IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ororsc/v26y2015i5p1502-1519.html

Why Are Firms Rigid? A General Framework and Empirical Tests

Author

Listed:
  • Rui J. P. de Figueiredo

    (Haas School of Business and Department of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720)

  • Evan Rawley

    (Columbia Business School, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027)

  • Christopher I. Rider

    (McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057)

Abstract

We present a general framework for understanding why firms are slow to make major strategic changes in a wide range of empirical settings. We then apply this framework to investigate, more specifically, the relationship between firm age and scope in hedge funds. Our empirical analyses demonstrate that younger hedge funds outperform older hedge funds both before and after the launch of a new fund. Based on our framework, these results suggest that age-based rigidity in hedge funds is more attributable to internal political frictions that influence project selection than to constraints associated with exchange partners or implementation costs. We conclude by discussing how our framework can be used to identify the dominant source of rigidity in other contexts.

Suggested Citation

  • Rui J. P. de Figueiredo & Evan Rawley & Christopher I. Rider, 2015. "Why Are Firms Rigid? A General Framework and Empirical Tests," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(5), pages 1502-1519, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:26:y:2015:i:5:p:1502-1519
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.2015.0998
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2015.0998
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/orsc.2015.0998?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. James G. March, 1991. "Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 71-87, February.
    2. Lamar Pierce, 2012. "Organizational Structure and the Limits of Knowledge Sharing: Incentive Conflict and Agency in Car Leasing," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(6), pages 1106-1121, June.
    3. Timothy Dunne & Mark J. Roberts & Larry Samuelson, 1988. "Patterns of Firm Entry and Exit in U.S. Manufacturing Industries," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 19(4), pages 495-515, Winter.
    4. Yakov Amihud & Baruch Lev, 1981. "Risk Reduction as a Managerial Motive for Conglomerate Mergers," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 12(2), pages 605-617, Autumn.
    5. Fung, William & Hsieh, David A, 2001. "The Risk in Hedge Fund Strategies: Theory and Evidence from Trend Followers," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 14(2), pages 313-341.
    6. Evan Rawley, 2010. "Diversification, coordination costs, and organizational rigidity: evidence from microdata," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(8), pages 873-891, August.
    7. David J. Teece, 2003. "Towards an Economic Theory of the Multiproduct Firm," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Essays In Technology Management And Policy Selected Papers of David J Teece, chapter 15, pages 419-446, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    8. Rui J. P. de Figueiredo, Jr. & Evan Rawley, 2011. "Skill, Luck, and the Multiproduct Firm: Evidence from Hedge Funds," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 57(11), pages 1963-1978, November.
    9. Evans, David S, 1987. "The Relationship between Firm Growth, Size, and Age: Estimates for 100 Manufacturing Industries," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 567-581, June.
    10. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 2008. "Theory of the firm: managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," RAE - Revista de Administração de Empresas, FGV-EAESP Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo (Brazil), vol. 48(2), April.
    11. Steven Klepper, 2007. "Disagreements, Spinoffs, and the Evolution of Detroit as the Capital of the U.S. Automobile Industry," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(4), pages 616-631, April.
    12. Giovanni Gavetti & Daniel Levinthal & William Ocasio, 2007. "Perspective---Neo-Carnegie: The Carnegie School’s Past, Present, and Reconstructing for the Future," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(3), pages 523-536, June.
    13. Antoinette Schoar, 2002. "Effects of Corporate Diversification on Productivity," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(6), pages 2379-2403, December.
    14. Timothy Dunne & Mark J. Roberts & Larry Samuelson, 1989. "The Growth and Failure of U. S. Manufacturing Plants," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 104(4), pages 671-698.
    15. Nicolaj Siggelkow, 2003. "Why Focus? A Study Of Intra‐Industry Focus Effects," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 121-150, June.
    16. Vinit M. Desai, 2008. "Constrained Growth: How Experience, Legitimacy, and Age Influence Risk Taking in Organizations," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(4), pages 594-608, August.
    17. Jovanovic, Boyan, 1982. "Selection and the Evolution of Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(3), pages 649-670, May.
    18. Iacus, Stefano M. & King, Gary & Porro, Giuseppe, 2012. "Causal Inference without Balance Checking: Coarsened Exact Matching," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 1-24, January.
    19. Jose Manuel Campa & Simi Kedia, 2002. "Explaining the Diversification Discount," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(4), pages 1731-1762, August.
    20. Claudine Gartenberg, 2014. "Do Parents Matter? Effects of Lender Affiliation Through the Mortgage Boom and Bust," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(11), pages 2776-2793, November.
    21. Brian S. Silverman, 1999. "Technological Resources and the Direction of Corporate Diversification: Toward an Integration of the Resource-Based View and Transaction Cost Economics," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(8), pages 1109-1124, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mo Chen & Aseem Kaul & Brian Wu, 2019. "Adaptation across multiple landscapes: Relatedness, complexity, and the long run effects of coordination in diversified firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(11), pages 1791-1821, November.
    2. Jin Li & Arijit Mukherjee & Luis Vasconcelos, 2023. "What Makes Agility Fragile? A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Rigidity," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(6), pages 3578-3601, June.
    3. Gavin M. Schwarz & Kuo-Pin Yang & Christine Chou & Yu-Jen Chiu, 2020. "A classification of structural inertia: Variations in structural response," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 33-63, March.
    4. Tor Eriksson & Jaime Ortega, 2025. "Organizational structure and high-performance work practices," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 34(3), pages 502-530.
    5. repec:rnp:ppaper:r90212 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Evan Rawley & Robert Seamans, 2020. "Internal agglomeration and productivity: Evidence from microdata," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(10), pages 1770-1798, October.
    7. Tuhin Chaturvedi & John E. Prescott, 2022. "Resource Reconfiguration During Technological Change," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 7(3), pages 240-265, September.
    8. Tatsuo USHIJIMA, 2021. "The Liability of Aging in Internal Capital Markets," Discussion papers 21065, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    9. Dongil D. Keum, 2020. "Cog in the wheel: Resource release and the scope of interdependencies in corporate adjustment activities," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(2), pages 175-197, February.
    10. Maleva, Tatyana Mikhailovna (Малева, Татьяна Михайловна) & Gorlin, Yury Mikhailovich (Горлин, Юрий Михайлович) & Nazarov, Vladimir (Назаров, Владимир) & Grishina, Elena E. (Гришина, Елена Е.) & Kirill, 2014. "Creation and Development of Corporate Retirement Systems in the Russian Federation [Создание И Развитие Корпоративных Пенсионных Систем В Российской Федерации]," Published Papers om26, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Emilie R. Feldman & Claudine Gartenberg & Julie Wulf, 2018. "Pay inequality and corporate divestitures," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(11), pages 2829-2858, November.
    2. Gabriel Natividad & Evan Rawley, 2016. "Interdependence and Performance: A Natural Experiment in Firm Scope," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 1(1), pages 12-31, March.
    3. Rui J. P. de Figueiredo, Jr. & Evan Rawley, 2011. "Skill, Luck, and the Multiproduct Firm: Evidence from Hedge Funds," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 57(11), pages 1963-1978, November.
    4. Mo Chen & Aseem Kaul & Brian Wu, 2019. "Adaptation across multiple landscapes: Relatedness, complexity, and the long run effects of coordination in diversified firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(11), pages 1791-1821, November.
    5. Emmanuelle Fauchart & Max Keilbach, 2009. "Testing a model of exploration and exploitation as innovation strategies," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 33(3), pages 257-272, October.
    6. Ushijima, Tatsuo, 2005. "Internal capital market and the growth and survival of Japanese plants in the United States," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 366-385, September.
    7. Marco S. Giarratana & Martina Pasquini & Juan Santaló, 2021. "Leveraging synergies versus resource redeployment: Sales growth and variance in product portfolios of diversified firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(12), pages 2245-2272, December.
    8. Francisco Brahm & Jorge Tarzijan & Marcos Singer, 2017. "The Impact of Frictions in Routine Execution on Economies of Scope," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(10), pages 2121-2142, October.
    9. Josep-Maria Arauzo-Carod & Agustí Segarra-Blasco, 2005. "The Determinants of Entry are not Independent of Start-up Size: Some Evidence from Spanish Manufacturing," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 27(2), pages 147-165, September.
    10. Claudine Gartenberg & Julie Wulf, 2017. "Pay Harmony? Social Comparison and Performance Compensation in Multibusiness Firms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(1), pages 39-55, February.
    11. Vojislav Maksimovic & Gordon Phillips, 2005. "The Industry Life Cycle and Acquisitions and Investment: Does Firm Organization Matter?," Working Papers 05-29, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    12. Rui Baptista & Murat Karaöz & João Correia Leitão, 2020. "Diversification by young, small firms: the role of pre-entry resources and entry mistakes," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 103-122, June.
    13. Blonigen, Bruce A. & Tomlin, KaSaundra, 2001. "Size and growth of Japanese plants in the United States," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 931-952, May.
    14. Mehmet Ali Köseoglu & John A. Parnell & Melissa Yan Yee Yick, 2021. "Identifying influential studies and maturity level in intellectual structure of fields: evidence from strategic management," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(2), pages 1271-1309, February.
    15. Villalonga, Belen, 2000. "Does Diversification Cause the “Diversification Discount”?," University of California at Los Angeles, Anderson Graduate School of Management qt40v212gm, Anderson Graduate School of Management, UCLA.
    16. Brahmana, Rayenda Khresna & Setiawan, Doddy & Hooy, Chee Wooi, 2014. "Diversification strategy, Ownership Structure, and Firm Value: a study of public‐listed firms in Indonesia," MPRA Paper 64607, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Emmanuelle Fortune-Devlaminckx & Josef Haunschmied, 2010. "Diversity of firm’s life cycle adapted from the firm’s technology investment decision," Central European Journal of Operations Research, Springer;Slovak Society for Operations Research;Hungarian Operational Research Society;Czech Society for Operations Research;Österr. Gesellschaft für Operations Research (ÖGOR);Slovenian Society Informatika - Section for Operational Research;Croatian Operational Research Society, vol. 18(4), pages 477-489, December.
    18. Xiao, Jing, 2018. "Post-acquisition dynamics of technology start-ups: drawing the temporal boundaries of post-acquisition restructuring process," Papers in Innovation Studies 2018/12, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    19. Stuart Kauffman & Jose Lobo & William G. Macready, 1998. "Optimal Search on a Technology Landscape," Research in Economics 98-10-091e, Santa Fe Institute.
    20. John Sutton, 1996. "Gibrats Legacy," STICERD - Economics of Industry Papers 14, Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, LSE.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:26:y:2015:i:5:p:1502-1519. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.