Papers by William H Starbuck
Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, Jan 10, 2020
Social Science Research Network, Nov 13, 2004
Proceedings - Academy of Management, Aug 1, 1984
Social Science Research Network, Mar 31, 2011
ABSTRACT The history of the behavioral and social sciences contains endless sequences of conceptu... more ABSTRACT The history of the behavioral and social sciences contains endless sequences of conceptual and methodological fads. Disappointed with the results of their current concepts and methods, researchers pursue new topics or approaches in the hope that they will bring better results. In time, however, the new fads too disappoint. The wide spread and persistence of disappointment evidence the influence of common and fundamental misbeliefs about scientific methodology. This article points to the detrimental effects of four specific misbeliefs: that research lends itself to mass production, that mechanistic descriptions adequately portray behavioral and social processes, that generalizations ought to be broad, and that statistical methods provide useful insights even if researchers misuse them. Detrimental ideas such as these can survive scrutiny and evaluation because researchers cannot agree about what effective research looks like. Lacking reliable indicators of research effectiveness, researchers both flit capriciously from one idea to another and adhere stubbornly to unproductive ideas.
Social Science Research Network, Jul 1, 2008
Current approaches to organization design rely on static, mechanistic ideas that are often out of... more Current approaches to organization design rely on static, mechanistic ideas that are often out of touch with changing realities. Specifically, organizations commit to plans that they then use to guide the matching of organization structures and environmental demands. Though environments change and structures evolve, the design process ignores the implications of this evolution. In a changing world, a continued reliance on static and unchanging organization design leads to undesired results and widespread dissatisfaction. This chapter seeks to stimulate renewed interest in research about efforts to improve organizational structures and processes – organization design. To build a scientific base for design, research must develop concepts and propositions that suggest opportunities and options for designs and designing.
The Production of Knowledge, 2006
The Production of Knowledge, 2006
This chapter discusses a variety of problems that were experienced regarding research methodology... more This chapter discusses a variety of problems that were experienced regarding research methodology and the conceptualizations of topics from the 1950s to the 2000s. Although a chronological approach may cause confusion, the book uses this approach because it will allow the readers to relate through their own experience. Although the book has attempted to report personal experiences accurately, this chapter explains that our brains alter our memories for the events to seem more logical. Objective facts regarding several of the events that the book enlists therefore did not existed as some people may have observed and they may have remembered the events differently. The book assumes that generalizations about organizations are based on changes in education, occupational and task specialization, technologies, and other such social and technological changes during the last half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.
In addition to helping advance theory, replication studies offer rich and complementary learning ... more In addition to helping advance theory, replication studies offer rich and complementary learning experiences for doctoral students, enabling them to learn general research skills, through the process of striving to imitate good studies. In addition, students gain replication-specific methodological skills and learn about the important roles replications play for making management knowledge trustworthy. We outline best practices for enabling doctoral students and their supervisors to select studies to replicate, execute their replications, and increase the probability of successfully publishing their findings. We also discuss the crucial role of faculty mentors in supporting and guiding replication-based learning of doctoral students. Ultimately, educating doctoral students on how to execute high-quality replication studies helps to answer wider calls for more replication studies in the field of management, an important stepping stone along the journey toward open and responsible research.
Proceedings - Academy of Management, Aug 1, 2023
This symposium will introduce and discuss how scholars can improve upon statistical significance ... more This symposium will introduce and discuss how scholars can improve upon statistical significance tests, which continue to constrain the production of knowledge in management science. The extensive use of these tests in quantitative research has led to the accumulation of "statistically significant" results that are both too small to be practically relevant and so small that they are unlikely to replicate. A field that aspires to provide useful advice to managers needs to focus on practically important and robust effects. The proposed symposium introduces and discusses alternative approaches to overcome the limitations of statistical significance tests-such as, effect size measures, confidence intervals, graphs, meta-analyses, baseline modeling and the implications of these approaches for the accumulation of scientific knowledge. A final "Question and Answer" session will offer additional opportunities for further discussions, advice and recommendations.
Proceedings - Academy of Management, Jul 1, 2012
This paper builds on a discussion in the 1960s among agricultural economists about the value of b... more This paper builds on a discussion in the 1960s among agricultural economists about the value of baseline models for research investigations. Meaningful baseline models can both raise the theoretica...
Proceedings - Academy of Management, Aug 1, 2019
Proceedings - Academy of Management, Aug 1, 2018
Academy of Management Review, Jul 1, 1982
American Political Science Review, Jun 1, 1982
Social Science Research Network, Apr 1, 2013
Purpose – This chapter reports on a rapidly growing trend in data analysis – analytic comparisons... more Purpose – This chapter reports on a rapidly growing trend in data analysis – analytic comparisons between baseline models and explanatory models. Baseline models estimate values for the dependent variable in the absence of hypothesized causal effects. Thus, the baseline models discussed in this chapter differ from the baseline models commonly used in sequential regression analyses. Baseline modeling entails iteration: (1) Researchers develop baseline models to capture key patterns in the empirical data that are independent of the hypothesized effects. (2) They compare these patterns with the patterns implied by their explanatory models. (3) They use the derived insights to improve their explanatory models. (4) They iterate by comparing their improved explanatory models with modified baseline models. Methodology/approach – The chapter draws on methodological literature in economics, applied psychology, and the philosophy of science to point out fundamental features of baseline modeling. Examples come from research in international business and management, emerging market economies, and developing countries. Findings – Baseline modeling offers substantial advantages for theory development. Although analytic comparisons with baseline models originated in some research fields as early as the 1960s, they have not been widely discussed or applied in international management. Practical implications – Baseline modeling takes a more inductive and iterative approach to modeling and theory development. Originality/value of paper – Because baseline modeling holds substantial potential, international-management scholars should explore its opportunities for advancing scientific progress.
Proceedings - Academy of Management, Aug 1, 2019
This symposium will introduce and discuss how scholars can improve upon statistical significance ... more This symposium will introduce and discuss how scholars can improve upon statistical significance tests, which continue to constrain the production of knowledge in management science. The extensive ...
Social Science Research Network, 2016
Research articles often give inaccurate information about how researchers developed hypotheses, a... more Research articles often give inaccurate information about how researchers developed hypotheses, analyzed data, and drew conclusions. Published articles sometimes report only some of the hypotheses that researchers tested, or some of the statistical analyses that researchers made. Articles often imply that researchers formulated all hypotheses before they examined their data when in fact they added or deleted hypotheses after they made some data analyses. Indeed, such covert practices are so common that new entrants into management research may think they are correct behavior. Yet, these practices create false impressions about the validity of research and they undermine the openness that ought to create trust among researchers. Researchers have tried to halt these practices by labeling them "unethical" but their continued prevalence questions the effectiveness of wholly critical approaches. This article proposes a constructive path toward reform: advocating honesty about actual research processes by adding discussions of inferences drawn after data analyses. Post-hoc data analyses can stimulate important theoretical ideas; running alternative statistical models can deepen understanding of empirical patterns; lack of support for hypotheses can identify incorrect or incomplete theories. The management research culture should encourage these practices. The negative effects result from the lack of explicit reporting about them.
Proceedings - Academy of Management, 2015
This symposium will introduce and discuss how scholars can improve upon the Null Hypothesis Signi... more This symposium will introduce and discuss how scholars can improve upon the Null Hypothesis Significance Tests (NHSTs), which are currently constraining the production of knowledge in management sc...
Emerald Group Publishing Limited eBooks, 2013
• Purpose-This chapter reports on a rapidly growing trend in data analysis-analytic comparisons b... more • Purpose-This chapter reports on a rapidly growing trend in data analysis-analytic comparisons between baseline models and explanatory models. Baseline models estimate values for the dependent variable in the absence of hypothesized causal effects. Thus, the baseline models discussed in this chapter differ from the baseline models commonly used in sequential regression analyses. Baseline modeling entails iteration: (1) Researchers develop baseline models to capture key patterns in the empirical data that are independent of the hypothesized effects. (2) They compare these patterns with the patterns implied by their explanatory models. (3) They use the derived insights to improve their explanatory models. (4) They iterate by comparing their improved explanatory models with modified baseline models.
PREFACE PART A: ORGANIZATIONS' ADAPTIVE CAPABILITIES PART B: THE IMPLICATIONS OF SOCIETAL ENV... more PREFACE PART A: ORGANIZATIONS' ADAPTIVE CAPABILITIES PART B: THE IMPLICATIONS OF SOCIETAL ENVIRONMENTS PART C: INTERACTIONS IN INTERORGANIZATIONAL NETWORKS
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Papers by William H Starbuck