optimal distinctiveness: past approaches, theoretical integration and future research agenda
Organizers
Eric Yanfei Zhao (Indiana U.)
Jae Kyung Ha (Boston U.)
Participants
Gino Cattani (New York U.)
David Deephouse (U. of Alberta)
Rodolphe Durand (HEC Paris)
Amir Goldberg (Stanford U.)
Brayden King (Northwestern U.)
Rory McDonald (Harvard)
Ming Leung (UC Berkeley)
Michael Lounsbury (U. of Alberta)
Joseph Porac (New York U.)
Hayagreeva Rao (Stanford U.)
Amanda Sharkey (U. of Chicago)
Wendy Smith (U. of Delaware)
Ezra Zuckerman (MIT)
Program Information
Program Session: 318 | Submission: 11069 | Sponsor(s): (OMT, BPS, TIM)
Scheduled: Saturday, Aug 5 2017 10:45AM - 12:45PM at
Atlanta Marriott Marquis in Marquis M301
Registration
For those of you who are interested in having a more prepared discussion at the roundtable and getting more targeted feedback from our distinguished panelists, please send a brief summary (max. 1-2 pages) of your paper related to optimal distinctiveness to ericzhao@indiana.edu before July 15, 2017. However, the submission of this summary is NOT required for participation in the PDW. For more information regarding the structure of the PDW, please visit www.ericzhao.org.
Abstract
Organizations constantly face the competing pressures to be both "similar to" and "different from" their peers. To reconcile the competing pressures of conformity versus differentiation, organizations need to engage in strategies that achieve optimal distinctiveness (OD). Through this PDW, we aim to systematically flesh out the various theoretical perspectives in past research, unpack the underlying mechanisms driving OD, evaluate each perspective's strengths, weaknesses and connections, and more importantly, point to directions for future research. The PDW will begin with a short introduction to the session, providing a background and setting the agenda. An opening plenary panel will follow, where six scholars from varied background and expertise will each reflect on their understandings of OD and how it is embedded in their own research. Following the first panel, we will have break-out roundtable sessions. The tables will each start with a provisional discussion topic, and participants will be encouraged to share their own ideas regarding how their research is related to the topic and how they could envision building a research program around OD. Finally, all participants will reconvene for a closing plenary panel that seeks to extend OD research with a broader array of topics. Seven new scholars on the closing panel represent some of the most contemporary topics of research related to OD. These scholars will offer insight about how the notion of OD could inform and be informed by these emerging and growing areas of research.