Strategic Conformity Research Articles

Strong and strategic conformity understanding by 3- and 5-year-old children.

'Strong conformity' corresponds to the public endorsement of majority opinions that are in blatant contradiction to one's own correct perceptual judgements of the situation. We tested strong conformity inference by 3- and 5-year-old children using a third-person perspective paradigm. Results show that at neither age, children spontaneously expect that an ostracized third-party individual who wants to affiliate with the majority group will show strong conformity. However, when questioned as to what the ostracized individual should do to befriend others, from 5years of age children explicitly demonstrate that they construe strong conformity as a strategic means of social affiliation. Additional data suggest that strong and strategic conformity understanding from an observer's third-person perspective is linked to the passing of the language-mediated false belief theory of mind task, an index of children's emerging 'meta' ability to construe the mental state of others. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? 'Strong conformity' corresponds to the public endorsement of majority opinions that are in blatant contradiction to one's own correct perceptual judgements of the situation. Asch's (1956, Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, 70, 1) classic demonstration of strong conformity with adults has been replicated with preschool children: 3- to 4-year-olds manifest signs of strong conformity by reversing about thirty to forty per cent of the time their correct perceptual judgements to fit with contradictory statements held unanimously by other individuals (Corriveau & Harris, 2010, Developmental Psychology, 46, 437; Corriveau etal., 2013, Journal of Cognition and Culture, 13, 367; Haun & Tomasello, 2011, Child Development, 82, 1759). As for adults, strong conformity does not obliterate children's own private, accurate knowledge of the situation. It is in essence a public expression to fit the group and alleviate social dissonance. What does this study add? In three experiments, we explored the developmental emergence in the preschool years of strong conformity inference from a third-person perspective. Results show that by 5years of age, and not earlier, children begin to construe strong conformity as a strategy that someone should use to gain social affiliation, even though they do not anticipate that a third-party individual would necessarily resort to such strategy. Additional data suggest that strong and strategic conformity understanding from an observer's third-person perspective is linked to the passing of the language-mediated false belief theory of mind task.

Strategic Responses to Changing Climate Change Policies: The Role Played by Carbon Accounting

AbstractUsing a broad institutional theory lens, this paper examines the climate change strategies and carbon accounting practices adopted by two New Zealand electricity firms in response to changes in government climate change policies over time (2002–12). The two firms pursue different strategic responses to climate change‐related institutional and economic pressures in order to maintain both legitimacy and a competitive advantage. Five different strategic responses are identified: avoidance, operational conformance, strategic conformance, strategic differentiation, negotiation and manipulation. Firm‐level characteristics are also important drivers of inter‐firm variations in the strategic responses. Further, carbon accounting makes the greatest contribution to carbon reduction when integrated as part of strategic processes that support strategic conformance and strategic differentiation. Carbon monitoring systems, internal carbon information use and carbon disclosure were the main forms of carbon accounting used to realise the different strategies employed.

The Inverted U‐Shaped Hypothesis and Firm Environmental Responsiveness: The Moderating Role of Institutional Alignment

The impact of regulatory coercion on firm environmental responsiveness is well discussed by institutional theorists. The intuitive nature of the relationship is positive and monotonic, that is, the continuous strengthening of regulatory coercion prompts top management to be more environmentally responsive. This paper shows that: (1) overall, there is an inverted U‐shaped relationship between regulatory coercion and firm environmental responsiveness, that is, the continuous strengthening of regulatory coercion induces top management to bring their firms' environmental responsiveness up to a certain optimum level beyond which its ability to trigger more proactive and substantive environmental responsiveness begins to decelerate, while reactive and symbolic strategic conformity accelerates; (2) perceived institutional (mis)alignment moderates the inverted U‐shaped relationship between regulatory coercion and firm environmental responsiveness. Finally, results show that the moderated inverted U‐shaped hypothesis advances the long‐standing and contentious debate about the relationship between regulatory coercion and firm environmental responsiveness.

Strategic Conformance: Overcoming Acceptance Issues of Decision Aiding Automation?

Cognitive engineering researchers have long studied the complexity and reliability of human–automation interaction. Historically, though, the area of human–automation decision-making compatibility has received less attention. Paradoxically, this could in the future become one of the most critical issues of all, as mismatches between human and automation problem-solving styles could threaten the adoption of automation. This paper presents the concept of strategic conformance as a potential key factor influencing initial acceptance of automation, specifically decision aiding systems capable of guiding decision and action. Here, strategic conformance represents the match in problem-solving style between decision aiding automation and the individual operator. The theoretical foundation builds on the compatibility construct found in technology acceptance theories such as the innovation diffusion and technology acceptance models. The paper concludes with a critical discussion on the limitations and drawbacks of strategic conformance. It is proposed that the construct would be most applicable at the introductory phase of new decision aiding automation, in helping to foster operators’ initial acceptance of such automation.

Automation Transparency and Personalized Decision Support: Air Traffic Controller Interaction with a Resolution Advisory System

In order to satisfy future air travel demands, there is a need for a more automated and modernized air traffic control. Automation is expected to advance from its current principal utilization as software tools to become an autonomous agent cooperating with the air traffic controller. To facilitate interchangeable, functional and sustainable human-automation collaboration, there is a need to develop better interaction and visualization techniques. Ultimately, automation might be rejected because of the system’s opacity (what is it doing and why?) or mismatch in underlying strategy (I would solve this problem differently). Human-machine cooperation is believed to benefit from automation sensitive and adaptive to individual preferences in problem solving. Furthermore, increased transparency afforded by a decision-aid in regards to its reasoning and problem solving, can positively influence user attitudes including acceptance and trust. In a recent study we hypothesized that both these factors (strategic conformance and interface representation transparency), would influence task performance and willingness to use an automated decision aid in a conflict detection and resolution task. Nine controller trainees participated in two real-time simulations in which they were tasked with directing traffic and maintaining separation in short en-route traffic scenarios. Results showed that controllers perceived and used the two interface representations differently. Even though controllers accepted conformal solutions more often than nonconformal, with a degree similar to what has been observed in previous studies, the effect of strategic conformance was not significant. These findings are discussed in relation to the challenges in diffusion and acceptance of decision-aiding automation.

A Hybrid Approach to Training Expert Skills in Highly Automated Systems: Lessons from Air Traffic Management

In air traffic management (ATM), as in many other domains, automation is increasingly capable of performing more strategic and “cognitive” aspects of system performance. This paper sets out a potential hybrid approach to automation design, which assumes qualitatively different challenges at the introductory and mature phases of automation implementation. Whereas operator acceptance seems the critical issue at the time of automation introduction, skills development and maintenance seem most significant as expertise accrues. This proposed hybrid marries the notions of strategic conformance and adaptive automation to achieve a design approach in which, over the span of the skill acquisition cycle, automation is fitted to the novice, and the expert is fitted to the automation. Further, this approach assumes that training can (and indeed must) ultimately extend the training criterion from that of (heuristically based) expert operator performance, to that of (algorithmically based) optimized system performance.

How Does Ambiguity Influence IPO Underpricing? The Role of the Signalling Environment

ABSTRACTWe explore the relationship between ambiguity, or low information clarity, in the IPO prospectus of newly public firms and their underpricing. Consistent with signalling theory, we find that IPO underpricing is low when the prospectus contains less ambiguous information that creates a more reliable signal conveying the quality of the IPO firm. However, the positive association between ambiguity and IPO underpricing is less pronounced when IPO firms display low strategic conformity with other firms in the industry, operate in industries with high valuation heterogeneity, or are medium‐sized. Using a sample of 398 IPOs between 1998 and 2007, our results support these predictions. This study shows the importance of the signalling environment influencing boundedly rational signal recipients interpreting ambiguous signals.

Risk Perceptions and Strategic Change and Conformity : Evidence from Exogenous Shocks

Research on how managers influence strategic change and conformity has largely ignored the role of risk perceptions in strategic choices as they have focused on some notions of ‘objective’ risk. Dr...

Will Controllers Accept a Machine That Thinks like They Think? The Role of Strategic Conformance in Decision Aiding Automation

In a series of real time trials, we simulated sophisticated air traffic management conflict resolution automation using unrecognizable replays of controllers’ own performance. Using a fairly novel experimental design and a prototype air traffic control interface, we explored with operational controllers the interactive effects of traffic complexity, level of automation, and “strategic conformance” (defined as the match between human and machine solution strategy) on a number of dependent measures. Conformal advisories (exact replays of a given controller’s previous solution) were accepted more often, rated higher, and responded to faster than were non-conformal advisories (replays of a colleague’s different solution). In the end, one result stood out in particular: roughly 24% of conformal advisories were rejected by controllers. How could it be that controllers, in effect, disagreed with their very own solutions roughly one quarter of the time? The project is currently exploring this and other related issues through extended human-in-the-loop simulations.

Selective acquiescence, creative commitment and strategic conformity: situated national policy responses to Bologna

The non‐binding nature of the Bologna Declaration and loose policy‐making and implementation through the open method of coordination (OMC) have led to varied national responses to the Bologna Process. The OMC has allowed countries room for manoeuvre to interpret Bologna policy and attach different degrees of importance to it. Looking at the interplay between agency and structure in policy implementation, this article aims to illustrate the localised character of Bologna policy implementation driven by national priorities and political agendas, a reflection of the ‘policy as text’ metaphor (Ball, 1994).The analysis is driven by an agentic understanding of the policy process, highlighting ‘actors’ perceptions, perspectives, preferences, actions and interactions' (Trowler, 2002). Three different country reactions are examined — England, Portugal and Denmark, described as selective acquiescence, creative commitment and strategic conformity to capture the essence of the cases in question. In analysing the countries' responses, the article considers national readings of Bologna, motivations behind responses to the Process, as well as its reception and implementation at national level.

Risk Perceptions of TMTs: Impact on Strategic Change and Conformity

Research on how managers influence strategic change and conformity has largely ignored the role of risk perceptions in strategic choices as they have focused on some notions of ‘objective’ risk. Drawing on the psychology literature on risk, prospect theory and the threat-rigidity thesis, we argue that strategic change and conformity are influenced by the risk perceptions of top management teams (TMTs), which may or may not have a direct relationship with the ‘real’ situation at hand. We develop a framework which differentiates between risk perceptions based on potential loss of resources and loss of control, and show that these two dimensions affect strategic change and conformity differently. Further, we argue that risk attitude of TMTs and ambiguity in the organization’s environment moderate the relationships between perception of risk and strategic change and conformity. The hypothesised relationships were tested on data from two industries. Our results broadly confirm our hypotheses and show that risk...

Roles of Positive and Negative Public Discourse and Performance Feedback on Strategic Deviance

Drawing on neo-institutional theory and behavioral theory of the firm (BTOF), this study demonstrates how the industry level legitimacy and performance feedback-based learning affect the degree of firms' strategic deviance. We describe and measure key properties of industry legitimization and de-legitimization process through analyzing public discourse and social comparison among firms. We show that key properties independently and interactively provide a more comprehensive understanding what induces firm-level strategic deviance. An analysis of daily deal industry in Korea supports our main theoretical expectations. First, positive and negative public discourses impose the opposite effect on the legitimization process and the degree of firm's strategic deviance. Second, the performance feedback relative to aspiration level induces strategic conformity. Lastly, both industry level legitimization and firm-level performance feedback concurrently affect the firm's strategic deviance. Thus the results highlight industry-level and interorganizational-level determinants of strategic deviance and offer theoretical contributions combining two organizational theories.

Family Firm Governance, Strategic Conformity, and Performance: Institutional vs. Strategic Perspectives

A fundamental schism divides the family firm and strategy literatures, on the one hand, and the institutional literature, on the other, regarding both the situational prevalence and the utility of conforming behavior. The first two schools, respectively, view strategic differentiation as especially common among family firms and an important source of competitive advantage. By contrast, the reasoning of institutionalists would suggest that family firms will be subject to unusually powerful motivations to conform, in part because of their pursuit of socioemotional wealth objectives. Unfortunately, the relationships between conformity and family firm governance—and, in fact, governance in general—have not been amply studied. This analysis of Fortune 1000 firms finds considerable support for the institutional perspective: family involvement is related to greater, not lesser, conformity in many aspects of strategy. Although strategic conformity related to superior returns on assets, it did not enhance firm market valuations.

Higher education and feminism in the Arab Gulf

This article explores how higher education is being conceptualized as part of a neo-liberal ‘feminist’ social change project in the post-imperial context of the Arab Gulf. Challenging the tendency to essentialised treatments of gender and women in Muslim countries, it makes visible the diverse experiences and views of a particular group of Gulf purposively sampled women – students, graduates and academics – as it explores how they are situating themselves against available feminist narratives, how they are seeing themselves as citizens and political actors, and how higher education’s spaces and constraints are mediating these processes. A conflicted picture emerges, of mass higher education helping provide women with radical ideas and ambitions, and helping to make public demands and assert self-representation, while their freedoms to act are limited by underlying hegemonic structures that are still predominantly male and against which women variously rationalize their strategic conformity.

Women’s Conformity as Resistance to Intimate Partner Violence in Assiut, Egypt

This paper explores, in Assiut, Egypt, how women respond to IPV and how their social relations sustain or prevent it. Nineteen qualitative interviews with married women were coded in MaxQDA, revealing a pattern of strategic conformity. Most women blamed the wife for spousal aggression and recommended modifying her behavior to end it. Talking with female kin, who often advised tolerance, was the next most common reaction. When such tactics failed, a woman might ask male kin to intervene. Seeking the police or courts was considered shameful and might jeopardize a woman’s marriage. Women enacted “the good woman” to preserve self-worth and oblige husbands or male kin to return protection. Ostensibly, these strategies mitigated IPV but maintained its underlying patriarchal structures.

How do CEO emotions matter? Impact of CEO affective traits on strategic and performance conformity in the spanish banking industry

AbstractResearch on how managers influence firm outcomes has generated promising explanations of differences in organizational strategies and performance within a given industry, but has largely ignored the role of emotions in shaping managers' strategic choices. This article analyzes the influence of the affective traits of CEOs—their long‐term tendency to experience positive or negative moods or emotions—on strategy and performance conformity in a sample of Spanish banks and savings banks. Our results show that managers' negative affective traits are related to more conformist strategies and more typical performance, whereas positive affective traits seem to promote outcomes that deviate from the central tendencies of the industry. Results also show that strategic conformity mediates the relationship between CEO negative affective traits and typical performance. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Going along versus going alone: When fundamental motives facilitate strategic (non)conformity.

Three experiments examined how 2 fundamental social motives--self-protection and mate attraction--influenced conformity. A self-protective goal increased conformity for both men and women. In contrast, the effects of a romantic goal depended on sex, causing women to conform more to others' preferences while engendering nonconformity in men. Men motivated to attract a mate were particularly likely to nonconform when (a) nonconformity made them unique (but not merely a member of a small minority) and when (b) the topic was subjective versus objective, meaning that nonconformists could not be revealed to be incorrect. These findings fit with a functional evolutionary model of motivation and behavior, and they indicate that fundamental motives such as self-protection and mate attraction can stimulate specific forms of conformity or nonconformity for strategic self-presentation.

Are Decision Support Systems Getting People to Conform? The Impact of Work Organisation and Segmentation on User Behaviour in a French Bank

The longitudinal study of the most sophisticated decision support system (DSS) for the management of debit accounts provides new answers to the question of conformity in French banking. In 2003, the analysis of 45 observations and qualitative interviews showed that the advisor maintains his free appreciation of risk. However, even if conformity does not exist, the results on the modification range show that the DSS does exert an influence on user behaviour. In addition, the interpretation and acceptance of DSS recommendation are different according to the type of portfolio managed and how the work is organised. The less the financial advisor knows the client, the greater the influence of the DSS. Recent decisions regarding the division of labour for the management of lower segments heighten the risk that DSS used without knowing the client leads to more conformity, or at least to what we conceptualise as strategic conformity, and a taylorisation of services.

ORGANIZATION & MANAGEMENT THEORY Conference Paper Abstracts.

Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings includes abstracts of all papers and symposia presented at the annual conference, plus 6-page abridged versions of the “Best Papers” accepted for inclusion in the program (approximately 10%). Papers published in the Proceedings are abridged because presenting papers at their full length could preclude subsequent journal publication. Please contact the author(s) directly for the full papers. ArticlesORGANIZATION & MANAGEMENT THEORY Conference Paper Abstracts.Published Online:13 Dec 2017https://doi.org/10.5465/apbpp.2002.7517620AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsDownload CitationsAdd to favoritesTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail AbstractThe article presents abstracts of research papers on organization and management theory, presented at an Academy of Management Conference in 2002, topics of which include ways by which firms protect their network status, a network paradigm for the family business enterprise and effects of resource dependence on strategic conformity and the role of organizational credibility.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Vol. 2002, No. 1 Permissions Metrics in the past 12 months History Published online 13 December 2017 Published in print 1 August 2002 InformationCopyright of Academy of Management Journal is the property of Academy of Management and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder’s express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.KeywordsABSTRACTSBUSINESS networksFAMILY-owned business enterprisesORGANIZATIONAL sociologyMANAGEMENTDownload PDF

The External Ties of Top Executives: Implications for Strategic Choice and Performance

We are grateful to Eric Abrahamson, Ron Burt, Eric Leifer, Aneil Mishra, and Bob Yavitz for their contributions on earlier drafts of this manuscript. The paper has also benefited from the constructive comments of Associate Editor Mark Mizruchi and three anonymous ASO reviewers. We examine the extent to which executives' boundary spanning relations inside and outside their industry affect organizational strategy and performance. We posit that the informational and social influences of external ties will be reflected in the degree to which the organization's strategy conforms to or deviates from the central tendencies of its industry and that the alignment of executives' external ties with the firm's strategy will be beneficial to firm performance. Using a multiyear sample of firms in the branded foods and computer industries, we find that executives' intraindustry ties are related to strategic conformity, that extraindustry ties are associated with the adoption of deviant strategies, and that alignment of executives' external ties with the informational requirements of the firm's strategy enhances organizational performance. Our results also show that a unique or differentiated strategy is not universally advantageous and that the benefits accruing from strategic conformity are especially strong in the more uncertain computer industry.'