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The Organizers’ Ecology: An Empirical Study of Foreign Banks in Shanghai

Department of Organization and Personnel Management, RSM Erasmus University, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Room T8-17, Burg. Oudlaan 50, P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Department of Management of Organizations, School of Business and Management, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong
jkuilman{at}rsm.nl
mnjtli{at}ust.hk

The organizing stages that predate entry into an organizational population were studied from an ecological perspective. Based on a detailed analysis of foreign banks in Shanghai, findings are presented that suggest that the likelihood of moving from the organizing phase to the operational stages is nonmonotonically dependent on the length of the waiting time. We found that firms seeking to gain entry into a population are negatively affected by the presence of other organizers in close geographical proximity, while the number of already-established organizations has an inverted U-shaped relationship with the aspirant’s likelihood of entering a relationship that operates more broadly. After investigating the effect of the geographical location of other potential entrants, as well as the effect of relative sizes and countries of origin, we have drawn inferences about the strength of these competitors’ identities and their impact on a social actor’s decision to enter the population. Our findings are informative not only for those studying organizational founding patterns, but also for those interested in the early process of identity formation.

Key Words: pre-entry stages; organizational ecology; identity; organizational founding; mimetic entry

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