Decay, Shock, and Renewal: Operational Routines and Process Entropy in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Authors:
Gopesh Anand;John Gray;Enno Siemsen
Affiliations:
College of Business, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, Illinois 61820;Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210;Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
Venue:
Organization Science
Year:
2012

Citing 22
Cited 1

Central problems in the management of innovation

Management Science
The persistence and transfer of learning in industrial settings

Management Science
The acquisition, transfer, and depreciation of knowledge in service organizations: productivity in franchises

Management Science
The road to “root cause”: shop-floor problem-solving at three auto assembly plants

Management Science - Special issue on frontier research in manufacturing and logistics
Unanticipated side effects of successful quality programs: exploring a paradox of organizational improvement

Management Science - Special issue on frontier research in manufacturing and logistics
Organizational Learning: Creating, Retaining, and Transferring Knowledge

Organizational Learning: Creating, Retaining, and Transferring Knowledge
Flexibility Versus Efficiency? a Case Study of Model Changeovers in the Toyota Production System

Organization Science
Integrating Strategic, Organizational, and Human Resource Perspectives on Mergers and Acquisitions: a Case Study of Synergy Realization

Organization Science
Organizational Routines as a Source of Continuous Change

Organization Science
Retrospective data collection and analytical techniques for patient safety studies

Journal of Biomedical Informatics - Patient safety
Coordinating Mechanisms in Care Provider Groups: Relational Coordination as a Mediator and Input Uncertainty as a Moderator of Performance Effects

Management Science
The Dynamic Value of Hierarchy

Management Science
Managing Knowledge in Organizations: An Integrative Framework and Review of Emerging Themes

Management Science
Experiential Learning Processes of Exploitation and Exploration Within and Between Organizations: An Empirical Study of Product Development

Organization Science
The Role of Volition in Organizational Learning: The Case of Automotive Product Recalls

Management Science
Innovation and Attention to Detail in the Quality Improvement Paradigm

Management Science
Remembrance of Things Past? The Dynamics of Organizational Forgetting

Management Science
Crossing an Apparent Chasm: Bridging Mindful and Less-Mindful Perspectives on Organizational Learning

Organization Science
Mindfulness and the Quality of Organizational Attention

Organization Science
Managing the Impact of Employee Turnover on Performance: The Role of Process Conformance

Organization Science
Attentional Triangulation: Learning from Unexpected Rare Crises

Organization Science
“I've Got a Theory Paper---Do You?”: Conceptual, Empirical, and Theoretical Contributions to Knowledge in the Organizational Sciences

Organization Science

Routine reconfiguration in traditional companies' e-commerce strategy implementation: A trajectory perspective

Information and Management

Quantified Score

Hi-index	0.00

Visualization

Abstract

In this study, we examine decay in adherence to operational routines over time. Our empirical setting is the worldwide pharmaceutical industry, and we focus on operational routines used to maintain product quality. Based on an analysis of longitudinal data from U.S. Food and Drug Administration FDA inspections, we find that the tendency of operational routines to decay is widespread. Our results also illustrate that FDA inspections act as external renewals that halt decay in adherence to routines. In addition, manufacturing plants are found to vary significantly in their level of decay. Using data on mergers and acquisitions affecting these plants, we find that mergers appear to cause decay in adherence to routines. However, acquisitions appear to serve as renewals and halt such decay. Based on our overall findings, we present theoretical implications for research in organizational routines and practical insights for companies and regulatory authorities.