Donald C. Hambrick
The Pennsylvania State University
Smeal College of Business

Home

Biosketch

Professional Activities and Awards

For MBA & EMBA Students:

• Strategy Implementation and Organizational Change Syllabus

For Researchers & Doctoral Students:

• List of Publications
• Abstracts of Recent Publications and Working Papers
• Research in Progress
• Doctoral Students Supervised
• Doctoral Seminar In Strategic Management Syllabus

For Executives:

• Publications Oriented to Executives
• Independent Consulting

Professor Donald C. Hambrick
Office: 414 Business Building
Phone: 863-0917
E-mail: dch14@psu.edu

Course Description
This course involves a critical review of theory and research in the field of strategic management. The scope of the course is comprehensive, encompassing the following domains: strategic content, strategic processes, top executives, and corporate governance. Particular emphasis is placed on empirical study of strategic issues.

The course is intended primarily for doctoral students who expect to conduct research in strategic management or related areas (e.g., organizational behavior, marketing strategy, corporate finance, industrial organization, sociology of organizations, organization theory, or complex decision making).

Each week we will examine a sub-field of strategic management. Our approach will typically involve reading the seminal works (or recent summaries or syntheses) on the topic and examining in depth several empirical works.

Requirements
Each student will write a fully-developed research proposal dealing with a topic in the strategy field. The proposal is expected to include 1) conceptual background, 2) theory development and hypotheses, and 3) methodology.

There will be a take-home final examination consisting of several questions of an integrative nature.

Overall grading criteria are as follows:

Class participation (including leading research critiques) 1/3
Research proposal 1/3
Final exam 1/3

Readings
Course materials consist of excerpts from several books and numerous articles/papers.

1. Overview and Origins of the Field of Strategic Management

Andrews, K.R., 1971. The Concept of Corporate Strategy. (Chapters 1 and 2). Irwin.

Schendel, D.E. & Hofer, C.W., 1979. Strategic Management: A new view of business policy and planning. (1-22, 515-530). Little Brown.

Evered, R., 1980. "Review of Schendel and Hofer." Administrative Science Quarterly, 536-543.

Rumelt, R.P., Schendel, D., & Teece, R.J., 1994. "History of strategic management," Fundamental Issues in Strategy: A research agenda. (9-24). HBS Press.

Hoskisson, R., Hitt, M., Wan, W., & Yiu, D., 1999. "Theory and research in strategic management: Swings of a pendulum." Journal of Management, 417-456.

Nag, R., Hambrick, D.C., & Chen, M.J., 2007. "What is strategic management, really? Inductive derivation of a consensus definition of the field." Strategic Management Journal, 935-955.

Hambrick, D.C. & Chen, M.J., 2008. "New academic fields as admittance-seeking social movements: The case of strategic management." Academy of Management Review, 32-54.

2. Conceptualizing and Operationalizing Strategy

Chandler, A.D., 1962. Strategy and Structure: Chapters in the History of American Industrial Enterprise. (1-162). MIT

Miles, R.E. and Snow, C.C., 1978. Organizational Strategy, Structure and Process. (Chapters 1-7). McGraw-Hill

Mintzberg, H., 1978. "Patterns in strategy formation." Management Science, 934-948.

Snow, C.C. and Hambrick, D.C., 1980. "Measuring organizational strategies: Some theoretical and methodological problems." Academy of Management Review, 527-538.

Inkpen, A. and Choudhury, N., 1995. "The seeking of strategy where it is not: Towards a theory of strategy absence." Strategic Management Journal, 313-323.

Porter, M.E., 1996. "What is strategy?" Harvard Business Review, 61-78.

Siggelkow, N., 2002. "Evolution toward fit." Administrative Science Quarterly, 125-159.

3. Industrial Organization Economics View of Strategy

Porter, M.E., 1980. Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitor Analysis. (Chapters 1-3). Free Press.

Porter, M.E., 1981. "The contributions of industrial organization to strategic management." Academy of Management Review, 609-620.

Schmalensee, R., 1985. "Do markets differ much?" American Economic Review, 341-351.

Cool, K.O. & Schendel, D., 1987. "Strategic group formation and performance: The case of the U.S. pharmaceutical industry, 1963-1982." Management Science, 1102-1124.

Rumelt, R.P., 1991. "How much does industry matter?" Strategic Management Journal, 167-185.

Powell, T.C., 1996. "How much does industry matter? An alternative empirical test." Strategic Management Journal, 323-334.

4. Resource-Based View of Strategy

Wernerfelt, B., 1984. "A resource-based view of the firm." Strategic Management Journal, 171-180.

Barney, J., 1991. "Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage." Journal of Management, 99-120.

Peteraf, M.A., 1993. "The cornerstones of competitive advantage: A resource-based view." Strategic Management Journal, 179-191.

Henderson, R. & Cockburn, I., 1994. "Measuring competence? Exploring firm effects in pharmaceutical research." Strategic Management Journal, 63-84.

Eisenhardt, K.M. & Martin, J.A., 2000. "Dynamic capabilities: What are they?" Strategic Management Journal, (Special Issue) 1105-1121.

Priem, R. & Butler, J., 2001. "Is the resource-based view a useful perspective for strategic management research?" Academy of Management Review, 22-40.

Adner, R. & Helfat, C.R., 2003. "Corporate effects and dynamic managerial capabilities." Strategic Management Journal, 1011-1025.

Arend, R.J., 2006. "Tests of the resource-based view: Do the empirics have any clothes?" Strategic Organization, 409-421.

5. Schumpeterian/Dynamic View of Strategy

MacMillan, I.C., McCaffery, M.L. & Van Wijk, G., 1985. "Competitors' responses to easily imitated new products - Exploring commercial banking product introductions." Strategic Management Journal, 75-86.

D'Aveni, R., 1994. (Introduction) Hypercompetition: Managing the dynamics of strategic maneuvering. (1-36). Free Press.

Jacobson, R., 1992. "The 'Austrian' school of strategy." Academy of Management Review, 782-807.

Chen, M-J, Smith, K.G., & Grimm, C.M., 1992. "Action characteristics as predictors of competitive responses." Management Science, 439-455.

Ferrier, W.J., Smith, K.G., & Grimm, C.M., 1999. "The role of competitive action in market share erosion and industry dethronement: A study of industry leaders and challengers." Academy of Management Journal, 372-388.

Shamsie, J., Phelps, C., & Kuperman, J., 2004. "Better late than never: A study of late entrants in household electrical equipment." Strategic Management Journal, 69-84.

6. Learning and Knowledge-Based View of Strategy

Lieberman, M., 1984. "The learning curve and pricing in the chemical processing industries." Rand Journal of Economics, 213-228.

Cohen, W.M. & Levinthal, D.A., 1990. "Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation." Administrative Science Quarterly, 128-152

Haleblian, J. & Finkelstein, S., 1999. "The influence of organizational acquisition experience on acquisition performance: A behavioral learning perspective." Administrative Science Quarterly, 29-56.

Hayward, M.L.A., 2002. "When do firms learn from their acquisition experience? Evidence from 1990-1995." Strategic Management Journal, 21-39.

Benner, M.J. & Tushman, M., 2002. "Process management and technological innovation: A longitudinal study of the photography and paint industries." Administrative Science Quarterly, 676-706.

Zollo, M. & Singh, H., 2004. "Deliberate learning in corporate acquisitions: Post-acquisition strategies and integration capability in U.S. bank mergers." Strategic Management Journal, 1233-1256.

7. Corporate-Level Strategy: Product-Market Diversification

Rumelt, R.P., 1974. Strategy, Structure, and Economic Performance. (1-127). Harvard.

Bettis, R.A., 1981. "Performance differences in related and unrelated diversified firms." Strategic Management Journal, 379-393.

Rumelt, R.P., 1982. "Diversification strategy and profitability." Strategic Management Journal, 359-369.

Palich, L.E., Cardinal, L.B., & Miller, C.C., 2000. "Curvilinearity in the diversification-performance linkage: An examination of over three decades of research." Strategic Management Journal, 155-174.

Bowman, E.H. & Helfat, C.E., 2001. "Does corporate strategy matter?" Strategic Management Journal, 1-23.

Chakratarti, A., Singh, K., & Mahmood, I., 2007. "Diversification and performance: Evidence from east Asian firms." Strategic Management Journal, 101-120.

8. Corporate-Level Strategy: Altering the Scope of the Firm

Duhaime, I.M. & Grant, J.H., 1984. "Factors influencing divestment decision-making: Evidence from a field study." Strategic Management Journal, 301-318.

Bethel, J.E. & Liebeskind, J., 1993. "The effects of ownership structure on corporate restructuring." Strategic Management Journal, 15-31.

Wiersema, M.F. & Bantel, K.A., 1992. "Top management team demography and corporate strategic change." Academy of Management Journal, 91-121.

Capron, L., Mitchell, W., & Swaminathan, A., 2001. "Asset divestiture following horizontal acquisitions: A dynamic view." Strategic Management Journal, 817-844.

Villalonga, B. & McGahan, A.M., 2005. "The choice among acquisitions, alliances, and divestitures." Strategic Management Journal, 1183-1208.

Hayward, M.L.A. & Shimizu, K., 2006. "De-commitment to losing strategic action: Evidence from the divestiture of poorly performing acquisitions." Strategic Management Journal, 541-557.

9. International Strategy

Kobrin, S., 1991. "An empirical analysis of the determinants of global integration." Strategic Management Journal, 17-31.

Mitchell, W., Shaver, J.M., & Yeung, B., 1992. "Getting there in a global industry: Impacts on performance of changing international presence." Strategic Management Journal, 419-432.

Birkinshaw, J., Morrison, A., & Hulland, J., 1995. "Structural and competitive determinants of a global integration strategy." Strategic Management Journal, 637-655.

Gupta, A., & Govindarajan, V., 2000. "Knowledge flows within multinational corporations." Strategic Management Journal, 473-496.

Vermeulen, F. & Barkema, H., 2002. "Pace, rhythm, and scope: Process dependence in building a profitable multinational corporation." Strategic Management Journal, 637-653.

Frynas, J.G., Mellahi, K., & Pigman, G.A., 2006. "First mover advantages in international business and firm-specific political resources." Strategic Management Journal, 321-345.

10. Top Executives and the Upper-Echelons Perspective

Hambrick, D. & Mason, P., 1984. "Upper echelons: The organization as a reflection of its top managers." Academy of Management Review, 193-206.

Eisenhardt, K.M. & Schoonhoven, C.B., 1990. "Organizational growth: Linking founding team, strategy, environment, and growth among U.S. semiconductor ventures, 1978-1988." Administrative Science Quarterly, 504-529.

Finkelstein, S. & Hambrick, D.C., 1990. "Top management team tenure and organizational outcomes: The moderating role of managerial discretion." Administrative Science Quarterly, 484-503.

Pettigrew, A., 1992. "On studying managerial elites." Strategic Management Journal, 163-182.

Carpenter, M.A., Sanders, W.G., & Gregersen, H.B., 2001. "Bundling human capital with organizational context: The impact of international assignment experience on multinational firm performance and CEO pay." Academy of Management Journal, 493-511.

Hambrick, D.C., 2005. "Upper echelons theory: Origins, twists and turns, and lessons learned," in K.G. Smith and M.A. Hitt (eds.), Great Minds in Management: The Process of Theory Development, 109-127.

Chatterjee, A. & Hambrick, D.C., in press. "It's all about me: Narcissistic CEOs and their effects on company strategy and performance. Administrative Science Quarterly.

11. Governance and Agency Theory

Fama, E., 1980. "Agency problems and the theory of the firm." Journal of Political Economy, 288-307.

Morck, R., Shleifer, A., & Vishny, R., 1988. "Management ownership and market valuation: An empirical analysis." Journal of Financial Economics, 293-315.

Hambrick, D.C. & Finkelstein, S., 1995. "The effects of ownership structure on conditions at the top: The case of CEO pay raises." Strategic Management Journal, 175-193.

Dalton, D., Daily, C., Ellstrand, A., & Johnson J., 1998. "Meta-analytic reviews of board composition, leadership structure, and financial performance." Strategic Management Journal, 269-290.

Lane, P.J., Cannella, A.A., & Lubatkin, M.H., 1998. "Agency problems as antecedents to unrelated mergers and diversification: Amihud and Lev reconsidered." Strategic Management Journal, 555-578.

Westphal, J.D. & Fredrickson, J.W., 2001. "Who directs strategic change? Director experience, the selection of new CEOs, and change in corporate strategy." Strategic Management Journal, 1113-1137.

Wiesenfeld, B., Wurthmann, K., & Hambrick, D.C., forthcoming. "The Stigmatization and devaluation of elites associated with corporate failures: A process model." Academy of Management Review.

12. Strategy and Organizational Design

Teece, D.J., 1981. "Internal organization and economic performance: An empirical analysis of the profitability of principle firms." Journal of Industrial Economics, 173-199.

Hoskisson, R.E., 1987. "Multidivisional structure and performance: The contingency of diversification strategy." Academy of Management Journal, 625-644.

Hill, C.W.L., Hitt, M.A., & Hoskisson, R.A., 1992. "Cooperative versus competitive structures in related and unrelated diversified firms." Organization Science, 501-521.

Amburgey, T. & Dacin, T., 1994. "As the left foot follows the right? The dynamics of strategic and structural change." Academy of Management Journal, 1427-1452.

Siegel, P.A., & Hambrick, D.C., 2005. "Pay disparities within top management groups: Evidence of harmful effects on performance of high-technology firms." Organization Science, 259-274.

Collis, D., Young, D., & Goold, M., 2007. "The size, structure, and performance of corporate headquarters." Strategic Management Journal, 383-405.

13. Strategic Processes: Organizational and Human Limits

Bower, J.L., 1970. Managing the Resource Allocation Process. (Chapters 1, 2, and 3). Harvard Business School.

Mintzberg, H., Raisinghani, D., & Theoret, A., 1976. "The structure of unstructured decision processes." Administrative Science Quarterly, 246-275.

Eisenhardt, K.M. & Bourgeois, L.J., 1988. "Politics of strategic decision making in high-velocity environments: Toward a midrange theory." Academy of Management Journal, 737-770.

Burgelman, R.A., 1996. "A process model of strategic business exit: Implications for an evolutionary perspective on strategy." Strategic Management Journal, 193-214.

Hambrick, D.C., Finkelstein, S., & Mooney, A.C., 2005. "Executive job demands: New insights for explaining strategic decisions and leader behaviors." Academy of Management Review, 472-491.

Guler, I, 2007. "Throwing good money after bad? Political and institutional influences on sequential decision making in the venture capital industry." Administrative Science Quarterly, 248-285.

14. Strategic Processes: Goals and Decision-Making

Fredrickson, J.W. & Mitchell, T.R., 1984. "Strategic decision processes: Comprehensiveness and performance in an industry with an unstable environment." Academy of Management Journal, 399-423.

Schweiger, D.M., Sandberg, W.R., & Ragan, J.W., 1986. "Group approaches for improving strategic decision making: A comparative analysis of dialectical inquiry, devil's advocacy, and consensus." Academy of Management Journal, 51-71.

Fredrickson, J.W. & Iaquinto, A.L., 1989. "Inertia and creeping rationality in strategic decision processes." Academy of Management Journal, 516-542.

Barr, P., Stimpert, L., & Huff, A., 1992. "Cognitive change, strategic action, and organizational renewal." Strategic Management Journal, 15-36.

Miller, C.C., Burke, L.M., & Glick, W.H., 1998. "Cognitive diversity among upper-echelon executives: Implications for strategic decision processes." Strategic Management Journal, 39-58.

Audia, P.G., Locke, E.A., & Smith, K.G., 2000. "The paradox of success: An archival and a laboratory study of strategic persistence following radical environmental change." Academy of Management Journal, 837-853

Cho, T.S. & Hambrick, D.C., 2006. "Attention as the mediator between top management team characteristics and strategic change: The case of airline deregulation." Organization Science, 453-469.

15. Student Research Presentations