Advances in Business Research

Peer Identification as Social Stratification: Comparing Media and Network Measures of Status in US Universities

David Cavazos — 2023-02-27

This research investigates the extent to which peer group identification serves as a measure of university status. Examining Association of American Universities (AAU) member institutions reveals that university peer groups exhibit many of the same stratification qualities as social networks. Specifically, higher-status universities tend to have more reciprocal ties with one another while lower-status universities, in addition to having more reciprocal ties with institutions of similar status, have more one-way ties with higher-status institutions. These findings are then used as a basis to illustrate how peer group networks can be used as an alternative measure of university status. Network-based measures are then compared with media rankings to illustrate a surprising disconnect between network-based status and media status.

Strategic Choice and Firm Performance during COVID-19

Albena Ivanova — 2023-02-27

This paper aims to identify successful strategies for private companies to increase liquidity during times of crisis. We define four strategic choices based on an introduction and/or discontinuation of new products or services: cannibalization, retrenchment, expansion, or entrenchment. We use a micro data set from a worldwide survey of 10,349 companies conducted between April and September 2020 by the World Bank. Our results show that for most companies liquidity during COVID-19 decreased or at best stayed the same. Due to the pandemic, firms applied one of the four strategies, with the majority of the firms applying an intrench strategy. The Chi-square test was used to assess which strategy is associated with increased liquidity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicate that liquidity increased or stayed the same for the companies using the expansion strategy, followed by cannibalization, intrench, and retrench strategies. Expansion and cannibalization strategies are both associated with the introduction of new products and/or services, suggesting that innovation is the key to surviving a pandemic crisis.

Perceived Value of HRM Professional Certification in a Disrupted Marketplace

Brian Martinson — 2023-02-27

In response to Lengnick-Hall and Aguinis’ (2012) call for examining the practical value of HR professional certification, and using Lengnick-Hall and Aguinis’ individual-level propositions as hypotheses, this study compares 123 HR practitioners’ evaluations of HR certification based on attained education, membership in professional associations, and commitment to the HR profession. Our analysis found that HR practitioners value certification equally regardless of attained education level, members of professional associations ascribe 16% more value to certification than nonmembers, and certified members have a higher commitment to the profession. Further, a comparison between the established HRCI certifications and the newly competing SHRM certifications on pay level, job offers, and promotions received mixed results, with the established HRCI credential yielding slightly more value for job offers than the new SHRM certifications.

Mired in Myth: Students’ Misguided Expectations of Marketplace Behavior

Nathanael Peach — 2023-12-08

This study evaluates whether business and non-business students have different impressions of the attitudes and behaviors that lead to success in business. The extent to which business and non-business students are similar, or dissimilar, has important implications for the business curriculum. To teach business ethics effectively, professors ought to understand students’ beliefs before entering the classroom. This study focuses on the degree to which selfish, self-interested, and self-sacrificing attitudes impact behavior in commercial settings. The data analyzed are from a survey administered at 14 colleges and universities across the country. The final data set contains 665 responses. Results from this study suggest that both business and non-business students believe that selfish and self-interested behavior is common in business. Students believe that to be successful, business decisions need to be motivated by these antisocial attitudes. This finding reveals a level of ignorance regarding the role of prosocial attitudes and behaviors in commerce. It also reveals that societal metanarratives, rather than business education alone, are likely fueling student perceptions. This provides an opportunity to move the business curriculum towards highlighting the prosocial attitudes that contribute to success in business. Antisocial attitudes and behaviors should not be ignored, but they need to be put alongside examples of businesspeople contributing to the common good.