CALL FOR PAPERS
European Academy of Management Annual Conference
EURAM 2014 / Valencia, Spain
4-7 June 2014
Conference website and flyer:
http://www.euram-online.org/conference/2014/
http://www.euram-online.org/conference/2014/content/files/conference-flyer.pdf
Strategy Track: Competitive Dynamics - The Changing Fabrics of Interfirm Rivalry
Since the pioneering works of the 1980-90s (Bettis & Weeks, 1987; MacMillan, McCaffrey, & Van Wijk, 1985) competitive dynamics research has become an important area of research in strategic management being a core topic in competitive strategy, and important unit of analysis in evolutionary strategy and strategy process research (Chen & Miller, 2012). Early conceptual and empirical papers have been followed by a host of new areas of inquiry influenced by evolutionary theory, managerial cognition, social networks, new methodological techniques, etc.
Earlier and more recent special issues involving competitive dynamics (e.g., Managerial and Decision Economics, 2002; Management Science, 2007; Information Systems Research, 2010) and some individual research efforts (Hsieh & Chen, 2010), however, have stressed the need for innovating competitive dynamics theory and methods. In this EURAM track, we join in this call and seek studies that either:
(a) focus on one of two exogenous mega-trends that have undeniably affected the competitive strategy of organizations: IT and globalization
(b) focus on processes within the organization related to the important, but underexplored relationships between managerial cognition and psychology on competitive strategy.
Our notion of "changing fabrics" aptly describes the process of spinning and weaving novel, textured, and colorful threads of theory and methods drawn from a variety of disciplines into new patterns, perspectives, and dimensions of competitive interaction. The resultant fabrics, we hope, will extend through, envelope, and provide new structure to a renewed understanding of dynamic competitive interaction.
Although globalization and the emergence of IT have received significant research attention in strategic management, broadly defined, the competitive dynamics stream of research has not systematically responded to these issues beyond a few early studies (e.g., Chi, Ravichandran & Andrevski, 2010; Gnyawali, He & Madhavan, 2006; Yu & Cannella, 2007). One assumption is that competitive environment has changed fundamentally: industry boundaries have become transient, market segments more granular, and the overall population of firms is much more volatile and interconnected. Academic research, however, has not offered uncontested proof to either direction – that is, we still do not know the multitude and variety of changes that these two mega-trends have catalyzed. Some scholars argue that we would need new organizational theories (Puranam, Alexy, & Reitzig, 2013) and that IT is fundamentally changing the way organizations produce and deliver their services (Zammuto, et al 2007). Others are more skeptical (Ghemawat, 2007) and argue that the impact of globalization is much overrated and other research showing that the impact of IT to organizations does not require new theoretical approaches (Valorinta, Schildt, Lamberg, 2011).
Most of the research considering the recent effects of digitization and globalization center on organizational aspects, leaving the changing competitive dynamics among firms relatively under-explored. Among other findings, existing research suggests that interfirm rivalry is moving from the industry level into more closely circumscribed markets/arenas. For example, while Microsoft in its early days was competing against a direct rivals, it nowadays competes against firms as diverse as SAP, Google, and Sony. Further, new competitive weaponry has moved to the forefront: Lawsuits over IP, free service provision and third-party pay models have brought a new flavor to the competitive game (Bryce, Dyer, and Hatch, 2011).
As evidenced by a recent special issue in the Strategic Management Journal, behavioral strategy has recently gained greater traction among strategy scholars who believe that realized competitive strategy stems, in part, from a variety of psychological, cognitive, social, and neurological processes and states that give rise to managerial awareness, judgement, and decisions (Powell, Lovallo & Fox, 2011). An emergent theoretical framework within competitive dynamics focuses on the firm's awareness, motivation, and capability (AMC) for competitive action (Chen, 1996). Yet, competitive dynamics scholars have only recently embraced core ideas and concepts drawn from managerial cognition and psychology to explain the intensity of and patterns within dynamic competitive inter-action (Kilduff, Elfenbein & Staw, 2010; Livengood & Reger, 2010; Marcel, Barr & Duhaime, 2010).
This EURAM track -- "Competitive Dynamics - The Changing Fabrics of Competition" -- calls for theoretical and empirical work explicating the various dimensions and loci along which interfirm rivalry currently changes. Following common themes of competitive dynamics research (Ketchen, Snow, & Hoover, 2004) we invite work centered on, for example:
Competitive action and response-patterns, action sequences and repertoires
-
First-mover advantage
-
Co-opetition
-
Multipoint competition
-
Strategic groups
-
Regional clusters and agglomeration
-
Inter-organizational networks
-
Top management teams
-
Cognitive and psychological drivers of competitive action
Examples of questions we are interested in are:
How do the fabrics of competition change? E.g., how does the competitive repertoire of firms co-evolve with fundamental changes in the socio-economic environment and technology?
How and why new success patterns in firm competitive behaviors emerge and evolve?
-
In times of rapid technological change, is there still a first-mover advantage?
Does digitization impact industry structures? How have strategic groups dynamics changed?
-
What are new drivers of regional clusters and their sources of competitive advantage?
How does managerial emotion or mood influence perceived competitive tension toward a particular rival and, consequently, the competitive aggressiveness the firm directs towards it?
What are the psychological and cognitive determinants of the intent associated with a given (or set of) competitive action(s)? What explains the difference between intended competitive actions from those actually carried out?
How does a manager's perception of time or temporal depth impact the speed of competitive responses and/or the rhythm of competitive actions?
Furthermore, we invite studies that use innovative or novel research methods, data, and measures to study of competitive dynamics. For example, studies that use computer-supported techniques for text/content analysis or 'news analytics', qualitative and historical work, discourse analysis, simulations, and methods drawn from other fields that may provide unique insight for scholars in competitive dynamics. Also, we welcome research that challenges or criticizes basic assumptions in competitive dynamics approach.
Submission Deadline: 16 January 2014 (14:00 Belgian time)
Organizers:
Walter Ferrier is a Gatton Endowed Associate Professor of Management in the Gatton College of Business and Economics at the University of Kentucky. He received his Ph.D. in Strategic Management from the University of Maryland. In 2008, he served as a visiting professor at Aalto University (formerly Helsinki University of Technology) in Finland. Dr. Ferrier's research and teaching interests lie mainly in the areas of dynamic competitive interaction, strategic leadership, and the structure of inter-organizational networks. His research has been published in the Strategic Management Journal, the Academy of Management Journal, the Academy of Management Review, the Journal of Management, Managerial & Decision Economics, and the Journal of High Technology Management Research. He won the Academy of Management Journal's "Best Paper Award" for his research on competitive interaction published in 1999.
Juha-Antti Lamberg, is a Professor of Strategy and Economic History at the University of Jyväskylä. His research has focused on consistency and change in strategy and business history, especially in the contexts of mature industries and established firms. He has published historical research in the Strategic Management Journal, the Journal of Management Studies, Industrial and Corporate Change, Organization Studies, Business & Society, Human Relations, the European Management Journal, the Scandinavian Economic History Review, as well as other journals. Prof. Lamberg won the Sloan Foundation's Industry Studies Best Paper Prize in 2008, the Carolyn Dexter Award in 2009 at the Academy of Management Conference, and has been a nominee or finalist for the same prize several times. His former PhD students have achieved similar success in terms of scientific awards, publications, and quality of collaboration networks. Juha-Antti was the chair of the local organizing committee for EGOS 2012 in Helsinki.
Markus Schimmer is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Management of the University of St.Gallen. During his PhD studies in St.Gallen, Markus has been a visiting research scholar at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business. His research interests are directed towards firm and industry dynamics, with competitive dynamics and industrial organization being his preferred theoretical perspectives. Among Markus' recent projects are articles on the pacing and bundling of competitive moves, and a paper on how market shocks punctuate firms' competitive behavior. His work has appeared in journals such as Strategic Organization and the Journal of Strategy and Management. Further, he has innovated research apps (www.eventstudytools.com) that empower the analysis of firm competitive behaviors.
References
Bettis, R. & Weeks, D. 1987. Financial returns and strategic interaction: The case of instant photography. Strategic Management Journal, 8: 549-563.
Bryce, D., Dyer, J. & Hatch, N. 2011. Competing against free. Harvard Business Review, 88: 104-111.
Chen, M-J. & Miller, D. 2012. Competitive dynamics: Themes, trends, and a prospective research platform. Academy of Management Annals, 6: 135-210.
Chi, L., Ravichandran, T. & Andrevski, G. (2010). Information technology, network structure, and competitive action. Information Systems Research, 21: 543-570.
Ghemawat, P. 2007. Why the world isn't flat. Foreign Policy: 54-60.
Gnyawali, D., He, J. & Madhavan, R. 2006. Impact of co-opetition on firm competitive behavior: An empirical examination. Journal of Management, 32: 507-530.
Hsieh, K-Y. & Chen, M-J. 2010. Responding to rivals' actions: Beyond dyadic conceptualization of interfirm rivalry. Academy of Management Annual Meeting. Montreal, Canada.
Ketchen, D., Snow, C. & Hoover, V. 2004. Research on competitive dynamics: Recent accomplishments and future challenges. Journal of Management, 30(6): 779-804.
Kilduff, G., Elfenbein, H. & Staw, B. 2010. The psychology of rivalry: A relationally dependent analysis of competition. Academy of Management Journal, 53: 943–969.
Livengood, R. & Reger, R. 2010. That's our turf! Identity domains and competitive dynamics. Academy of Management Review, 35: 48–66.
MacMillan, I., McCaffrey, M. & Van Wijk, G. 1985. Competitor's responses to easily imitated new products: Exploring commercial banking product introductions. Strategic Management Journal, 6: 75-86.
Marcel, J., Barr, P. & Duhaime, I. 2011. The influence of executive cognition on competitive dynamics. Strategic Management Journal, 32: 115–38.
Powell, T., Lovallo, D. & Fox, C. 2011 Behavioral strategy. Strategic Management Journal, 32: 1369-1386.
Puranam, P., Alexy, O. & Reitzig, M. 2013. What's "new" about new forms of organizing? Academy of Management Review, accepted for publication.
Valorinta, M., Schildt, H., & Lamberg, J.-A. 2011. Path dependence of power relations, path-breaking change and technological adaptation. Industry and Innovation, 18: 765-790.
Yu, T. & Cannella, A. 2007. Rivalry between multinational enterprises: An event history approach. Academy of Management Journal, 50: 663-684.
Zammuto, R., Griffith, T., Majchrzak, A. Dougherty, D. & Faraj, S. 2007. Information technology and the changing fabric of organization. Organization Science, 18: 749-762.