WELCOME
Thank you for visiting my website, where you can find information about my education, research and teaching experience. I’m currently a faculty member in the department of Organization Studies at the Tilburg University. Prior to my current appointment, I was a postdoctoral research scholar at the Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis, USA. I received my Ph.D. in business administration and MBA from the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, USA.
I’m currently interested in the development and consequences of social hierarchies (power and status), and I'm pursuing this line of work in the intra-organizational context (e.g. small teams) and inter-organizational context (e.g. think tanks). My intra-organizational work examines the structure and function of social hierarchies in organizational groups and teams. Scholars continue to debate whether these social hierarchies are ultimately functional or dysfunctional. My research looks to resolve this debate by tracking team processes like conflict, coordination, and learning along with contextual conditions like organization structure and culture to see how these elements shape the influence of social hierarchies on the overall performance, creativity and productivity of organizational groups and teams. I’ve constructed a database comprised of several years worth of data collected from hundreds of teams within a diverse array of organizations. I’m collaborating with several colleagues within and outside my department on the basis of this database. Overall, through this research I hope to solve one of the most vexing questions in Organizational Studies—how and if hierarchy within groups and teams benefits or limits organizations.
My inter-organizational work examines the structure and function of social hierarchies in contemporary US public policy by focusing on the role of think tanks and policy experts. Think tanks have been behind some of the most significant political events in recent history—from the enormously successful Marshall Plan, to the disastrous Iraq War, to ongoing political efforts to discredit climate change. While think tanks continue to wield tremendous policy influence, researchers often argue about the value of these organizations without considering—or measuring—how think tanks actually relate—with each other and with the various fields of organizations around them. In my work I ask how think tanks' position within their field and the broader public policy field shape the credibility of their expert claims for two important audiences: civic society and US congress. Overall, I aim to organize and uncover crucial knowledge about these organizations and how their experts’ claims shape some of the most critical policy decisions around the world.
I'm also eager to work and mentor students or prospective students (bachelor, master or doctoral) who share similar interests in social hierarchies (power and status). Please don't hesitate to contact me (email: [email protected]). My main research has appeared in the Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Organization Science, Journal of Management and Personnel Psychology.
PUBLICATIONS
Vandaie, R. & Bechara, J. P. (2024). Strength in numbers: Scale, scope, and performance in multipartner alliances. Long Range Planning. 57(5): 1-15. doi: 10.1016/j.lrp.2024.102454
Jang, D., Bechara, J. P., & Bottom, W. P. (2022). Ways and means: How think tanks use social media to influence public policy. In J.K Jameson and M. F. Hannah (Eds.), Contemporary Trends in Conflict and Communication: Technology and Social Media. DeGuyter. doi: 10.1515/9783110687262-002
Gray, S., Bunderson, J. S., Boumgarden, P., & Bechara, J. P. (2019). Engineering interaction: structural change, locus of identification, and the formation and maintenance of cross-unit ties. Personnel Psychology. 72(4): 599-622. doi: 10.1111/peps.12337
Van de Ven, A. H., Bechara, J. P. & Sun, K. (2017). How outcome agreement and power balance among parties influence processes of organizational learning and non-learning. Journal of Management. 45(3): 1252-1283. doi: 10.1177/0149206317698021 - Runner up for the Annual Department of Organizaton Studies Best Paper Award, Tilburg University, Netherlands..
Shah, P., Bechara, J. P., Drefahl, M., Kolars, J., LaRusso, N., Wood, D., & Spurrier, B. (2014). Temporal elements in career selection decisions: An archival study investigating career decisions in medicine. Organization Science, 25(1): 245-261. doi: 10.1287/orsc.2013.0838 - Winner of the Annual Department of Organization Studies Best Paper Award, Tilburg University, Netherlands. A replication was published here.
Van de Ven, A. H., Leung, R., Bechara, J. P. & Sun., K. (2012). Changing organizational designs and performance frontiers. Organization Science, 23(4): 1055-1076.doi: 10.1287/orsc.1110.0694
Bechara, J. P. & Van de Ven, A. H. (2011). Triangulating philosophies of science to understand complex organizational and managerial problems. Research in the Sociology of Organizations. 32: 343-364. doi: 10.1108/S0733-558X(2011)0000032014
Van de Ven, A. H., Rogers, R., Bechara, J. P. & Sun, K. (2008). Organizational diversity, integration and performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 29(3): 335-354. doi: 10.1002/job.511
Bechara, J. P. & Van de Ven, A. H. (2007). Philosophy of science underlying engaged scholarship. In Van de Ven, A. H., Engaged Scholarship: A Guide for Organizational and Social Research. Oxford University Press. - Winner of the 2008 Academy of Management George R. Terry book. url: tinyurl.com/y5mgp7ex
Thank you for visiting my website, where you can find information about my education, research and teaching experience. I’m currently a faculty member in the department of Organization Studies at the Tilburg University. Prior to my current appointment, I was a postdoctoral research scholar at the Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis, USA. I received my Ph.D. in business administration and MBA from the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, USA.
I’m currently interested in the development and consequences of social hierarchies (power and status), and I'm pursuing this line of work in the intra-organizational context (e.g. small teams) and inter-organizational context (e.g. think tanks). My intra-organizational work examines the structure and function of social hierarchies in organizational groups and teams. Scholars continue to debate whether these social hierarchies are ultimately functional or dysfunctional. My research looks to resolve this debate by tracking team processes like conflict, coordination, and learning along with contextual conditions like organization structure and culture to see how these elements shape the influence of social hierarchies on the overall performance, creativity and productivity of organizational groups and teams. I’ve constructed a database comprised of several years worth of data collected from hundreds of teams within a diverse array of organizations. I’m collaborating with several colleagues within and outside my department on the basis of this database. Overall, through this research I hope to solve one of the most vexing questions in Organizational Studies—how and if hierarchy within groups and teams benefits or limits organizations.
My inter-organizational work examines the structure and function of social hierarchies in contemporary US public policy by focusing on the role of think tanks and policy experts. Think tanks have been behind some of the most significant political events in recent history—from the enormously successful Marshall Plan, to the disastrous Iraq War, to ongoing political efforts to discredit climate change. While think tanks continue to wield tremendous policy influence, researchers often argue about the value of these organizations without considering—or measuring—how think tanks actually relate—with each other and with the various fields of organizations around them. In my work I ask how think tanks' position within their field and the broader public policy field shape the credibility of their expert claims for two important audiences: civic society and US congress. Overall, I aim to organize and uncover crucial knowledge about these organizations and how their experts’ claims shape some of the most critical policy decisions around the world.
I'm also eager to work and mentor students or prospective students (bachelor, master or doctoral) who share similar interests in social hierarchies (power and status). Please don't hesitate to contact me (email: [email protected]). My main research has appeared in the Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Organization Science, Journal of Management and Personnel Psychology.
PUBLICATIONS
Vandaie, R. & Bechara, J. P. (2024). Strength in numbers: Scale, scope, and performance in multipartner alliances. Long Range Planning. 57(5): 1-15. doi: 10.1016/j.lrp.2024.102454
Jang, D., Bechara, J. P., & Bottom, W. P. (2022). Ways and means: How think tanks use social media to influence public policy. In J.K Jameson and M. F. Hannah (Eds.), Contemporary Trends in Conflict and Communication: Technology and Social Media. DeGuyter. doi: 10.1515/9783110687262-002
Gray, S., Bunderson, J. S., Boumgarden, P., & Bechara, J. P. (2019). Engineering interaction: structural change, locus of identification, and the formation and maintenance of cross-unit ties. Personnel Psychology. 72(4): 599-622. doi: 10.1111/peps.12337
Van de Ven, A. H., Bechara, J. P. & Sun, K. (2017). How outcome agreement and power balance among parties influence processes of organizational learning and non-learning. Journal of Management. 45(3): 1252-1283. doi: 10.1177/0149206317698021 - Runner up for the Annual Department of Organizaton Studies Best Paper Award, Tilburg University, Netherlands..
Shah, P., Bechara, J. P., Drefahl, M., Kolars, J., LaRusso, N., Wood, D., & Spurrier, B. (2014). Temporal elements in career selection decisions: An archival study investigating career decisions in medicine. Organization Science, 25(1): 245-261. doi: 10.1287/orsc.2013.0838 - Winner of the Annual Department of Organization Studies Best Paper Award, Tilburg University, Netherlands. A replication was published here.
Van de Ven, A. H., Leung, R., Bechara, J. P. & Sun., K. (2012). Changing organizational designs and performance frontiers. Organization Science, 23(4): 1055-1076.doi: 10.1287/orsc.1110.0694
Bechara, J. P. & Van de Ven, A. H. (2011). Triangulating philosophies of science to understand complex organizational and managerial problems. Research in the Sociology of Organizations. 32: 343-364. doi: 10.1108/S0733-558X(2011)0000032014
Van de Ven, A. H., Rogers, R., Bechara, J. P. & Sun, K. (2008). Organizational diversity, integration and performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 29(3): 335-354. doi: 10.1002/job.511
Bechara, J. P. & Van de Ven, A. H. (2007). Philosophy of science underlying engaged scholarship. In Van de Ven, A. H., Engaged Scholarship: A Guide for Organizational and Social Research. Oxford University Press. - Winner of the 2008 Academy of Management George R. Terry book. url: tinyurl.com/y5mgp7ex
