Field Experiments in Strategy Research

65 Pages Posted: 30 Dec 2014

See all articles by Aaron Chatterji

Aaron Chatterji

Duke University - Fuqua School of Business

Michael Findley

Brigham Young University - Department of Political Science

Nathan M. Jensen

Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science

Stephan Meier

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston; IZA Institute of Labor Economics; Columbia University - Columbia Business School, Management

Daniel L. Nielson

Brigham Young University

Abstract

Strategy research often aims to empirically establish a causal relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable such as firm performance. For many important strategy research questions, however, traditional empirical techniques are not sufficient to establish causal effects with high confidence. We propose that field experiments have potential to be used more widely in strategy research, leveraging methodological innovations from other disciplines to address persistent puzzles in the literature. We first review the advantages and disadvantages of using field experiments to answer questions in strategy. We define two types of experiments, "strategy field experiments" and "process field experiments," and present an original example of each variety. The first study explores the liability of foreignness and the second study tests theories regarding corporate culture.

Keywords: field experiments, research methods, culture, liability of foreignness, foreign direct investment, strategy research, corporate culture

JEL Classification: C93, D03, L10

Suggested Citation

Chatterji, Aaron and Findley, Michael and Jensen, Nathan M. and Meier, Stephan and Nielson, Daniel L., Field Experiments in Strategy Research. IZA Discussion Paper No. 8705, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2543899 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2543899

Aaron Chatterji (Contact Author)

Duke University - Fuqua School of Business ( email )

Box 90120
Durham, NC 27708-0120
United States

Michael Findley

Brigham Young University - Department of Political Science ( email )

745 SWKT
Provo, UT 84602
United States
801.422.5317 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://politicalscience.byu.edu/faculty/mfindley/

Nathan M. Jensen

Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Political Science ( email )

219 Eliot Hall
St. Louis, MO 63130
United States

Stephan Meier

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston ( email )

600 Atlantic Avenue
Boston, MA 02210
United States

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Columbia University - Columbia Business School, Management ( email )

3022 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
United States

Daniel L. Nielson

Brigham Young University ( email )

Provo, UT 84602
United States

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