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How and Why Theories Matter: A Comment on Felin and Foss (2009)

Author

Listed:
  • Fabrizio Ferraro

    (IESE Business School, 08034 Barcelona, Spain)

  • Jeffrey Pfeffer

    (Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305)

  • Robert I. Sutton

    (Department of Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305)

Abstract

Theories matter because they affect behavior and can, under certain circumstances, become self-fulfilling. For a theory to become self-fulfilling, people must be aware of the theory and have the ability to make choices according to its dictates, social and physical arrangements are altered on the basis of the theory's prescriptions, and the proponents have the power to implement social arrangements consistent with the theory. Economics and other social science theories often fulfill these conditions, with implications not only for the work of scholars, but also for how we think about testing theories that can change the world they describe.

Suggested Citation

  • Fabrizio Ferraro & Jeffrey Pfeffer & Robert I. Sutton, 2009. "How and Why Theories Matter: A Comment on Felin and Foss (2009)," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(3), pages 669-675, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:20:y:2009:i:3:p:669-675
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1090.0432
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Pucci, Richard & Skærbæk, Peter, 2020. "The co-performation of financial economics in accounting standard-setting: A study of the translation of the expected credit loss model in IFRS 9," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    3. Paula Gabriela Núñez & Carolina Lara Michel & Paula Alejandra Leal Tejeda & Martín Andrés Núñez, 2020. "Rural Women’s Invisible Work in Census and State Rural Development Plans: The Argentinean Patagonian Case," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-25, March.
    4. Kevin Morrell & Ian Clark, 2010. "Private Equity and the Public Good," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(2), pages 249-263, October.
    5. Mark J. Zbaracki & Mark Bergen, 2010. "When Truces Collapse: A Longitudinal Study of Price-Adjustment Routines," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(5), pages 955-972, October.
    6. Joep P. Cornelissen, 2017. "Preserving Theoretical Divergence in Management Research: Why the Explanatory Potential of Qualitative Research Should Be Harnessed Rather than Suppressed," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(3), pages 368-383, May.
    7. Naveed Yazdani & Hasan Murad, 2015. "Toward an Ethical Theory of Organizing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(2), pages 399-417, March.
    8. Franck Bailly, 2022. "When mainstream economics does human resource management: a critique of personnel economics’ prescriptive ambition," Post-Print hal-03711945, HAL.
    9. Teppo Felin & Nicolai J. Foss, 2009. "Performativity of Theory, Arbitrary Conventions, and Possible Worlds: A Reality Check," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(3), pages 676-678, May.
    10. Danny Miller & Xiaowei Xu, 2019. "MBA CEOs, Short-Term Management and Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(2), pages 285-300, January.
    11. Yang, ChunLei & Modell, Sven, 2015. "Shareholder orientation and the framing of management control practices: A field study in a Chinese state-owned enterprise," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 1-23.
    12. Maurizio Massaro & Carlo Bagnoli & Francesca Dal Mas, 2020. "The role of human sustainability in professional service firms. Evidence from Italy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2668-2678, September.
    13. Kallifatides, Markus, 2011. "Crisis and hyper-ideological (un)consciousness," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 140-150, March.
    14. Laure Cabantous & Jean-Pascal Gond, 2011. "Rational Decision Making as Performative Praxis: Explaining Rationality's Éternel Retour," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(3), pages 573-586, June.
    15. Frank Bailly, 2022. "When mainstream economics does human resource management: a critique of personnel economics' prescriptive ambition," PSL Quarterly Review, Economia civile, vol. 75(301), pages 103-117.

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