OPTIMAL DISTINCTIVENESS:
PAST APPROACHES, THEORETICAL INTEGRATION AND FUTURE RESEARCH AGENDA
Organizers
Eric Yanfei Zhao (Indiana University)
Jaekyung Ha (Boston University)
Participants
Gino Cattani (New York University)
David Deephouse (University of Alberta)
Rodolphe Durand (HEC Paris)
Stine Grodal (Boston University)
Oliver Hahl (Carnegie Mellon University)
Richard Haans (Erasmus University)
Brayden King (Northwestern University)
Michael Lounsbury (University of Alberta)
Ned Smith (Northwestern University)
David Tan (University of Washington)
Filippo Wezel (USI)
Charlene Zietsma (Penn State University)
Ezra Zuckerman Sivan (MIT)
Program Information
Time: Friday, Aug 10, 2018 10:45AM - 12:45PM
Location: Marriott Chicago Downtown - Magnificent Mile in Addison Marriott Ballroom
Registration: Pre-registration required (No Password; Program Link: https://my.aom.org/program2018/SessionDetails.aspx?sid=10267); All are welcome!
Research Summary Submission:
If you want more targeted feedback from the panelists about your paper, or if you have a question that you would like to discuss in the round table session, please submit a 1-2 page summary of your paper or discussion topic toericzhao@indiana.edu & jaeha@bu.edu by July 15, 2018. However, the submission of this summary is NOT required for participation in the PDW.
For more information regarding the structure of the PDW, please see the attached pdf file.
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.
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Eric Zhao
Assistant Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship
Kelley School of Business, Indiana University
Bloomington, IN
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