Brooke Lahneman

• PhD in Management
• Professor (Assistant) at Montana State University

Extant theory in corporate sustainability highlights challenges in coordinating organizational action to “fit” the complex functioning of ecological systems. Our qualitative study shows how a certification organization in the U.S. wine industry developed and enacted a “bridging capacity,” through which it tailored program standards to cultivate mem...

Earth’s natural systems are increasingly destabilizing as human industrial activity has overshot planetary boundaries (PBs) such as climate change and biosphere integrity (biodiversity loss). While organizational scholarship on sustainability is increasing in prevalence and importance, the PBs framework has been under-studied and under-applied. To...

Where do hybrid companies flourish and why? We draw on economic theories of agglomeration and sociocultural theories of community to examine the specific contexts in which hybrids flourish, and offer an understanding of why place matters to the unique business models they employ. We hypothesize that a community's collectivism, political orientation...

Research Summary This study investigates how dual-purpose technical and relational capabilities influence two types of product innovation: component and full product. We consider product modification, manufacturing, supplier relationship, and customer relationship capabilities, analyzing their interactions and interrelationships through an inductiv...

The nature and scope of changes in organizations’ external environments is without precedent due to planetary shifts, or major changes in earth’s biophysical systems. Our theories of organizational adaptation lack the capacity to explain what will be needed on behalf of business organizations, and their strategists and managers, to adjust to these...

The construct of identity play, which involves the exploration and experimentation with possible future selves, is underexplored in organizational literature. To extend theory on identity play, we take a narrative inquiry approach and examine qualitative interview data in the context of virtual environments. Using a sociomateriality perspective, we...

This study explains how managers’ perceptions of pressure from competitors and industry associations to adopt environmental practices are associated with the adoption of such practices, and firm performance in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in fragmented industries. First, we hypothesize, in fragmented industries, perceived weaker compe...

Research Summary : Organizations face tensions to conform to industry norms for legitimacy yet differentiate for competitive advantage when implementing strategies. We suggest this tension is due to and resolved through organizations’ cognitive negotiations of multiple levels of identity. Through an inductive study in the recreational vehicle indus...

This article explores differences in the degrees of agreement regarding sustainability among adopters and nonadopters of environmental certified management standards (ECMS). Utilizing a mixed methodological approach called cultural consensus modeling, I investigate whether and how the adoption of ECMS is associated with how organizations understand...

Qualitative researchers utilize comparative and case-based methods to develop theory through elaboration or abduction. They pursue research in intermediate fields where some but not all relevant constructs are known (Edmonson & McManus, 2007). When cases and comparisons move beyond a few, it threatens researchers with information overload. Qualitat...

This paper joins the emerging literature that elevates geography and local social context to more prominent roles in explaining organizational phenomena. We explore personal values that are widely held in communities and their influence on local hybrid companies. In particular, we test whether or not differences in support for other-regarding value...

This study investigates the motivations of small firms to invest limited resources in the adoption of environmental certified management standards (CMS). Specifically, this study develops the perspective that small companies invest in environmental CMS as learning tools to create capabilities in sustainable operations. Through an exploratory study...

Pest birds have long been a significant source of crop loss for grape growers, especially during the critical weeks leading up to harvest when grape sugar levels are high. In Oregon’s Willamette Valley, vineyards have seen a marked increase in crop loss in the last few years despite widespread use of intrusive gas cannons/shotguns and expensive net...