Monthly Archives: August 2016

Chapter published in Handbook on Theories of Governance

Handbook on Theories of Governance book coverEarlier this summer the first edition of the Handbook on Theories of Governance was published by Edgar Elgar.  Edited by Chris Ansell and Jacob Torfing, the book provides a comprehensive and insightful overview of the wide range of theories relating to governance.  The term governance has become increasingly popular in recent decades, as it captures for many scholars and practitioners the complexity of collective action that transcends more conventional terms and concepts like politics, policymaking, and government.  However, it is used differently in different circles, and much confusion and misunderstandings has been the result.  This book makes an important contribution to both documenting that variety of uses and providing an overarching framework for understanding them.

I contributed a chapter on “Information-Based Governance,” which serves as the first article in the section on theoretical modes of analysis.  In the chapter I provide a summary of governance strategies that use information as the primary driver of collective action, reviewing the relevant literature on the topic and then discussing in more detail empirical work on the effectiveness of these strategies.  I am honored to have had the opportunity to contribute to a volume with such a distinguished group of scholars, and I very much hope readers of the handbook find the chapter to be a useful addition to our understanding of the phenomenon of governance.

Academy of Management in Anaheim

AOMLogo-ReverseWithKnockOutType-8(1)While I’m it sure wasn’t as fun-filled as the Disneyland attractions across the street from my hotel, I nevertheless very much enjoyed attending the Academy of Management Annual Meeting in Anaheim earlier this month.   I went to some great panels on corporate sustainability, and was surprised by the range of topics and fields covered in the papers presented.  Sessions I attended included “The Institutional Turn in CSR,” “The Value of Values for Organization Theory,” “The Use of Technology and Mobile Apps to Teach Corporate Sustainability,” “Time and Sustainability,” “Stakeholders through the Value Chain,” and “Entrepreneurship and Sustainability,” among others.  Definitely learned a lot, and met a great number of cool people doing some fascinating work.

I presented a paper I’ve been working on with one of my students, Philip Yu ’16, on the mental budgeting and organic food preferences.  We showed using a survey experiment that people who are told that they can credit the extra costs of organic food to either their philanthropy or personal health budgets are more likely to indicate an intention to buy organic food.  I got some great feedback on the paper from other participants in the session, and we are looking forward to revising and submitting it soon.