2/10/2010

Some thoughts on the final paper

Organizational Analysis
Spring 2010

The final paper is intended to get you thinking concretely about designing research that advances
the discourse in a particular area. So that our seminar and discussions can be most helpful in
developing your ideas, I have set the following deadlines for the paper.

• March 2: Statement of paper topic

• March 23: Paragraph on topic
• April 13: 2 page outline and bibliography
• May 4: Final paper due (15 pages max)

A useful heuristic device for thinking through topics is to consider the research problem as
variation in a dependent variable that needs to be explained. What is the variation? What is it a
property of (that is, what is the unit of analysis—the individual, the exchange, the organization,
the population)? What are the explanatory variables suggested by theory? What are they
properties of (e.g., individuals, exchanges, organizations, etc.)? (How) can they be measured?

My hope is that in addition to being a required paper that this is a useful exercise for you and so
you should try to come up with a topic that connects to your interests or future research plans.
At a basic level, the goal of the paper is to give you practice in applying the perspectives we have
studied in the course to phenomena of interest to researchers. Organization theory is quite
flexible: the processes and mechanisms it theorizes can be used to describe phenomena at many
levels of analysis.

An Example:
One way to think about the paper is to address a topic from the perspective of 2-3 of the
paradigms we have studied in the class and to derive hypotheses from each of these paradigms.
For example, a possible topic might be: “Contrast transaction cost, agency theory, and resource
dependence explanations for the structure of media conglomerates as they have been constructed
since 1989…” This is an interesting question because conglomerates in manufacturing have all
but disappeared, and a couple of the readings point out that diversified firms are regarded with
great suspicion by investors. Yet the media industry appears to be bucking this trend toward
“corporate focus” with a vengeance, as a handful of firms have gone on an acquisition binge that
cuts across traditional industrial boundaries (e.g., publishers buying television broadcasters,
broadcasters buying movie studios, movie studios buying magazine publishers, etc.). Many of
the theories we study would suggest factors that promote or constrain “conglomeration.” How
would these theories apply specifically to media companies in the 1990s?

To answer this question effectively, consider the topic from the perspective of the theorists
whose works we are reading. Transaction cost economics focuses largely on the make-or-buy
question and suggests a set of factors that make firms more or less likely to bring an activity

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inside the organization’s boundary rather than contracting for it externally. Asset specificity in
particular is critical. How would a transaction cost theorist explain the kinds of acquisitions
made by media firms—that is, what variables should be expected to increase or decrease the
likelihood of buying particular firms? Agency theory emphasizes the governance structures of
firms and how they induce or constrain particular types of managerial choices. This theory is
suspicious of conglomerates, and thus one might expect indicators of “weak governance” to be
associated with the propensity to acquire firms in “unrelated” industries. Resource dependence
theory examines the power-dependence relations that organizations find themselves in and the
tactics they use to manage them, such as mergers and acquisitions. Institutional theorists are
concerned with the mental models of those that run organizations and the perceptions of
legitimacy that accompany their actions. Network theorists focus on the sets of ties that
organizations maintain and how those ties shape organizational actions and structures. Each of
these theories implies an account of “media conglomeration” and a set of factors likely to be
associated with media firms’ propensities to “conglomerate.” The first research task is to figure
out which theories are most useful in making sense of conglomeration and deriving hypotheses
that aptly represent the theories’ take on the topic.

One Possible Outline:

Ideally, the paper will resemble the front end of an empirical research paper, with theoretical
development, hypotheses, and a sketch of a methods section. Although it would be inappropriate
to suggest that there is a cookbook for writing a proposal, below is one possible outline. What I
mean by “one possible outline” is that different projects require different formats, and so the
following is not intended as a one-size-fits-all template that is appropriate for every possible
project. Rather, you should adapt the elements of the outline that are useful for your particular
project.

Introduction (1-2 pages)

A good introduction is 3-5 paragraphs long and answers the questions “What is this paper about
and why should I care” quickly and efficiently. One common form is this: paragraph 1 describes
the problem/issue/variation to be explained and why it’s important. Paragraph 2 introduces the
dramatic theoretical tension, which can take several forms: the topic just described has not been
studied, or has been studied the wrong way, or has competing theoretical explanations that don’t
converge, or has changed so much that old theoretical categories don’t apply. Paragraph 3
explains how the study will solve the problem described in Paragraph 2. The introduction is
often best written last, after the other elements of the argument are in place.

Context (2-3 pages)

The purpose of this section is to give the reader sufficient background in the topic to understand
what it is you are trying to explain and why you would want to do this. It is, in a sense, an
extended version of the first paragraph of the introduction. If you are writing about vertical
integration in the footwear industry in Taiwan, you would briefly describe the history of the
industry, characterize the “typical” production process and how it varies, and explain what is at
stake in decisions about vertical integration. If you are writing about what kinds of firms attract
financial analysts, you would explain what analysts do, how they fit into the broader financial

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services industry, why it matters for (some) organizations, and what it is about analysts that you
find worth explaining. The reader should finish this section understanding what the variation is
that you will be examining and why it is organizationally interesting.

Theory and hypotheses (8-10 pages)

The core of the paper describes what previous theory leads you to believe would explain the
variation you are examining. I recommend that you bring two to three theories to bear on your
question. You might have sub-headings for each theoretical approach. Within these, you would
describe (a) what the theory is about in general; (b) how the theory contemplates the dependent
variable (e.g., what does vertical integration represent in transaction cost economics, resource
dependence theory, and institutional theory); and (c) one or more specific hypotheses derived
from the theory. The hypotheses are not general propositions (such as “Firms diversify when
they face exchange-based uncertainty in their primary industry”) but claims specific to your
context.

Deriving explanations/hypotheses from the theories we have studied is in some ways the most
important part of the paper. This is where you can demonstrate your facility with the topics we
study during the semester and your general understanding of organization theory.

Data and method (1-2 pages)

The research design aspect of the paper is less crucial for the purpose of this course. Generally,
you want to consider the standard research questions: What is the unit of analysis—what is the
variance I am trying to explain a property of? What is the relevant “population” that these units
comprise? What’s a sensible way to sample this population? What is an appropriate time frame
to study? What measurable variables are plausible indicators of the constructs the theory
considers? We spend very little time in the course on these topics, and thus I don’t expect you to
describe ingenious designs in 2-3 pages, but you can try.

In a “real” research proposal, such as a dissertation prospectus, this section is rather long,
perhaps ten pages. Its purpose is to convince readers that the candidate has carefully thought
through his/her theoretical model and considered the best sampling frame and the most
appropriate indicators to measure the constructs described in the theory section. The author also
demonstrates consummate competence at statistical modeling by describing in gruesome detail
the appropriate models, their assumptions, and how they fit with the date he/she will collect.

Your job is simpler: describe in 1-2 pages what kind of data you would collect in an ideal world
with no constraints of time, money, or access and, in very general terms, how you would analyze
it. The point of this is to show how you would bring the grand theories described in the previous
section down to earth.

Conclusion and expected contributions (1-2 pages)

What will we have learned from this study? What are the consequences of various findings for
how we think about the theories described in the paper?