The Matthew Effect and the Lucan Lawyer: The Ecological Consequences of Status Shocks

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 371-373
Author(s):  
Brian P. Reschke ◽  
Toby E. Stuart
Keyword(s):  
Matthew Effect ◽  
Future Research ◽  
High Status ◽  
Ecological Consequences ◽  
The Matthew Effect

Who are the neighbors of those who attain high status, and what is their fate in the wake of another actor’s status elevation? In this essay, we consider the consequences of an individual’s change in status for proximate individuals and domains. Particularly, we identify two, potentially simultaneous shifts in resources: a concentration of local recognition around high-status individuals and their immediate neighbors, and an overall elevation of recognition to the domain. We identify conditions in which within-domain or between-domain reallocation will occur, and we outline opportunities for future research.

Systems of Evaluation and the Matthew Effect

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 362-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Sauder
Keyword(s):  
Information Flow ◽  
Matthew Effect ◽  
High Status ◽  
The Matthew Effect ◽  
Definition Of

Existing research on the Matthew Effect establishes that this dynamic can alter information flow and the distribution of rewards in ways that lead to cumulating advantages for high status actors. We know little, however, about how systems of evaluation, and especially variations in systems of evaluations, influence the expression and strength of these outcomes. Drawing on analyses of the effects of rankings on organizations, I consider how different evaluation contexts can change both audience perceptions about which organizations are award worthy and the definition of merit on which reward distributions are based.

The Matthew Effect as an Unjust Competitive Advantage: Implications for Competition Near Status Boundaries

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 378-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henning Piezunka ◽  
Wonjae Lee ◽  
Richard Haynes ◽  
Matthew S. Bothner
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Graduate School ◽  
Matthew Effect ◽  
Academic Department ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Network Data ◽  
French Academy ◽  
Elite Status ◽  
The Matthew Effect ◽  
Young Researchers

Merton often envisioned status growth as a process of stepping across a boundary between one status grade and another more elite status grade. Such boundaries include the border between graduate school and a top academic department that young researchers try to traverse, or the frontier between scientists outside the French Academy and scientists inside the French Academy. As it is now common to measure status continuously using network data, the behavioral ramifications of status boundaries have been understudied in recent research. In this essay, we focus on competitive behaviors that emerge near a status boundary because of the desirability—as well as the “double injustice”—of the Matthew Effect. Offering insights for future research, we discuss how these competitive behaviors are likely to delay, or even derail, status growth for those who are near a status boundary.

Older, but Wiser? “The Matthew Effect” at 50: Introduction to the Dialog

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 359-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah M. G. Otner
Keyword(s):  
Research Agenda ◽  
Middle Age ◽  
Matthew Effect ◽  
High Status ◽  
Scientific Careers ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Matthew Effect

Merton’s famous essay on recognition and rewards in scientific careers, “The Matthew Effect in Science”, has reached middle age. This Dialog reflects on established research that separates the origins and the consequences of status, and recent contributions regarding the constraints of status advantages. In doing so, this collection responds to a growing scholarly debate about the returns to high status. The authors engage with Merton’s cumulative status advantage, and go further to identify downsides of increased recognition both for individuals and for the status system itself. The six articles in this Dialog evaluate the progress made towards Merton’s proposed research agenda and highlight opportunities for its extension.

scholarly journals The Matthew effect in empirical data

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (98) ◽  
pp. 20140378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matjaž Perc
Keyword(s):  
Biological Networks ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Preferential Attachment ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Scientific Progress ◽  
Power Laws ◽  
Matthew Effect ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Matthew Effect ◽  
The Rich

The Matthew effect describes the phenomenon that in societies, the rich tend to get richer and the potent even more powerful. It is closely related to the concept of preferential attachment in network science, where the more connected nodes are destined to acquire many more links in the future than the auxiliary nodes. Cumulative advantage and success-breads-success also both describe the fact that advantage tends to beget further advantage. The concept is behind the many power laws and scaling behaviour in empirical data, and it is at the heart of self-organization across social and natural sciences. Here, we review the methodology for measuring preferential attachment in empirical data, as well as the observations of the Matthew effect in patterns of scientific collaboration, socio-technical and biological networks, the propagation of citations, the emergence of scientific progress and impact, career longevity, the evolution of common English words and phrases, as well as in education and brain development. We also discuss whether the Matthew effect is due to chance or optimization, for example related to homophily in social systems or efficacy in technological systems, and we outline possible directions for future research.

The Dark Side of Status

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 368-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda J. Sharkey
Keyword(s):  
Matthew Effect ◽  
Social Recognition ◽  
Status Attainment ◽  
Dark Side ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Status Seeking ◽  
Unethical Behaviors ◽  
The Matthew Effect

Merton’s work on the Matthew Effect identified as a key downside of status attainment systems the negative consequences borne by individuals who matched their peers in talent but for a variety of reasons lacked social recognition. In this essay, I review and synthesize research on other negative effects associated with either status-seeking or status-preserving behaviors, as well as negative consequences that may follow from having attained status. I highlight the possibility of diversionary and unethical behaviors, as well as factors that drive performance declines in the wake of status attainment. I discuss possibilities for future research aimed at identifying features of status systems that are more or less likely to generate a significant “dark side” of status.

Fellowship Behavior in Division 17 and the MOMM Cartel

1991 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. Horan ◽  
Chris D. Erickson
Keyword(s):  
Sociology Of Science ◽  
Matthew Effect ◽  
Academic Programs ◽  
The Other ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Science Literature ◽  
Scholarly Productivity ◽  
Governing Body ◽  
The Matthew Effect ◽  
Counseling Psychologists

Graduates and employees of four institutions-the MOMM Cartel-dominate every science and practice organ of Division 17's governing body. Counseling psychologists from the other 60 academic programs (the OUTSIDERs) face numerous barriers to professional ascendancy. Six of 13 fellow nominees during the 1988-1989 year were MOMM members; none were rejected. Three OUTSIDERs were elected; four were rejected. Mean scholarly productivity for each group was 13, 21.3, and 19.7 Psyc LIT citations, respectively. The accepted OUTSIDERs were significantly more productive than the MOMMs; two of the four rejected OUTSIDERs ranked numbers one and two in scholarly productivity among all nominees. No relationship appeared between scholarship and fellow decisions; MOMM membership strongly predicted election to fellow status. Personal familiarity with the evaluators, rather than professional service, apparently accounts for these filings -a variant of the "Matthew Effect" discussed in the sociology-of-science literature Recommendations for reform are offered

Do “rising stars” avoid risk?: status-based labels and decision making

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Kotlyar ◽  
Leonard Karakowsky ◽  
Mary Jo Ducharme ◽  
Janet A. Boekhorst
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Corporate Strategy ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Risk Tolerance ◽  
High Potential ◽  
Future Research ◽  
High Status ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Risky Decision ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine how status-based labels, based on future capabilities, can impact people's risk tolerance in decision making. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper the authors developed and tested theoretical arguments using a set of three studies employing a scenario-based approach and a total of 449 undergraduate business students. Findings – The findings suggest that labeling people in terms of future capabilities can trigger perceptions of public scrutiny and influence their risk preferences. Specifically, the results reveal that individuals who are recipients of high-status labels tend to choose lower risk decision options compared to their peers. Research limitations/implications – The study employed scenarios to examine the issue of employee labeling. The extent to which these scenarios have truly captured the dynamics of labeling is questionable, and future research should employ a field-based study to examine whether the reported effect can be observed in a “real” work context. Practical implications – Organizations are concerned about their future leadership capacity and often attempt to grow leadership talent by identifying high-potential employees early on. The results of this study suggest that such practice may have an unintentional negative effect of reducing high-potentials’ tolerance toward risky decision making, thus potentially impacting these future leaders’ decision making in the realm of corporate strategy, R&D, etc. Originality/value – The issue of how labeling individuals in terms of future capabilities can impact their risk preference has been largely ignored by organizational research. This paper suggests that the popular practice of identifying high-potential employees may have unintentional negative effects by lowering their risk tolerance.

The propensity to business startup

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Rahim Abu Bakar ◽  
Syed Zamberi Ahmad ◽  
Norman S. Wright ◽  
Hazbo Skoko
Keyword(s):  
Control Variable ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression ◽  
Future Research ◽  
High Status ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Moderating Variables ◽  
Social Legitimacy ◽  
Gender And Education ◽  
Business Startup ◽  
Determining Factors

Purpose The purpose of this study is to assess the determining factors of entrepreneurial business startup in Saudi Arabia from an eclectic perspective. Design/methodology/approach Based on Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data of 2000 Saudi Arabian respondents, the study analyzes a multitude of individual factors which are classified into four groups: financial resources; social legitimacy; entrepreneurial personality; and entrepreneurial competencies. Gender and education are moderating variables influencing the relationship, whereas age is a control variable using binary logistic regression technique. Findings Out of ten hypotheses, only four hypotheses, namely, income, fear of failure, perception of high status and knowledge of other entrepreneurs, have a significant relationship with the possibility of a business startup. Originality/value Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

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