Publications
15 results found
Bode C, Rogan M, Singh J, 2022, Up to no good? Gender, social impact work and employee promotions, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol: 67, Pages: 82-130, ISSN: 0001-8392
Firms increasingly offer employees the opportunity to participate in firm-sponsored social impact initiatives expected to benefit the firm and employees. We argue that participation in such initiatives hinders employees’ advancement in their firms by reducing others’ perceptions of their fit and commitment. Because social impact work is more congruent with female gender role stereotypes, promotion rates will be lower for participating men, and male evaluators will be less likely than female evaluators to recommend promotion for male participants. Using panel data on 1,379 employees of a consulting firm, we find significantly lower promotion rates for male participants relative to female participants, female non-participants, and male non-participants. A vignette experiment involving 893 managers shows that lower promotion rates are due to lower perceptions of fit, but not commitment, and greater bias against male participants by male evaluators. Taken together, the results of the two studies suggest that the negative effect of participation on promotion is conditional upon participant and evaluator gender, underscoring the role of gender in evaluation of social impact work. In settings in which decision makers are predominately male, gender beliefs may limit male employees’ latitude to contribute to the firm’s social impact agenda.
Bode C, Rogan M, Singh J, 2019, Sustainable cross-sector collaboration: building a global platform for social impact, Academy of Management Discoveries, Vol: 5, Pages: 396-414, ISSN: 2168-1007
Addressing societal issues increasingly requires multistakeholder collaboration. Yet, cross-sector partnerships (CSPs) are often difficult to form and maintain because of coordination problems and conflicting interests of the organizations involved. To better understand how organizations overcome these challenges, we take a micro-foundational approach. First, we conducted an in-depth case study of a consulting firm to examine the emergence of a platform for CSPs. Second, using survey data from 665 employees, we identified critical elements that contributed to the stability of the platform. Our findings reveal how a for-profit organization can play a key role in coordinating other organizations to achieve social impact. We found that the emergence and stability of the platform were based on a novel operating model that aligned senior leaders’ interests in improving employee retention, employees’ desire for meaning in their work, and employees’ willingness to make short-term financial sacrifices to participate. Our study suggests that for-profit firms can play a central role in social impact collaborations but that doing so requires alignment of internal interests through intrapreneurship. It also underlines the potential value of using a micro-foundation approach in future research into CSPs.
Park B, Rogan M, 2019, Capability reputation, character reputation, and exchange partners’ reactions to adverse events, Academy of Management Journal, Vol: 62, Pages: 553-578, ISSN: 0001-4273
To investigate when a firm’s reputation affects its exchange partners’ responses to adverse events, we distinguish between two types of reputation identified in prior work, capability reputation and character reputation, and present arguments for differences in their effects on exchange with potential and current exchange partners. Building on theory regarding uncertainty in exchange, we propose that potential exchange partners pay more attention to a firm’s capability reputation than its character reputation in the wake of adverse events. Thus, capability reputation has a buffering effect on relationship formation. In contrast, current exchange partners attend more to the firm’s character reputation than its capability reputation following adverse events. Hence, they are less likely to dissolve their relationships with organizations with high character reputations. Furthermore, we propose that the buffering effects of capability reputation and character reputation will be significantly reduced when the adverse events are caused by factors within the firm’s control. We find support for our arguments in an analysis of interstate gas transmission pipeline accidents in the United States from 2004 to 2013.
Louise Mors M, Rogan M, Lynch SE, 2018, Boundary spanning and knowledge exploration in a professional services firm, Journal of Professions and Organization, Vol: 5, Pages: 184-205, ISSN: 2051-8803
Exploration for new knowledge is critical to the performance of professional service firms. The networks of partners in professional service firms are thought to be important for knowledge exploration because they typically span both the firm’s internal and external boundaries aiding the flow of novel information to the firm. Yet, to date prior studies of individual-level boundary spanning have focused primarily on the benefits of boundary spanning and only recently begun to address the costs of building and maintaining boundary spanning ties. We add to this stream of research and propose that the knowledge exploration benefits of internal boundary spanning ties accrue more slowly than the costs, resulting in a curvilinear relationship with knowledge exploration. Moreover, we propose that the effects of internal and external boundary spanning ties on exploration are interdependent, because effective exploration requires not only the selection of ideas externally, but also their transmission internally. Our study of 1,449 ties of partners in a consulting firm supports these arguments providing a more nuanced view of boundary spanning ties for knowledge exploration in professional service firms.
Rogan M, Mors ML, 2017, Managerial networks and exploration in a professional service firm, Organization Studies, Vol: 38, Pages: 225-249, ISSN: 0170-8406
A firm’s growth and survival depends on the ability of its managers to explore for new business and knowledge; yet, exploration is challenging for most large, established firms. Extending prior research into networks and exploration, we propose that a key characteristic of managers’ external networks – the extent to which their networks include relationships built using predominately individual rather than firm resources – is positively related to managers’ abilities to explore for new business and knowledge in large firms. We propose that networks with more individual ties provide more diverse knowledge, enable greater autonomy and ease access to resources from contacts, hence facilitating exploration. Analysis of an original dataset of external networks of 77 senior managers in a large global consulting firm provides support for our arguments. We find that individual ties are positively related to exploration and, furthermore, that the positive (negative) relationship between sparse (dense) networks and exploration increases with the number of individual ties in managers’ networks.
Rogan M, 2016, Book review: The Oxford Handbook of Professional Service Firms, Organization Studies, Vol: 37, Pages: 1381-1384, ISSN: 0170-8406
Briscoe F, Rogan M, 2016, Coordinating complex work: knowledge networks, partner departures, and client relationship performance in a law firm, Management Science, Vol: 62, Pages: 2392-2411, ISSN: 0025-1909
The mobility of individual managers has long presented a problem for firms in knowledge-intensive industries. Shifting to more complex work often reduces the importance of a single individual’s knowledge for the firm’s exchange relationships because complex work requires inputs from a broader set of the firm’s members. Although complex work decreases the likelihood that a single individual can shift the exchange relationship to another firm, we propose that it increases the vulnerability of the firm’s performance to departures of those individual managers who act as coordinators of knowledge. This leads us to focus on how the internal knowledge network formed to maintain each relationship can compound or mitigate the loss of a coordinating manager. Using original data on client relationships from a law firm, we examine the effect of internal knowledge networks and lead partner departures on the performance of the relationships. Supporting our argument, we find that the negative performance effect of a lead partner departure is greater when the network has high knowledge heterogeneity and involves more experts and lower when the network has high cohesion.
Bode C, Singh J, Rogan M, 2015, Corporate social initiatives and employee retention, Organization Science, Vol: 26, Pages: 1702-1720, ISSN: 1047-7039
Firms are increasingly launching initiatives with explicit social mandates. The business case for these often relies on one critical aspect of human capital management: employee retention. Although prior empirical studies have demonstrated a link between corporate social initiatives and intermediate employee-related outcomes such as motivation and identification with the firm, their relationship with final retention outcomes has not been investigated. Our study fills this gap. Using individual-level data for approximately 10,000 employees in a global management consulting firm, we present empirical evidence of a positive retention effect associated with employee participation in a corporate initiative with explicit social impact goals. In addition, we offer arguments for moderating conditions that weaken this relationship and present evidence consistent with our arguments. Further econometric analysis based on a stringent matching approach as well as additional analyses based on survey and interview data suggest that the retention effect can at least partly be attributed to treatment and is not all just a manifestation of sorting of certain types of employees into the social initiative. Overall, by demonstrating a positive association between social initiative participation and employee retention, this study highlights the need for further research into how corporate social engagement can serve as a tool for strategic human capital management.
Rogan M, Greve HR, 2015, Resource dependence dynamics: partner reactions to mergers, Organization Science, Vol: 26, Pages: 239-255, ISSN: 1047-7039
Research on resource dependence typically takes a static view in which actions and outcomes are determined structurally, but not as responses to the actions of the counterparty in an exchange relation. By contrast, this study addresses a question of power dynamics by examining whether mergers of organizations trigger responses from their common exchange partners. We predict that common exchange partners respond by withdrawing from the relationship and that their responses vary with the availability of alternatives, the value of the relationship, and the relationship history. Using data on advertising agencies, we show that mergers of agencies do trigger reactions from their common clients, and the reactions differ with agency and client characteristics. Extending existing theory and evidence, our results suggest that firms respond to the dynamics of exchange relationships and not only to their structure.
Rogan M, Mors ML, 2014, A network perspective on individual-level ambidexterity in organizations, Organization Science, Vol: 25, Pages: 1860-1877, ISSN: 1047-7039
Addressing the call for a deeper understanding of ambidexterity at the individual level, we propose that managers’ networks are an important yet understudied factor in the ability to balance the trade-off between exploring for new business and exploiting existing business. Analyses of 1,449 ties in the internal and external networks of 79 senior managers in a management consulting firm revealed significant differences in the density, contact heterogeneity, and informality of ties in the networks of senior managers who engaged in both exploration and exploitation compared with managers that predominately explored or exploited. The findings suggest that managers’ networks are important levers for their ability to behave ambidextrously and offer insights into the microfoundations of organizational ambidexterity.
Sorenson O, Rogan M, 2014, (When) Do organizations have social capital?, Annual Review of Sociology, Vol: 40, Pages: 261-280, ISSN: 0360-0572
Interorganizational relationships connect people affiliated with organizations rather than corporate actors themselves. The managers and owners of organizations therefore do not always control these connections and consequently often cannot profit from them. We discuss the circumstances under which individuals (versus organizations) own these relationships (and therefore also the social capital generated by them). Three factors increase the odds of individual ownership: (a) the extent to which the resources valued by alters belong to the individual (rather than the organization), (b) the degree to which alters feel greater indebtedness to the individual than to the organization, and (c) the extent to which relationships involve emotional attachment. We discuss the implications of the locus of ownership, argue that these distinctions can help explain many results that appear inconsistent on the surface, and call for future research to pay closer attention to these issues.
Rogan M, Sorenson O, 2014, Picking a (poor) partner: A relational perspective on acquisitions, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol: 59, Pages: 301-329, ISSN: 0001-8392
Using comprehensive data from the global advertising industry from 1995 to 2003, we examined the effects of indirect ties (common clients) on acquirers’ choices of partners for mergers and acquisitions and on the performance of the combined organizations. We found that the probability of being acquired rose but the performance of merged entities declined—both by losing clients and by selling less to the clients retained—with the number of common clients connecting the target to the acquirer. Two potential mechanisms could account for this pattern of results: either managers hold positively biased beliefs about those connected to them through common clients, or they restrict their searches for potential acquisition partners to those they already know, despite the disadvantages of doing so, ignoring targets that may have more potential but with whom they have no indirect ties.
Rogan M, 2014, Executive departures without client losses: the role of multiplex ties in exchange partner retention, Academy of Management Journal, Vol: 57, Pages: 563-584, ISSN: 0001-4273
To reduce vulnerability to exchange relationship loss when executives leave, firms often form multiple ties to the same exchange partners. Despite the assumed importance of interorganizational multiplexity for relationship retention, theory and evidence of its effect are lacking. Analysis of a longitudinal sample of client ties of advertising firms confirms that, in general, multiplexity improves retention. However, only relationships that span intraorganizational units with convergent interests reduce the positive effect of advertising agency executive departures on client tie loss. The findings highlight the need to consider the implications of intraorganizational structure for theories of interorganizational relationship retention, and suggest an additional rationale for the persistence of the holding company structure in professional services firms despite limited returns to scale.
Rogan M, 2014, Too close for comfort? The effect of embeddedness and competitive Overlap on client relationship retention following an acquisition, Organization Science, Vol: 25, Pages: 185-203, ISSN: 1047-7039
Drawing on insights from network dynamics and exchange theory, I develop and test arguments for the retention or dissolution of exchange relationships. I exploit mergers and acquisitions among advertising firms as strategic actions that change the networks in which they and their clients are situated, and examine the consequences of these changes for their network relationships. Analysis of an archival, longitudinal data set confirms that, in general, relational embeddedness reduces the likelihood of dissolution and that increases in competitive overlap among clients increase dissolution likelihood. The results also provide evidence of a significant interaction effect between relational embeddedness and competitive overlap. For low to moderate increases in competitive overlap, embeddedness reduces dissolution likelihood. However, when the merger results in a high increase in competitive overlap, increasing embeddedness actually increases dissolution likelihood. Mechanisms to explain the findings are explored, including fears of information leakage and trust betrayal. The findings suggest that under certain conditions, relational embeddedness can reduce—rather than increase—relationship stability.
Rogan MA, Mors ML, 2009, The investment of individual resources in professional relationships
To build and maintain a professional relationship, a manager must invest resources in the relationship. These resources could be individual (e.g. personal knowledge and expertise), or they could be available to the manager via membership in the firm (e.g. the firm's knowledge and reputation). We propose that the choice of resources invested in external professional relationships has implications for a manager's performance; specifically the ability to explore new business opportunities and exploit existing opportunities. Controlling for the effect of the structure of managers' networks, we find that managers who invest individual resources in their external relationships are more likely to identify new business opportunities whereas managers that invest firm resources are more likely to implement existing business. Furthermore, the choice of resources invested - i.e. the content of the manager's network - moderates the effect of network structure on the manager's tendency to explore or exploit. The findings of this study highlight the critical need to incorporate network content into theories for the effect of social structure on economic action.
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