Isomorphism and Firm Performance in the UK House Building Industry, 1999-2013

Isomorphism or strategic homogeneity within organisational fields is a widely observed phenomenon and, thus, a relevant topic for management theorists and practitioners (Huff, 1982; Oliver, 1997a). This study attempts to establish support for a negative relationship between isomorphism and firm effi...

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Main Author: Meyer, Andreas P.
Format: Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)
Language:English
Published: 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/27138/
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author Meyer, Andreas P.
author_facet Meyer, Andreas P.
author_sort Meyer, Andreas P.
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Isomorphism or strategic homogeneity within organisational fields is a widely observed phenomenon and, thus, a relevant topic for management theorists and practitioners (Huff, 1982; Oliver, 1997a). This study attempts to establish support for a negative relationship between isomorphism and firm efficiency and performance, as suggested by DiMaggio and Powell (1983). The longitudinal, multiple-case study (Eisenhardt, 1989) of eight UK house builders between 1999 and 2013 finds that isomorphism might have negatively affected the performance of the UK house builders during the crisis in 2007/2008. Moreover, the findings suggest that the performance decline might have been prevented by rejecting volume growth orientated strategies and by reacting more sensitively to the approaching economic downturn. The study contributes to institutional theory and the understanding of the dangers of isomorphism and strategic homogeneity in a highly cyclical industry in the extreme case of an economic crisis.
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spelling nottingham-271382017-10-19T13:53:50Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/27138/ Isomorphism and Firm Performance in the UK House Building Industry, 1999-2013 Meyer, Andreas P. Isomorphism or strategic homogeneity within organisational fields is a widely observed phenomenon and, thus, a relevant topic for management theorists and practitioners (Huff, 1982; Oliver, 1997a). This study attempts to establish support for a negative relationship between isomorphism and firm efficiency and performance, as suggested by DiMaggio and Powell (1983). The longitudinal, multiple-case study (Eisenhardt, 1989) of eight UK house builders between 1999 and 2013 finds that isomorphism might have negatively affected the performance of the UK house builders during the crisis in 2007/2008. Moreover, the findings suggest that the performance decline might have been prevented by rejecting volume growth orientated strategies and by reacting more sensitively to the approaching economic downturn. The study contributes to institutional theory and the understanding of the dangers of isomorphism and strategic homogeneity in a highly cyclical industry in the extreme case of an economic crisis. 2014 Dissertation (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/27138/1/MSc_Dissertation_final.pdf Meyer, Andreas P. (2014) Isomorphism and Firm Performance in the UK House Building Industry, 1999-2013. [Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)] (Unpublished) Isomorphism Firm Performance Institutional Theory House Building
spellingShingle Isomorphism
Firm Performance
Institutional Theory
House Building
Meyer, Andreas P.
Isomorphism and Firm Performance in the UK House Building Industry, 1999-2013
title Isomorphism and Firm Performance in the UK House Building Industry, 1999-2013
title_full Isomorphism and Firm Performance in the UK House Building Industry, 1999-2013
title_fullStr Isomorphism and Firm Performance in the UK House Building Industry, 1999-2013
title_full_unstemmed Isomorphism and Firm Performance in the UK House Building Industry, 1999-2013
title_short Isomorphism and Firm Performance in the UK House Building Industry, 1999-2013
title_sort isomorphism and firm performance in the uk house building industry, 1999-2013
topic Isomorphism
Firm Performance
Institutional Theory
House Building
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/27138/