Research
Seminars
Filter results | Clear Filters
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Alan Benson: University of Minnesota
When do women present themselves as leaders?
-
When do women present themselves as leaders?
Speaker: Alan Benson: University of Minnesota
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Location:
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Emilio Castilla: MIT
The Unfulfilled Promise of Meritocracy in Organizations
-
The Unfulfilled Promise of Meritocracy in Organizations
Speaker: Emilio Castilla: MIT
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Location:
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Julianna Pillemer: NYU Stern School of Business
How independent creative workers experience the pressures of widespread appeal on digital platforms
Organizational Behavior
How independent creative workers experience the pressures of widespread appeal on digital platforms
Speaker: Julianna Pillemer: NYU Stern School of Business
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Location:
Creative workers often seek a substantial audience for their work. Our findings reveal a new struggle begins once they attain one. Existing theory fails to account for how creators conceive of and manage the relationship with their audience once their work has gained widespread appeal. In an inductive study of independent creative workers using digital platforms to share their work, we discovered that after attaining a substantial audience, creators experience audience entanglement – a perceived sense of deep interrelatedness between an individual and the audience for their work such that this relationship becomes a persistent consideration in their approach to creating. This entanglement typically begins as dysfunctional entanglement, characterized by oppressive dependence on audience reactions, distressing emotions, and struggling with platform volatility. In this state, creators often question the meaning of their work and deprioritize platform engagement. However, some creators develop audience management strategies – restricting audience access, reinterpreting audience reactions, and reorienting toward personal standards – to effectively shift their interrelatedness with the audience to functional entanglement, characterized by a balanced dependence on audience reactions, uplifting emotions, and accepting platform volatility. Functional entanglement allows creators to capture meaning in their audience interactions and prioritize their work on the platform.
12:30 PM - 2:00 PM
David Maslach: Florida State University
The Discovery of Doubt: A Framework for Organizational Learning from Questionable Ideas
-
The Discovery of Doubt: A Framework for Organizational Learning from Questionable Ideas
Speaker: David Maslach: Florida State University
Time: 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM
Location:
Abstract: Organizational life is filled with questionable ideas—beliefs that invoke doubt about whether they will be productive or useful. These ideas are necessary to organizational knowledge and learning. Despite their importance, research on questionable ideas is dispersed across organizational literatures and often lacks depth. This paper consolidates past research to explain why questionable ideas exist, persist, and evolve. Doubt arises about whether outcomes will be positive either based of reason or adherence to doctrine. We introduce the FAIL framework (Flawed, Ambitious, Ignorant, Lurid) to provide a structured understanding of questionable ideas. Questionable ideas are either evaluated positively (because of flaws or being too ambitious) or negatively (because of ignorance or being lurid) based on organizational ideologies of reason or doctrine. Ideologies develop in response to evaluator proximity and perceived social costs off endorsing similar ideas in the past. We discuss when adopting questionable ideas can be beneficial and highlight common SPREAD enablers that moderate the dissemination of questionable ideas: Stories and Gossip, Peer Influence, Reputation and Endorsements, Authority and Institutions, and Digital Platforms and Technologies. This paper advances understanding of organizational learning, creativity and innovation, and addresses some challenges posed by misdirected efforts in organizational science.
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
James Carter: Cornell University
When You Say It: How the Timing of LGBTQ+ Allyship Displays Shapes Evaluations of Organizations
-
When You Say It: How the Timing of LGBTQ+ Allyship Displays Shapes Evaluations of Organizations
Speaker: James Carter: Cornell University
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Location:
Organizations frequently aim to display their allyship with the LGBTQ+ community, often through campaigns, advertisements, and statements—particularly during Pride Month. While existing research typically focuses on the content of such allyship displays, we integrate theories of attribution and identity safety in order to demonstrate how the timing of these allyship displays shapes the evaluations observers form about an organization’s authenticity in these efforts. Across field, laboratory, and online samples, five preregistered experiments reveal that both LGBTQ+ observers (Experiment 1) and LGBTQ+ employees (Experiment 2) perceive organizational allyship displays as less authentic when displayed during Pride Month as opposed to other times—even when the content of the allyship display is held constant. We further find that the timing of organizational allyship displays influences perceived authenticity by shaping the extent to which LGBTQ+ evaluators attribute values-driven and strategic-driven motives as underlying the organization’s allyship (Experiment 3). Critically, we find that this effect is unique to LGBTQ+ individuals: non-target groups, such as cis-straight observers, evaluate the authenticity of allyship displays similarly, regardless of timing (Studies 4 and 5). This work makes important and timely contributions to research on allyship and has implications for how perceptions of allyship are influenced by social identity. To be an authentic ally, it is not just what an organization says, but also when an organization says it.
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Tiantian Yang: Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Looking the Part? How Candidates’ Race and Attire Shape Employer Hiring Decisions in a Low-Wage Labor Market
-
Looking the Part? How Candidates’ Race and Attire Shape Employer Hiring Decisions in a Low-Wage Labor Market
Speaker: Tiantian Yang: Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Location:
Racial disparities in employment persist in the United States, particularly in low-wage labor markets. While employers often attribute these disparities to differences in job seekers’ self- presentation—particularly attire—we argue that this explanation obscures demand-side biases. Drawing on labor market discrimination and status characteristics theories, we argue that professional attire acts as a proxy for unobservable worker qualities and that racial stereotypes distort how these signals are interpreted. White candidates might benefit more from professional attire, whereas Black candidates receive weaker returns from employers. To test this argument, we conduct the first large-scale empirical analysis of candidates’ attire and hiring outcomes using a mobile gig-staffing platform (Jobmate), which includes 1,032,496 job applications for 60,636 job seekers, along with their profile photos. Our findings reveal that although professional attire improves hiring outcomes for both Black and White candidates, the effect is significantly weaker for Black job seekers, exacerbating racial hiring disparities. A controlled experiment further demonstrates that professional attire disproportionately benefits White candidates. These findings challenge the prevailing belief that self-presentation strategies can mitigate racial disparities. Our findings suggest that closing racial hiring gaps in low-wage labor markets requires cultural changes in hiring practices rather than individual-level adjustments by job seekers.