What do we think happened at ABB? Pitfalls in research about firm performance

Philip M. Rosenzweig

International Journal of Management and Decision Making, 2004, vol. 5, issue 4, 267-281

Abstract: This article recounts the story of Swedish-Swiss engineering firm, ABB, from its creation in 1988 until 2003. We find that the same variables used by reporters and academics alike to explain ABB's rise – the leadership of Percy Barnevik, a complex organisation design, and a unique corporate culture – were also used to explain the company's fall. It is argued that these and other variables, while ostensibly independent variables, are often not measured independent of firm performance but are coloured by what is known about firm performance. The implications for research about firm performance, both field studies as well as empirical studies using survey design, are discussed.

Keywords: firm performance; research methods; strategy; field research; ABB; performance evaluation; organisational performance. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004
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