ARTICLE REVIEWS
Orlitzky, M., Schmidt F. L. and Rynes, S. L., 2003. Corporate social and financial performance: A meta-analysis, Organization Studies, 24 (3), pp. 403-441. [online] Available at: < http://oss.sagepub.com> [Accessed 13 February 2012]
Article Outline
This study intended to show that sufficient data could be gathered to establish a relationship between CSP (Corporate Social Performance) and CFP (Corporate Financial Performance).
The authors asserted that an organization’s operations and strategies in the non-market and market environment affected the organization’s performance. Despite the inconclusive findings of previous studies on the relationship between CSP and CFP, the authors believed that these studies provided conclusions that had been ignored or overlooked by organizational scholars.
The authors reviewed previous studies conducted in this area and mentioned some of the methods used in these studies, such as vote counting and narrative reviews. They also reviewed some of the existing theories related to CSP and CFP, which included the instrumental stakeholder theory, the stakeholder-agency theory, the good management theory, and the slack resources theory. In addition, they discussed the mediating effects of CSP in accordance to the internal resources/learning perspective and the reputation perspective.
As well, the authors discussed how measurement strategy served as a moderator variable where the different measures were classified as market-based, accounting-based, and perceptual. They also discussed the measurement strategies associated with the CSP construct, which consisted of 1.) the managerial CSP principles and values; 2.) the observable outcomes, CSP processes, and social audits; 3.) reputation ratings; and 4.) CSP disclosures.
In conclusion, the findings suggested that “corporate virtue in the form of social responsibility and, to a lesser extent, environmental responsibility is likely to pay off, although the operationalizations of CSP and CFP also moderate the positive association” (Orlitzky 2003, p. 403).
Based on the findings of the study, the authors also made recommendations for future research, which included a deeper inquiry for the identification of moderators; a research on whether CSP processes must be considered as a social performance measure; and a research where only environmental and social performance outcomes are counted as CSP.
Finally, the authors gave recommendations for managers, which included the use of CSP as a reputational lever and the integration of non-market strategies with market strategies to gain optimal effectiveness
Research Method Used
The authors conducted a meta-analysis of fifty-two studies, which resulted in a sample size of 33,878 observations.
This study used the Psychometric meta-analysis method for the research and also made use of Hunter and Schmidt’s sub grouping algorithm for the moderator analyses.
Psychometric meta-analysis is a technique that has gained credibility in the area of research especially in areas where a number of studies had conflicting or inconclusive results. This method aggregates the results of previous individual studies and provides corrections for statistical artefacts such as measurement and sampling errors. It then provides results that are much more precise than other forms of research reviews. It is also considered the “most sophisticated research-integration technique” (Orlitzky et al., 2003, p. 404) due to its capability of quantifying the impact of methodological and theoretical deficiencies in a given line of inquiry.
Aside from providing results with a higher level of precision, another advantage to the method used was that it included a file drawer analysis. This addressed availability bias, which implies that the results of unpublished studies might negate or drastically change the results of the current study. The file drawer analysis results showed that it would take over a thousand unpublished studies for any impact or change to be made on the conclusions derived from the current study. This further affirms the accuracy of the study’s results and addressed the only possible disadvantage in the method conducted, which is availability bias.
Walton, E. J., 2007. The persistence of bureaucracy: A meta-analysis of Weber’s model of bureaucratic control, Organization Studies, 26 (4), pp. 569-600. [online] Available at:
< http://oss.sagepub.com> [Accessed 13 February 2012]
Article Outline
In this study, Walton (2007) assessed the general validity of the bureaucratic control model by drawing on about 4 decades of empirical research. He focused on “the strength of relationships among core aspects of formal structures within the model” (Walton, 2007, p. 570). He also aimed to address “whether the observed pattern of relationships among the variables” (Walton, 2007, p. 581) persisted over time.
Walton started by defining and describing Weber’s theory of bureaucracy, as well as the major characteristics of bureaucracy. He also discussed the theories of organization; the theories of structural functionalism; structural contingency theory, and comparative organization analysis. In addition, Walton identified 6 meta-analytical reviews that were available in organizational literature.
The study examined the relationships among the main characteristics of Weber’s bureaucratic control model based on variables such as formalization, decentralization, standardization, and differentiation. He also hypothesized that the emergence of alternatives to the bureaucratic form would weaken the relationships among the bureaucratic control model variables.
The findings of the study showed a positive interrelation among the six structural variables. The findings also showed that the date of the study was not a moderator. Rather, the study showed that the strength of relationships in the bureaucratic control model persisted over time.
Finally, the article ended with a more thorough discussion on the bureaucratic control model and modern organization theory. It also included appendices of the data obtained from the study.
Research Method Used
The study focused on primary studies that were published from January 1960 to December 1999 and that reported empirical relationships among the structural variables. He also selected 727 work establishments in the United States as the national probability sample to be used as a reference study for measures of formalization, decentralization, vertical and horizontal differentiation.
Walton used meta-analysis as the technique to obtain estimations of the “general relationships among key aspects of bureaucratic control” (Walton, 2007, p. 569) where the effects of statistical artefacts were removed and where the relative persistence of the bureaucratic control model was explored. In addition, moderator analysis was performed to test for the effects of time on the estimates derived.
One advantage of this research method was that it reduced the breadth and complexity of research by enabling the integration of studies conducted in the span of four decades. It was also able to reconcile the different and conflicting findings of previous studies. It can keep track of vast amounts of data with which the researcher can conduct a more detailed analysis. In addition, this method also enabled the researcher to arrive at credible and accurate conclusions that would be hard to accomplish using other research approaches. Moreover, it made the summarization of numerous variables easy to perform, which was not possible with other methods.
On the other hand, the study was also subjected to availability bias, but the file drawer analysis conducted showed that it would take a large number of unpublished studies to invalidate the results of the current study.
Possibly the only weakness of this study from the writer’s perspective is that it included only three studies since 1988. This makes the writer question whether the results of this study are still applicable to this day or if the companies involved in the primary studies still hold the same structures today. It should be noted that the use of technology in organizations became prevalent only since the 1990s and this could have caused changes in organizational structures.
