The diffusion of identity, status, and stigma across organizations and markets
General Material Designation
[Thesis]
Subsequent Statement of Responsibility
;supervisor: Phillips, Damon J.
.PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC
Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.
The University of Chicago: United States -- Illinois
Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.
: 2013
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item
323 Pages
DISSERTATION (THESIS) NOTE
Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree
Ph.D.
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
Why and how do audience perceptions about a firm affect not only the focal firm's behavior and outcomes but also those of its related others? Although the consequences of audience perceptions about the firm across various dimensions have been amply examined at the intersection of organizational theories and strategic management research, little efforts have been devoted to understanding the extent to which the firm's relational affiliations with clients and geographic locations affect audience perceptions about that firm, have diffuse consequences across organizations and markets, and depend on the specific social context. Using the rise of a global form across U.S. law firms as well as the impact of corporate misconduct in the legal industry as test cases, three studies constituting this dissertation seek to address the above theoretical question. In particular, this work illuminates the ways in which the vertical dimension of relational affiliations with clients and cities guide firm behavior at the organizational, interorganizational, and population level, resulting in (i) the diffusion of a new form across organizations (Chapter 2); (ii) the formation of new market ties across national markets (Chapter 3); (iii) the dissolution of existing interorganizational ties (Chapter 4), and how its impact on each of these behavior and outcome is contingent on the specificities of the particular social and historical context.