32 Theory Atlas

The Theory Atlas collects every entry in the book in one place. Use it to look up a theory’s core claim, find theories that operate through the same mechanism, or locate candidates for a research question. In the online edition the table is searchable, sortable, and filterable. Each theory name links to its full entry.

32.1 Searchable atlas

The searchable table below lists every entry in the book.

The atlas is also available as a plain CSV file, data/theory-atlas.csv, for use in teaching materials, literature reviews, or your own analyses.

32.2 Theories by mechanism

Theories that share a mechanism are natural competitors or complements. Figure 32.1 counts the entries by dominant mechanism and part of the book.

Figure 32.1: Entries in the book by dominant mechanism, stacked by part of the book.

Table 32.1 presents the mechanism families used in the atlas.

Table 32.1: Mechanism families used in the atlas.

Mechanism	What drives behaviour	Entries	Examples
Cognition & heuristics	Limited attention, mental shortcuts, and representation	39	Upper echelons theory, Attention-based view, Effectuation, Escalation of commitment
Identity & social comparison	Who people think they are and how they compare with others	23	Identity signaling, Attraction-selection-attrition, Organizational identity, Organizational justice
Motivation & goals	Goals, expectations, rewards, and self-regulation	22	Stewardship theory, Theory of planned behavior, Job characteristics model, Organizational commitment (three-component model)
Information	What actors know, can observe, or can infer from others’ actions	18	Costly signaling, Countersignaling, Information asymmetry, Screening theory
Incentives	Payoffs, contracts, and the costs of transacting	17	Agency theory, Transaction cost economics, Creating shared value, Competitive dynamics
Learning & adaptation	Search, experimentation, selection, and reconfiguration	17	Absorptive capacity, Dynamic capabilities, Exploration vs. exploitation, Organizational ambidexterity
Networks & exchange	Relationships, reciprocity, and positions in social structure	16	Commitment-trust theory, Social capital, Social exchange theory, Strength of weak ties
Emotion & affect	Feelings, arousal, and their influence on judgment	15	Affective events theory, Social facilitation, Feelings-as-information theory, Loss aversion
Resources & capabilities	Heterogeneous, hard-to-imitate assets and routines	15	Knowledge-based view, Market-based assets, Resource-advantage theory, Resource-based view
Culture & values	Shared values and norms that differ across societies	10	Organizational culture, Person-environment fit, Transformational leadership, GLOBE
Diffusion & adoption	Spread of practices and technologies through social systems	9	Bass diffusion model, Diffusion of innovations, Information systems success model, Task-technology fit
Legitimacy & institutions	Taken-for-granted rules, norms, and social approval	7	Corporate social responsibility pyramid, Institutional theory, Legitimacy, Liability of newness
Power & dependence	Control over resources that others need	6	Resource dependence theory, Stakeholder theory, Network exchange theory, Structure-conduct-performance
Explanation	Meta-theoretical tools for building and testing theory	4	Levels of analysis, Theory building blocks, Mediation and moderation, Replication crisis

32.3 Glossary

Table 32.2 presents the glossary of recurring terms.

Table 32.2: Glossary of recurring terms.

Term	Definition
Adverse selection	A hidden-information problem in which the parties most eager to transact are those the other side would least want to transact with.
Boundary condition	A limit on the who, where, and when to which a theory’s predictions apply.
Construct	An abstract concept (e.g., trust, legitimacy) that a theory relates to other concepts. Measured imperfectly by variables.
Countersignaling	Deliberately not sending a signal because other information already separates the sender from low types.
Descriptive norm	Perception of what most people actually do.
Dynamic capability	A firm’s ability to integrate, build, and reconfigure competences to address changing environments.
Equilibrium (pooling)	An outcome in which different types take the same action, so the action reveals nothing.
Equilibrium (separating)	An outcome in which different types take different actions, so the action reveals type.
HARKing	Hypothesizing after the results are known: presenting post hoc hypotheses as if they were a priori.
Injunctive norm	Perception of what most people approve or disapprove of.
Isomorphism	The tendency of organizations in a field to become similar in structure and practice.
Level of analysis	The unit (individual, dyad, group, firm, market) at which a construct or theory is defined.
Loss aversion	The tendency for losses to loom larger than gains of the same size.
Mechanism	The process through which a cause produces an effect. The ‘why’ of a theory.
Mediator	A variable that transmits the effect of an independent variable to a dependent variable.
Moderator	A variable that changes the strength or direction of a relationship.
Moral hazard	A hidden-action problem in which one party changes behaviour after a contract because the other cannot observe it.
Nomological network	The web of theoretical relationships in which a construct is embedded, used to establish construct validity.
Proposition	A statement of relationship between constructs. A hypothesis is its testable counterpart in terms of variables.
Reference point	The benchmark against which outcomes are coded as gains or losses.
Regulatory fit	The increased value people experience when the manner of goal pursuit matches their regulatory orientation.
Signal	An observable action chosen by an informed party that conveys information about an unobservable characteristic.
Social capital	Resources embedded in, and accessible through, social relationships.
Structural hole	A gap between two contacts who are not connected to each other, which a broker can span.
VRIO	Valuable, rare, inimitable, organized: the conditions for a resource to yield sustained competitive advantage.