Reproducing Knowledge: Inaccurate Replication and Failure in Franchise Organizations

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Winter, Sidney G.; Szulanski, Gabriel; Ringov, Dimo; Jensen, Robert J.
• 署名单位: University of Pennsylvania; INSEAD Business School; Universitat Ramon Llull; Escuela Superior de Administracion y Direccion de Empresas (ESADE); Brigham Young University
• 刊物名称: ORGANIZATION SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1047-7039
• DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1110.0663
• 发表日期: 2012
• 页码: 672-685
• 关键词: knowledge transfer; adaptation; franchise; multiunit organizations

摘要

The recognition that better use of existing knowledge can enhance performance has spawned substantial interest in the replication of productive knowledge within organizations. An enduring belief is that when expanding by replication, organizations can and should strive to adapt to fit the salient characteristics of new environments. Yet some have argued that the exploitation of an established template for doing business by replication can be more successful when the template is copied precisely. Using unique longitudinal data, we report a large-sample empirical investigation of the survival consequences of accurate replication versus local adaptation by examining the effect that deviation from the template has on the survival chances of franchise units within a large franchise organization.