Inertia, Environments, and Strategic Choice: A Quasi-Experimental Design for Comparative-Longitudinal Research

Abstract

This paper develops a research design for examining the relative influence of managers and environments on organizational activity over time. We outline three basic models of organization evolution: (1) an inertial model, which emphasizes constraints on evolution imposed by early patterns of exchange; (2) an external control model, which posits change in organizational activities that is guided by changes in environmental conditions over time; and (3) a strategic management model, which emphasizes the role of senior executives in choosing patterns and domains of competitive activity. Using the general logic of experimental design, we outline methods for comparing longitudinal patterns in change and persistence that will distinguish between these alternative perspectives. Specifically, we describe procedures for operationalizing two basic parameters of research design: (1) the organization population cohort, which imposes systematic restrictions on sampling; and (2) a generalized version of the product class life cycle, which helps isolate changes in environmental conditions for comparing organizational activity patterns over time. Data from an ongoing study of firms in the minicomputer product class are presented to illustrate these concepts.