Damon J. Phillips

• J. Merluzzi and Damon Phillips (2016), The Specialist Discount: Negative Returns for MBAs with Focused Profiles in Investment Banking, Administrative Science Quarterly. Abstract

  When is being specialized detrimental? Leveraging scholarship that links the sociological notion of identity to the advantages of labor market specialization, we provide arguments and evidence to understand when labor market specialization disadvantages job candidates. Specifically, we formulate three conditions under which specialization becomes disadvantageous, and then test this in a context that exemplifies these conditions: the market for graduating MBAs. Using rich data on two graduating cohorts in 2008 and 2009 from a top-tier U.S. business school graduate program, we show that “focused” MBA graduates with profiles of being specialists with respect to their activities prior to, during, and after matriculation, receive fewer job offers and earn lower starting bonus compensation than those graduates who did not focus. Specifically, our models show that candidates focused in investment banking were less than half as likely to receive multiple offers and earned over $20,000 less in starting bonus compensation than equivalent, but unfocused candidates entering the field. Our theory and findings contribute to the literature on market identities; with implications for the design of current MBA curricula and advisory activities.

• Damon Phillips, “Creating Reality: How Seemingly Small Changes in Subjective Mindset Produce Objective Changes in Health, Performance, and Behavior”. In Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences, edited by Robert Scott and Stephen Kosslyn, (Hoboken: Wiley, 2015) Abstract

  In this essay, we pull together foundational research from the psychological, sociological, and medical sciences to illuminate the undeniable influence of the psychosocial context in constructing objective reality. From psychology, we review the growing body of research on how beliefs and expectations about common experiences (e.g., nutrition, stress, and aging) can fundamentally alter the impact of those experiences. From sociology, we review the role of social influence in constructing the quality and impact of cultural products and experiences. And from medicine, we review the neurological and physiological underpinnings of the placebo effect, a powerful demonstration of expectation and social context to produce physiological changes in the body. As we align evidence from these related—although currently disconnected—fields, we uncover important limitations from within each field of study and portray how an integrative approach can offer a more rich and comprehensive understanding of the phenomena underlying the social–psychological creation of reality. Combining foundational research with the interdisciplinary findings from our laboratory, we explore how psychological and social contexts can fundamentally alter the psychological, behavioral, and physiological effects of one of the most common human experiences: drinking water. To conclude, we present a series of questions and suggestions to assist and inspire further interdisciplinary collaboration. We offer a pathway for researchers to more frequently acknowledge, more thoroughly understand, and more effectively utilize the power of psychosocial influence to effect positive change in a number of disciplines including marketing, medicine, and public health.

• Damon Phillips, “Self-Fulfilling Prophesies, Placebo Effects, and the Social-Psychological Creation of Reality”. In Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences, edited by Robert Scott and Stephen Kosslyn, (Hoboken: Wiley, 2015)
• Damon Phillips, C. J. Turco, Ezra Zuckerman (2013), Betrayal as Market Barrier: Identity-Based Limits to Diversification among High-Status Corporate Law Firms, American Journal of Sociology . Abstract

  Why are some diversified market identities problematic but others are not? We examine this question in the context of high-status corporate law firms, which often diversify into one low-status area of work—family law (FL)—but face a barrier (strong disapproval from existing clients) that prevents diversification into another such area—plaintiffs’ personal injury law (PIL). Drawing on a qualitative study of the Boston legal market, we argue that this barrier reflects a situation where loyalty norms have been violated, and it surfaces because service to individual plaintiffs is tantamount to betraying the interests of corporate clients. Our analysis clarifies identity-based limits to diversification, indicating that they are rooted in concerns about the firm’s commitments as well as its capabilities, and suggests a more general refinement of theory on status and conformity.

• Damon Phillips, Shaping Jazz: Cities, Labels, and the Global Emergence of an Art Form (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013) Abstract

  There are over a million jazz recordings, but only a few hundred tunes have been recorded repeatedly. Why did a minority of songs become jazz standards? Why do some songs — and not others — get rerecorded by many musicians? Shaping Jazz answers this question and more, exploring the underappreciated yet crucial roles played by initial production and markets — in particular, organizations and geography — in the development of early twentieth-century jazz.

  Damon Phillips considers why places like New York played more important roles as engines of diffusion than as the sources of standards. He demonstrates why and when certain geographical references in tune and group titles were considered more desirable. He also explains why a place like Berlin, which produced jazz abundantly from the 1920s to early 1930s, is now on jazz’s historical sidelines. Phillips shows the key influences of firms in the recording industry, including how record companies and their executives affected what music was recorded, and why major companies would rerelease recordings under artistic pseudonyms. He indicates how a recording’s appeal was related to the narrative around its creation, and how the identities of its firm and musicians influenced the tune’s long-run popularity.

  Applying fascinating ideas about market emergence to a music’s commercialization, Shaping Jazz offers a unique look at the origins of a groundbreaking art form.

• Damon Phillips and E. Troy Higgins (Working), It’s Just Water? The Effect of Mindset and Shared Reality on the Physical, Psychological and Performance Effects of Water.
• Damon Phillips, “Orphaned Jazz: Short-Lived Startups and the Long-Run Success of Depression-Era Cultural Products”. In History and Strategy, vol. 29 of Advances in Strategic Management, edited by S. J. Kahl, B. S. Silverman, and M. A. Cusumano, (Bingley: Emerald, 2012), pp. 315-350 Abstract

  Purpose: This study is intended to extend scholarship on the management of organizations by examining the long-term performance of orphaned products.

  Design/methodology/approach: This study uses the historical context of the 1929 stock market crash and the Great Depression to examine the long-run appeal (performance) of orphaned products — products from start-ups that fail soon after production. I use this setting to determine how factors within the purview of management, as well as the role of changing tastes, affect the appeal of music from short-lived start-ups founded in 1929 and 1933.

  Findings/originality/value: I find that while the evolution of tastes has a substantial effect beyond the control of a firm’s managers, a start-up’s decision-makers were able to positively influence the long-run appeal of music when they (a) recorded tunes with new artists and (b) were able to create an early big hit with the tune. These results demonstrate how and why, even with cultural producers in one of the greatest economic disasters in U.S. history, managerial decisions were meaningful for product performance. Finally, I show that the effect of being a start-up on the long-run appeal of a tune is time-varying such that being a start-up in 1929 or 1933 does not harm a tune’s appeal until after World War II. These final analyses point to further ways in which strategy, history, and sociology might combine to further scholarship on the management of organizations.

• Damon Phillips (2011), Jazz and the Disconnected: City Structural Disconnectedness and the Emergence of a Jazz Canon, 1897–1933, American Journal of Sociology. Abstract

  The study of organizations and markets suffers from the underdevelopment of disconnected producers. This article emphasizes the imputed identities of sources to argue that difficult-to-categorize outputs were appealing when associated with a source high in disconnectedness. Worldwide data on recordings and mobility with detailed data on Midwest recordings provide evidence that jazz from cities high in disconnectedness was rerecorded more often by musicians over time. Moreover, recordings with difficult-to-categorize elements were more likely to be rerecorded when coming from cities high in disconnectedness, despite evidence that original music was paradoxically less likely to come from these cities.

• Damon Phillips and Jesper Sorensen (2011), Competence and commitment: Employer size and entrepreneurial endurance In Industrial and Corporate Change, Industrial and Corporate Change . Abstract

  We develop and test a theory of entrepreneurial endurance, or the likelihood that an entrepreneur will continue an entrepreneurial venture from one period to the next. Conceptualizing entrepreneurial endurance as a function of the entrepreneur’s competence in and commitment to the entrepreneurial role, we argue that both factors should be shaped by the entrepreneur’s prior employment. We focus on the effects of employer size on the prospective entrepreneur, and argue that employer size has a negative effect on both entrepreneurial competence and commitment. This implies that entrepreneurs from small firms should have superior economic performance and, for a given level of performance, be less likely to exit entrepreneurship. We find support for these predictions in analyses of entrepreneurs in a unique dataset characterizing the Danish labor market.

• Steven Kahl, Young-Kyu Kim, Damon Phillips (2010), Identity sequences and the early adoption pattern of a jazz canon, 1920–1929, Research in the Sociology of Organizations. Abstract

  We explore how the long-run success of cultural products is affected by the identities of the product’s originators and early adopters. Using U.S. jazz recordings from 1920–1929, we found that songs were more likely to be later covered from 1944 to 2004 if they followed a pattern of having black originators and white early adopters. Moreover, we provide evidence that this pattern is independent of a song’s commercial success, resources available to a song’s originators, and group level indicators such as size and experience. We conclude that late movers (musicians after WW II) were attracted to songs that followed a narrative of both “lowbrow” origins and early adoption by those considered “highbrow” with respect to jazz. The findings also support a new means for considering the role of identities as the building blocks of genres, in particular, and categories more generally.

• All Research from Damon J. Phillips »

Current Courses

MGMT 773 – MANAGING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

This course focuses on the nature and process of organization change, and how to be successful as a leader, implementer, and recipient of change. It emphasizes the forces for change, the change implementation process, the skills of successful change leaders, and the behavioral theories and management practices of how individuals and organizations change. All of this will help you to better diagnose, orchestrate, and implement the change agendas of organizations. After the initial session that introduces many of the topics and discussions of the course, Module I presents the foundations of successful transformations. The goal here is for you to get an understanding for how these major types of transformations unfold, how the motivation for change affects the type of transformation, how well the changes were instituted, sources of resistance, and how leaders are involved in the whole endeavor. Module II focuses on applications to learn the ingredients for successful change management and implement concepts from Module I. We will start with a merger integration implementation. Next, you will make a series of decisions to manage recipients of change by focusing on downsizing and privatization. Finally, you will test your implementation acumen in a real world-based simulation. Module III has two parts. The first is designed to expand your insights and apply them to the experiences of early career professionals who initiate, drive, and experience change as members of larger organizations or as startup founders. The course ends on how to build organizations that have the capacity to successfully change. To teach this course I use cases, simulations, and readings that integrate findings from academic research with practitioner experiences and insights. Importantly, the value of the class is maximized when you integrate your own experiences, and I am excited in anticipation of the discussions and debates we will have.

Current Courses

• MGMT7730 - Managing Organizational Change

  This course focuses on the nature and process of organization change, and how to be successful as a leader, implementer, and recipient of change. It emphasizes the forces for change, the change implementation process, the skills of successful change leaders, and the behavioral theories and management practices of how individuals and organizations change. All of this will help you to better diagnose, orchestrate, and implement the change agendas of organizations. After the initial session that introduces many of the topics and discussions of the course, Module 1 presents the foundations of successful transformations. The goal here is for you to get an understanding for how these major types of transformations unfold, how the motivation for change affects the type of transformation, how well the changes were instituted, sources of resistance, and how leaders are involved in the whole endeavor. Module II focuses on applications to learn the ingredients for successful change management and implement concepts from Module 1. We will start with a merger integration implementation. Next, we you will make a series of decisions to manage recipients of change by focusing on downsizing and privatization. Finally, you will test your implementation acumen in a real world-based simulation. Module III has two parts. The first is designed to expand your insights and apply them to the experiences of early career professionals who initiate, drive, and experience change as members of larger organizations or as startup founders. The course ends on how to build organizations that have the capacity to successfully change. To teach this course I use cases, simulations, and readings that integrate findings from academic research with practitioner experiences and insights. Importantly, the value of the class is maximized when you integrate your own experiences, and I am excited in anticipation of the discussions and debates we will have.

  MGMT7730002 ( Syllabus )

• MGMT7900 - Works Immersion (prison Education)

  This is an experiential learning course in partnership with Resilience Education, where the core organizing activity is teaching business topics inside prisons. While this is a professor-led course, it is also a co-created experience where your role is essential. Your work this term will be hugely impactful for your incarcerated learners and their families, as well as foundational for future Wharton MBAs. For these reasons, I thank you in advance for your co-leadership. I hope you take the opportunity to lend your talents to important initiatives. We are bolstered by the fact that research has consistently shown that there are positive returns to education for incarcerated people. At the same time, formal education in prison is usually limited to liberal arts topics. As a result, returning citizens have a need to understand personal finance and how businesses operate in a way that compliments other forms of education that they may be exposed to. There is a particular interest among incarcerated people to learn about entrepreneurship, either because they have promising business ideas or because they see entrepreneurship as a viable alternative given persistent labor market discrimination. This course provides a means for you to pass along these important skills and tools.

  MGMT7900001 ( Syllabus )

• MGMT8990 - Development Of A Wharton Works Consensus-building Curriculum

  MGMT8990003 ( Syllabus )

  MGMT8990006 ( Syllabus )

  MGMT8990007 ( Syllabus )

  MGMT8990008 ( Syllabus )

Past Courses

• MGMT7730 - Managing Org Change

  This course focuses on the nature and process of organization change, and how to be successful as a leader, implementer, and recipient of change. It emphasizes the forces for change, the change implementation process, the skills of successful change leaders, and the behavioral theories and management practices of how individuals and organizations change. All of this will help you to better diagnose, orchestrate, and implement the change agendas of organizations. After the initial session that introduces many of the topics and discussions of the course, Module 1 presents the foundations of successful transformations. The goal here is for you to get an understanding for how these major types of transformations unfold, how the motivation for change affects the type of transformation, how well the changes were instituted, sources of resistance, and how leaders are involved in the whole endeavor. Module II focuses on applications to learn the ingredients for successful change management and implement concepts from Module 1. We will start with a merger integration implementation. Next, we you will make a series of decisions to manage recipients of change by focusing on downsizing and privatization. Finally, you will test your implementation acumen in a real world-based simulation. Module III has two parts. The first is designed to expand your insights and apply them to the experiences of early career professionals who initiate, drive, and experience change as members of larger organizations or as startup founders. The course ends on how to build organizations that have the capacity to successfully change. To teach this course I use cases, simulations, and readings that integrate findings from academic research with practitioner experiences and insights. Importantly, the value of the class is maximized when you integrate your own experiences, and I am excited in anticipation of the discussions and debates we will have.

• MGMT7860 - Reforming Mass Incarceration

  This half-semester course introduces current and future leaders to mass incarceration in the U.S., and its effect on employment and entrepreneurship prospects for formerly incarcerated people. We will explore both the challenges of our correctional system as well as potential solutions. For example, over 600,000 people return home from U.S. prisons each year. For most, the return is short-lived as two-thirds are re-incarcerated within three years of release. We will consider many of the reasons why this occurs, including research indicating that the lack of employment opportunities is a major contributor. We will also hear from those directly impacted by the justice system. By the end of the course, you will be among the more educated leaders not just on mass incarceration, but on how to think about ways that the business community can contribute to the success of those impacted by the criminal justice system. This course will also serve as a pre-requisite for a follow-up experiential course where we will teach business skills and financial acumen justice-impacted people, as well as help with their employment and entrepreneurship opportunities.

• MGMT7900 - WORKS Immer - Prison Education

  This is an experiential learning course in partnership with Resilience Education, where the core organizing activity is teaching business topics inside prisons. While this is a professor-led course, it is also a co-created experience where your role is essential. Your work this term will be hugely impactful for your incarcerated learners and their families, as well as foundational for future Wharton MBAs. For these reasons, I thank you in advance for your co-leadership. I hope you take the opportunity to lend your talents to important initiatives. We are bolstered by the fact that research has consistently shown that there are positive returns to education for incarcerated people. At the same time, formal education in prison is usually limited to liberal arts topics. As a result, returning citizens have a need to understand personal finance and how businesses operate in a way that compliments other forms of education that they may be exposed to. There is a particular interest among incarcerated people to learn about entrepreneurship, either because they have promising business ideas or because they see entrepreneurship as a viable alternative given persistent labor market discrimination. This course provides a means for you to pass along these important skills and tools.

• MGMT7990 - Special Topics MGMT

  Courses offered of various topics and points of focus, ranging across multiple concentrations of Management, (i.e., Entrepreneurial, Strategy, Organizational Business, etc.).

• MGMT9330 - Psych Found MGMT

  This seminar-based course, with active discussion and analysis, is required of all first-year doctoral students in Management and open to other Penn students with instructor permission. The purpose of this course is to examine and understand basics in the theory and empirical research in the field of micro organizational behavior and to build an understanding of people's behavior in organizations and across organizations. The course covers a blend of classic and contemporary literature so that we can appreciate the prevailing theories and findings in various areas of organizational behavior. This course covers micro-organizational behavior, focused on topics such as influence/status, virtual teams, job design, organizational culture and socialization, identity in organizations and overall look on where the field of micro-organizational behavior is going.

• MGMT9340 - Soci Foundations of MGMT

  This seminar-based course, with active discussion and analysis, is required of all first-year doctoral students in Management and open to other Penn students with instructor permission. The purpose of this course is to examine and understand basics in the theory and empirical research in the field of macro organizational behavior and to build an understanding of people's behavior in organizations and across organizations. The course covers a blend of classic and contemporary literature so that we can appreciate the prevailing theories and findings in various areas of organizational behavior. This course covers macro-organizational behavior, covering the topics of organizational ecology, institutional theory, organizational status and reputation, impression management, social networks and social movements.

• Distinguished Educator Award, Academy of Management OMT Division, 2021 Description

  The Distinguished Educator Award highlights the importance of good teaching in OMT and is intended to stimulate discussion on how to improve our impact on business students. This biennial award honors an OMT Division member who has made exceptional contributions to organization and management theory education. The purpose of the award is not to recognize excellent teaching, per se. It is rather intended as a tribute to individuals who have positively influenced educational practices within the broader OMT field. This influence may take many different forms, including the design of new OMT-related courses, the authorship of widely used books or cases, the creation of new conceptual frameworks, and/or the development of innovative and widely-used educational techniques (e.g. management simulations).

• Fellow: The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford, 2010
• Elected to Economic Sociology Executive Council of the ASA, 2008
• Elected as Representative-at-Large for the Organization and Management Theory Division of the Academy of Management, 2008

• An Open Letter on the COVID-19 Crisis to Young Social Science Scholars, Medium - 04/05/2020
• How to Become a C.E.O.? The Quickest Path Is a Winding One, The New York Times - 09/11/2016
• Ten Socially Responsible Startups That Are Changing the Way New York Does Business, Crain's New York Business - 08/11/2015
• Social Responsibility Feeds Chipotle Profits, MSNBC - 10/20/2013

Knowledge @ Wharton

• CJ Handron, Co-founder of Diamond Kinetics, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/17/2024
• The Impact of AI on Financial Literacy | Michael Roberts, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/16/2024
• Why Staying in Your 401(k) After Retirement Makes Sense, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/15/2024
• How Social Insurance Drives Credit Card Debt, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/15/2024
• Understanding the Value of Networks for Mothers Reentering the Workforce, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/11/2024
• Golf Analytics & The Masters, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/10/2024
• Three Things All New Managers Should Be Doing, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/09/2024
• How ‘Thinking Out of the Shoebox’ Made Stuart Weitzman a Success, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/09/2024
• How Financial Literacy Affects Household Debt and Bankruptcy | Sasha Indarte, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/09/2024
• How Stock Price Volatility in Closely Held Firms Distorts Capital Allocation, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/09/2024