Essays on individuals and organizations

[摘要] (cont.) The second essay, ;;The Firm as a Potemkin Village,;; uses qualitative research on firm founders in the computer game industry, as well as the theoretical implications of the previous papers, to examine the role of firms in industries where individuals are primarily responsible for firm performance. I suggest that firms are often created for reasons of legitimacy, rather than for performance alone. My third paper, ;;Not in Our Stars, But in Ourselves;; examines the tension between socially-embedded and individual factors in the performance of new ventures. Through an examination of over 8,100 career spells and 167 new firms, I find significant effects from both genealogical and individual explanations of new venture performance.

[发布机构] Massachusetts Institute of Technology