Sergio Lazzarini

• Teodorovicz, T.; Lazzarini, S. L.; Cabral, S.; McGahan, A. M., 2024, "Investing in general human capital as a relational strategy: Evidence on flexible arrangements with contract workers", Strategic Management Journal, May 45(5): 902 - 938.
  Abstract: This article examines a firm's investment in the general skills of contract workers in flexible work arrangements. It theorizes that this investment may prolong a productive firm-worker collaboration even when workers’ mobility barriers are low. It also proposes that achieving such benefits requires that the firm frames the relational benefits of the investments both to managers and workers. Such a “relational framing” mitigates worker concerns about subsequent productivity demands and manager concerns about worker mobility. Experimental and non-experimental studies conducted in a multinational cosmetics direct sales company support the theory. Investments in the general skills of workers—even those in flexible work arrangements—can benefit both firms and workers by deepening the firm-worker relationship while increasing value creation.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/smj.3571

• George, G.; Fewer, T. J.; Lazzarini, S. L.; McGahan, A. M.; Puranam, P., 2024, "Partnering for Grand Challenges: A Review of Organizational Design Considerations in Public-Private Collaborations", Journal of Management, January 50(1)
  Abstract: We conduct a theory-guided review of the literatures on public–private partnerships and grand challenges (GCs). We adopt an organization design approach to review and identify constructs in public–private collaborations (PPCs) that address societal challenges. Our review identifies the complexities of organizing to tackle GCs, highlights the plurality of organizational forms in PPCs, and explores organizational design considerations in these partnerships. Given the elevated role of private actors in these collaborations, our review provides a new understanding of how they can shape a private-public interface that is robust to the scale and scope of global problems. This leads to a rich research agenda on when, why, and how public and private collaborations matter, and their implications for addressing societal challenges.

  Link(s) to publication:

  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/01492063221148992

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/01492063221148992

• Gualandris, J.; Branzei, O.; Wilhelm, M.; Lazzarini, S. L.; Linnenluecke, M.; Hamann, R.; Dooley, K. J.; Barnett, M. L.; Chen, C., 2024, "Unchaining supply chains: Transformative leaps toward regenerating social–ecological systems", J. Supply Chain Manag., January 60(1): 53 - 67.
  Abstract: The worsening climate, biodiversity, and inequity crises have existential implications. To help resolve these crises, supply chains must move beyond a minimal harm approach. Instead, supply chains must make positive contributions to and harmoniously integrate with the living systems around them. Despite agreement on this urgent need, supply chain management research still lacks a shared roadmap for establishing economically sustainable supply chains that actively regenerate social?ecological systems. This essay deepens the understanding of regenerative supply chains, inviting supply chain scholars and practitioners to rally around timely questions and codevelop new answers. We first scrutinize the paradigmatic assumptions that continue to anchor contemporary research and practice in supply chain management, showing how these once helpful assumptions now hold the community back from seeking much needed solutions. We then offer real-world examples and synthesize emerging arguments from multiple disciplines to propose three new principles of regenerative organizing: proportionality, reciprocity, and poly-rhythmicity. We also delve into the implications of pursuing these regenerative principles for supply chain coordination, governance, and resilience. Finally, we reflect on the fit of empirical research designs and methods for examining the creation of new regenerative supply chains and the conversion of existing supply chains.

  Link(s) to publication:

  https://doi.org/10.1111/jscm.12314

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jscm.12314

• Teodorovicz, T.; Lazzarini, S. L.; Cabral, S.; Nardi, L., 2023, "Can Public Organizations Perform Like Private Firms? The Role of Heterogeneous Resources and Practices", Organization Science, June 34(4): 1353 - 1650.
  Abstract: Despite the well-known governance problems in public (state-owned) organizations, such as process rigidity, limited autonomy, and weak incentives, public organizations exhibit substantial performance heterogeneity, with some performing similarly to their private counterparts. In this paper, we scrutinize those sources of heterogeneous performance based on the interplay of management practices and resources. We argue that the governance constraints in public organizations inhibit the adoption of performance-enhancing practices. However, this negative effect is attenuated by the presence of distinct resources, such as human capital. We examine these effects in the context of over 9,000 public and private schools in Brazil. We find that private schools are more likely to use internal operational practices, such as planning and human resource management, as well as practices of engaging with external stakeholders. Differential adoption of these practices partially explains why private schools outperform their public counterparts in terms of student learning. Yet, access to highly educated teachers in public schools attenuates the negative association between public governance and the adoption of superior practices. In other words, schools with skilled teachers are more likely to adopt superior practices, thus reducing their performance gap compared with private schools. This result suggests that heterogeneous resource endowments—in our context, human capital—can soften governance constraints that inhibit performance-enhancing practices in public organizations. We thus show that heterogeneous practices and resources jointly explain not only performance differences across public and private organizations but also variations in the performance of organizations with the same governance form.

  Link(s) to publication:

  https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/full/10.1287/orsc.2022.1634

  http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4074187

• Domingos, F. D.; Cabral, S.; Lazzarini, S. L.; Paes-de-Barros, R., 2022, "Beyond the Agreement: Dilemmas in Contracting for the Transfer of Management Practices", Academy of Management Proceedings, August 2022(1)
  Abstract: Contracting for the transfer of practices can be problematic because recipients might diffuse the received practices to organizational units beyond the original agreement. We highlight the crucial role of managers as diffusers of practices at the interorganizational boundary and suggest that they have incentives to exert asymmetrical effort on nontargeted units to increase aggregate organizational performance. We examine this dilemma in the context of a nonprofit partner transferring management practices to public schools with the support of civil servants (boundary managers). We gauge the ability of managers to diffuse practices and find that increased diffusion ability benefits the nontargeted units, leading to a severe underestimation of the transferring-side partner contribution. We discuss how our study advances the analysis of interorganizational contracting.

  Link(s) to publication:

  https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/AMBPP.2022.288

  http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2022.288

• Lazzarini, S. L.; Cabral, S.; Firpo, S.; Teodorovicz, T., 2022, "Why Are Counterfactual Assessment Methods Not Widespread in Outcome-Based Contracts? A Formal Model Approach", Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, July 32(3): 509 - 523.
  Abstract: Counterfactual assessment techniques involving treated and control groups, such as randomized control trials, might be used in outcome-based contracts to avoid rewarding or sanctioning service providers for social outcomes that they did not cause. However, few outcome-based contracts adopt payment rules based on counterfactual assessment techniques. Potential explanations are that these techniques are complex and involve substantial transaction costs. In this paper, we develop a theoretical formal model that integrates the literatures of incentives and policy evaluation to propose the following alternative explanation: counterfactual techniques may lead to counterproductive incentive effects if they reduce the likelihood of payment even if project managers exert sufficient effort to promote the expected interventions. Our model shows that counterfactual assessment may undermine effort when the number of treated subjects is small and there is limited investment per treated subject. Our formal model also suggests that the increased experience of the contract sponsors may inhibit the adoption of counterfactual assessment. Simulations and descriptive evidence from a unique database of 350 outcome-based contracts designed or initiated throughout the world and from linear probability models are aligned with our predictions. By offering additional explanations on why counterfactual assessment methods are not widespread in outcome-based contracts and by identifying the boundary conditions under which these methods are used in incentive contracts, this work informs the literature on cross-sector outcome-based contracts and illustrates the use of formal models to develop novel theories in public administration

  Link(s) to publication:

  https://academic.oup.com/jpart/article/32/3/509/6485792

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jopart/muab052

• Lazzarini, S. L., 2021, "Capitalism and Management Research: The Worst of Times, The Best of Times", Academy of Management Review, July 46(3): 613 - 622.
  Abstract: This review essay proposes an examination of recent management research contributions to the debate of the role of corporations in capitalist economies, focusing on (but not limited to) the recent books by Paul Adler (2019), Rebecca Henderson (2020), Sarah Kaplan (2019), and Subramanian Rangan (2018). These works identify common criticisms of capitalist systems related to an excessive corporate emphasis on economic value (i.e., shareholder primacy), their neglect of societal externalities, and their tendency toward increasing market concentration. They also eschew simplistic arguments based on the notion that companies can “do well by doing good,” which fail to recognize important trade-offs in decisions involving multiple stakeholder interests. The books, however, diverge in their solutions, ranging from suggestions to tackle these trade-offs with the incorporation of stakeholder interests to more profound changes in the structure of economic exchange. Building on the insights of these books and identifying some missing issues, I then suggest four avenues for future research: (a) the analysis of pro-social shareholder preferences, (b) a thorough analysis of comparative organizational forms, (c) the detailed assessment of the costs of organization, and (d) the reconceptualization of the notion of value creation toward a higher emphasis on social justice.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/amr.2020.0263

• Lazzarini, S. L.; Mesquita, L. F.; Monteiro, F.; Musacchio, A., 2021, "Leviathan as an inventor: An extended agency model of state-owned versus private firm invention in emerging and developed economies", Journal of International Business Studies, June 52(4): 560 - 594.
  Abstract: We examine the relative merits of state (SOE) and private (POE) ownership on firm invention output in emerging as well as developed economies. Firm SOE affords a vehicle by which governments throughout the world encourage risky investment in new technological paths. Yet, from a traditional agency–theoretical standpoint, SOEs are plagued by low-powered incentives and dysfunctional involvement (e.g., wasteful budgets and political meddling), which reduces SOE performance, relative to POEs. To examine this paradox, we build an extended agency model which, rather than overlooking agency cost drivers, entertains a more balanced view, in which these so-called agency “liabilities” in fact benefit SOEs, particularly in the sphere of inventions. We argue that, given relatively higher levels of managerial autonomy, SOEs may outperform POEs in some types of inventive output. We further propose that key boundary conditions operate to modify this base effect, in that contexts lacking political constraints – a condition found in most emerging economies – increase the risk of political meddling, reducing managerial autonomy so that any SOE inventive advantages wane significantly. We also hypothesize that this negative effect of weak institutions is attenuated in high invention productivity sectors. Empirically, we track the frequency, pioneerism, and impact of patent inventions of 521 SOEs and matched POEs for 16 years, across 43 countries and 22 industries. We find empirical support for our hypotheses based on a robust set of fixed-effects regression analyses, aided by a battery of checks to assess self-selection and omitted variable bias.

  Link(s) to publication:

  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41267-020-00327-9

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41267-020-00327-9

• Mesquita, L. F.; Saes, M. S. M.; Lazzarini, S. L.; Pongeluppe, L. S., 2021, "Can trust induce vertical integration? An experimental study of buyer–seller exchanges with distinct competencies and specific investments", Industrial and Corporate Change, June 30(3): 778 - 798.
  Abstract: Research has debated the merits of transaction cost and competence-based explanations of make-versus-buy choices. We advance this discussion by arguing that trust not only promotes markets by reducing the hazards of specific investments (as emphasized by previous work), but alternatively triggers vertical integration when parties would like to internalize distinctive competencies and at the same time avoid hierarchical failure. Our experimental results where players choose between markets and hierarchies lend support for this dual role of trust in boundary decisions.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icc/dtaa055

• Lazzarini, S. L.; Pongeluppe, L. S.; Ito, N. C.; Oliveira, F. D. M.; Ovanessoff, A., 2020, "Public Capacity, Plural Forms of Collaboration, and the Performance of Public Initiatives: A Configurational Approach", Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, October 30(4): 579 - 595.
  Abstract: We assess conditions that explain plural forms of public and private action using a comparative study of 24 public initiatives in Brazil, India, and South Africa. Measuring performance as evidence of positive outcomes to their target populations, we compare cases of high and low performance. Our configurational approach examines combinations of conditions leading to positive outcomes: public operational capacity, diverse collaborations nurtured by public units (with for-profit firms, with nonprofit organizations, and with other units in the public bureaucracy), and stakeholder orientation (permeability to multiple sources of input to design and adjust the project). We apply fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis to unveil configurations consistent with high performance. Our configurational analysis reveals two distinct paths to high performance. A path with higher private engagement involves concurrent collaborations with for-profit and nonprofit actors, whereas an alternative path with higher internal (public) engagement relies on collaborations within the public bureaucracy complemented by high permeability to inputs from multiple stakeholders. Our results also confirm that strong public capacity is necessary in all high-performance configurations. An important implication is that externalization and multiple forms of collaboration are not substitutes for weak governments. Furthermore, our configurational perspective contributes to the literature by operationalizing a multiple-actor, multiple-logic perspective describing alternative paths to high performance.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jopart/muaa007

• Casarin, A. A.; Lazzarini, S. L.; Vassolo, R. S., 2020, "The Forgotten Competitive Arena: Strategy in Natural Resource Industries", Academy of Management Perspectives, August 34(3): 378 - 399.
  Abstract: Despite their importance in the global economy, the complex competitive dynamics of natural resource industries and their implications for business performance remain largely understudied in strategic management. This article identifies major traits that are highly relevant in natural resource industries, including the standardized nature of their products, their emphasis on process-based innovations, the presence of dual physical and financial derivative markets, and the importance of nonmarket forces that affect the creation and appropriation of rents from natural resources. We propose a general framework that guides our observations, and we discuss research opportunities for the study of firm strategy in natural resource industries.

  Link(s) to publication:

  https://journals.aom.org/doi/epub/10.5465/amp.2017.0158

  http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/amp.2017.0158

• Lazzarini, S. L., 2020, "The Nature of the Social Firm: Alternative Organizational Forms for Social Value Creation and Appropriation", Academy of Management Review, July 45(3): 620 - 645.
  Abstract: I assess how alternative organizational forms affect the ability of multiple actors to appropriate economic rents in activities expected to create social value—defined as broad social benefits to a given population (including more vulnerable groups) minus their associated provision costs. I simultaneously examine three stylized forms: public bureaucracy, involving both public sponsorship and public management; public–private partnerships, with a mix of public sponsorship and private management; and social enterprise, with both private management and sponsorship from impact-oriented investors. Although the extant literature has underscored a supply-side hazard emerging when actors try to appropriate rents by economizing on noncontractible social dimensions, I also examine the implications of a demand-side tradeoff emerging when providers are tempted to focus on more profitable customer segments and exclude more vulnerable populations. In my framework, distinct organizational forms change the managerial incentives to provide inclusive, high-quality social services based on three main factors: the relative attractiveness of beneficiary segments, their cost structure, and the extent of fixed costs to implement and operate services. I thus offer a testable theory of organizational alignment, identifying the comparative merits of each form based on how they incentivize public and private actors to create and appropriate social value.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/amr.2018.0015

• Aguinis, H.; Villamor, I.; Lazzarini, S. L.; Vassolo, R. S.; Amorós, J. E.; Allen, D. G., 2020, "Conducting Management Research in Latin America: Why and What’s in It for You?", Journal of Management, May 46(5): 615 - 636.
  Abstract: We make the case that conditions and timing are right and, despite some challenges, there are many benefits to conducting management research in Latin America. Some of these conditions include an upward trend in the productivity of Latin American researchers, increased collaboration between researchers in Latin America and those in other regions, and societal, cultural, and economic characteristics that make the region an ideal “natural laboratory” to build and test management theories. Demonstrating that our arguments are not just about potential but are founded in reality, we offer a selective summary of recent research conducted in Latin America that made important contributions to micro and macro management domains and theories. These include (a) leadership; (b) small and family businesses; (c) entrepreneurship; (d) social inclusiveness, inequity, and vulnerable populations; (e) strategy and competitive dynamics in natural resource industries; (f) strategy in unstable macroeconomic contexts; (g) public (industrial) policies and business development; (h) hybrid public-private collaborations; and (i) social enterprises and blended social and economic value creation. We also describe opportunities for future research in these domains. Finally, we offer practical and actionable advice on how to address typical challenges encountered when conducting management research in Latin America. Solutions apply to those residing inside and outside of Latin America and include, among others, identifying universities with a research-oriented career path, recognizing credible university rankings and their impact, and capitalizing on local contexts to generate high-quality research. We hope our article will serve as a catalyst for future management research in Latin America.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0149206320901581

• Davis, G. F.; Anteby, M.; Briscoe, F. S.; Jennings, P. D.; Karim, S.; Kaul, A.; Lazzarini, S. L.; Özkazanç-Pan, B.; Donnelly, P.; Rasche, A., et al., 2019, "Politics, Governance, and Leadership: What Can We Learn From the Academy of Management’s Response to EO13769?", Journal of Management Inquiry, July 28(3): 283 - 290.
  Abstract: Organization design seeks to balance potentially conflicting objectives while achieving a broader mission. EO13769 created a challenge for the president of the Academy of Management in leading through these conflicts, as President Anita McGahan describes: how to be true to her own moral values while leading an organization with well-established design constraints, and members with diverse opinions. This article shares the perspectives of 12 scholars on the lessons we can learn from Professor McGahan’s leadership of a constraining organization through a challenging time.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1056492619852170

• Quelin, B. V.; Cabral, S.; Lazzarini, S. L.; Kivleniece, I., 2019, "The private scope in public–private collaborations: An institutional and capability-based perspective", Organization Science, January 30(4): 831 - 846.
  Abstract: There has been a growing interest in the organization of business activities at the public interface as illustrated by the emergent phenomenon of public–private partnerships (PPPs). In this study, we analyze the determinants of private scope in partnering with public actors—that is, the extent to which private actors are involved in multiple, consecutive value-creating activities in the partnership. Based on a unique data set of public–private agreements worldwide over two decades, we find that institutional and capability-based determinants jointly affect the extent of private scope in public–private collaborations. Our results highlight the contingent role of the quality of the institutional environment. Institutions not only facilitate greater private scope directly but also, moderate the effect of public and private capabilities on private scope. We find that prior public experience in PPPs enhances private scope in settings with high-quality institutions while having an opposing effect in low-quality environments. Moreover, public governance capabilities accumulated via units designed to deal with PPPs seem to substitute for the lack of high-quality institutions, suggesting that, even under weak institutional settings, countries can foster high private scope with the creation of pockets of specialized public capabilities. In contrast, private capabilities in PPPs, expressed as firm engagement in recurring government cofunded projects, seem to have a complementary effect: they help to increase private scope in PPPs but only when domestic institutions are of high quality. By highlighting the determinants of private actor involvement in public sector activities, our study offers important implications for the theory and practice of hybrid (cross-sector) organizational forms.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2018.1251

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