When do generalists change more than specialists? Problem-driven and slack-driven change in labor allocation

Abstract

The existing literature has reached contradictory empirical conclusions regarding the tendency for generalist and specialist organizations to change their status quo. Some have posited that generalists are less likely to change than specialists, while others have posited the opposite. This article explores when generalists and specialists change their allocations of labor resources by delving into two different mechanisms: (1) how they perform (problem-driven mechanism) and (2) how much extra resources they possess (slack-driven mechanism). Based on empirical evidence collected in the agricultural industry in South Korea, we find that specialists are more likely to change in accordance with a problem-driven mechanism, whereas generalists are more prone to react to a slack-driven mechanism.