Matthew: Effect or Fable?

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Azoulay, Pierre; Stuart, Toby; Wang, Yanbo
• 署名单位: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); National Bureau of Economic Research; University of California System; University of California Berkeley; Boston University
• 刊物名称: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-1909
• DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2013.1755
• 发表日期: 2014
• 页码: 92-109
• 关键词: sociology of science; status; stratification; Matthew effect

摘要

In a market context, a status effect occurs when actors are accorded differential recognition for their efforts depending on their location in a status ordering, holding constant the quality of these efforts. In practice, because it is very difficult to measure quality, this ceteris paribus proviso often precludes convincing empirical assessments of the magnitude of status effects. We address this problem by examining the impact of a major status-conferring prize that shifts actors' positions in a prestige ordering. Specifically, using a precisely constructed matched sample, we estimate the effect of a scientist becoming a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator on citations to articles the scientist published before the prize was awarded. We do find evidence of a postappointment citation boost, but the effect is small and limited to a short window of time. Consistent with theories of status, however, the effect of the prize is significantly larger when there is uncertainty about article quality, and when prize winners are of (relatively) low status at the time of election to the HHMI Investigator Program.