Management Papers
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of this Version
9-2012
Publication Source
Strategic Management Journal
Volume
33
Issue
9
Start Page
1001
Last Page
1015
DOI
10.1002/smj.1958
Abstract
Performance differences between firms are generally attributed to organizational factors rather than to differences among the individuals who make up firms. As a result, little is known about the part that individual firm members play in explaining the variance in performance among firms. This paper employs a multiple membership cross-classified multilevel model to test the degree to which organizational or individual factors explain firm performance. The analysis also examines whether individual differences among middle managers or innovators best explain firm performance variation. The results indicate that variation among individuals matter far more in organizational performance than is generally assumed. Further, variation among middle managers has a particularly large impact on firm performance, much larger than that of those individuals who are assigned innovative roles.
Copyright/Permission Statement
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Mollick, E. (2012), People and process, suits and innovators: the role of individuals in firm performance. Strat. Mgmt. J., 33: 1001–1015., which has been published in final form at doi: 10.1002/smj.1958. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving http://olabout.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-820227.html#terms.
Keywords
firm performance, firm effects, individual effects, middle managers, innovation
Recommended Citation
Mollick, E. (2012). People and Process, Suits and Innovators: The Role of Individuals in Firm Performance. Strategic Management Journal, 33 (9), 1001-1015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/smj.1958
Date Posted: 27 November 2017
This document has been peer reviewed.