How Golden Parachutes Unfolded: Diffusion and Variation of a Controversial Practice

Peer C. Fiss (), Mark T. Kennedy () and Gerald F. Davis ()
Additional contact information
Peer C. Fiss: Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089
Mark T. Kennedy: Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089
Gerald F. Davis: Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109

Organization Science, 2012, vol. 23, issue 4, 1077-1099

Abstract: We contribute to a growing focus on variation in diffusion processes by examining the ways in which contested practices are modified as they spread among adopters. Expanding on prior diffusion accounts, we argue that the extensiveness and similarity of a practice will vary in response to both population- and organization-level mechanisms. To examine these issues, we study variation in “golden parachute” contracts, a controversial corporate governance practice that emerged and spread widely during the hostile takeover wave of the 1980s. Using a concept network approach to analyze the composition of parachute plans, we find evidence of mechanisms that both increase and decrease extensiveness and variation of golden parachutes. Our findings hold implications for accounts of practice diffusion over contested terrain by revealing substantial variation in the course of diffusion.

Keywords: diffusion; practices; variation; institutional theory; corporate governance; golden parachute; concept network (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (22)

Downloads: (external link)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1110.0685 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:23:y:2012:i:4:p:1077-1099

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Organization Science from INFORMS Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Asher ().