Winner of the 2012 INFORMS/Organization Science Dissertation Proposal Competition
It is my pleasure to announce the results of this year's INFORMS/Organization Science Dissertation Proposal Competition. We received 86 proposals. Eight finalists were selected based on initial evaluations by reviewers. On October 13, 2012 the finalists presented their dissertation proposals to a distinguished panel of judges at the INFORMS Annual Conference in Phoenix, AZ. All of the finalists did an outstanding job of presenting their proposals.
The winner of the 2012 INFORMS Dissertation Proposal Competition is:
Melissa A. Valentine
Harvard Business School, Harvard University
"Team Scaffolds: How Minimal In-Group Structures Support Fast-Paced Teaming"
The runner-up is:
Elizabeth (Bess) D. Rouse
Carroll School of Management, Boston College
"Kill Your Darlings: Understanding How Creative Workers Respond to Changes in Control Over Their Ideas"
If you know Melissa or Bess, or any of the other finalists, please congratulate them for the significant accomplishment of being selected as part of this elite group of reserachers. The other six finalists for the 2012 competition, listed in alphabetical order, were:
Sean R. Martin
Cornell University, Johnson Graduate School of Management
"Stories About Values are Valuable Stories: How the Characters and Context of Organizational Stories Influence Individuals' Values"
Mary-Hunter (Mae) McDonnell
Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management
"If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them: Corporate Sponsorship of Social Movement Boycotts"
Jay O'Toole
University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin School of Business
"Abandoned Projects: Organizational Knowledge and Learning in New Product Development"
Ryan L. Raffaelli
Boston College, Carroll School of Management
"Identity and Institutional Change in a Mature Field: The Re-Emergence of the Swiss Watchmaking Industry, 1970-2008"
Andrew K. Schnackenberg
Case Western Reserve University, Weatherhead School of Management
"Institutionalizing Rogue Practices: How Loan Sharking and Drug Trafficking Contributed to the Development of the Payday Loan and Medical Marijuana Industries"
Shellwyn L. Weston
New York University, Stern School of Business
"Envisioning the Improbable: Distributional Knowledge and Judgment in Heavy-Tailed Contexts"
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the panel of judges who evaluated all of the proposals. Each judge generously volunteered his or her time and resources to attend the day-long competition in Phoenix and provided the finalists with feedback on their dissertations. This year's panel of judges was:
| Victor Bennett, University of Southern California |
| Bert Cannella, Arizona State University |
| Scott DeRue, University of Michigan |
| Deborah Dougherty, Rutgers University |
| Scott Johnson, Oklahoma State University |
| Kyle Lewis, University of Texas |
| Jennifer Nahrgang, Arizona State University |
| Pri Shah, University of Minnesota |
Finally, I would like to offer my thanks to the close to one-hundred reviewers who volunteered their time in helping select the 8 finalists, and I would especially like to thank Dan Levinthal, Editor-in-Chief of Organization Science, and Kathleen Luckey, Managing Editor of Organization Science, for the tremendous amount of help and support they provided in managing the proposal review process.
Jared D. Harris
Darden School of Business, University of Virginia
2012 INFORMS/Organization Science Dissertation Competition Chair