{"title":"Hunting for talent: Firm‐driven labor market search in the United States","authors":"Ines Black, Sharique Hasan, Rembrand Koning","doi":"10.1002/smj.3559","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3559","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Research Summary We analyze firm‐driven labor market search, where firms “hunt” for talent rather than rely on workers to apply for vacancies. We leverage three approaches. We develop a model of firm‐driven search and derive equilibrium conditions under which firms use this channel. We test our model's predictions using two data sources. Data from a nationally representative survey of 10,000 workers shows that the percentage hired through recruiting has increased from 4.9% in 1991 to 14.3% in 2022. This share is larger for higher‐skilled workers and those with online profiles on LinkedIn. We complement this analysis with data on the near universe of online job postings from 2010 through 2020. Consistent with our model and worker survey evidence, we find firms that demand higher‐skilled workers or operate in labor markets with heavy LinkedIn use are more likely to “hunt for talent.” Managerial Summary We study the phenomenon of “hunting” for talent, where firms fill open positions by searching for workers and inviting them to a recruiting process, rather than relying on workers to apply directly. We find that the percentage of workers hired through hunting has increased from 4.9% in 1991 to 14.3% in 2022. We propose that firms that rely more on high‐skilled workers and/or operate within industries with a higher share of available candidates with online profiles are more likely to hunt for their talent. We find support for this conjecture using two data sets, documenting the worker and firm side of the labor market. Data from a nationally representative survey of 10,000 workers shows they are more likely to have been “hunted” by their employer if they work in an occupation that requires more skills, or if their industry has more candidates with online profiles. Moreover, data on US‐wide job postings over the past decade shows that firms in need of highly skilled workers are more likely to invest in outbound recruiting capabilities.","PeriodicalId":22023,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Management Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135635030","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The role of information in the gender gap in the market for top managers: Evidence from a quasi‐experiment","authors":"Ulya Tsolmon","doi":"10.1002/smj.3563","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3563","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Research Summary This study examines the role of information in the gender gap in the executive labor market from the market frictions perspective. I ask whether increases in objective and reliable information about managerial quality close the gender gap in career advancements. To obtain exogenous variation in the availability of information, I exploit a natural experiment provided by the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in 2005 by the European Union countries. I find that when reliable and objective information is more available, women executives are more likely to be hired away with promotion than men, especially from high‐performing firms. However, the gains in advancement rates are dampened in regions where societal views on women in the workplace are less favorable. Managerial Summary Bridging opportunity gaps for underrepresented groups remains a significant challenge for firms and policymakers. This research investigates the role of transparent financial disclosures by firms in closing the gender gap in executive promotions. Utilizing the adoption of the IFRS in EU countries, the study finds that women executives are more likely to be hired away with promotion than men, especially from high‐performing firms. However, less favorable societal views about working women weaken these effects. The study suggests that firms can leverage informational asymmetry in the labor market to access high‐quality managerial resources. Concurrently, firms must be cognizant of how financial regulations may affect their competitive edge in the executive talent market and adjust their internal retention policies accordingly.","PeriodicalId":22023,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Management Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135725358","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The new needs friends: Simmelian strangers and the selection of novelty","authors":"Athanasia Lampraki, Christos Kolympiris, Thorsten Grohsjean, Linus Dahlander","doi":"10.1002/smj.3564","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3564","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Research Summary The paradox of rejecting novel ideas while being motivated to select them exists in many realms. Deviating from prior research that investigated several internal levers to promote the funding of novel ideas in the sciences, we focus on an external lever by investigating how seconded employees increase the selection of novel ideas in two ways: (1) they select more novel ideas themselves, and (2) they influence permanent employees to do the same. Combining unique quantitative longitudinal data and 37 in‐depth interviews, we test our predictions in the secondment program at the National Science Foundation and find broad support for our theoretical arguments. Our findings have implications for scholars of science and innovation by proposing a relatively light‐touch intervention to facilitate the selection of novel ideas. Managerial Summary Organizations often face a paradox: they want to select novel ideas but tend to reject them. This study shifts focus from internal measures to an external solution, examining how seconded employees can help. Through both quantitative data and interviews at the National Science Foundation's secondment program, we found that seconded employees choose more novel ideas and influence permanent staff to do the same. This suggests a simple intervention can significantly boost the acceptance of innovative ideas, offering valuable insights for those in the science and innovation. Understanding this dynamic can empower managers to strategically leverage seconded employees, fostering a more innovative and adaptive organizational culture.","PeriodicalId":22023,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Management Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135725484","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Community influence on microfinance loan defaults under crisis conditions: Evidence from Indian demonetization","authors":"Arzi Adbi, Matthew Lee, Jasjit Singh","doi":"10.1002/smj.3558","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3558","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Research Summary The microfinance “group lending” approach has achieved widespread success in promoting high rates of repayment, and thus the viability of financial access, in very low‐income environments. Yet group lending, which relies on social connections between borrowers to reinforce repayment, may be vulnerable under crisis conditions in which defaults are commonplace. We explore this possibility in the context of the liquidity crisis that followed India's 2016 demonetization policy. Using proprietary data on the repayment behavior of about two million microfinance borrowers, we find evidence of disproportionate localization of defaults within lending communities. Further analysis reveals evidence consistent with borrower‐to‐borrower spread of defaults not only through formal joint‐liability connections but also through informal community‐level connections, the latter effect being especially pronounced for borrowers from the same religion. Managerial Summary Microfinance lenders have successfully employed a “group lending” approach that holds borrowers within a small group responsible for each other's loans, thus creating strong social pressures for repayment. The findings of this study underscore potential vulnerabilities in the group lending model during economic crises. We analyze the loan repayment behavior of two million microfinance borrowers during a liquidity crisis precipitated by India's 2016 demonetization policy, finding that the resulting defaults were clustered within particular lending communities. Further analysis suggests that social processes within communities played a role in spreading defaults, not only through formal ties between borrowers who were responsible for each other's repayments, but also through informal social ties. The estimated effect of informal social ties was particularly strong for borrowers who shared the same religion.","PeriodicalId":22023,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Management Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135166077","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Demand pull versus resource push training approaches to entrepreneurship: A field experiment","authors":"Simone Santamaria, Niloofar Abolfathi, Ishtiaq Pasha Mahmood","doi":"10.1002/smj.3560","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3560","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Research Summary We compare the efficacy of two broad approaches to entrepreneurship training: a training prioritizing demand‐side activities versus a training prioritizing resource‐side activities. We do so by running a field experiment inside a 6‐month entrepreneurship program involving 236 early‐stage entrepreneurs. Inspired by our training, the first group invested more time interacting with potential customers and developing a deep understanding of customer needs and problems. The other group, in contrast, spent more time identifying and exploiting their core resources such as their network. Our results reveal that the training prioritizing demand‐side activities is substantially more effective. At the end of the program, the group exposed to the demand‐side training acquired more than twice the number of customers and generated revenues 65% higher than the other group. Managerial Summary In this paper, we aim to identify effective practices for supporting nascent entrepreneurs amidst the proliferation of entrepreneurship training programs. In particular, we launched a 6‐month entrepreneurship program involving 236 early‐stage entrepreneurs and exposed them to different training approaches. We discovered that a training approach focused on demand‐side activities, such as identifying customer persona, collecting reliable customer information, and interpreting their feedback, is more effective in improving new venture performance than a training approach focused on resource‐side activities such as helping entrepreneurs identify and leverage their resources and capabilities. Our findings emphasize the importance of developing skills related to customer analysis, market understanding, and collecting customer feedback during the early stages of a startup journey and can provide insights for designing effective entrepreneurship programs.","PeriodicalId":22023,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Management Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135112820","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Acqui‐hires: Redeployment and retention of human capital post‐acquisition","authors":"Beril Boyacıoğlu, Mahmut N. Özdemir, Samina Karim","doi":"10.1002/smj.3556","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3556","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Research Summary Acqui‐hires are now a prevalent strategic mechanism by which firms obtain talented human resources. They differ from traditional acquisitions in that they are always integrated and the focus is the people, not the product or service. Thus, how firms reconfigure through the redeployment and retention of acqui‐hired human resources during post‐acquisition integration is particularly critical. We find that when the acquired start‐up has disruptive (vs. nondisruptive) know‐how, the acqui‐hired team is preserved (vs. dispersed) and integrated as a whole into an acquirer's existing business unit, and also that the founder of the acquired start‐up is assigned to a high status position. Furthermore, we show that a lack of fit between acquired know‐how type and integration mode has a positive relationship with the premature exit of acqui‐hired founders. Managerial Summary Acqui‐hires are a form of acquisitions in which the acquiring firm's goal is to obtain the talented human capital of the target firm. Our study addresses how the acqui‐hired team is integrated into the acquiring firm and what status position the acqui‐hired founder is given, post‐acquisition. Our results reveal that these depend on the type of know‐how being acquired; if the acqui‐hired know‐how is disruptive (versus not) then it is more likely that the team is preserved (versus dispersed) and the founder is given a high status position at the parent firm. Managers should be aware that a mismatch in integration—such as acqui‐hiring disruptive know‐how and not preserving the team in a business unit—can have negative implications such as the premature departure of the founder(s).","PeriodicalId":22023,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Management Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135888988","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Coaxing corporations: Enriching the conceptualization of governments as strategic actors","authors":"Michael J. Gill, David J. Gill","doi":"10.1002/smj.3557","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3557","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Research Summary Little is known about how governments secure discrete resources from global corporations over which they have limited direct control. Utilizing declassified archival sources, we examine how the UK government influenced Moody's and Standard & Poor's to provide the highest possible credit ratings in 1978, despite the UK receiving an International Monetary Fund bailout 2 years earlier. We develop a process model to explain how democratic government officials employ distinctive processes to enable and facilitate a nonmarket approach of corporate coaxing to influence corporations' decision making. We thereby enrich the concept of governments as a strategic actors by illuminating how officials act to secure resources when in a position of dependence. Managerial Summary We sought to understand how governments attempt to influence corporations' decision making when they have limited direct control over these corporations. We examined the historical case of the UK government seeking to influence Moody's and Standard and Poor's. In this case, we identified the distinctive strategy of corporate coaxing to explain how government officials navigate the distinctive constraints, and leverage the unique strengths, of their democratic state, to exert influence on private and global corporations. Our findings show how governments can be more active stakeholders in corporate activity than commonly assumed, as their subtle influence can extend beyond state policies or regulations.","PeriodicalId":22023,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Management Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135899577","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Incidence and Performance of Spinouts and Incumbent New Establishments: Role of Selection and Redeployability within Parent Firms.","authors":"Natarajan Balasubramanian, Mariko Sakakibara","doi":"10.1002/smj.3510","DOIUrl":"10.1002/smj.3510","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Research summary: </strong>Using matched employer-employee data from 30 U.S. states covering a wide range of industries, we compare spinouts with new establishments formed by incumbents (INEs). We propose a selection-based framework comprising <i>idea selection</i> by parents to internally implement ideas as INEs, <i>entrepreneurial selection</i> by founders to form spinouts, and <i>exit selection</i> to close ventures. Consistent with parents choosing better ideas in the idea selection stage, we find that INEs perform relatively better than spinouts, and more so with larger parents. Regarding the entrepreneurial selection stage, we find evidence consistent with resource requirements being a greater entry barrier to spinouts. Parents' resource redeployment opportunities are associated with lower relative survival of INEs, consistent with their being subject to greater selection pressures in the exit selection stage.</p><p><strong>Managerial summary: </strong>Spinouts, or new ventures started by employees leaving a parent firm, have received special attention because spinouts tend to outperform other types of new firms. This superior performance is typically attributed to the better knowledge and higher-quality ideas developed by founders at the parent firms. However, parent firms can also select and implement such ideas internally, particularly if they are good quality ideas. We compare spinouts with new establishments formed within parent firms and find that consistent with such a process of selection, the latter outperform spinouts, more so in the case of larger parents. Interestingly, new establishments of parent firms tend to close at a greater rate than spinouts, consistent with parent firms being able to redeploy resources elsewhere within their firms.</p>","PeriodicalId":22023,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Management Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10503942/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10286048","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alina G. Andrei, Mirko H. Benischke, Geoffrey P. Martin
{"title":"Behavioral agency and the efficacy of analysts as external monitors: Examining the moderating role of CEO personality","authors":"Alina G. Andrei, Mirko H. Benischke, Geoffrey P. Martin","doi":"10.1002/smj.3548","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3548","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract We integrate behavioral agency research and the five‐factor model of personality to re‐visit investment analysts' efficacy as a mechanism for reducing agency costs. We highlight the role of personality in shaping how CEOs respond to analyst recommendations, leading to boundary conditions for the efficacy of analysts as external monitors. We theorize that the extent to which a CEO perceives a threat from more positive analyst recommendations is contingent upon their personality, which shapes their subjective interpretation of the recommendation and their use of income‐increasing earnings management in response. Our findings suggest that personality is critical to understanding how CEOs respond to external monitors and the agency costs associated with the positive analyst recommendations.","PeriodicalId":22023,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Management Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134961087","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"When firms may benefit from sticking with an old technology","authors":"Xu Li","doi":"10.1002/smj.3551","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3551","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Research Summary How should firms respond to technological discontinuities in order to achieve greater performance? In contrast to most studies that advocate a timely transition from the old to the new technology, this paper posits that in markets where a discontinuous technology exposes customers' latent preference heterogeneity for certain old technology attributes, firms may ultimately experience a performance surge by adhering to the old technology during technological change. Explicitly, I theorize a U‐shaped relationship within such a market between competitors' increasing adoption of the new technology and the performance of firms that stick with the old technology. This prediction is thoroughly examined using comprehensive data from the traditional Chinese medicine industry in China during the 1990s and receives robust empirical support. Managerial Summary In some markets, the rise of a discontinuous technology, besides posing a substitute threat to the old technology, further exposes niche segments where customers continue to favor the old technology. This paper predicts that within such a market, as competitors increasingly adopt the new technology for varied motives, firms sticking with the old technology may see their performance declining before rebounding and potentially reaching new heights. Analyses using archival data from the traditional Chinese medicine industry in China during the 1990s provide robust support for this prediction. The arguments and findings of this paper offer an “existence proof” that when confronted with a technological discontinuity, adhering to the old technology may also represent an effective strategy that ultimately improves firm performance.","PeriodicalId":22023,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Management Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136237122","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}