Olga Hawn - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Olga Hawn

Proceedings - Academy of Management, Aug 1, 2024

Proceedings - Academy of Management, 2013

Despite our growing knowledge about emerging markets, less attention has been paid to the academi... more Despite our growing knowledge about emerging markets, less attention has been paid to the academically bourgeoning area of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in these markets. This symposium pro...

Proceedings - Academy of Management, 2015

We examine how the strategy field is defined in the literature and find that most conceptualizati... more We examine how the strategy field is defined in the literature and find that most conceptualizations focus on financial metrics as measures of performance and only provide guidance on the strategic management of a corporation’s economic context. We then review the externalities and corporate social responsibility literatures and find that environmental and social performance is examined either in isolation or by assuming a strong form of independence from financial performance. Therefore, we identify a clear gap within the strategy field with regards to our understanding of the fundamental strategic problem in the age of sustainability. Importantly, we suggest and discuss an extended definition (i.e. a reconceptualization) of the strategy field, thus expanding its boundaries. We conclude by discussing implications for future research and practice.

Proceedings - Academy of Management, Aug 1, 2023

Social Science Research Network, Mar 29, 2011

While most studies on corporate social responsibility (CSR) are conceptualized and conducted in t... more While most studies on corporate social responsibility (CSR) are conceptualized and conducted in the context of developed countries, there is little understanding of what CSR means both in terms of the nature and strategic impact on firms in emerging markets, where most of the current commercial activity takes place. This inductive paper seeks to understand and explain the implications of CSR for Russian firms by asking what it means in that context, how it affects their international expansion efforts and performance back at home (after the initial CSR-related changes are undertaken). The results suggest significant differences by the nature of the firm (i.e. big or small-and-medium sized) as well as by relations with the state (i.e. mutual benefit or barrier). The implications for scholars and managers are discussed as to the drivers of CSR heterogeneity, and the importance of CSR in overcoming liabilities in international expansion.

Journal of Management Studies, 2019

Grand societal challenges (GSCs) represent complex, multi-level, multi-dimensional problems that ... more Grand societal challenges (GSCs) represent complex, multi-level, multi-dimensional problems that require concerted efforts by various actors-public, private, and non-profit-to be successfully addressed. Businesses-alone or in conjunction with governmental and non-profit organizations-are relevant actors in this regard, as they represent a source of innovation. Responsible innovation (RI) is a framework that allows for the governance and evaluation of innovations with regard to their potential harmful consequences and positive contributions to societal challenges. Moreover, it stipulates that this evaluation process should be facilitated by appropriate governance structures at various levels. The aim of this article is to expand theorizing on GSCs and RI and to encourage research that explores their links. We outline pertinent characteristics of GSCs that make current conceptualizations of corporate social responsibility and social innovation limited in addressing GSCs. We explicate the reflexive and participative capacities of RI governance as a complementary and promising way forward. Finally, we introduce the contributions to this Special Issue as illustrations of relevant theoretical and empirical groundwork around GSCs and RI, and outline the agenda for future research.

Strategic Management Journal, Feb 1, 2018

Research exploring investor reactions to sustainability has substantial empirical limitations, wh... more Research exploring investor reactions to sustainability has substantial empirical limitations, which we address with a large-scale longitudinal financial event study of the first global sustainability index, DJSI World. We examine investor reactions to firms from 27 countries over 17 years that are added, deleted, or continue on the index. We find that once relevant controls and comparisons to observationally-equivalent firms beyond the index are included, DJSI events have only limited significance and/or materiality. Nonetheless, investors' valuation of sustainability around the world has evolved over time, involving diminishing reactions to U.S. firms and increasing benefits, particularly of continuation on the index, over time. The study highlights the importance of careful analysis and longitudinal global samples in This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as

Social Science Research Network, Jan 17, 2014

While policies encouraging diffusion of new technologies provide incentives for adopting the foca... more While policies encouraging diffusion of new technologies provide incentives for adopting the focal good, they typically ignore the ecosystem of complementary goods and services. Based on existing literature on indirect network effects, we argue that when there is less availability of complementary goods, policies have a smaller impact on diffusion. Using a natural experiment based on the establishment of state-level solar carve-out policies, we demonstrate that solar power installations increased substantially more after the policy in cities where a critical complementary good-qualified installers-was more available.

Academy of Management Proceedings

Abstract: Organizational studies are only beginning to assess how firm value is affected when org... more Abstract: Organizational studies are only beginning to assess how firm value is affected when organizations gain or lose status. Drawing from the social evaluation literature, we suggest that the benefits and penalties that investors impose following changes in status will be moderated by firm performance. Using a large-scale financial event study of additions and deletions by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index to address potential endogeneity, we demonstrate that organizations with lower (current and expected) firm performance benefit more from gaining status and pay higher penalties for losing status. We contribute to the literature on status by extending the understanding of benefits and detriments of status to the status-seeking and status-holding organizations. We also extend the social evaluation and corporate social responsibility literatures by demonstrating that investors form their perceptions of sustainability through the lens of evaluating firm performance. Finally, we c...

This is a work in progress.

This study examines how social perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and irresponsi... more This study examines how social perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and irresponsibility (CSI) affects specific outcomes. Drawing from the social psychology literature on stereotypes, we argue that two fundamental dimensions of social perception— warmth and competence—mediate and moderate the effects of socially responsible and irresponsible practices. We propose that firms engaging in CSR are perceived as higher in warmth and, by default, competence than firms engaging in CSI; moreover, different perceptions of warmth and competence of the organization can moderate rewards and penalties for CSR and CSI. We conduct two experiments: Experiment 1 links CSR with perceptions of warmth and competence, and shows that warmth perceptions mediate the relationship between CSR and important outcomes, such as purchase intentions and reputation. Experiment 2 adds information on firms’ countries of origin to show that CSR rewards and CSI penalties will differ depending on the (mis)...

Technological search studies argue that problems trigger search, but we lack understanding of whi... more Technological search studies argue that problems trigger search, but we lack understanding of which features of a problem associate with a critical search activity: search breadth. This paper considers how different problem sources—proximate versus remote problem sources—relate to heterogeneity in search breadth. Because of differences in how familiar firms are with each problem and in expectations of their ability to influence the problem source, problems triggered by remote sources are associated with greater technological search breadth. Firms’ technological capabilities, meanwhile, temper these findings, suggesting that more capable firms search more broadly when facing problems raised by proximate problem sources. We test these ideas using data describing the U.S. renewable electricity sector from 2000 to 2010, generating theoretical, empirical, and public policy implications. Acknowledgements: The authors are grateful for feedback from Colleen Cunningham, Sinziana Dorobantu, A...

This paper extends the multidimensional view of legitimacy by conceptualizing organizational legi... more This paper extends the multidimensional view of legitimacy by conceptualizing organizational legitimacy at two levels of analysis – country and firm – and demonstrating that one dimension may help overcome the lack of another. Emerging market multinationals (EMMs) face significant challenges in international expansion partly due to suspicions about their origin or lack of home country legitimacy; we argue that they can overcome these challenges by generating social legitimacy with critical actors in host countries from CSR activities in their home countries. The study uses a quantitative analysis of almost 5,000 cross-border M&A deals from 1990 to 2011, where the acquirers come from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The results show that positive CSR helps overcome low home country legitimacy, leading to greater likelihood of and faster deal completion (and vice versa for negative CSR). We contribute to the strategic CSR and neo-institutional literatures.

This study considers the interplay between two dimensions of organizational legitimacy: Market le... more This study considers the interplay between two dimensions of organizational legitimacy: Market legitimacy arising from a firm's alignment with the norms and values of market actors and social legitimacy stemming from the firm's alignment with the norms and values of non-market actors. Using a large-scale financial event study of additions and deletions by Dow Jones Sustainability Index, we demonstrate that firms with higher market legitimacy benefit less from increased social legitimacy and lose less from decreased social legitimacy. We contribute to neo-institutional literature by highlighting that different sources of legitimacy may substitute for each other in affecting organizational outcomes.