Pamela S. Tolbert’s research while affiliated with Cornell University and other places

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Publications (71)


Converging Tides Lift All Boats: Consensus in Evaluation Criteria Boosts Investments in Firms in Nascent Technology Sectors
  • Article
  • Full-text available

September 2021

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63 Reads

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7 Citations

Organization Science

Xirong (Subrina) Shen

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Pamela S. Tolbert

Although previous studies show that the emergence of evaluation criteria for a new technology improves the life chances of well-performing firms, we theorize that consensus in such criteria among technology experts increases investments to all firms in the new sector. We provide a variety of supportive evidence for this claim. First, in an experiment with 80 Chinese investors (Study 1), we provide evidence of a causal relation between evaluation consensus and investments. We follow this with a second experiment with 412 U.S. participants (Study 2), showing that evaluation criteria consensus increases participants’ propensity to view a firm as technologically competent and to expect others to favor investing in the firm. Analyses of longitudinal archival data on investment in artificial intelligence technology firms in the United States (Study 3a) and China (Study 3b) support the generalizability of our findings. By exploring the social-cognitive processes that link evaluation criteria consensus to investors’ decisions to invest in firms in nascent technology fields, this paper advances the scholarly understanding of the microfoundations of the institutionalization processes in new market sectors. History: This paper has been accepted for the Organization Science Special Issue on Experiments in Organizational Theory. Funding: This work was supported by Cornell University (Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Technology Theme Research Grant, Jeffrey S. Lehman Fund for Scholarly Exchange with China). Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2021.1493 .

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From protective to connective professionalism: Quo Vadis professional exclusivity?

July 2020

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67 Reads

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25 Citations

Journal of Professions and Organization

This essay is composed of commentaries from four scholars critically evaluating Noordegraaf’s article ‘Protective or Connective Professionalism? How Connected Professionals Can (Still) Act as Autonomous and Authoritative Experts’. All four scholars, in different ways and from their different perspectives, question the dichotomy at the heart of Noordegraaf’s article, arguing that professionals have always been connective and connected, and moreover, that protective professionalism has not disappeared. They recommend more conceptual development to unpack the changing nature of connectivity and protectionism, as well as more attention to inequalities within and among professions, power, and professional agency.





Organizational Identities of U.S. Art Museums and Audience Reactions

November 2018

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53 Reads

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12 Citations

Poetics

Organizational studies have yielded conflicting answers to the question of whether having a clear, focused organizational identity or a complex, category-spanning one leads to more favorable reactions by external audiences. We propose one approach to reconciling apparently divergent findings by focusing on the social roles and relative importance of different audience segments for different organizational outcomes. Using longitudinal data on U.S. art museums, we examine four hypotheses concerning audience responses to museums with complex (e.g., art and science) versus focused (art only) identity. These hypotheses are based on a conceptual distinction among three key audience segments for art museums, elite professional critics, art connoisseurs, and casual consumers, and theorized preferences by each segment for museums with different types of identity. In concluding, we discuss the implications of our arguments and findings for future work on cultural organizations specifically, as well as for other types of organizations.


Microinstitutionalism: Mapping a Research Agenda

July 2018

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88 Reads

Academy of Management Proceedings

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Tim Hallett

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Pamela S. Tolbert

Recently, scholars have begun to transform and expand institutional theory to a multi-level approach that explicitly incorporates the role of micro-processes. Although the emerging research stream of microinstitutionalism has seen much advocacy and enthusiasm, it is still in its infancy and relatively little consensus exists on what exactly microinstitutionalism is or should be. The purpose of this panel symposium is to engage in a discussion of (1) the definition of microinstitutionalism; (2) core research questions in microinstitutionalism; (3) important hurdles in making progress; (4) interfaces to adjacent research streams; and (5) methods that can be employed (among other topics).


Studying Entrepreneurship as an Institution

June 2018

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254 Reads

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5 Citations

The authors propose a research agenda based on the premise that entrepreneurship can and should be viewed as an institution. This approach assumes that typical structures and processes involved in founding new businesses reflect common social understandings held by members of a group about the value of entrepreneurship and how it should be undertaken. It also assumes that these behavioral patterns and social understandings vary by geographic region and over time. An important task in furthering entrepreneurship research based on this approach is identifying key dimensions along which such institutional variation occurs. Here, the authors discuss two main dimensions that we argue merit more focused attention: modes of entry and modes of governance. Drawing on existing literature, they offer a number of hypotheses about conditions that are likely to be associated with group-level variation in each of these dimensions, and the impact of such variations on organizational outcomes.



Citations (58)


... As an important engine of China's economic development, the eastern region has always led in terms of GDP per capita and government expenditure on social security [3]. Universities, research institutions and enterprises in the eastern region possess a large number of patents and scientific and technological achievements [4]. Scientific research institutions have also actively introduced advanced foreign technologies and, through digestion, absorption and re-innovation, have continued to promote the development of scientific and technological innovation [5]. ...

Reference:

Exploring the Path of Green Innovation and High-Quality Development of Influential Regional Enterprises Based on the Analysis of the Dynamic QCA Method and MATLAB Sustainability Prediction
Converging Tides Lift All Boats: Consensus in Evaluation Criteria Boosts Investments in Firms in Nascent Technology Sectors

Organization Science

... Based on these divisions, the results of our study finally highlight the need to further examine how different types of professionalism coexist and interact (Adams et al., 2020a(Adams et al., , 2020b. Are platforms reinforcing one type of professionalism to the detriment of another within a professional group? ...

From protective to connective professionalism: Quo Vadis professional exclusivity?
  • Citing Article
  • July 2020

Journal of Professions and Organization

... Research on micro foundations is defined as studies concentrated on clarifying the relations between forms of behavior in a collectivity and individual-level perceptions and behaviors that create and amend those collective forms (Tolbert & Zucker, 2020). This situates micro foundations as an appropriate lens to explore the role of family, religion, and ethics with institutional theory. ...

What are MicroFoundations? Why and How to Study Them?
  • Citing Chapter
  • November 2019

... Similarly, Tolbert and Darabi (2020) pointed out that different kinds of institutional pressures may generate variations in motives for conformity; they illuminated how the explicit recognition of these motives can explain observed heterogeneity in individual and organizational behavior. ...

Bases of Conformity and Institutional Theory: Understanding Organizational Decision-Making
  • Citing Chapter
  • November 2019

... Studies have proven that organizational identity is constantly changing(Gioia et al., 2010;Meyer et al., 2002, Skalen, 2004. Organizational identity is a powerful indicator and mirror that easily reflects what external audiences perceive the organization's name to be(Noh & Tolbert, 2019). Therefore, the application of environmental management and the effective use of resources enhances the university's green image, which will then increase its competitive advantage(Chen, 2011, Noh & Tolbert, 2019.Key stakeholders in organizations, such as customers, investors, and employees have realized the importance of environmental issues and have become aware of the importance of boycotting organizations with irresponsible environmental activities(Chang & Chen, 2012;Noh & Tolbert, 2019) ...

Organizational Identities of U.S. Art Museums and Audience Reactions
  • Citing Article
  • November 2018

Poetics

... Such benefits include tax breaks for businesses, providing consulting resources and offering loans with favourable rates for new venture creation (Mason and Brown, 2011;Tende, 2014). Sine and David (2010) have also found that these initiatives create effects by promoting particular industries and supporting new ventures, possibly including sustainable new ventures. ...

Institutions and Entrepreneurship
  • Citing Article
  • July 2012

Academy of Management Proceedings

... How the concept of (institutional) logic 2 can help to implement business model ecoinnovation Although institutional theory is prominent in contemporary organizational studies, as stated earlier, ours is one of the rare approaches to the intersection of new business models and sustainability, and mostly follows the works of Tolbert and Coles (2018), Jennings & Hoffman (2018) and Bazzerman & Hoffman (2000). They adhere to the notion of an institution (Scott & Meyer, 1992, in Bazzerman & Hoffman, 2000 as the set of constraints (cultural and contextual) that shape behavioral patterns and justifies certain behaviors and rejects others. ...

Studying Entrepreneurship as an Institution

... In addition, they may be more easily mobilized to attend museum-sponsored activities (e.g. family-centered education programs, lectures by local speakers, etc.), and since art museums with complex identities are likely to reflect the logic of community service than those with focused identities (Noh & Tolbert, 2016), they may be more apt to sponsor such events. Therefore, we predict that, all else equal: ...

"The coevolution of the conflicting institutional logics: US art museums, 1780-2010"
  • Citing Article
  • January 2016

Academy of Management Proceedings

... Recognizing the powerful far-reaching impact of compassion on employees and workplaces, this panel symposium speaks to its interface with workplace inequalities, a major concern alongside the contemporary quest for social responsibility, inclusion and ethics at work (Amis et al., 2021;Tolbert & Castilla, 2017). Indeed, workplace inequalities may persist despite an emphasis on employee dignity and well-being through responsible leadership and sustainable workforce management (Amis et al., 2018(Amis et al., , 2021 as well as efforts towards diversity and inclusion (Tolbert & Castilla, 2017). ...

Editorial Essay: Introduction to a Special Issue on Inequality in the Workplace (“What Works?”)
  • Citing Article
  • January 2017

ILR Review

... According to Peters et al. (2022), an institution is any formal or rules phenomenon that exists outside of the individual level and it's grounded in a set of generally accepted values that shapes behavior. This theory examines how structures such as standards, regulations, and patterns serve as the influencers of social behaviors and this imply that organizations that place a high priority on legitimacy will typically make an effort to modify societal or external expectations (Tolbert & Zucker, 1999). ...

"The institutionalization of institutional theory" in handbook of organization studies
  • Citing Article