination of international manufacturing, trade, and commerce? What are the external sources of the nationalist turn in China’s foreign policy under the leadership of Xi Jinping? The COVID-19 outbreak has exacerbated populist demands in various countries to “decouple” and reduce their interdependence with China. The post-COVID hostility toward China built upon the broader anti-globalization sentiment in the major Western nations over the past few years. The manifestations of this protectionist shift in the West include Brexit, the withdrawal of the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the rapid deterioration of the US’ relationship with China. Apart from the US, Japan and India have begun to take significant measures to reduce their trade and investment relationship with China. These decoupling efforts by major economies are occurring when the institutions of global economic governance, namely the World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund, have lost much of their erstwhile influence. The European Union has failed to institute a common fund or issue Corona bonds to fashion a collective response to the COVID crisis. The major international public health body in the United Nations, the World Health Organization, remains highly vulnerable to bullying tactics by major contributors like the US. This paper assumes that these trends in world politics are primarily a manifestation of the hegemonic transition in which US retrenchment is simultaneously accompanied by China’s ascent.
Strategic Redundancy in the Use of Big Data: Evidence from a Two-Sided Labor Market
Presenter: Aseem Kaul, Associate Professor, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota
Date: August 20 @ 7pm IST
Aseem Kaul is the Mosaic Company - Jim Prokopanko Professor for Corporate Responsibility at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota.
Abstract: In this study, we examine how firms use the big data capabilities of third-party platforms to find transaction partners. Although use of the platform’s big data capabilities creates value by lowering search costs, firms may capture little of this value if they become entirely dependent on the platform. Read more We argue that firms invest in strategic redundancy, that is, they continue to rely partly on their internal screening capabilities to identify partners so as to maintain their bargaining power relative to the platform. We further predict that this reliance on internal screening is greater the lower the relative advantage of the platform’s big data capabilities and the more salient the threat to the firm’s bargaining power. We test these predictions in the context of an online labor platform, using a regression discontinuity design to examine the effect of the platform’s recommendations on the firm’s decision to hire an applicant. Consistent with our theory, we find that firms’ use of the platform’s recommendations is lower in later stages of the hiring process, in larger sub- markets, and for firms with greater experience on the platform. Our study sheds new light on how firms make use of (third-party) big data techniques, showing that firms may strate- gically choose to limit such use in order to maintain independence.
Paper: https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/10.1287/stsc.2019.0093
Presenter: Aseem Kaul, Associate Professor, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota
Date: August 20 @ 7pm IST
Aseem Kaul is the Mosaic Company - Jim Prokopanko Professor for Corporate Responsibility at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota.
Abstract: In this study, we examine how firms use the big data capabilities of third-party platforms to find transaction partners. Although use of the platform’s big data capabilities creates value by lowering search costs, firms may capture little of this value if they become entirely dependent on the platform. Read more We argue that firms invest in strategic redundancy, that is, they continue to rely partly on their internal screening capabilities to identify partners so as to maintain their bargaining power relative to the platform. We further predict that this reliance on internal screening is greater the lower the relative advantage of the platform’s big data capabilities and the more salient the threat to the firm’s bargaining power. We test these predictions in the context of an online labor platform, using a regression discontinuity design to examine the effect of the platform’s recommendations on the firm’s decision to hire an applicant. Consistent with our theory, we find that firms’ use of the platform’s recommendations is lower in later stages of the hiring process, in larger sub- markets, and for firms with greater experience on the platform. Our study sheds new light on how firms make use of (third-party) big data techniques, showing that firms may strate- gically choose to limit such use in order to maintain independence.
Paper: https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/10.1287/stsc.2019.0093
International Connectedness and Local Disconnectedness: MNE Strategy, City-Regions and Disruption
Presenter: Ram Mudambi, Professor, Fox School of Business, Temple University
Date: August 13, 2020
Ram Mudambi is Professor and Perelman Senior Research Fellow at the Fox School of Business, Temple University.
Abstract: Much of the rising international connectedness of city-regions has developed from MNEs replacing local connections with (superior) international ones. This often creates local disconnectedness that energizes the current populist backlash against MNE activities. Read more We develop approaches to new IB theory, addressing the interdependencies of MNEs and city-regions that we propose as a crucial avenue for future research. We contrast two generic MNE strategies. The first is the traditional one: the ‘global orchestration’ of resources and markets. We argue that it exacerbates local disconnectedness. The second, that we call ‘local spawning,’ involves engaging with the local entrepreneurial ecosystem to create and renew local connectedness, diffusing populist responses. Some MNEs are better able to implement a local spawning strategy, due to industry factors like innovation clock-speed, and firm characteristics like organizational path dependency. Finally, we distinguish between disconnection, which is an outcome of MNE strategy, and global disruptions, like the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which are primarily stochastic events. Addressing disconnections requires MNEs to re-orient their strategies while dealing with disruptions requires undertaking risk mitigation. We present empirical evidence from city-regions around the world to illustrate our theory.
Paper: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41267-020-00339-5
Presenter: Ram Mudambi, Professor, Fox School of Business, Temple University
Date: August 13, 2020
Ram Mudambi is Professor and Perelman Senior Research Fellow at the Fox School of Business, Temple University.
Abstract: Much of the rising international connectedness of city-regions has developed from MNEs replacing local connections with (superior) international ones. This often creates local disconnectedness that energizes the current populist backlash against MNE activities. Read more We develop approaches to new IB theory, addressing the interdependencies of MNEs and city-regions that we propose as a crucial avenue for future research. We contrast two generic MNE strategies. The first is the traditional one: the ‘global orchestration’ of resources and markets. We argue that it exacerbates local disconnectedness. The second, that we call ‘local spawning,’ involves engaging with the local entrepreneurial ecosystem to create and renew local connectedness, diffusing populist responses. Some MNEs are better able to implement a local spawning strategy, due to industry factors like innovation clock-speed, and firm characteristics like organizational path dependency. Finally, we distinguish between disconnection, which is an outcome of MNE strategy, and global disruptions, like the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which are primarily stochastic events. Addressing disconnections requires MNEs to re-orient their strategies while dealing with disruptions requires undertaking risk mitigation. We present empirical evidence from city-regions around the world to illustrate our theory.
Paper: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41267-020-00339-5
Crisis-driven innovation: Lessons from the humanitarian innovation world
Presenter: John Bessant, Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at University of Exeter
Date: August 6
John Bessant is Chair in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Exeter University where he is also Research Director.
Abstract: There’s a paradox in the world of innovation management. We’re used to thinking that innovation is about careful use of resources, channeling R&D spending, skilled people, Read more good facilities and a well-organized knowledge base to continue to create value from ideas. Yet there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that sometimes it’s precisely the lack of resources, the severe constraints emerging innovation crisis conditions which lead to breakthrough thinking and successful radical innovation. This seminar will draw on experiences in the crisis-filled world of humanitarian innovation to explore some key themes.
Presenter: John Bessant, Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at University of Exeter
Date: August 6
John Bessant is Chair in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Exeter University where he is also Research Director.
Abstract: There’s a paradox in the world of innovation management. We’re used to thinking that innovation is about careful use of resources, channeling R&D spending, skilled people, Read more good facilities and a well-organized knowledge base to continue to create value from ideas. Yet there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that sometimes it’s precisely the lack of resources, the severe constraints emerging innovation crisis conditions which lead to breakthrough thinking and successful radical innovation. This seminar will draw on experiences in the crisis-filled world of humanitarian innovation to explore some key themes.
Small Changes with Big Impact: Experimental Evidence of a Scientific Approach to the Decision - Making of Entrepreneurial Firms
Presenter: Chiara Spina, Assistant Professor INSEAD (appointed)
Date: July 30
Chiara Spina is a Ph.D. Graduate from Bocconi University and will join INSEAD (Asia campus) as an Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Family Enterprise in September 2020
Abstract: Identifying the most promising business ideas is key to the introduction of novel firms but predicting their success can be difficult. Read more We argue that if entrepreneurs adopt a scientific approach by formulating problems clearly, developing theories about the implications of their actions, and testing these theories, they make better decisions. In particular, this approach helps entrepreneurs make more precise predictions of the value of their idea and to spot new ideas with higher expected returns. We also examine the mechanisms with which the scientific approach works. Specifically, we posit that scientific entrepreneurs are more precise initially, and less precise later on because they envision a new version of their business idea that is worth assessing. Using a field experiment with 250 nascent entrepreneurs attending a pre-acceleration program, we provide evidence consistent with these mechanisms. We teach the treated group to formulate the problem scientifically and to develop and test theories about their actions, while the control group follows a standard training approach. We collect 18 data points on the decision-making and performance of all entrepreneurs for 14 months. Results show that increased precision in the assessment of the value of the business idea of treated entrepreneurs raises the probability that they close their start-ups. Scientific entrepreneurs are also more likely to see new opportunities with higher positive outcomes which prompt them to pivot to these new ideas and perform better
Presenter: Chiara Spina, Assistant Professor INSEAD (appointed)
Date: July 30
Chiara Spina is a Ph.D. Graduate from Bocconi University and will join INSEAD (Asia campus) as an Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Family Enterprise in September 2020
Abstract: Identifying the most promising business ideas is key to the introduction of novel firms but predicting their success can be difficult. Read more We argue that if entrepreneurs adopt a scientific approach by formulating problems clearly, developing theories about the implications of their actions, and testing these theories, they make better decisions. In particular, this approach helps entrepreneurs make more precise predictions of the value of their idea and to spot new ideas with higher expected returns. We also examine the mechanisms with which the scientific approach works. Specifically, we posit that scientific entrepreneurs are more precise initially, and less precise later on because they envision a new version of their business idea that is worth assessing. Using a field experiment with 250 nascent entrepreneurs attending a pre-acceleration program, we provide evidence consistent with these mechanisms. We teach the treated group to formulate the problem scientifically and to develop and test theories about their actions, while the control group follows a standard training approach. We collect 18 data points on the decision-making and performance of all entrepreneurs for 14 months. Results show that increased precision in the assessment of the value of the business idea of treated entrepreneurs raises the probability that they close their start-ups. Scientific entrepreneurs are also more likely to see new opportunities with higher positive outcomes which prompt them to pivot to these new ideas and perform better
Practice Session on Scientific Decision Making for Entrepreneur
Presenter: Chiara Spina, Assistant Professor INSEAD (appointed)
Date: July 30
Chiara Spina is a Ph.D. Graduate from Bocconi University and will join INSEAD (Asia campus) as an Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Family Enterprise in September 2020
Description: This 60-minute practice session focuses on what Chiara Spina and her colleagues working on scientific decision-making for entrepreneurs have learned by running pre-acceleration and scale-up programs. The session will include: Read more
Presenter: Chiara Spina, Assistant Professor INSEAD (appointed)
Date: July 30
Chiara Spina is a Ph.D. Graduate from Bocconi University and will join INSEAD (Asia campus) as an Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Family Enterprise in September 2020
Description: This 60-minute practice session focuses on what Chiara Spina and her colleagues working on scientific decision-making for entrepreneurs have learned by running pre-acceleration and scale-up programs. The session will include: Read more
- overview of a scientific approach to decision-making
- evidence of the impact of this approach
- practical tools for educators interested in using this approach
- Q&A session
When does advice impact startup performance?
Presenter: Sharique Hasan, Associate Professor Duke University
Date: July 23, 2020
Sharique Hasan is an Associate Professor of Strategy at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Abstract: Why do some entrepreneurs thrive while others fail? We explore whether the advice entrepreneurs receive about managing their employees influences their startup's performance. Read more We conducted a randomized field experiment in India with 100 high‐growth technology firms whose founders received in‐person advice from other entrepreneurs who varied in their managerial style. We find that entrepreneurs who received advice from peers with a formal approach to managing people—instituting regularmeetings, setting goals consistently, and providing frequent feedback to employees—grew 28% larger and were 10 percentage points less likely to fail than those who got advice from peers with an informal approach to managing people, 2 years after our intervention. Entrepreneurs with MBAs or accelerator experience did not respond to this intervention, suggesting that formal training can limit the spread of peer advice.
Paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/smj.2987
Presenter: Sharique Hasan, Associate Professor Duke University
Date: July 23, 2020
Sharique Hasan is an Associate Professor of Strategy at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Abstract: Why do some entrepreneurs thrive while others fail? We explore whether the advice entrepreneurs receive about managing their employees influences their startup's performance. Read more We conducted a randomized field experiment in India with 100 high‐growth technology firms whose founders received in‐person advice from other entrepreneurs who varied in their managerial style. We find that entrepreneurs who received advice from peers with a formal approach to managing people—instituting regularmeetings, setting goals consistently, and providing frequent feedback to employees—grew 28% larger and were 10 percentage points less likely to fail than those who got advice from peers with an informal approach to managing people, 2 years after our intervention. Entrepreneurs with MBAs or accelerator experience did not respond to this intervention, suggesting that formal training can limit the spread of peer advice.
Paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/smj.2987
Nations within a Nation? Pandemic, Subnational Heterogeneity, and MNE Market Share in an Emerging Economy
Presenter: Arzi Adbi, Assistant Professor NUS
Date: July 16, 2020
Arzi Adbi is an Assistant Professor at National University of Singapore Business School.
Abstract: Why do some firms gain while others lose market share in the wake of a traumatic exogenous shock? How does subnational heterogeneity influence this dynamic? Read more We propose that the differential opportunity cost of firms is an important mechanism that provides an answer to these questions. This study investigates whether and how subnational heterogeneity may affect the relative performance of incumbent multinational enterprises (MNEs) and rival domestic firms in the wake of a traumatic exogenous shock. Leveraging the 2009-10 H1N1 influenza pandemic as a source of exogenous variation in global demand for influenza vaccines, we empirically investigate how subnational heterogeneity in economic resources, industry infrastructure, and political alignment may affect the performance of incumbent MNEs and rival domestic firms following the pandemic. Wefind that subnational heterogeneity in economic resources, industry infrastructure, and political alignment significantly influences the market share dynamics of MNEs and domestic firms following the pandemic. Additional analyses suggest that these dynamics are caused not via a reduction in the revenues of MNEs but via a significantly greater increase in the revenues of domestic firms. Our findings highlight the role of diversified domestic firms’ market entry as an underlying driver of competitive dynamics induced by the pandemic. Taken together, the results of this study provide useful insights on the interplay between subnational heterogeneity and firm behavior in the wake of a global pandemic, and have important implications for a contemporary problem at the business-societal interface.
Presenter: Arzi Adbi, Assistant Professor NUS
Date: July 16, 2020
Arzi Adbi is an Assistant Professor at National University of Singapore Business School.
Abstract: Why do some firms gain while others lose market share in the wake of a traumatic exogenous shock? How does subnational heterogeneity influence this dynamic? Read more We propose that the differential opportunity cost of firms is an important mechanism that provides an answer to these questions. This study investigates whether and how subnational heterogeneity may affect the relative performance of incumbent multinational enterprises (MNEs) and rival domestic firms in the wake of a traumatic exogenous shock. Leveraging the 2009-10 H1N1 influenza pandemic as a source of exogenous variation in global demand for influenza vaccines, we empirically investigate how subnational heterogeneity in economic resources, industry infrastructure, and political alignment may affect the performance of incumbent MNEs and rival domestic firms following the pandemic. Wefind that subnational heterogeneity in economic resources, industry infrastructure, and political alignment significantly influences the market share dynamics of MNEs and domestic firms following the pandemic. Additional analyses suggest that these dynamics are caused not via a reduction in the revenues of MNEs but via a significantly greater increase in the revenues of domestic firms. Our findings highlight the role of diversified domestic firms’ market entry as an underlying driver of competitive dynamics induced by the pandemic. Taken together, the results of this study provide useful insights on the interplay between subnational heterogeneity and firm behavior in the wake of a global pandemic, and have important implications for a contemporary problem at the business-societal interface.
Market Effects of Adverse Regulatory Events: Evidence from Drug Relabeling
Presenter: Chirantan Chatterjee, Associate Professor, IIMA
Date: July 9, 2020
Chirantan Chatterjee is an Associate Professor of Economics and Strategy at IIM Ahmedabad.
Abstract: We provide causal evidence that regulatory shocks associated with drug safety label changes lead to aggregate demand declines of 16.9 percent within two years of a relabeling event. Read more After accounting for all plausible substitution patterns by physicians along with competitor actions, aggregate demand declines by 4.7 percent; this decline represents consumers that prematurely leave the market. Results are robust to variation across types of relabeling, market sizes, and levels of competition. Our findings complement recent work that shows negative upstream innovation impacts from these downstream regulatory shocks. Importantly, drugs receiving expedited FDA review are more likely to incur serious safety label changes. Thus, it appears we may be trading off quicker accessto new drugs today for less innovation tomorrow. Implications for welfare and policy are discussed
Working Paper: https://www.nber.org/papers/w24957
Presenter: Chirantan Chatterjee, Associate Professor, IIMA
Date: July 9, 2020
Chirantan Chatterjee is an Associate Professor of Economics and Strategy at IIM Ahmedabad.
Abstract: We provide causal evidence that regulatory shocks associated with drug safety label changes lead to aggregate demand declines of 16.9 percent within two years of a relabeling event. Read more After accounting for all plausible substitution patterns by physicians along with competitor actions, aggregate demand declines by 4.7 percent; this decline represents consumers that prematurely leave the market. Results are robust to variation across types of relabeling, market sizes, and levels of competition. Our findings complement recent work that shows negative upstream innovation impacts from these downstream regulatory shocks. Importantly, drugs receiving expedited FDA review are more likely to incur serious safety label changes. Thus, it appears we may be trading off quicker accessto new drugs today for less innovation tomorrow. Implications for welfare and policy are discussed
Working Paper: https://www.nber.org/papers/w24957
Extemporaneous Coordination in Specialist Teams: Evidence from Exogenous Assignment in E-Sports
Enrico Forti
Date: June 25, 2020
Dr Enrico Forti is a Clinical Assistant Professor (Senior Teaching Fellow) in the Strategy & Entrepreneurship Group at the UCL School of Management and a Chazen Visiting Associate Research Scholar at Columbia Business School.
Abstract: Team production is ubiquitous in the economy, but managing teams effectively remains a challenge for many organizations. This paper studies how familiarity amongst teammates influences the performance of specialist teams, relative to non-specialist teams. Read more Applying theories of team production to contexts where team members coordinate interdependent activities extemporaneously, we develop predictions about factors that shift the marginal returns to specialization along two dimensions of familiarity: social familiarity and functional familiarity. We test our hypotheses in the context of DOTA2, a major e-sports game where, in some formats, players are exogenously assigned to five- person teams. After analysing nearly 6.5 million matches, we find that specialist teams are relatively more successful when members are more socially and functionally familiar with one another. The results suggest that the “plug and play” perspective on specialist teams is incomplete; rather, specialization and familiarity are complements in dynamic environments where team members coordinate extemporaneously.
Enrico Forti
Date: June 25, 2020
Dr Enrico Forti is a Clinical Assistant Professor (Senior Teaching Fellow) in the Strategy & Entrepreneurship Group at the UCL School of Management and a Chazen Visiting Associate Research Scholar at Columbia Business School.
Abstract: Team production is ubiquitous in the economy, but managing teams effectively remains a challenge for many organizations. This paper studies how familiarity amongst teammates influences the performance of specialist teams, relative to non-specialist teams. Read more Applying theories of team production to contexts where team members coordinate interdependent activities extemporaneously, we develop predictions about factors that shift the marginal returns to specialization along two dimensions of familiarity: social familiarity and functional familiarity. We test our hypotheses in the context of DOTA2, a major e-sports game where, in some formats, players are exogenously assigned to five- person teams. After analysing nearly 6.5 million matches, we find that specialist teams are relatively more successful when members are more socially and functionally familiar with one another. The results suggest that the “plug and play” perspective on specialist teams is incomplete; rather, specialization and familiarity are complements in dynamic environments where team members coordinate extemporaneously.