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My kind of people: Political polarization, ideology and firm location

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dc.contributor.authorBarber, Benjamin
dc.contributor.authorBlake, Daniel J.
dc.contributor.funderAgencia Estatal de Investigación
dc.contributor.rorhttps://ror.org/02jjdwm75
dc.date.accessioned2024-07-08T13:14:09Z
dc.date.available2024-07-08T13:14:09Z
dc.date.issued2024
dc.description.abstractResearch Summary: With increased political polarization,Americans are displaying more animus across,and affinity within,ideological identity groups. We argue this dynamic incentivizes firms to minimize ideological misalignments across their workforce by locating new establishments in areas that are ideologically proximate to their current operations. We further argue that the desire to minimize ideological distance to new establishments is stronger in knowledge-intensive industries and young organizations. We find support for these arguments through the analysis of over 220,000 new establishment openings from 2009 to 2014. Critically,we find the effect of ideological distance on location is stronger when societal polarization is high. Our theory,and findings,contribute to several literatures and advance our understanding of the impact of polarization on strategy. Managerial Summary: Being a liberal or a conservative is central to many Americans' identity. As political polarization rises,individuals increasingly trust and favor others who share their ideological identity,while distrusting and avoiding those that do not. This study investigates how these societal trends affect where firms choose to locate new facilities. Because social ties and trust across workers support collaboration,resource-sharing and organizational performance,we argue that managers will seek ideological alignment within their firms by locating new establishments in areas that are ideologically proximate to existing operations. Analysis of over 220,000 new establishment openings from 2009 to 2014 supports this contention,and shows that the tendency to avoid ideologically distant locations is stronger when societal polarization is higher. © 2023 The Authors. Strategic Management Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
dc.description.fundingtypeFor comments and suggestions, the authors are grateful to Snehal Awate, Rocio Bonet, Luis Diestre, Srividya Jandhyala, Eddy Malesky, Andreea Stefania Mihalache-O'Keef, Paul Vaaler, Simon Weschle and Erik Wibbels. The authors are also grateful to Glassdoor.com for generously sharing their data. Funding from the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI)—10.13039/501100011033 (Grant No. PID2019-111482GA-I00) is gratefully acknowledged.
dc.description.keywordbusiness and politics
dc.description.keywordfirm location
dc.description.keywordpolarization
dc.description.keywordpolitical distance
dc.description.keywordpolitical ideology
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.citationBarber, B. IV, & Blake, D. J. (2024). My kind of people: Political polarization, ideology, and firm location. Strategic Management Journal, 45(5), 849–874. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3572
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3572
dc.identifier.issn1432095
dc.identifier.officialurlhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85179358526&doi=10.1002%2fsmj.3572&partnerID=40&md5=b430fecb922e2227de6b679e8015c769
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14417/2993
dc.issue.number5
dc.journal.titleStrategic Management Journal
dc.language.isoeng
dc.page.final874
dc.page.initial849
dc.page.total26
dc.publisherJohn Wiley and Sons Ltd
dc.relation.departmentStrategy
dc.relation.entityIE University
dc.relation.projectIDAEI: PID2019-111482GA-I00
dc.relation.schoolIE Business School
dc.rightsAttribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
dc.rights.accessRightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
dc.subjectbusiness and politics
dc.subjectfirm location
dc.subjectpolarization
dc.subjectpolitical distance
dc.subjectpolitical ideology
dc.subject.keywordbusiness and politics
dc.subject.keywordfirm location
dc.subject.keywordpolarization
dc.subject.keywordpolitical distance
dc.subject.keywordpolitical ideology
dc.subject.otherHuman resource management
dc.subject.otherLocation
dc.subject.other'current
dc.subject.otherBusiness and politic
dc.subject.otherFirm location
dc.subject.otherKnowledge-intensive industries
dc.subject.otherManagement journals
dc.subject.otherNew facilities
dc.subject.otherPolitical distance
dc.subject.otherPolitical ideologies
dc.subject.otherSocial ties
dc.subject.otherStrategic management
dc.subject.otherPolarization
dc.titleMy kind of people: Political polarization, ideology and firm location
dc.typeinfo:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.version.typeinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
dc.volume.number45
dspace.entity.typePublication
person.identifier.scopus-author-id55863734200
person.identifier.scopus-author-id56016542600
relation.isAuthorOfPublicationee50c52d-1b33-4b98-bd82-80590a37dd42
relation.isAuthorOfPublication3e43dfda-4510-4887-b8d5-72900cba7590
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscoveryee50c52d-1b33-4b98-bd82-80590a37dd42
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