Peter Abell | London School of Economics and Political Science (original) (raw)
Papers by Peter Abell
Organization Studies, 1986
book provides an illuminating interaction that between theory and practice. The theory running th... more book provides an illuminating interaction that between theory and practice. The theory running through the contributions, sometimes explicitly, sometimes implicitly, present, is organization theory (and in particular socio-technical systems theory) which is perhaps potentially the single most important contribution of the social sciences to solving the practical problems of human existence in modern society. The qualification potentially must be used here since relatively few among those responsible for managing complex organizations made use of such theoretical knowledge.’ Such claims for ’socio-technical systems theory’ are in my view unfounded and the book shows how and why. It comprises a series of essays written by relatively junior managers associated with the Shell Group of Companies detailing various problems of organization and human motivation, each of which is provided with an epilogue by a more senior manager. These essays are largely devoid of theoretical trappings, and though they might not contribute a great deal to organization theory per se, they often make fascinating reading. Here is the world of real people tussling with real problems. These essays culminate in a review by G. H. Hofstede of his much publicized research on cultural variations in organizational structure, where he attempts some sort of synthesis of the material presented in the earlier chapters. This contribution is once again interesting, though most readers will have encountered
Contemporary Sociology, 1990
The British Journal of Sociology, 2000
Social theor y has failed intellectually, yet by most academic and popular standards it continues... more Social theor y has failed intellectually, yet by most academic and popular standards it continues to attract all the trappings of success. Why should this be so? To furnish an answer one must examine the nature of social theor y itself, explore the character of its failure and seek an understanding of how, nevertheless, it continues to attract approval. In the latter respect a sociological account of the functions which social theor y plays in both intellectual and practical life is required. Rather than targeting social theor y in the round we shall critically review aspects of Castells' volume The Rise of the Network Society (Volume 1 only). Castells' writings would be endorsed by most social scientists as an exemplar of what is usually termed social theor y. That The Rise of the Network Society is successful is beyond all doubt; rst published in 1996 it has already been reprinted four times and attracted rave reviews from other social theorists. Cardoso (a political scientist) describes it as 'A masterpiece. .. (which) will have an enormous impact on (the) social sciences.' Giddens (a sociologist) opines that '.. . it is a very major work of social and economic theor y' and nally, Touraine (another sociologist) writes: 'Castells' master book rediscovers the highest ambition of modern social science.' Furthermore, Castells appears to have attracted much attention outside academic circles. He was appointed to the European Commission's High level Expert Group on the Information Society and, was sought by the Russian political authorities to advise on similar matters. The applause of other social theorists is not perhaps unexpected, it being one of the appurtenances of the calling that much mutual appreciation (and citation) takes place. There is after all a shared interest in the promotion of the genre. If, however, the whole enterprise is shaky, the extra-academic appreciation is more dif cult to comprehend. Perhaps the European Commission and the Russian authorities were spellbound by the possibilities inherent to the following:
Sociological Methods & Research, 2019
The article explores the role that subjective evidence of causality and associated counterfactual... more The article explores the role that subjective evidence of causality and associated counterfactuals and counterpotentials might play in the social sciences where comparative cases are scarce. This scarcity rules out statistical inference based upon frequencies and usually invites in-depth ethnographic studies. Thus, if causality is to be preserved in such situations, a conception of ethnographic causal inference is required. Ethnographic causality inverts the standard statistical concept of causal explanation in observational studies, whereby comparison and generalization, across a sample of cases, are both necessary prerequisites for any causal inference. Ethnographic causality allows, in contrast, for causal explanation prior to any subsequent comparison or generalization.
The True Value of CSR
The phrase corporate social responsibility (CSR) is almost invariably used to suggest that corpor... more The phrase corporate social responsibility (CSR) is almost invariably used to suggest that corporations should pay significant attention to the impact their activities have upon their physical and social environments, usually going beyond the requirements of the law and any competitive pressures. It is often believed that CSR serves as a bulwark against unethical practices, facilitating a culture that encourages exemplary policies and ethical corporate governance. But this belief does not always hold true. For example, shortly before ENRON’s fraudulent accounting practices came under public scrutiny, the company had numerous CSR programmes in place. It received environmental awards and was involved in policies to curb climate change, promote human rights and endorse anti-corruption measures. ENRON’s CEO participated in conferences on ethics and emphasized the values of ‘communication, respect and integrity’. Just before its bankruptcy, the company invested in various social mutual funds (Kelly, 2002).
Sociologia, 2018
Certain key ideas have served to stimulate thought about the nature of sociological inquiry by pr... more Certain key ideas have served to stimulate thought about the nature of sociological inquiry by presenting frameworks which are adjustable to the varying demands of different sorts of data. They provide, as it were, heuristics which enable a systematic debate about the optimal simplifications that are enjoined by varying types of data, notably what are sometimes labelled as quantitative and qualitative. In so doing they facilitate a variety of analyses, generate hypotheses and eventually lead to discoveries that transcend inherited boundaries. Our claim is that the Coleman diagram, though largely interpreted within a quantitative tradition, is one such framework for formalizing qualitative methods and for understanding the interplay between different types of data in the social sciences.
The European Physical Journal B, 2011
We investigate the possibility of virtual community formation in an online social network under a... more We investigate the possibility of virtual community formation in an online social network under a rapid increase of activity of members and newcomers. The evolution is studied of the activity of online users at The Guardian-Comment Is Free forum-covering topics related to the Middle East turmoil during the period of 1 st of January 2010 to the 28 th of March 2011. Despite a threefold upsurge of forum users and the formation of a giant component, the main network characteristics, i.e. degree and weight distribution and clustering coefficient, remained almost unchanged. PACS. PACS-key discribing text of that key-PACS-key discribing text of that key
Applied Mechanics and Materials, 2015
The balance of signed structures is defined in complete network. The local and global sign adjust... more The balance of signed structures is defined in complete network. The local and global sign adjust rules in imbalance structure are designed under the first structural theorem. Complete linked network model is built. The convergent process of balance triangles was simulated and the results under local and global sign adjust rules were compared carefully. The impact of network size and nodes’ balance requirement on network global balance ratio are analyzed carefully.
Management Decision, 2007
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the networking effects of venture capital (VC) fir... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the networking effects of venture capital (VC) firms on portfolio companies. VCs can bring specific skills and abilities to their ongoing relationships with their portfolio companies and thus add value by influencing key portfolio company operations. High levels of engagement also translate into giving advice and support, helping with the team culture, creating strategic alliances, or exercising corporate governance. A particular mechanism through which these support services are delivered is syndication investment.Design/methodology/approachUsing network theory tools the paper investigates the effects of syndication on VC firm performance.FindingsThe paper finds that networked VC firms are better placed to benefit from their investments.Originality/valueThe paper sheds light on the importance of network relationships in the venture capital industry.
Socio-Economic Review, 2003
Managerial and Decision Economics, 2008
Micro-foundations have become an important emerging theme in strategic management. This paper add... more Micro-foundations have become an important emerging theme in strategic management. This paper addresses micro-foundations in two related ways. First, we argue that the kind of macro (or "collectivist") explanation that is utilized in the capabilities view in strategic management ⎯ which implies a neglect of micro-foundations ⎯ is incomplete. There are no mechanisms that work solely on the macro-level, directly connecting routines and capabilities to firm-level outcomes. While routines and capabilities are useful shorthand for complicated patterns of individual action and interaction, ultimately they are best understood at the micro-level. Second, we provide a formal www.druid.dk model that shows precisely why macro explanation is incomplete and which exemplifies how explicit micro-foundations may be built for notions of routines and capabilities and for how these impact firm performance.
Economica, 1975
An academic directory and search engine.
Economic and Industrial Democracy, 1990
This paper draws upon both case-study and statistical materials, gathered in Tanzania, in an atte... more This paper draws upon both case-study and statistical materials, gathered in Tanzania, in an attempt to determine how industrial producer cooperatives might be promoted. A logistic pattern of cooperative growth is tested and found to dominate a view that the number of coops grows because of support organizations. Drawing upon an ecological model it is suggested that the factor which limits growth is the availability of management and, further, that the growth of the competing 'small-scale sector' is at the expense of the cooperative sector. Management nurtured in the cooperative sector moves into the small-scale sector. Case-study analysis using a Boolean analysis suggests that legitimate and capable management are essential to success of cooperatives particularly with technologies which generate production interdependencies. Finally, supporting evidence for the significance of management competence and interdependence in explaining performance is outlined using an augmented...
The British Journal of Sociology, 1976
The British Journal of Sociology, 1972
Organization Studies, 1986
book provides an illuminating interaction that between theory and practice. The theory running th... more book provides an illuminating interaction that between theory and practice. The theory running through the contributions, sometimes explicitly, sometimes implicitly, present, is organization theory (and in particular socio-technical systems theory) which is perhaps potentially the single most important contribution of the social sciences to solving the practical problems of human existence in modern society. The qualification potentially must be used here since relatively few among those responsible for managing complex organizations made use of such theoretical knowledge.’ Such claims for ’socio-technical systems theory’ are in my view unfounded and the book shows how and why. It comprises a series of essays written by relatively junior managers associated with the Shell Group of Companies detailing various problems of organization and human motivation, each of which is provided with an epilogue by a more senior manager. These essays are largely devoid of theoretical trappings, and though they might not contribute a great deal to organization theory per se, they often make fascinating reading. Here is the world of real people tussling with real problems. These essays culminate in a review by G. H. Hofstede of his much publicized research on cultural variations in organizational structure, where he attempts some sort of synthesis of the material presented in the earlier chapters. This contribution is once again interesting, though most readers will have encountered
Contemporary Sociology, 1990
The British Journal of Sociology, 2000
Social theor y has failed intellectually, yet by most academic and popular standards it continues... more Social theor y has failed intellectually, yet by most academic and popular standards it continues to attract all the trappings of success. Why should this be so? To furnish an answer one must examine the nature of social theor y itself, explore the character of its failure and seek an understanding of how, nevertheless, it continues to attract approval. In the latter respect a sociological account of the functions which social theor y plays in both intellectual and practical life is required. Rather than targeting social theor y in the round we shall critically review aspects of Castells' volume The Rise of the Network Society (Volume 1 only). Castells' writings would be endorsed by most social scientists as an exemplar of what is usually termed social theor y. That The Rise of the Network Society is successful is beyond all doubt; rst published in 1996 it has already been reprinted four times and attracted rave reviews from other social theorists. Cardoso (a political scientist) describes it as 'A masterpiece. .. (which) will have an enormous impact on (the) social sciences.' Giddens (a sociologist) opines that '.. . it is a very major work of social and economic theor y' and nally, Touraine (another sociologist) writes: 'Castells' master book rediscovers the highest ambition of modern social science.' Furthermore, Castells appears to have attracted much attention outside academic circles. He was appointed to the European Commission's High level Expert Group on the Information Society and, was sought by the Russian political authorities to advise on similar matters. The applause of other social theorists is not perhaps unexpected, it being one of the appurtenances of the calling that much mutual appreciation (and citation) takes place. There is after all a shared interest in the promotion of the genre. If, however, the whole enterprise is shaky, the extra-academic appreciation is more dif cult to comprehend. Perhaps the European Commission and the Russian authorities were spellbound by the possibilities inherent to the following:
Sociological Methods & Research, 2019
The article explores the role that subjective evidence of causality and associated counterfactual... more The article explores the role that subjective evidence of causality and associated counterfactuals and counterpotentials might play in the social sciences where comparative cases are scarce. This scarcity rules out statistical inference based upon frequencies and usually invites in-depth ethnographic studies. Thus, if causality is to be preserved in such situations, a conception of ethnographic causal inference is required. Ethnographic causality inverts the standard statistical concept of causal explanation in observational studies, whereby comparison and generalization, across a sample of cases, are both necessary prerequisites for any causal inference. Ethnographic causality allows, in contrast, for causal explanation prior to any subsequent comparison or generalization.
The True Value of CSR
The phrase corporate social responsibility (CSR) is almost invariably used to suggest that corpor... more The phrase corporate social responsibility (CSR) is almost invariably used to suggest that corporations should pay significant attention to the impact their activities have upon their physical and social environments, usually going beyond the requirements of the law and any competitive pressures. It is often believed that CSR serves as a bulwark against unethical practices, facilitating a culture that encourages exemplary policies and ethical corporate governance. But this belief does not always hold true. For example, shortly before ENRON’s fraudulent accounting practices came under public scrutiny, the company had numerous CSR programmes in place. It received environmental awards and was involved in policies to curb climate change, promote human rights and endorse anti-corruption measures. ENRON’s CEO participated in conferences on ethics and emphasized the values of ‘communication, respect and integrity’. Just before its bankruptcy, the company invested in various social mutual funds (Kelly, 2002).
Sociologia, 2018
Certain key ideas have served to stimulate thought about the nature of sociological inquiry by pr... more Certain key ideas have served to stimulate thought about the nature of sociological inquiry by presenting frameworks which are adjustable to the varying demands of different sorts of data. They provide, as it were, heuristics which enable a systematic debate about the optimal simplifications that are enjoined by varying types of data, notably what are sometimes labelled as quantitative and qualitative. In so doing they facilitate a variety of analyses, generate hypotheses and eventually lead to discoveries that transcend inherited boundaries. Our claim is that the Coleman diagram, though largely interpreted within a quantitative tradition, is one such framework for formalizing qualitative methods and for understanding the interplay between different types of data in the social sciences.
The European Physical Journal B, 2011
We investigate the possibility of virtual community formation in an online social network under a... more We investigate the possibility of virtual community formation in an online social network under a rapid increase of activity of members and newcomers. The evolution is studied of the activity of online users at The Guardian-Comment Is Free forum-covering topics related to the Middle East turmoil during the period of 1 st of January 2010 to the 28 th of March 2011. Despite a threefold upsurge of forum users and the formation of a giant component, the main network characteristics, i.e. degree and weight distribution and clustering coefficient, remained almost unchanged. PACS. PACS-key discribing text of that key-PACS-key discribing text of that key
Applied Mechanics and Materials, 2015
The balance of signed structures is defined in complete network. The local and global sign adjust... more The balance of signed structures is defined in complete network. The local and global sign adjust rules in imbalance structure are designed under the first structural theorem. Complete linked network model is built. The convergent process of balance triangles was simulated and the results under local and global sign adjust rules were compared carefully. The impact of network size and nodes’ balance requirement on network global balance ratio are analyzed carefully.
Management Decision, 2007
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the networking effects of venture capital (VC) fir... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the networking effects of venture capital (VC) firms on portfolio companies. VCs can bring specific skills and abilities to their ongoing relationships with their portfolio companies and thus add value by influencing key portfolio company operations. High levels of engagement also translate into giving advice and support, helping with the team culture, creating strategic alliances, or exercising corporate governance. A particular mechanism through which these support services are delivered is syndication investment.Design/methodology/approachUsing network theory tools the paper investigates the effects of syndication on VC firm performance.FindingsThe paper finds that networked VC firms are better placed to benefit from their investments.Originality/valueThe paper sheds light on the importance of network relationships in the venture capital industry.
Socio-Economic Review, 2003
Managerial and Decision Economics, 2008
Micro-foundations have become an important emerging theme in strategic management. This paper add... more Micro-foundations have become an important emerging theme in strategic management. This paper addresses micro-foundations in two related ways. First, we argue that the kind of macro (or "collectivist") explanation that is utilized in the capabilities view in strategic management ⎯ which implies a neglect of micro-foundations ⎯ is incomplete. There are no mechanisms that work solely on the macro-level, directly connecting routines and capabilities to firm-level outcomes. While routines and capabilities are useful shorthand for complicated patterns of individual action and interaction, ultimately they are best understood at the micro-level. Second, we provide a formal www.druid.dk model that shows precisely why macro explanation is incomplete and which exemplifies how explicit micro-foundations may be built for notions of routines and capabilities and for how these impact firm performance.
Economica, 1975
An academic directory and search engine.
Economic and Industrial Democracy, 1990
This paper draws upon both case-study and statistical materials, gathered in Tanzania, in an atte... more This paper draws upon both case-study and statistical materials, gathered in Tanzania, in an attempt to determine how industrial producer cooperatives might be promoted. A logistic pattern of cooperative growth is tested and found to dominate a view that the number of coops grows because of support organizations. Drawing upon an ecological model it is suggested that the factor which limits growth is the availability of management and, further, that the growth of the competing 'small-scale sector' is at the expense of the cooperative sector. Management nurtured in the cooperative sector moves into the small-scale sector. Case-study analysis using a Boolean analysis suggests that legitimate and capable management are essential to success of cooperatives particularly with technologies which generate production interdependencies. Finally, supporting evidence for the significance of management competence and interdependence in explaining performance is outlined using an augmented...
The British Journal of Sociology, 1976
The British Journal of Sociology, 1972