Behavioral Strategy & Entrepreneurial Behavior

Aims

The purpose of this doctoral seminar is to provide you with a broad understanding of the conceptual underpinnings, theoretical perspectives, and relevant contexts related to behavioral strategy. We will discuss key topics in behavioral strategy, including the historical roots, current issues, and flavors of the future. Many “best practices” articles in behavioral strategy will be discussed to give you the tools to do excellent research in this area. The course requirements may demand much time, but this investment should pay off, as you work toward crafting your own contributions in the area.

Information

The course will be delivered in the form of weekly seminars. Each week will cover classic and state-of-the-art research in a variety of behavioral strategy topics including their foundational theories and empirical models. The topic and readings for each session are in the session outline below.

SESSION 1

Theoretical foundations of behavioral strategy

Date

Wednesday, 11 January, 13:00-15:45

Teacher

Dr. Emanuel Ubert

Readings

Cyert, R. & March J. (1963/1992). The Behavioral Theory of the Firm. Wiley-Blackwell. Chaps 1, 2, 3, 5, 6
Gavetti G, Greve HR, Levinthal DA, Ocasio W (2012) The Behavioral Theory of the Firm: Assessment and Prospects. The Academy of Management Annals 6(1):1–40.

Optional:

Posen HE, Keil T, Kim S, Meissner FD (2018) Renewing Research on Problemistic Search - A Review and Research Agenda. The Academy of Management Annals 12(1):208–251.
Gavetti G, Levinthal DA, Ocasio W (2007) Perspective—Neo-Carnegie: The Carnegie School’s Past, Present, and Reconstructing for the Future. Organization Science 18(3):523–536.

SESSION 2

Organizational Attention

Date

Wednesday, 18 January, 13:00-15:45

Teacher

Dr. Xena Welch

Readings

Cohen, M., March, J., & Olsen, J. 1972. Garbage Can Model of Organizational Choice. Administrative Science Quarterly, 17(1): 1-25.
Ocasio, W. 1997. Towards an attention-based view of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 18(1): 187-206.
Ocasio, W. 2011. Attention to Attention. Organization Science, 22(5).
Ocasio, W., Laamanen, T., & Vaara, E. 2018. Communication and attention dynamics: An attention-based view of strategic change. Strategic Management Journal, 39(1): 155-167.

SESSION 3

Psychology of strategy

Date

Wednesday, 25 January, 13:00-15:45

Teacher

Prof. Taco Reus

Readings

Powell, T.C., Lovollo, C.R. & Fox, C.R., 2011. Behavioral strategy. Strategic Management Journal, 32(13): 1369-1386.
Jemison, D.B. & Sitkin, S.B. 1986. Corporate acquisitions: A process perspective. Academy of Management Review 11(1), 145-163.
Vuori, T.O. & Huy, Q. 2016. Distributed attention and shared emotions in the innovation process: How Nokia lost the smartphone battle. Administrative Science Quarterly 61(1): 9-51.
Lilienfeld, S.O., Waldman, I.D., Landfield, K., Watts, A.L.R., Faschingbauer, T.R. 2012. Fearless Dominance and the U.S. Presidency: Implications of Psychopathic Personality Traits for Successful and Unsuccessful Political Leadership. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 103(3): 489-505.

SESSION 4

Managerial styles (This session will be delivered online)

Date

Wednesday, 1 February, 13:00-15:45

Teacher

Dr. Zhiyan Wu

Readings

Hambrick, D. C. & Mason, P. A. 1984. Upper echelons: The organization as a reflection of its top managers. Academy of Management Review, 9(2): 193-206.
Bertrand, M. & Schoar, A. 2003. Managing with style: The effect of managers on firm policies. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(4): 1169-1208.
Hambrick, D. C. 2005. Upper echelons theory: Origins, twists and turns, and lessons learned. In K. G. Smith & M. A. Hitt (Eds.), Great minds in management: The process of theory development: 109-127. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Malhotra, S., Reus, T. H., Zhu, P., & Roelofsen, E. M. 2018. The acquisitive nature of extraverted CEOs. Administrative Science Quarterly, 63(2): 370-408.
Wu, Z., Naldi, L., Wennberg, K., & Uman, T. 2022. Learning from their daughters: Family exposure to gender disparity and female representation in male-led ventures. Management Science, Forthcoming.

SESSION 5

Performance aspirations and feedback

Date

Performance aspirations and feedback

Teacher

Dr. Lucca Berchicci

Readings

Berchicci L. and Tarakci M. 2020. Aspiration formation and attention rules R&R at Strategic Management Journal.
Blettner DP, He Z, Hu S, Bettis RA. 2015. Adaptive aspirations and performance heterogeneity: Attention allocation among multiple reference points. Strategic Management Journal. Wiley Online Library 36: 987–1005.
Bromiley P, Harris JD. 2014. A comparison of alternative measures of organizational aspirations. Strategic Management Journal. Wiley Online Library 35(3): 338–357.
Greve HR. 2003. A behavioral theory of R&D expenditures and innovations: Evidence from shipbuilding. Academy of Management Journal. Academy of Management 46(6): 685–702.

SESSION 6

Performance feedback and risk-taking

Date

Wednesday, 15 February, 13:00-15:45

Teacher

Dr. Korcan Kavusan

Readings

Baum, J. A. C., Rowley, T. J., Shipilov, A. V., & Chuang, Y. T. (2005). Dancing with strangers: aspiration performance and the search for underwriting syndicate partners. Administrative Science Quarterly, 50(4), 536-575. doi:10.2189/asqu.50.4.536
Iyer, D. N., & Miller, K. D. (2008). Performance feedback, slack, and the timing of acquisitions. Academy of Management Journal, 51(4), 808-822.
Kavusan, K., & Frankort, H. T. W. (2019). A behavioral theory of alliance portfolio reconfiguration: Evidence from pharmaceutical biotechnology. Strategic Management Journal, 40(10), 1668-1702. doi:10.1002/smj.3041
Xu, D., Zhou, K. Z., & Du, F. (2019). Deviant versus aspirational risk taking: The effects of performance feedback on bribery expenditure and R&D intensity. Academy of Management Journal, 62(4), 1226-1251. doi:10.5465/amj.2016.0749

SESSION 7

Behavioral underpinnings of entrepreneurship

Date

Wednesday, 22 February, 13:00-15:45

Teacher

Dr. Magdalena Cholakova

Readings

Grandori, A. & Cholakova, M. 2013. Unbounding bounded rationality: Heuristics as the logic of economic discovery. International Journal of Organization Theory and Behavior, 16, 368-392.
Felin T, Zenger TR. 2009. Entrepreneurs as theorists: On the origins of collective beliefs and novel strategies. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 3(2): 127-146.
Zellweger, T. M., & Zenger, T. R. (2021). Entrepreneurs as scientists: A pragmatist approach to producing value out of uncertainty. Academy of Management Review,
Rindova, V., & Courtney, H. (2020). To shape or adapt: Knowledge problems, epistemologies, and strategic postures under Knightian uncertainty. Academy of Management Review, 45(4), 787-807.

SESSION 8

Student proposal presentations

Date

Wednesday, 1 March, 13:00-15:45

Teacher

All faculty

Readings

Assessment

In-class presentations and discussion questions on the sessions’ chapters/articles (25%)
Participation in the discussions during the sessions (25%)
Proposal for a conceptual paper or conceptual part of an empirical paper (10%). The proposal will be in the form of a short 10 min presentation during final session.
The full paper (40%). Due four weeks following the final session.

Materials

Students are expected to read session materials beforehand carefully, and prepare critical assessments of the ideas, methodology, and implications of the readings. Each reading will be assigned to a student, who will present it briefly, and come up with two critical questions regarding the paper’s theoretical and empirical rigor and contribution to be used as discussion starters.

To stimulate lively discussions on the articles, solid preparations beforehand is important. Students are expected to read articles and chapters beforehand carefully, and prepare critical assessments of the ideas, methodology, and implications of the readings. In addition, each student will be asked to lead the discussion with questions about one or two readings.

Additional info

The timetable for this course can be found here. (The linked timetable might not show all the sessions at one glance. Please scroll per month to see the schedule of the entire course.)

ERIM PhD candidates (Fulltime & Part-time) can register for this course via Osiris Student.

External (non-ERIM) participants are welcome to this course. To register, please fill in the registration form and e-mail it to the ERIM Doctoral Office by four weeks prior to the start of the course. For external participants, the course fee is 1300 euro.