Optimal Distinctiveness: Comparing and Bridging Macro and Micro Perspectives
Scheduled: Friday, Aug 9 2019 8:00AM - 9:30AM at Boston Hynes Convention Center in 208
Organizer: Eric Y.-F. Zhao, Indiana U., Bloomington Organizer: Jae Ha, EMLYON Business School Panelist: Noah Askin, INSEAD Panelist: David Deephouse, U. of Alberta Distinguished Speaker: Rodolphe Durand, HEC Paris Panelist: Stine Grodal, Boston U. Distinguished Speaker: Geoffrey Leonardelli, U. of Toronto Panelist: Michael Lounsbury, U. of Alberta Panelist: Margaret Ormiston, George Washington U. Panelist: Cynthia Pickett, UC Davis Panelist: Kimberly Rios, Ohio U. Panelist: Wendy K. Smith, U. of Delaware Panelist: Filippo Carlo Wezel, USI Lugano Panelist: Ezra Zuckerman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Organizations constantly face the competing pressures to be both "similar to" and "different from" their peers (Deephouse, 1999; Durand & Calori, 2006). Conformity helps organizations gain legitimacy and avoid performance penalties associated with deviance from existing norms, expectations, and practices (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983). Differentiation allows organizations to stand out from the crowd, establish unique competitive positions, and gain competitive advantage (Helfat et al., 2007). To reconcile the competing pressures of conformity versus differentiation, organizations need to engage in strategies that achieve optimal distinctiveness (OD). Building on and extending the first two annual PDWs on Optimal Distinctiveness organized at the AOM 2017 and 2018, the theme of this year's PDW is centered around juxtaposing and bridging the micro and macro perspectives on OD. Our goal is to stimulate some interesting discussions (even debates) between these two sides who have rarely talked with each other up to this point, and ultimately generating some specific research questions that scholars on both sides could start engaging.Registration is not required. Everybody is welcome to attend. Please add our PDW to your online program!------------------------------
Eric Zhao
Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship
Institute for Entrepreneurship and Competitive Enterprise Faculty Fellow
Co-Chair of the PhD Program
Kelley School of Business, Indiana University
Bloomington, IN
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