Exemplar
Key ideas
National Research Council report [26]
Five best practices for successful change initiatives and safety programs
Balancing the distinction between production efficiency and safety
Creating and sustaining trust through the organization
Actively managing the process of change
Involving workers in decision-making
Using knowledge management practices to create a learning organization
Latham’s book [27]
Six lessons from the hiring stage to the retention stage
Use the right tools to identify and hire high-performing employees
Inspire your employees to effectively execute strategy
Develop and train employees to create a high-performing team
Motivate your employees to become high-performers
Instill resiliency in the face of setbacks
Coach, don’t appraise, your employees to be high-performers
Cialdini’s book [28]
Six key principles of persuasion
Reciprocity—people tend to return a favor
Commitment and consistency—once people commit to something, they are likely to follow through
Social proof—people will do what do they see others doing
Authority—people tend to obey authority figures
Liking—people are more easily persuaded if they like you
Scarcity—perceived scarcity will generate greater interest
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What doesn’t work—conversational questions such as “Tell me about yourself,” asking different applicants different questions
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What works—the situational interview, patterned behavioral interviews, job simulations and realistic job previews
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Specific, step-by-step guidance in implementing the above four tools
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Where to find supporting evidence attesting to the effectiveness of the tools.
A third exemplar, Robert Cialdini’s “Influence: The psychology of persuasion,” [28] compiles six principles underlying the art of persuasion (i.e., getting another person to agree to something), based on extensive empirical research and illustrated using practical examples (Table 12.1). As a relatively mature field that is over a century old, and with many scholars trained in psychology, a foundational discipline in which meta-analysis is well-established, this area of management is perhaps somewhat better developed from an EBMgt perspective [29], as illustrated by the availability not only of systematic review articles but also integrative books that explicitly translate research findings into practice guidelines [30, 31].
Managing Process and Systems
Given the current interest among clinicians in managing quality, it is appropriate to feature an EBMgt exemplar from that field. Glasgow et al., [32] in their systematic review of Lean and Six Sigma methods , assessed their effectiveness in creating and sustaining improvements in the acute care setting. Their conclusion was that, although these methods have been implied in a wide range of settings, their true impact is difficult to judge, given the lack of rigorous evaluation—thus calling for further strengthening the evidence base. A second exemplar is Damanpour’s meta-analysis [33] of the determinants and moderators of organizational innovation . This analysis showed that organizational determinants such as functional differentiation, professionalism, and managerial attitude towards change were significantly associated with innovation outcomes. A third exemplar is Stahl and Voigt’s meta-analysis [34] of the relationship between cultural differences and performance in Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) . This meta-analysis of 46 studies suggested that cultural differences affect post merger integration and financial performance, although in nuanced ways that reflect antecedent conditions, research design, and sample characteristics. Table 12.2 provides some additional details for each exemplar.
Table 12.2
Exemplars of EBMgt—managing process and systems
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Exemplar
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Key ideas
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Glasgow et al.’s systematic review of Lean and Six Sigma [32]
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Systematic review of 47 articles that met inclusion criteria showed that Lean, Six Sigma, and Lean Sigma can be helpful as quality improvement approaches. However, the absence of rigorous evaluation and clear evidence of sustained improvement makes it difficult to judge their true impact
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Damanpour’s meta-analysis of innovation[33]
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Statistically significant predictors of innovation across 23 studies
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Specialization
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Functional differentiation
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Professionalism
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Centralization
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Managerial attitude toward change
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Technical knowledge resources
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Administrative intensity
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Slack resources
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Type of organization and scope of innovation are more effective moderators than are the type of innovation and stage of adoption
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Stahl and Voigt’s meta-analysis of culture differences in M&A [34]
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Meta-analysis of 46 studies showed that cultural differences between merging forms affect sociocultural integration, synergy realization, and shareholder value in different, and sometimes opposing ways. Degree of relatedness and the dimensions of cultural differences are significant moderators, as are study research design and sample characteristics
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Managing Strategy
The three exemplars featured in this area deal with issues that are of central concern to strategists and top managers. The first deals with the effectiveness of strategic planning. Although the annual strategic planning cycle is a staple of modern management, various empirical studies over two decades had produced inconsistent results with respect to the relationship between strategic planning and firm performance. However, Miller and Cardinal’s meta-analysis [35] confirmed the positive effect of strategic planning, and demonstrated that inconsistencies in prior research were primarily due to variations in methods. The second exemplar deals with the effectiveness of diversification strategies. When faced with growth constraints in current markets, many managers contemplate diversifying into related and sometimes unrelated segments. Yet, examples of both successful and unsuccessful diversification are in abundance, and the empirical base had produced divergent results. Palich et al. [36] brought clarity to this debate by showing that the relationship between diverse education and performance is curvilinear—moderate levels of diversification are associated with the highest performance. The third exemplar deals with the effectiveness of M&A transactions. In many industries, we tend to see periodic cycles of M&A activity. Yet, scholars in management as well as in finance debate how effective M&A actions are in enhancing firm performance. King, Dalton, Daily and Covin’s meta-analysis [37] brought order out of this chaos by demonstrating that across studies, M&A transactions have at best a slightly negative impact act on performance. More important, they pointed out that unidentified variables may explain significant variance in post-acquisition performance, highlighting the need for additional theory development and changes to M&A research methods. Subsequent results, such as the finding that the bulk of negative impact is concentrated in large M&A deals, and that smaller deals tend to be more effective [38], have borne out their insights. Table 12.3 provides additional details for each exemplar.
Table 12.3
Exemplars of EBMgt—managing strategy
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Exemplar
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Key ideas
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|---|---|
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Miller and Cardinal’s meta-analysis of strategic planning [35]
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Meta-analysis of 26 studies showed that strategic planning positively influences from performance. Prior inconsistencies in the planning—performance linkage explained by methods factors
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Palich et al.’s meta-analysis of diversification [36]
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