****Apologies for cross posting
Uncertainty and Management Theory PDW
Academy of Management
Saturday, 6 August | 1:30-3:30
Anaheim Hilton, Catalina 5
Session Leads:
Jeff Dyer, Brigham Young University
Kathleen Eisenhardt, Stanford University
Nathan Furr, INSEAD
Ben Hallen, University of Washington
Jackson Nickerson, Washington University in St. Louis
Robert Wuebker, University of Utah
Please join us as we take a fresh look at a concept core to theoretical and empirical development in entrepreneurship, strategy, and organization theory-uncertainty. Brief presentations by panelists will lead to a semi-structured dialogue between panelists and participants, followed by a brief break for refreshments and a reconfiguration into panelist-facilitated small group discussion.
SUMMARY
This PDW will focus on unpacking and clearly specifying how conceptual work in innovation, entrepreneurship, and organization theory define uncertainty and employ the concept in conceptual and empirical work. Our goal is to grapple together with what this term has meant across management theory, how the concept has evolved in response to change in the field, and the implications for its future use, paying particular attention to how conceptions of uncertainty change the management task of value creation and capture.
The purpose of the session is to encourage reflection, dialogue, and, ultimately, a better understanding of the differences between bounded rationality, uncertainty as complexity or ill-structuredness, market uncertainty, behavioral uncertainty, and perceptual uncertainty, and unknowability-among others!
Topics we will cover through panel presentations, dialogue, and small-group interaction include:
What is uncertainty-Scholars have defined uncertainty using different terms. Knight (1921) defined uncertainty as unparameterized variables. Simon (1973) describes uncertainty in terms of complexity and structuredness. Should we conceptualize irreducible uncertainty in the physical sciences and social sciences differently (if we do at all). Is uncertainty merely complexity, unknown variables, or is it something more?
Implications for current research- Is uncertainty simply a contingency in our existing theories or does it introduce new questions. For example, what is the meaning of competitive advantage under uncertainty if one considers that for many of the firms that serve as our icons of competitive advantage discovered their source of advantage long after founding? Or how does radical uncertainty change our understanding of organizing for search and experimentation?
Implications for future research-Do existing theories address uncertainty adequately to support current questions of interest in entrepreneurship, strategy, and organization theory? Is there (or do we need) a general theory of uncertainty, a domain-specific agreement, or will local specification suffice (Furr and Dyer, 2014).
While we do not think that a single conversation at a PDW about uncertainty will result in a convergence of perspectives or a unified perspective (and it is unclear that this would be a good thing, if it were to happen), we do think that taking the time to understand different perspectives and to grapple with their upstream implications for management research is a fruitful exercise.
We invite you to join us! We've provided a detailed program description below.
Warmly,
Nathan and Robert
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). Ventures HO!