Administrative Science Quarterly Online Table of Contents Alert
The March 2023 issue of Administrative Science Quarterly is available online (Vol. 68, No. 1)
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The March 2023 issue of ASQ contains seven excellent articles, and seven insightful book reviews. Studying diverse contexts such as esports, music, healthcare, and the U.S. Congress, the papers explore creativity, the challenges of interdependence, deviance, careers, and market influence. In addition, Joan Friedman and I offer a tribute to the late Linda Johanson. Linda was ASQ’s managing editor for an astounding 39 years.
Location-Independent Organizations: Designing Collaboration Across Space and Time
Jen Rhymer
It’s hard enough for organizations that share spaces and schedules to collaborate effectively. But how do organizations whose employees are interdependent yet geographically distributed collaborate? Rhymer shows that in such cases collaboration is facilitated by knowledge repositories with open information, by rich work trails with public discussions and continuous documentation, and when employees are self-directed with permission to act. Relevant to the changing nature of work, we see how collaboration can happen, even when workers are half a world apart or working from home.
Embodying the Market: The Emergence of the Body Entrepreneur
Alexandra Michel
Blog post is here
For 17 years, Michel studied Wall Street investment banks and saw them evolve to look less and less like traditional organizations. Banks gradually took on a market-like form, embracing internal and external competition and making bankers take on market risk. Bankers internalized this responsibility and began to exert such control over their minds and bodies that they denied any biological imperative. As body entrepreneurs, bankers constructed and deployed their bodies for competitive advantage in the market regardless of the health consequences.
Recognition Killed the Radio Star? Recognition Orientations and Sustained Creativity After the Best New Artist Grammy Nomination
Spencer H. Harrison, Noah Askin, and Lydia Hagtvedt
If ‘80s music is your thing, this is your jam. Studying creativity in the wake of success, the authors explore the fragility of the creative process when new artists are recognized for their accomplishments. Those that absorb recognition and internalize expectations (such as The Go-Go’s) struggle to sustain creativity, while those that insulate themselves from others’ expectations and influence (Sade) sustain their creativity over time. The bottom line? Recognition can hinder long-term creativity, especially for those who seek the recognition most.
Relations in Aesthetic Space: How Color Enables Market Positioning
Stoyan V. Sgourev, Erik Aadland, and Giovanni Formilan
Blog post is here
If ‘80s music isn’t your thing, may we suggest some Norwegian black metal? The authors demonstrate that black metal bands used album cover color choices to construct relational identities: to associate themselves with (or distinguish themselves from) bands outside their genre. Color choices were also influenced by current events, such as stigmatization of their genre, as well as by bands’ defiance of commercialization. The authors argue that color is a tool for strategic positioning and establishing relational identity in a market.
Missing the Forest for the Trees: Modular Search and Systemic Inertia as a Response to Environmental Change
Julien Clement
Blog post is here
Why do organizations struggle to change? Building on complex-systems theory, Clement uses esports data to explore how environmental change affecting a few interdependent tasks can have a ripple effect on major organizational processes. Even when individuals see how to change specialized tasks, they don’t reconsider how to integrate tasks or search for ways to improve system-wide processes. Clement shows that even though systemic search is beneficial in response to change, its benefits are tough for decision makers to see.
Where Is All the Deviance? Liminal Prescribing and the Social Networks Underlying the Prescription Drug Crisis
Victoria (Shu) Zhang, Aharon Cohen Mohliver, and Marissa King
Blog post is here
Too many doctors prescribe drugs to patients who misuse or abuse them. But most overprescribing involves patients whose behavior does not raise red flags. The authors describe this prevalent “liminal” prescribing as instances where prescriptions are outside of established guidelines but not likely to garner punishment. This is distinct from clearly illegal “deviant” prescribing. The authors find that liminal prescribers are often isolated with limited information, whereas deviant prescribers have large and cohesive networks. These findings have important policy implications, as cracking down on deviant prescribers targets only a small fraction of this widespread problem.
Career Specialization, Involuntary Worker–Firm Separations, and Employment Outcomes: Why Generalists Outperform Specialists When Their Jobs Are Displaced
Heejung Byun and Joseph Raffiee
Is it better to be a specialist or a generalist? The authors focus on involuntary vs. voluntary job separation to help reconcile past research on the outcomes associated with career specialization. Studying U.S. congressional staffers, they show that involuntary separation boosts the disadvantages of specialization and the advantages of generalized careers. Generalists fare better than specialists when they are displaced, while specialists fare better when separations are voluntary.
Book Reviews
Book Review Essay:
Rebecca Henderson. Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire
Chris Marquis. Better Business: How the B Corp Movement Is Remaking Capitalism
Rodolphe Durand
Mitchel Y. Abolafia. Stewards of the Market: How the Federal Reserve Made Sense of the Financial Crisis
Derek Harmon
Claudia Goldin. Career and Family: Women’s Century-Long Journey Toward Equity
Pamela S. Tolbert
John W. Mohr, Christopher A. Bail, Margaret Frye, Jennifer C. Lena, Omar Lizardo, Terence E. McDonnell, Ann Mische, Iddo Tavory, and Frederick F. Wherry. Measuring Culture
Mary Ann Glynn
Andrew Charman, Leif Petersen, and Thireshen Govender. Township Economy: People, Spaces and Practices
Joel Bothello
Pino G. Audia and Henrich R. Greve. Organizational Learning from Performance Feedback: A Behavioral Perspective on Multiple Goals
Michael Lounsbury
Erin L. Kelly and Phyllis Moen. Overload: How Good Jobs Went Bad and What We Can Do About It
Devika Narayan
Some of our articles are featured on Henrich Greve’s blog site Organizational Musings. Our student-run ASQ Blog features interviews with ASQ authors that offer insights into the research and writing process. To stay informed, connect with ASQ on social media: follow us on Twitter (@ASQJournal) and LinkedIn.
Christine Beckman, University of Southern California
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Christine Beckman
University of Southern California
Los Angeles CA
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