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Emulation in Academia: Balancing Structure and Identity

Author

Listed:
  • Giuseppe Labianca

    (Goizueta Business School, 1300 Clifton Road, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322)

  • James F. Fairbank

    (Department of Management and Industrial Relations, College of Business and Economics, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6025, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506)

  • James B. Thomas

    (School of Information Science and Technology, The Pennsylvania State University, 504 Rider Building, 120 South Burrowes Street, University Park, Pennsylvania 16801)

  • Dennis A. Gioia

    (Department of Management and Organization, Smeal College of Business Administration, The Pennsylvania State University, 403 Beam BAB, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802)

  • Elizabeth E. Umphress

    (A.B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana70118)

Abstract

This study seeks to expand our understanding of interorganizational emulation decisions made by top administrators in a broad sample of American colleges and universities. We analyze their emulation choices and show that these decision makers tend to emulate universities similar to their own. Our findings suggest, however, that the choice of emulation target within one's industry is not simply a matter of choosing the most structurally similar organization, but rather that identity-related attributes, such as reputation, organizational image, and organizational identity, also play a significant role in the emulation decision. The data also show that industry subgroups based on emulation decisions (strategic reference groups) differ in both structural and identity-related attributes. Further, interorganizational emulation decisions based on tactics of upward comparison (e.g., emulating universities with better reputations) are associated with greater strategic change, while downward comparisons are associated with greater perceived external threat. Finally, the data show that top management's perceptions of the university's level of environmental threat are related to their choice of a more coarse-grained or fine-grained set of attributes when determining the emulation target. We discuss some of these findings’implications for theory and practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Giuseppe Labianca & James F. Fairbank & James B. Thomas & Dennis A. Gioia & Elizabeth E. Umphress, 2001. "Emulation in Academia: Balancing Structure and Identity," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 12(3), pages 312-330, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:12:y:2001:i:3:p:312-330
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.12.3.312.10101
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    11. Vikas Anand & Mahendra Joshi & Anne M. O'Leary-Kelly, 2013. "An Organizational Identity Approach to Strategic Groups," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(2), pages 571-590, April.
    12. Nelarine Cornelius & James Wallace & Rana Tassabehji, 2007. "An Analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Identity and Ethics Teaching in Business Schools," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 76(1), pages 117-135, November.
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    14. Elena Ageeva & Pantea Foroudi & T. C. Melewar & Bang Nguyen & Charles Dennis, 2020. "A Holistic Framework of Corporate Website Favourability," Corporate Reputation Review, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(3), pages 201-214, August.
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    16. Vikki Boliver & Mandy Powell & Tiago Moreira, 2018. "Organisational Identity as a Barrier to Widening Access in Scottish Universities," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 7(9), pages 1-16, September.
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