Synopses & Reviews
Review
Organizational Ecology is an exceptional book. It is at several points all exemplar of integrating formal theory with sophisticated empirical research... The future will look back to...the period when theory emerged to formalize the temporal component in the relationship between competition and formal organization. The key book in that long look will be Hannan and Freeman's Organizational Ecology. This is a book in which we can all take pride as sociologists. Ronald S. Burt
Review
Michael Hannan and John Freeman began one of organization theory's more acrimonious debates. Borrowing heavily from the biological literature on population ecology, Harman and Freeman argue that macrosocial processes play a major role in determining organizational success or failure, more so than managerial action... If you are interested in the debate, and you wish to be able to argue intelligently about the underlying issues, this is a good book to read. American Journal of Sociology
Review
In the business of academic research, one often hears exhortations for the value of programmatic, long-term, longitudinal research, yet such instantiations are rare. Hannan and Freeman's volume stands as one of these uncommon examples...For any serious scholar of organizations and strategy it would make sense to study this book. Raymond F. Zammuto - Journal of Management
Synopsis
Hannan and Freeman examine the ecology of organizations by exploring the competition for resources and by trying to account for rates of entry and exit and for the diversity of organizational forms. They show that the destinies of organizations are determined more by impersonal forces than by the intervention of individuals.
About the Author
Michael T. Hannan is Professor of Sociology, Stanford University.John Freeman is Professor, Graduate School of Management, Cornell University.
Table of Contents
Preface
PART 1 :Theory
1.Organizations and Social Structure
Organizational Diversity
Perspectives on Organizational Change
The Demography and Ecology of Organizations
Population Thinking
Evolution of Organizational Forms
Dynamic and Comparative Analysis
2. Theoretical Background
Organization Theory and Sociology: Missing Connections
Comparison of Contemporary Approaches
Controversies and Misunderstandings
Managerial Implications and Applications
3. Boundaries of Forms and Populations
Approaches to Defining Forms
A Focus on Boundaries
Boundary Dynamics and Diversity
Implications for Research
4. Structural Inertia and Organizational Change
Structural Inertia
A Hierarchy of Inertial Forces
Variations in Strength of Inertia
5. Competition and the Niche
The Principle of Isomorphism
The Niche
Classical Competition Theory
Niche Overlap and Competition
6. Modeling the Dynamics of Organizational Populations
Variations in Intrinsic Founding Rates
Effects of Environments on Carrying Capacities
Conceptualizing the Size of Populations
Carrying Capacities and Density Dependence
Rate Dependence and Diversity Dependence
Dynamics of Selection
PART 2: Methods
7. Designs of Empirical Studies
Defining Events
National Labor Unions
Semiconductor Merchant Producers
Newspaper Publishers in San Francisco
Comparison of Data Sets
8. Models and Methods of Analysis
Describing Organizational Histories
Models for Transition Rates
Counting Process Models
Estimation and Testing
PART 3: Empirical Finding
9. The Population Ecology of Founding and Entry
Core Questions
Founding Rates of Labor Unions
Entry Rates of Semiconductor Manufacturing Firms
Founding Rates of Newspaper Firms
Comparisons and Contrasts
10. Age Dependence in Failure Rates
The Liability of Newness
National Labor Unions
Exits of Semiconductor Manufacturing Firms
11. The Population Ecology of Organizational Mortality
Disbanding Rates of Labor Unions
Exit Rates of Semiconductor Firms
Failure Rates of Newspaper Firms
Comparisons and Contrasts
12. Dynamics of Niche Width and Mortality
Niche Width and Mortality of Restaurants
Niche Width and Exit Rates of Semiconductor Firms
Comparisons and Contrasts
13. Conclusions
Implications of the Research
Problems for Analysis
References
Name Index
Subject Index