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Abstract

In this dissertation, I examine how interfirm competition affects employees’ competitive behaviors. A related literature in social psychology, economics, and management on groups has examined the effects of intergroup competition on group members' competitive behaviors. It finds that intergroup competition typically reduces individuals’ tendencies to engage in competitive behaviors against their own group’s members and increases their tendency to act against competing groups and their members. However, these studies often apply research designs that may not be suitable for studying interfirm competition and its effects on employees’ competitive behaviors. Some of the features in the group-level studies that are uncommon in firms include individuals’ inability to pursue membership in competing groups, limitations on their ability to act against their own group members, and one-shot intergroup competitions that do not differ in their psychological importance to the group. Such limitations raise questions about the applicability of the findings from the group competition literature to interfirm competition and its influence on employees’ competitive behavior. This dissertation addresses these gaps through a literature review and two empirical papers.

The first paper of my dissertation is a literature review on the intergroup competition literature and the applicability of its findings to interfirm competition and employees’ competitive behaviors. In this paper, I conduct a comprehensive review of 90 articles on intergroup competition and its impact on individuals’ competitive behaviors, published over the past six decades. I first summarize the theories and methodologies that are often applied in the intergroup competition literature and review the key findings that are likely to apply to interfirm competitions. In addition, I identify and discuss potential avenues for future research concerning the impact of interfirm competition on the competitive behaviors of employees. The key findings of this review are that little work has specifically examined the effect of interfirm competition on employees’ competitive behavior and that findings from the intergroup competition literature are unlikely to directly translate to firms due to their more complex social dynamics and incentive structures.

The second paper is a quantitative study, accepted in December 2023 for publication in the Academy of Management Journal1. Together with Prof. Hans Frankort and Prof. Paolo Aversa, we study the cross-level effects of firm-level tournaments on employees’ competitive behaviors against other individuals internal and external to their firm. We propose a theory of reputational incentives to explain how employees respond differently to competitive threats and opportunities facing their firm. Our theory predicts that employees engage in fewer internal and more external competitive actions when their firm faces competitive threats, and that they engage in more internal and external competitive actions when their firm faces competitive opportunities. Our theory also predicts that employees’ responses are stronger when these threats and opportunities are unexpected, such as when the competitors have inferior or superior resources. We test this theory in panel data on the population of motorcycle riders competing in MotoGP from 2004 to 2020. Our results largely support our theory.

The third paper is a quantitative study that examines how the effect of internal competition intensity – i.e., the number of employees in the internal competition – on firm performance depends on the type of competition a firm faces2. I argue that the effect depends on whether employees in the internal competition are pursuing internal or external career opportunities, and the amount of attention the competition receives from their current and external employers. Firm competitions that receive significant attention from the current employer reduce the negative effect of internal competition intensity on firm performance by encouraging employees to prioritize the firm's success. In contrast, when firm competition gathers more attention from external employers, employees tend to focus on their individual performance, exacerbating the negative effect of internal competition intensity on firm performance. I test my hypotheses using panel data from the National Hockey League (NHL) for the years 2014-2020. The results support my hypotheses.

Publication Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) H Social Sciences > HF Commerce
Departments:	Bayes Business School > Bayes Business School Doctoral Theses Bayes Business School > Management Doctoral Theses

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