62820129
The Influence of Superstars on Organizational Identification of External Stakeholders: Empirical Findings from Professional Soccer
This paper examines the effect of superstars on external stakeholdersâ€™ organizational identification through the lens of sport. Drawing on social identity theory and the concept of organizational identification, as well as on role model theories and superstar economics, we develop several hypotheses regarding the influence of soccer stars on their fansâ€™ degree of team identification. Using a proprietary dataset including archival data on professional German soccer players and clubs as well as survey data of more than 1,400 soccer fans, we find evidence for a positive effect of superstar characteristics and role model perception. We further find that players who measure up to the definition of a superstar are more important to fans of established teams than to fans of unsuccessful teams. The playerâ€™s club tenure, however, seems to have no influence on fansâ€™ team identification. We argue that the effect of soccer stars on their fans is comparable to that of CEOs on their organizationsâ€™ external stakeholders and consequently apply our results to the business domain. Our results contribute to organizational identification research by extending the list of determinants related to individual persons.
153108988
Stardom and Talent
The Economics of Superstars sets out to explain the relationship between talent and success in the arts, but there is no agreement about what this relationship is. But whatever its other features may be, superstardom means that market output is concentrated on just a few artists. Concentration always raises the question of efficiency. Superstardom may be inefficient not only because it raises prices for consumers but also because it deprives other artists of the opportunity to practice art. Artists who do not practice art lose psychic income. Because psychic income cannot be transferred from one person to another, the loss of this income may be inefficient. This chapter reviews theories of superstardom and theories about the emergence of stars. The efficiency of superstardom is discussed in terms of effects on consumers and the use of publicity rights by the star. The chapter goes on to deal with the loss of opportunities to practice art that are caused by superstardom and suggests ways to alleviate the problem. Finally the empirical literature that tests the different theories of superstardom is reviewed.
41960418
The risky business of hiring stars.
With the battle for the best and brightest people heating up again, you're most likely out there looking for first-rate talent in the ranks of your competitors. Chances are, you're sold on the idea of recruiting from outside your organization, since developing people within the firm takes time and money. But the authors, who have tracked the careers of high-flying CEOs, researchers, software developers, and leading professionals, argue that top performers quickly fade after leaving one company for another. To study this phenomenon in greater detail, the authors analyzed the ups and downs of more than 1,000 star stock analysts, a well-defined group for which there are abundant data. The results were striking. After a star moves, not only does her performance plunge, but so does the effectiveness of the group she joins--and the market value of her new company. Moreover, transplanted stars don't stay with their new organizations for long, despite the astronomical salaries firms pay to lure them from rivals. Most companies that hire stars overlook the fact that an executive's performance is not entirely transferable because his personal competencies inevitably include company-specific skills. When the star leaves the old company for the new, he cannot take with him many of the resources that contributed to his achievements. As a result, he is unable to repeat his performance in another company--at least not until he learns to work the new system, which could take years. The authors conclude that companies cannot gain a competitive advantage or successfully grow by hiring stars from outside. Instead, they should focus on cultivating talent from within and do everything possible to retain the stars they create. Firms shouldn't fight the star wars, because winning could be the worst thing that happens to them.
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Star CEOs Benefit or burden
magine that one day you get a call from anationalnewsmagazinesayingthey wantto write an article proÞling the great job youare doing as CEO. They might even make thearticle the cover story! In encouraging you toparticipate, they tell you the article willincrease the visibility and reputation of bothyou and your Þrm and is likely to lead tomore recognition in the future.How should you feel about this impend-ing wave of media attention? Should younonchalantly recognize this as part of whatit means to be a successful CEO? Should yoube excited and embrace your new fame, per-haps writing a book to elaborate on yourrecipe for success and mounting a speakingtour? Or, should you be leery that fame maybring withitthe burdenofincreasedscrutinyand higher performance expectations thatyour Þrm may or may not be able to meet?At one time or another, these questionsare likely to confront any CEO of a large,high-performing corporation. Given thepressure put on media outlets by 24-hournews cycles, coupled with our celebrity-obsessed culture, it is little wonder that thebusiness press has turned the powerful butheretofore largely anonymous CEOs ofAmericaOs most successful corporations intocelebrities in their own right. Thus, top man-agers would do well to consider these ques-tions, because more and more researchsuggests that media attention and adorationbrings with it both beneÞts and burdens. Onthe one hand, certain CEOs are recognizedand gloriÞed by the media and are given adisproportionateshareofthecreditforfavor-able Þrm outcomes during their tenure. Butbeneath the surface of the mediaOs glare is atangle of burdens that can make it difÞcultfor star CEOs to stay on top. And when acelebrity CEO falls from grace, the fall can berapid and complete.Before the collapse of Enron Corp., forexample,KennethLaywashailedasavision-ary who was revolutionizing how the publicutility industry did business. In less than afew months time, however, these accoladesturned to jeers and Lay was cruciÞed in thebusiness pressfor hiscompanyOsshoddyandmisleading accounting practices. Similarly,Dennis Kozlowski was widely praised for
9758470
Believing one's own press: the causes and consequences of CEO celebrity
This theoretical article introduces the construct of CEO celebrity in order to explain how the tendency of journalists to attribute a firm's actions and outcomes to the volition of its CEO affects such firm. In the model developed here, journalists celebrate a CEO whose firm takes strategic actions that are distinctive and consistent by attributing such actions and performance to the firm's CEO. In so doing, journalists over-attribute a firm's actions and outcomes to the disposition of its CEO rather than to broader situational factors. A CEO who internalizes such celebrity will also tend to believe this over-attribution and become overconfident about the efficacy of her past actions and future abilities. Hubris arises when CEO overconfidence results in problematic firm decisions, including undue persistence with actions that produce celebrity. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
142613120
Identity Economics: How Our Identities Shape Our Work, Wages, and Well-Being
Identity Economics provides an important and compelling new way to understand human behavior, revealing how our identities--and not just economic incentives--influence our decisions. In 1995, economist Rachel Kranton wrote future Nobel Prize-winner George Akerlof a letter insisting that his most recent paper was wrong. Identity, she argued, was the missing element that would help to explain why people--facing the same economic circumstances--would make different choices. This was the beginning of a fourteen-year collaboration--and of Identity Economics. The authors explain how our conception of who we are and who we want to be may shape our economic lives more than any other factor, affecting how hard we work, and how we learn, spend, and save. Identity economics is a new way to understand people's decisions--at work, at school, and at home. With it, we can better appreciate why incentives like stock options work or don't; why some schools succeed and others don't; why some cities and towns don't invest in their futures--and much, much more. Identity Economics bridges a critical gap in the social sciences. It brings identity and norms to economics. People's notions of what is proper, and what is forbidden, and for whom, are fundamental to how hard they work, and how they learn, spend, and save. Thus people's identity--their conception of who they are, and of who they choose to be--may be the most important factor affecting their economic lives. And the limits placed by society on people's identity can also be crucial determinants of their economic well-being.
5574290
Antecedents and consequences of customer-company identification: expanding the role of relationship marketing.
This article presents an empirical test of organizational identification in the context of customer-company (C-C) relationships. It investigates whether customers identify with companies and what the antecedents and consequences of such identification are. The model posits that perceived company characteristics, construed external image, and the perception of the company's boundary-spanning agent lead to C-C identification. In turn, such identification is expected to impact both in-role behavior (i.e., product utilization) as well as extra-role behavior (i.e., citizenship). The model was tested in a consultative selling context of pharmaceutical sales reps calling on physicians. Results from the empirical test indicated that customers do indeed identify with organizations and that C-C identification positively impacts both product utilization behavior and extra-role behavior even when the effect of brand perception is accounted for. Second, the study found that the organization's characteristics as well as the salesperson's characteristics contributed to the development of C-C identification.
10912226
Corporate Marketing in the Stock Market: The Impact of Company Identification on Individuals’ Investment Behaviour
Purpose – The purpose of this article is to contribute to corporate marketing literature by examining how an individual’s identification with a company influences their willingness to invest in the company’s shares.Methodology/Approach – A set of hypotheses were developed based on theory, and survey data were obtained from 440 individuals in order to test the hypotheses. The data pertained to the individuals’ recent decisions to invest in particular companies’ shares, and to the degree of their identification with the companies’ identities. The analysis method was PLS path modelling.Findings – Firstly, an individual’s identification with a company was found to have a positive effect on their determination to invest in the company’s shares rather than in other companies’ shares that have approximately similar expected financial returns/risks. Secondly, company identification was found to elicit preparedness to invest in the company’s shares with lower financial returns expected from the shares than from other shares. Both influences were partly mediated by the individual’s willingness to give support to a company which they identify with.Research limitations/implications – The study pertains to company identification of individual investors; institutional (and professional) investors are beyond the scope of the article. Also, the sample focuses on investors in a single country (Finland), and the data may involve some self-reporting and retrospection biases.Practical implications – Considering corporate marketing in the stock markets, individuals who identify with the company are identified as worthwhile targets when the company seeks to attract new investors. Originality/Value of the paper – The article provides theoretical grounding for and empirical evidence of the positive influence of company identification on individuals’ willingness to invest in companies’ shares. It is a novel finding for corporate marketing literature that individuals express their identification with a corporate brand also through investing in its shares.
167710267
Consumer–Company Identification: A Framework for Understanding Consumers’ Relationships with Companies
In this article, the authors try to determine why and under what conditions consumers enter into strong, committed, and meaningful relationships with certain companies, becoming champions of these companies and their products. Drawing on theories of social identity and organizational identification, the authors propose that strong consumer–company relationships often result from consumers’ identification with those companies, which helps them satisfy one or more important self-definitional needs. The authors elaborate on the nature of consumer–company identification, including the company identity, and articulate a consumer-level conceptual framework that offers propositions regarding the key determinants and consequences of such identification in the marketplace.
145466253
Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder: The Impact of Organizational Identification, Identity, and Image on the Cooperative Behaviors of Physicians
We use an established model of organizational identification to try to understand the voluntary cooperative behavior of professionals in organizations. We examined the relationships among physicians' assessments of the attractiveness of a health care system's perceived identity and construed external image, strength of system identification, and cooperative behaviors. We surveyed 1,504 physicians affiliated with three health care systems and collected follow-up data from 285 physicians a year later. Attractiveness of perceived identity and construed external image were positively related to physicians' identification with the system, which in turn was positively related to cooperative behavior. Extensions to the model of organizational identification are suggested.
167909205
ORGANIZATIONAL IDENTITY CHANGE: MANAGERIAL REGULATION AND MEMBER IDENTIFICATION IN AN ACCOUNTING FIRM ACQUISITION.
This article presents a study that investigates the organizational identity of accountants and how it affects their behavior. The article states that the study has two objectives: to explore the in...
20512231
Organizational identification: Extending our understanding of social identities through social networks†
Summary Although organizational identification is founded on social identity and symbolic interactionist theories, current theories emphasize a social identity whereby organizational members categorize themselves and others based on roles and membership in an organization or work unit. In contrast symbolic interactionism, which resides in interpersonal relationships, is rarely theorized or empirically assessed in studies of organizational identification. We use survey data collected at an academic institution to explore how the strength and structure of an individual’s social network both directly influences organizational identification as well as moderates the relation between social identity, or categorical, antecedents and organizational identification. Our results show that the size of an individual’s network as well as the interaction between relationship strength and prestige better explain organizational identification than do antecedents based solely on categorization and social comparison processes. Thus networks of relationships, which have been a foundational but much neglected premise and process for organizational identification, are brought back into a theory of organizational identification. Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
8932757
Identification with the retail organization and customer-perceived employee similarity: effects on customer spending.
Two constructs important to academicians and managers are the degree to which employees and customers identify with an organization, employee organizational identification (employee OI) and customer-company identification (customer identification), respectively. This research examines the effects of these identification constructs and the related construct of customer perceived similarity to employees on customer spending. Via a 1-year multilevel study of 12,047 customers and 1,464 store employees (sales associates) covering 212 stores of a specialty apparel retailer, our study contributes to the literature in 2 critical ways. First, we expand the theoretical network of employee OI and customer identification by examining the related construct of a customer's perceived similarity to store employees. We examine the incremental (not fully mediated) main and interaction effects of customer-perceived similarity to employees and employee OI on customer spending. Second, we examine the effect of customer identification on customer spending relative to the effect of customer satisfaction on customer spending. Thus, our study also contributes by demonstrating a potential complementary route to achieve customer spending (customer identification), a route that may be more readily affected by management than the efforts required for a sustained increase in customer satisfaction. Implications for academics and managers are offered.
1675985
Unethical behavior in the name of the company: the moderating effect of organizational identification and positive reciprocity beliefs on unethical pro-organizational behavior.
We examined the relationship between organizational identification and unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB)-unethical behaviors conducted by employees to potentially benefit the organization. We predicted that organizational identification would be positively related to UPB and that positive reciprocity beliefs would moderate and strengthen this relationship. The results from 2 field studies support the interaction effect and show that individuals who strongly identify with their organization are more likely to engage in UPB when they hold strong positive reciprocity beliefs. Given the nature of reciprocity, our findings may suggest that highly identified employees who hold strong reciprocity beliefs may conduct UPB with an anticipation of a future reward from their organization. Theoretical and managerial implications of our results for understanding unethical behaviors are discussed.
168003853
Understanding the Bond of Identification: An Investigation of its Correlates among Art Museum Members:
Identification is defined as the “perceived oneness with or belongingness to an organization” of which the person is a member. The authors propose that customers, in their role as members, identify...
144792828
Corporate sponsorship of a cause: the role of identification in purchase intent
Abstract Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) have attracted significant levels of support from corporate sponsors over the past decade. Despite this significant and continuing interest, very little is known about how consumers perceive and respond to corporate sponsors of NPOs. Drawing on social identity theory, the authors propose that willingness to purchase sponsoring firms' products be related to consumers' identification with an NPO. Possible antecedents of identification with an NPO are also modeled, including the prestige of an NPO, consumers' affiliation with an NPO, and their motivation to support a cause. As predicted, the results find a positive relationship between consumers' identification with an NPO and their intentions to purchase sponsors' products. The results also suggest an important role for identification with an NPO in mediating the relationships between the antecedents studied here and consumers' purchase intentions. Finally, the moderating effects of biodata (life experiences) on several modeled relationships are examined.
144582451
Bringing Out Charisma: CEO Charisma and External Stakeholders
We present a theory detailing the processes through which CEO charisma affects participants outside the organization. In order to reach this goal, the model extends the range of current theory beyond internal organizational members, linking CEO charisma to those outsiders key to organizational effectiveness: institutional intermediaries and external stakeholders. We discuss several implications suggested by this framework to facilitate future research in this area.
30446420
Lend me your wallets: the effect of charismatic leadership on external support for an organization
We argue that charismatic leadership can influence external support for the organization, particularly in making the company more attractive to outside investors. Two studies were conducted to test this general hypothesis. First, an archival study demonstrated that the stock of companies headed by charismatic leaders appreciated more than the stock of comparable companies, even after differences in corporate performance were controlled. It was also found that the effect of charismatic leadership was heightened under more difficult economic conditions. Second, an experiment was conducted in which the salience of charismatic leadership was manipulated, along with information about the prospects for an organization's turnaround. Results showed that appeals from a charismatic leader led to increased investment in the firm, and the leader's influence was greater when the prospects for an organizational turnaround were more difficult. It was also found that an endowment of stock enhanced the influence of charismatic appeals and that charismatic leadership may have affected the general risk propensities of followers. These findings were interpreted in terms of an external perspective on leadership, illustrating how leaders can manage the firm's economic and social environment. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
144556150
Factors leading to group identification: A field study of winners and losers
Why do fans of losing sports teams, alumni of poorly ranked educational programs, and patrons of charities that are rocked by scandal maintain or even increase their support? The present research investigates this issue by examining how differences in group success affect the factors that lead to identification and ultimately the incidence of group-supportive behaviors. The results of a two-group field study of professional sports fans suggest that members of unsuccessful groups identify on the basis of their involvement with the domain in which the group operates and the attractiveness of group members. Also, whereas perceived group performance is the most important factor leading to identification for members of successful groups, this factor is irrelevant to members of unsuccessful groups. In addition, the study finds a strong association between the strength of identification and the incidence of group-supportive consumption behaviors for members of both types of groups. The research has important implications for organizations that depend upon member support, such as sports teams, educational institutions, musical groups, and charities.
43698616
A model of fan identification: antecedents and sponsorship outcomes
This study examines the impact of fan identification on four distinct sponsorship outcomes: sponsor recognition, attitude toward the sponsor, sponsor patronage, and satisfaction with the sponsor. In addition, consistent with the identification literature we investigate the antecedents of prestige, domain involvement, and fan associations for predicting fan identification among sports spectators. Utilizing structural equation modeling the findings support the premise that highly identified fans are more likely to exhibit the investigated sponsorship outcomes. In addition, we found that the investigated antecedents may aid in predicting fan identification. Our findings are discussed, managerial implications presented, and future research directions provided.
18662094
The impact of managerial quality on organizational performance: evidence from German soccer
Although a considerable literature exists on the determinants of managerial compensation, much of it focussing on the role of incentives, there is much less known about the impact of managerial remuneration and quality upon attainment of organizational goals. In this paper we apply two distinct econometric methods to panel data on head coach quality and team performance in Germany’s premier soccer league. We find that, given a particular amount of spending on players relative to the rest of the league, a team that hires a better quality head coach can expect to achieve improved performance.
143638061
The Sporting Life: Exploring Organizations through the Lens of Sport
We selectively review the literature from the fields of organizational behavior and sport science with the overarching purpose of identifying and summarizing key themes and contributions. The liter...
67796232
Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations
INDIVIDUAL PROCESSES IN INTERGROUP BEHAVIOR 3 From Individual to Group Impressions 3 GROUP MEMBERSHIP AND INTERGROUP BEHAVIOR 7 The Scope and Range of Ethnocentrism 8 The Development of Ethnocentrism 9 Intergroup Conflict and Competition 12 Interpersonal and intergroup behavior 13 Intergroup conflict and group cohesion 15 Power and status in intergroup behavior 16 Social Categorization a d Intergroup Behavior 20 Social categorization: cognitions, values, and groups 20 Social categorization a d intergroup discrimination 23 Social identity and social comparison 24 THE REDUCTION FINTERGROUP DISCRIMINATION 27 Intergroup Cooperation and Superordinate Goals " 28 Intergroup Contact. 28 Multigroup Membership and "lndividualizat~’on" of the Outgroup 29 SUMMARY 30
144349176
Social comparison and social identity: Some prospects for intergroup behaviour
Recent studies have reported that the variable of social categorization per se is sufficient for intergroup discrimination. This paper presents an explanation of these findings in terms of the operation of social comparison processes between groups based on the need for a positive ingroup identity. The relationship between perceived social identity and intergroup comparison is elaborated theoretically, and it is argued that social comparisons give rise to processes of mutual differentiation between groups which can be analyzed as a form of ‘social’ competition. Social competition is distinguished from realistic competition (conflict of group interests). New data is reported which strengthens this interpretation of the ‘minimal’ categorization studies. It is found that minimal intergroup discrimination takes place in the distribution of meaningless ‘points’ as well as monetary rewards and that social categorization per se does not lead to intergroup behaviour where the subjects can act directly in terms of ‘self’. Other studies on intergroup biases are reviewed to argue for the generality of social competition in intergroup situations.
145352228
Social identity theory and the organization
It is argued that (a) social identification is a perception of oneness with a group of persons; (b) social identification stems from the categorization of individuals, the distinctiveness and prestige of the group, the salience of outgroups, and the factors that traditionally are associated with group formation; and (c) social identification leads to activities that are congruent with the identity, support for institutions that embody the identity, stereotypical perceptions of self and others, and outcomes that traditionally are associated with group formation, and it reinforces the antecedents of identification. This perspective is applied to organizational socialization, role conflict, and intergroup relations.
144473310
Role Models in Career Development: New Directions for Theory and Research.
Abstract Career theory proposes the importance of role models as helping to guide individual development. Furthermore, the media often depict role models as essential to career success. However, research on role models as a construct distinct from developmental relationships with mentors and behavioral models has waned. This article makes the case for reinvigorating the role model construct. A revised definition is provided, depicting role models as cognitive constructions based on an individual’s needs, wants, and ambitions. Drawing on recent advances in social comparison and self-concept theories, a dimensional approach to role models integrates current theory and research, suggesting that role models should be construed along two cognitive dimensions (positive/negative, global/specific), and two structural dimensions (close/distant, up/across-down). The article concludes by suggesting new research directions prompted by this new view of the role model construct.
147165954
Identification as the basis for a theory of motivation.
R OLE theory has suffered since inception from lack of a satisfactory account of motivation. It is all very well as far as it goes to state that a person learns to recognize standard situations and to play expected roles in them according to the status defined for him in each. But this is not enough when the person encounters alternatives and must resolve conflicting definitions of his appropriate behavior.1 Nor is it enough to account for the emergence of new roles in his conduct, nor for his more or less unique variations upon conventional roles. A striking revelation of the need for some theory of motivation to back up situational analysis2 is disclosed by apathy in the performance of conventional roles, when these are on the verge of abandonment or are accepted only under duress. Roles as such do not provide their own motives. Most of the recent writers on role theory3 have recognized this deficiency and have endeavored to make it up through the expedient of eclecticism. Like a Ford car with a Chevrolet motor, each of these "integrators" puts on the road his own model of role theory, one powered by psychic energy, another by a system of tensions or a drivereduction apparatus, a third by some hierarchy of innate and derived needs. Also, a
146955640
Factors Affecting Fan Attendance: The Influence of Identity Salience and Satisfaction
The study combines disparate streams of research in order to develop a model of devoted fan behavior. The theoretical foundations for this study are based on literature examining social identity theory, involvement, attachment and satisfaction. A model of the factors that influence fan identity salience and attendance is developed and tested. First, the factors that influence fan identity salience and sporting event attendance are discussed and an integrated model is developed. Second, the proposed model is tested using a sample of college students. Third, the implications of the findings are discussed. The findings suggest that identity salience is an important factor in explaining fan-related behavior.
59374121
The Impact of Team Identification on Biased Predictions of Player Performance
The current investigation examined sport fans’ impressions of an athlete described as a potential member of their team or a potential member of a rival team. In Study 1, we predicted that individuals would exhibit an ingroup favoritism effect by reporting more positive evaluations of the player’s performance when he was described as a high-performing recruit for their team than when he was presented as a recruit for a rival. However, this effect was expected only among highly identified fans (i.e., fans with a strong psychological attachment to the team). College students (N = 70) classified as high or low in identification with a target team watched a videotaped basketball practice session involving a player identified as either a recruit for the target team or a rival. After completion of the videotape, participants rated the target athlete. As expected, planned contrast analyses indicated that the most positive ratings were given by highly identified persons evaluating a potential member of their team while the least positive evaluations were offered by highly identified fans rating a rival’s potential player. Lowly identified persons reported moderate evaluations of each target player. In Study 2, we examined evaluations of the target recruit when this person was described in a more negative fashion. In this instance, the target team and level of fan identification had no significant impact on player evaluations.
144602763
Comments on the motivational status of self-esteem in social identity and intergroup discrimination
The background and development of motivational hypotheses in social identity theory are examined, revealing two general motives for intergroup discrimination: a desire for cognitive coherence, or good structure; and a need for positive self-esteem. The latter (self-esteem hypothesis: SEH) has received most attention. Both the theoretical and empirical bases of the SEH are largely rooted in research using the minimal group paradigm. However, it remains unclear whether self-esteem is to be considered primarily as a cause or an effect of discrimination. When real social groups are considered the SEH appears to provide only a partial explanation, and a variety of more or less powerful alternative social motives may underlie discriminatory behaviour. We explore some social-structural, individual and interpersonal limits to the SEH, and we call for an awareness of these motives and a re-examination of the good-structure thesis. The SEH, as it stands, provides only a partial contribution to our understanding of the relationship between social identity and discriminatory intergroup behaviour.
144869891
Interpersonal attraction, social identification and psychological group formation
Two perspectives on the nature of the social group and psychological group formation are discussed. The traditional social cohesion approach traces group formation to processes of interpersonal attraction, while the social identity approach defines the group in cognitive terms and considers identification, or self-categorization, to be the mechanism of psychological group formation. On the basis of an experiment by Turner, Sachdev and Hogg (1983) it is hypothesized that interpersonal attraction (positive or negative) is related to group formation only in so far as it enhances intergroup distinctiveness. This hypothesis is experimentally tested in a 2 × 3 (interpersonal liking/disliking per se versus no explicit categorization/random categorization/criterial categorization on the basis of affect) factorial design employing the ‘minimal group’ paradigm. People who like each other and were not explicitly categorized formed a group. This effect was enhanced by criterial categorization but disappeared when categorization was random. Although the results do not support the hypothesis, they are not explicable in social cohesion terms. A social identity explanation is furnished—attraction influences group formation by acting, under certain specifiable conditions, as a cognitive criterion for common category membership. This explanation is located in current theorizing and is proposed as part of a reconceptualization of the relationship between interpersonal attraction and group formation.
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Die-Hard and Fair-Weather Fans: Effects of Identification on BIRGing and CORFing Tendencies
Previous research has demonstrated that people are capable of strategic self-presentation; they decrease the distance between themselves and successful groups with which they have only the most trivial of associations, and strive to increase the distance between themselves and groups viewed negatively as a result of some perceived failure. These two processes, termed basking-in- reflected-glory (BIRGing) and cutting-off-reflected failure (CORFing) respectively, assist in the maintenance of self-esteem. The current study investigated the extent to which allegiance to a group would modify these general processes. In support of the hypotheses, higher fan identification resulted in increased tendencies to BIRG and decreased tendencies to CORF. In contrast, persons moderate or low in identification were less likely to BIRG and showed an increased likelihood to CORF. Discussion focuses on the role of identification with a group in terms of how it moderates coping with threats to an identity and its impact on self-esteem.
145063179
Organizational images and member identification.
We thank Massimo Bergami, Arthur Brief, Mason Carpenter, Brian Golden, Frances Hauge, Rod Kramer, Sharon Lobel, Reuben McDaniel, Debra Meyerson, Wendy Penner, Sandy Piderit, Linda Pike, Mlchael Pratt, Robert Quinn, Anat Rafaeli, Lance Sandelands, Bob Sutton, David Whetten, Batia Wiesenfeld, and three anonymous reviewers for comments on earlier drafts of this paper. We develop a model to explain how images of one's work organization shape the strength of his or her identification with the organization. We focus on two key organizational images: one based on what a member believes is distinctive, central, and enduring about his or her organization and one based on a member's beliefs about what outsiders think about the organization. According to the model, members assess the attractiveness of these images by how well the image preserves the continuity of their self-concept, provides distinctiveness, and enhances self-esteem. The model leads to a number of propositions about how organizational identification affects members' patterns of social interaction.'
153891143
What Do Investors Want?
Investments, like restaurants, offer both utilitarian and expressive benefits. Diners want more than the utilitarian benefits of low cost and high nutrition when they choose restaurants; they want the utilitarian benefits of tastiness, ambiance, and conformance to culture. And they also want the expressive benefits of status, patriotism, and social responsibility. Similarly, investors want more than the utilitarian benefits of low risk and high expected returns when they choose investments; they want additional utilitarian benefits, and they want expressive benefits as well. Food service trade periodicals discuss both the utilitarian benefits of restaurants and their expressive ones, but finance journals confine themselves to the utilitarian benefits of low risk and high expected returns. Might not the expressive benefits of investments be discussed in future finance journals?
141161441
The Relationship between Sport Team Identification and Social Well-Being: Additional Evidence Supporting the Team Identification-Social Psychological Health Model
The current study tested three predictions generated from Wann's (2004) Team Identification--(Social) Psychological Health Model. Specifically, it was hypothesized that social well-being would be a) positively related to identification with a local sport team, b) not related to identification with a distant team, and c) not related to mere sport fandom. The current investigation expanded on previous research by assessing social well-being through participants' satisfaction with their social life (and their collective self-esteem) and by using regression analyses simultaneously examining the impact of the three predictor variables on social psychological health. Results from 155 university students confirmed expectations and substantiated Wann's model. Discussion includes suggestions for future research. Sport team identification concerns the extent to which a fan feels a psychological connection to a team or player (see Wann, Melnick, Russell, & Pease, 2001). In recent years, Wann and his associates have presented evidence that level of identification with a local team is positively related to psychological health. For instance, Branscombe and Wann (1991) found a positive relationship between identification and personal self-esteem (i.e., one's critical evaluations of his or her personal characteristics) and the frequency of experiencing positive emotions while identification was negatively correlated with depression, alienation, and frequency of experiencing negative emotions. Wann (1994) extended these findings by demonstrating that identification was positively correlated with collective (i.e., social) self-esteem (i.e., one's critical evaluations of his or her groups). Additional findings are reported by Wann, Inman, Ensor, Gates, and Caldwell (1999) and Wann, Dunham, Byrd, and Keenan (2004). Wann et al. (1999) found that identification was positively correlated with self-esteem and vigor (i.e., energy) and negatively related to fatigue, anger, tension, confusion, and depression. Wann et al. (2004) examined the relationship between team identification and well-being through scores on the NEO PI-R questionnaire (Costa & MaCrae, 1992). They found that identification with a local team was positively related to extroversion, openness, and conscientiousness, a pattern consistent with psychological health. This body of literature led Wann (2004) to develop the Team Identification--Psychological Health Model. This model offers three predictions. First, psychological well-being is predicted to be positively related to identification with a local sport team. This prediction, supported by the aforementioned literature, is based on the notion that identifying with a local team will result in valued social relationships and a sense of connectedness with society. Certainly, it is well-established that social connections via group memberships are important for well-being (Cohen & Wills, 1985; Hogg & Abrams, 1990; Mael & Ashforth, 2001) and sport fandom may serve as one such group (Melnick, 1993; Smith, 1988, 1989). The second prediction derived from the model is that identification with a distant team will not result in well-being benefits because they do not readily result in connections with others. Third, mere sport fandom will not be related to psychological health because this will also fail to result in meaningful relationships. Similar to prediction 1, these latter two hypotheses have strong empirical support (e.g., Wann et al., 2004; Wann et al., 1999). Wann, Dimmock, and Grove (in press) were able to extend the generalizability of the Team Identification--Psychological Health Model by examining fans from a different culture (i.e., non North American). In this research investigating the well-being of Australian sport fans, support was found for each of the three predictions. However, Wann and his associates concluded that, consistent with previous work (e.g., Wann et al., 2004) identification with a local sport team appears to be more strongly related to social aspects of well-being (such as loneliness) than personal components of psychological health (such as stress). …
144213999
The Relationship between Team Identification and Willingness of Sport Fans to Consider Illegally Assisting Their Team
Previous researchers have indicated that a sizeable minority of sport fans admit a willingness to anonymously injure a star player or coach of a rival team. Highly identified fans were particularly likely to consider these acts. In the current investigation we aimed to extend the previous work by examining the frequency with which individuals would consider, under the protection of anonymity, engaging in antisocial acts of cheating that are either illegal or violate societal norms. A sizeable minority of the college student sample admitted a willingness to consider a number of such acts and, as hypothesized, there was a significant positive correlation between team identification and reports of willingness.
145578295
Social identity effects in a belief–attitude–intentions hierarchy: Implications for corporate sponsorship
Companies have increasingly turned to sponsorship as a marketing communications vehicle in the hopes that the goodwill that consumers feel toward an event, cause, or sports team will rub off on their brands. The current study tests a beliefs–attitude–intentions hierarchy in the context of the corporate sponsorship of a major university's sports teams. The direct and indirect effects of social identity with the university's teams (i.e., team identification) on intentions to purchase products from a corporate sponsor are also considered. A random-digit dialing methodology was used to collect data from 368 individuals. In general, the results supported the hypotheses. Of special interest was team identification's ability to moderate the effect of attitude on purchase intentions. As predicted, attitude toward purchasing a sponsor's products was more highly related to purchase intentions for low identifiers than for high identifiers. Specifically, among those with an unfavorable attitude, high identifiers had significantly more positive intentions to purchase than did low identifiers. For high identifiers, it appears that team identification acts as a heuristic that favorably predisposes them to want to buy products from a sponsor in spite of their evaluation of that action. Marketing implications are discussed. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
146548068
Perceived external prestige and internal respect: New insights into the organizational identification process
The group engagement model (Tyler & Blader, 2003) suggests that identification with one's organization is based not only on the individual's evaluation of the status of the organization (i.e. perceived external prestige), but also the individual's evaluation of their own status within the organization (i.e. perceived internal respect). Using data drawn from three different sources (subordinates, supervisors, and company records), results from a sample of healthcare employees (n = 205) provide support for the core relationships proposed in the group engagement model and extend the model by showing that prestige and respect have different antecedents. The perceived status of the organization's employees, the organization's perceived success in achieving its goals, the visibility of the organization, and the status level of the individual employee were all associated with perceived external prestige. The results also indicate that visibility within the organization, perceived opportunities for growth, and participation in decision-making were all related to perceived respect. Further, prestige and respect were directly related to organizational identification, but only indirectly related to organization-supportive behavior. These results extend the group engagement model in that we utilize a form of supportive behavior that focuses upon constructive change (i.e. voice behavior; Van Dyne & LePine, 1998), rather than the helpful, but status quo maintaining behavior.
166389388
An Identification and Examination of Influences That Shape the Creation of a Professional Team Fan
Keywords: Team Loyalty, Fan Socialization, Team Fans, Professional Football, Sport Fans Executive Summary Sport organizations recognize the importance of a strong fan base, yet little research has been done to help organizations understand how to build and maintain such a group of fans. There is ample evidence that people are readily able to form deep attachments to sports teams. A body of research has examined the level of attachment (i.e. identification) that fans have with a team (Branscombe and Wann, 1991, Wann and Branscombe, 1993, 1995; Wann and Dolan, 1994), and also the relationship between level of identification with a team and different types of fan responses. Fans' emotions, perceptions of influence on team performance and game outcomes, objective knowledge and subjective beliefs about their team, and enjoyment of sports events have all been related to identification levels among United States collegiate sport fans (e.g. Murrell and Dietz, 1992; Wann and Branscombe, 1995; Wann, Dolan, McGeorge and Allison, 1994). The small amount of work that has been done on building and maintaining a fall base has focused primarily on maintenance issues. Sutton, McDonald, Milne and Cimperman (1997) suggested that a sport franchise could foster fan relationships by having a successful team and a good organizational reputation, creating some connection with the community, and by providing as many consumption opportunities as possible for people. Mahony, Madrigal and Howard (1999) found that loyalty to professional teams in the National Football League (NFL) in the United States could be largely determined by knowing a fan's specific personality characteristic. To date, however, research has not adequately examined what factors incipiently influence a person to become a team fan. Knowing what influences people to become team fans is important because these factors are the corner stones for creating, building, and maintaining a base of loyal team fans. The current study was designed to explore a/Id identify: (1) when in their life span individuals became team fans; and (2) what people and things affect this process. A survey was conducted with long-term season ticket holders (N = 518) of a professional National Football League (NFL) team in the United States to address these issues. The results suggested that fathers were very influential in shaping team preferences, particularly among those who became fans in their preteen years and, to a somewhat lesser extent, among adolescents. The majority of respondents stated that they had become a team fan prior to age 15. Players and coaches of the team wee important influences for those who became fails as adolescents or adults. The emotional hometown connection fans made between the city in which the team plays and the team itself was influential in shaping team loyalty. Attending and experiencing the excitement of games was also a catalyst for becoming a team fan. Respondents valued being part of a "community" of fans (i.e. a group of people sharing a common bond -- the team). Sports marketers who wish to build the next generation of fans need to create opportunities for fathers to spend time with their children at team-related activities. Developing and promoting linkages between a team and the city in which the team is located has value in building team loyalty as well. Such linkages help fans attribute positive characteristics to both the team and city, thereby reinforcing strong feelings held about each entity. The community of fans concept can be used to build linkages to the teams. One means for creating esprit de corps among fans is to use e-mail and other team-sponsored Internet forums to encourage fans to discuss among themselves their feelings about the team. Team personnel can monitor this information to identify trends and other issues important to team fans. An Identification and Examination of Influences That Shape the Creation of a Professional Team Fan While we often speak of the interest in sports among the collective population, it is the individual fan who invests her/his time, money and self in sports. …
154887408
The Assessment: The Economics of Sport
The study of sports economics has expanded rapidly in recent years in response to significantly increased demand--for sport itself, for economic analysis relevant to commercial litigation in sport, for lively teaching material in schools and universities, and for research into the incentive properties of sporting contests. While much of the literature has focused on the issue of competitive balance and how to achieve it, there have still been relatively few studies that apply the lessons of the economic theory of contests to the analysis of sports. There remain huge opportunities both to develop our theoretical understanding of incentive mechanisms in sport and to conduct empirical research in the operation of incentives in sporting contests. Copyright 2003, Oxford University Press.
146421497
I Would Like to be Like Her/Him: Are Athletes Role-Models for Boys and Girls?
The first part of this contribution deals with theoretical considerations of the meaning of role-models and idols in general and for young people in particular. Then the results of existing studies are discussed. As research shows, the huge majority of idols, especially of sport heroes, are men, and it is boys who admire sport stars. In the second part of the article a pilot study is presented in which we asked female and male pupils about their role-models. A high percentage of boys named sporting heroes or ‘action stars’ whom they admired because of their strength, aggression and their ability to get things done. In contrast, for the girls interviewed, sport stars did not have the function of role-models. They admired the stars and starlets of the movie and music scene. At the end, the potential effects of these orientations are discussed, and the question is asked what kind of answers pedagogy can offer.
144366127
Do role models influence teenagers’ purchase intentions and behavior?
Attempts to determine which individual, or group of individuals, has the strongest influence on adolescent consumer purchase intentions and purchase behavior. By introducing the concepts of direct (fathers and mothers) and vicarious (favorite entertainers and favorite athletes) role models into the consumer behavior literature, the study allows greater understanding of the socialization patterns of young adult consumers. Results from this study provide significant contributions for marketing and advertising managers seeking to improve their understanding of the ever‐growing adolescent consumer market.
14068398
Sports Celebrity Influence On The Behavioral Intentions Of Generation Y
ABSTRACT Teenagers currently spend an estimated $153 billion a year on everything from computers to cars to clothes (Brand, 2000). Trend conscious teens are very active in utilizing the media and advertising in seeking out the latest products, services, and fashions (Zollo, 1995). A greater understanding of teens' role model influences can help organizations and their advertising agencies more effectively target and communicate to this growing market. In this study, we examine the effect of athlete role models on teenagers' purchase intentions and behaviors. Results from a survey of 218 adolescents are discussed with implications and future research directions for advertising and sports marketing researchers.
147370941
The Effect of Role Model Influence on Adolescents’ Materialism and Marketplace Knowledge
The goal of the present research was to analyze the consumer socialization process of adolescents, utilizing social learning theory as a conceptual guide to understand how role models influence adolescents’ materialism and marketplace knowledge. A convenience sample of 175 teenagers between the ages of 15 and 18 were surveyed in a major metropolitan area. Direct role models included in this study were mothers, fathers and teachers. Vicarious role models included athletes and entertainers. Results at the .05 level of significance show that materialism and marketplace knowledge are associated with members of both direct and vicarious role model groups. Specifically for materialism, athletes and fathers were found to have the greatest impact. Teachers and athlete role models were found to have the greatest impact on adolescents’ marketplace knowledge. Implications from the empirical analysis of these proposed relationships are provided for marketing managers and practitioners.
115720375
Superstars and me: predicting the impact of role models on the self
Purpose of the study. Why do superstars exist? Talent, fame and power. An economic theory behind the superstars' phenomenon. Hypothesis development. Overview through the most popular sports in the world.
145004974
Villains, fools or heroes? Sports stars as role models for young people
Sporting texts are designed to prioritize, personalize and sensationalize characters in an attempt to capture audience attention. The sporting hero has traditionally been perceived of as epitomizing social ideals and masculine virtues, and as embodying values that learnt on the playing fields will readily transfer into everyday life. However, growing media intrusion signifies the contemporary sports star as a ‘damaged hero’ – the male sports celebrity exemplifying contemporary laddishness, drunken exploits, wife and girlfriend beatings and gay relationships, all of which influence the image of the modern day sports hero. In contrast, female sport stars are well documented as marginalized, trivialized and objectified, to the extent which sports heroines are both invisible and questionable as role models for young girls. This article discusses ways in which sport stars are constructed as role models for young people. It cites instancing examples from the sports calendar of the ‘summer of sport’ 1996, in its discussion of the media construction of sports stars as villains, fools or heroes. It identifies the gender differentiated readings of sports stars as heroes and heroines and concludes that the ways in which media critics accord hero and role model status does not necessarily reflect the opinions of young people.
153416989
Superstars in the National Basketball Association: Economic Value and Policy
An econometric analysis demonstrates that television ratings for NBA games are substantially higher when certain players (“superstars”) are involved. Thus, these superstars are quite important for generating revenue, not only for their own teams but for other teams as well. Using the econometric analysis and additional information on attendance and paraphernalia sales, we estimate the value of Michael Jordan to the other NBA teams to be approximately $53 million. The positive externality superstars have on other teams can lead to an inefficient distribution of player talent. We examine several league policies that might be used to address the externality.
166541376
Linking sports sponsorship with purchase intentions: Team performance, stars, and the moderating role of team identification
Purpose – It is common for companies to sponsor sports teams. The aim of this paper is to examine experimentally the impact of two team attributes (team performance and the presence of a star in the team) on consumers' intention to purchase the sponsor's product. The moderating role of team identification on the relationship between these two team attributes and intention to purchase is also to be studied.Design/methodology/approach – An experiment was conducted in Hong Kong. A series of hypotheses relating to team performance, presence of stars in the team, and team identification were tested.Findings – Team performance significantly influenced consumers' intention to purchase the sponsor's product, and this influence was more pronounced for casual than for avid fans and more pronounced when the team contained a star. A winning team with a star generated the strongest purchase intention. A losing team with a star produced the lowest purchase intention.Research limitations/implications – The trade‐off bet...
143062833
Who Is the Celebrity Endorser? Cultural Foundations of the Endorsement Process
This article offers a new approach to celebrity endorsement. Previous explanations, especially the source credibility and source attractiveness models are criticized, and an alternative meaning transfer model is proposed. According to this model, celebrities' effectiveness as endorsers stems from the cultural meanings with which they are endowed. The model shows how meanings pass from celebrity to product and from product to consumer. The implications of this model for our understanding of the consumer society are considered. Research avenues suggested by the model are also discussed. Copyright 1989 by the University of Chicago.
143358238
Organizational identification: A meta-analysis
Abstract The last two decades have witnessed a surge in interest in research on organizational identification (OI). This paper presents a comprehensive meta-analysis of this research ( k  = 96). Results indicate that (a) OI is correlated with a wide range of work-related attitudes, behaviors, and context variables, (b) OI is empirically distinct from its closest conceptual neighbor, attitudinal organizational commitment (AOC), and (c) the two most common OI measures (the Mael scale and the Organizational Identification Questionnaire) produce very different results. It is argued that OI scales, especially the Mael scale, may be preferable over AOC scales for studies aimed at explaining, and partly also for studies aimed at predicting, work behavior.
167539921
The sales manager as a Role model: Effects on trust, job satisfaction, and performance of salespeople
This study develops a conceptual framework that relates role-modeling behavior of sales managers to a set of key outcome variables and assesses the validity of the framework using a cross-sectional sample of salespeople and sales managers drawn from a variety of business-to-business sales organizations. Findings indicate that salespeople’s perceptions of their managers’ role-modeling behavior relate positively to trust in the sales manager and relate indirectly, through trust, to both job satisfaction and overall performance of salespeople. The study provides empirical validity for practitioner suggestions that sales managers should lead by example, and thus should provide a model of the behavior managers desire their salespeople to enact.
5281538
Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies.
Interest in the problem of method biases has a long history in the behavioral sciences. Despite this, a comprehensive summary of the potential sources of method biases and how to control for them does not exist. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to examine the extent to which method biases influence behavioral research results, identify potential sources of method biases, discuss the cognitive processes through which method biases influence responses to measures, evaluate the many different procedural and statistical techniques that can be used to control method biases, and provide recommendations for how to select appropriate procedural and statistical remedies for different types of research settings.
167967723
A Paradigm for Developing Better Measures of Marketing Constructs
A critical element in the evolution of a fundamental body of knowledge in marketing, as well as for improved marketing practice, is the development of better measures of the variables with which ma...
153414402
The Labour Market in Association Football: Who Gets Transferred and For How Much?
This paper employs data for the 1993-94 season to estimate a hedonic equation representing the determination of the price structure in the transfer market for professional players in the English football leagues. Player transfer proneness is modelled, and the Heckman two-step procedure is employed to take account of selection bias. The paper identifies those player attributes which affect either the probability of transfer or the transfer fee and evaluates the relative influence of such variables. Copyright 1999 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the Board of Trustees of the Bulletin of Economic Research
145523872
The determination of player transfer fees in English professional soccer
Unlike most major U.S. sport teams, it is common for professional soccer clubs around the world to trade players for cash. This article develops a model of the player-transfer market in soccer in which observed transfer fees are determined by player characteristics, selling-club characteristics, buying-club characteristics, and time effects. The model is based on data on 1,350 transfer fees in English professional soccer from June 1990 to August 1996. The estimated model is used to investigate the rate of inflation in transfer fees. In addition, the determination of transfer fees is considered within different segments of the transfer market. It is found that the determination of transfer fees differs markedly among segments.
154805101
The determination of transfer fees in English nonleague football
In recent years a number of studies have analysed the player transfer market in English professional football. This paper examines whether similar factors operate to determine transfer fees in the semiprofessional, or nonleague, game. An empirical model of the nonleague player transfer market is developed in which observed transfer fees are determined by player characteristics, time effects, selling-club characteristics and buying-club characteristics. Using data on 114 transfer fees covering the period 1988 to 1997, we find evidence that the data generating process for transfer fees is broadly similar in both professional and nonleague football.
34604622
Local Heroes and Superstars
Recent studies of the demand for sports clearly indicate that stars play an important role in promoting fan interest. However, on theoretical grounds it is controversial if a star's talent superiority and/or a star's popularity drive match attendance and hence increase gate revenues. Using longitudinal match attendance data of all clubs in the first German soccer league in a 9-year period, the authors analyze star attraction of national superstars and of so-called ``local heroes'' defined as the most valued players of teams without national superstars. The authors find empirical evidence that these groups differ in the way they attract fans: whereas superstars enhance attendance both at home and on the road, the star attraction of local heroes is limited to home games. In addition, superstars attract fans by outstanding field performances, whereas local heroes facilitate fan support by mere popularity.
118490874
Multiple Regression: A Primer
What Is Multiple Regression? How Do I Interpret Multiple Regression Results? What Can Go Wrong with Multiple Regression? How Do I Run a Multiple Regression? How Does Bivariate Regression Work? What Are the Assumptions of Multiple Regression? What Can Be Done about Multicollinearity? How Can Multiple Regression Handle Nonlinear Relationships? How Is Multiple Regression Related to Other Statistical Techniques?
167483914
A Stakeholder Approach to Organizational Identity
We develop a model of organizational identity construction that reframes organizational identity within the broader context of manager-stakeholder relationships and more effectively integrates theory on organizational identity and organizational identification. We describe organizational identity as emerging from complex, dynamic, and reciprocal interactions among managers, organizational members, and other stakeholders. The model draws attention to organizational identity as negotiated cognitive images and to the embeddedness of organizational identity within different systems of organizational membership and meaning. Viewing organizational identity from the perspective of manager-stakeholder relationships provides a more parsimonious but more complete theory of organizational identity management.
168003611
EXECUTIVE SUCCESSION: ORGANIZATIONAL ANTECEDENTS OF CEO CHARACTERISTICS
Based on 195 succession events in Business Week 1000 firms, this study examines the organizational antecedents of CEO demographic characteristics. Study findings suggest that antecedent conditions of lower firm profits and firm growth are associated with the selection of outsider CEOs. Additionally, R&D intensity is associated with the selection of CEOs having technical functional backgrounds and higher levels of education.
168151913
CEO SUCCESSION AND STOCKHOLDER REACTION: THE INFLUENCE OF ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT AND EVENT CONTENT
In this article, we construe chief executive officer (CEO) succession events as instances of organizational change. Predictions of positive, negative, or inconsequential outcomes of succession events are contingent on two features of organizational context-presuccession organizational performance and organizational size-and three elements of the content of a succession event: the force initiating the change in CEO, the predecessor's disposition, and the origin of the new CEO. We found that poor presuccession performance was associated with boardinitiation and predecessor departure. Stockholder reactions were positive when presuccession performance was poor and either boards or, to a lesser extent, CEOs initiated successions. Successions that occurred when performance had been good resulted in negative consequences, as did those caused by CEO disability. However, most successions studied were customary retirements associated with no significant stockholder reaction. CEO succession events are of central concern in organization theory. They are universal-if organizations survive long enough, they must experience succession-and they have provided a means for assessing the efficacy of leaders in shaping organizational fortunes by demarcating eras of stewardship. After some decades of research, however, scholars have not reached consensus on the general question of whether leaders make a difference. Instead, the literature on succession has led to a focus on specifying conditions under which it is more or less possible for individuals newly placed in the seat of legitimate authority to influence important organizational outcomes. Under certain circumstances, new CEOs can have palpable effects on
24780500
On making causal claims: A review and recommendations
Abstract Social scientists often estimate models from correlational data, where the independent variable has not been exogenously manipulated; they also make implicit or explicit causal claims based on these models. When can these claims be made? We answer this question by first discussing design and estimation conditions under which model estimates can be interpreted, using the randomized experiment as the gold standard. We show how endogeneity – which includes omitted variables, omitted selection, simultaneity, common-method variance, and measurement error – renders estimates causally uninterpretable. Second, we present methods that allow researchers to test causal claims in situations where randomization is not possible or when causal interpretation could be confounded; these methods include fixed-effects panel, sample selection, instrumental variable, regression discontinuity, and difference-in-differences models. Third, we take stock of the methodological rigor with which causal claims are being made in a social sciences discipline by reviewing a representative sample of 110 articles on leadership published in the previous 10 years in top-tier journals. Our key finding is that researchers fail to address at least 66% and up to 90% of design and estimation conditions that make causal claims invalid. We conclude by offering 10 suggestions on how to improve non-experimental research.