How and Why Theories Matter: A Comment on Felin and Foss (2009)

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Ferraro, Fabrizio; Pfeffer, Jeffrey; Sutton, Robert I.
• 署名单位: University of Navarra; IESE Business School; Stanford University; Stanford University
• 刊物名称: ORGANIZATION SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1047-7039
• DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1090.0432
• 发表日期: 2009
• 页码: 669-675
• 关键词: self-fulfilling prophecies; PERFORMATIVITY; sociology of science

摘要

Theories matter because they affect behavior and can, under certain circumstances, become self-fulfilling. For a theory to become self-fulfilling, people must be aware of the theory and have the ability to make choices according to its dictates, social and physical arrangements are altered on the basis of the theory's prescriptions, and the proponents have the power to implement social arrangements consistent with the theory. Economics and other social science theories often fulfill these conditions, with implications not only for the work of scholars, but also for how we think about testing theories that can change the world they describe.