quently, internal corporate promotions to senior management were excluded from their analyses. Williamson and Cable relied on complex and sophisticated statistical procedures to test their predictions. In particular, they investigated sev- eral key factors, including: (1) the patterns of hiring by organizations; (2) the number of interlocking directorates (network ties); (3) the number of exec- utives supplied from a particular organization or source (frequency imitation); (4) the size of the firm from which another firm hired an executive (size- based imitation); and (5) return on assets (ROA). At the same time, Williamson and Cable statistically controlled for factors that could potentially bias the results of their study (e.g., firms within the same industry, firm prestige, the number of em- ployees selected from larger companies, industrial diversification, and previous hiring patterns). The results were quite interesting. To begin with, when firms participate in social networks (as es- tablished by interlocking boards), they are essen- tially offering other companies that are looking to hire senior executives a leg up. In other words, such networks provide the hiring firm with addi- tional vital information about the prospective ex- ecutive candidate. As a result, some of the risk or uncertainty associated with the executive under consideration is removed. To bolster this finding, the authors conducted a dozen field interviews with board members to confirm the advantage of acquiring information about a candidate that is not always available through conventional hiring methods. Another interesting result was that firms tend to follow the lead of other companies that hire from a particular source. This hiring practice reinforces the idea that previous hires have yielded quality executives. Here, too, interviews with corporate di- rectors complemented the statistical findings. In fact, the corporate directors interviewed pointed to General Electric’s reputation for producing stellar executives. In nearly a dozen cases, GE executives were hired by firms in the study. Likewise, firms continued to copy the lead of larger firms. They hired executives from larger or- ganizations. This finding raised the question of whether the process of hiring executives is really designed to ensure a quality hire as opposed to reflecting a bandwagon effect where firms just fol- low the lead of the “big boys.” Corporate board member interviews seemed to support the band- wagon explanation. Williamson and Cable sug- gested that this finding in particular be revisited by future researchers. Finally, “outcome initiation” (i.e., hiring executives from a particular company because other firms hiring from that company sub- sequently achieved better financial performance outcomes) did not end up being a consideration in the hiring process. Overall, the study supported Williamson and Cable’s predictions about the role of inter-firm networks and imitating (based on fre- quency and firm size) in shaping how top execu- tives are hired. Indeed, this study has several important impli- cations that may impact future research as well as the field of human resource management. First, Williamson and Cable have shown us that social and environmental factors do affect hiring prac- tices for executives. However, such factors should not be viewed in isolation, nor should they be viewed as substitutes for traditional hiring prac- tices. Clearly, we need more research about how executive hiring decisions are influenced by exter- nal factors. Moreover, future research should seek to examine and analyze other ways in which com- panies hire employees, including the impact of firm-related promotion and termination policies. But perhaps the most tantalizing implication that Williamson and Cable offer us is the possibil- ity that the reach of networks could be broader and more pervasive than interlocking board ties. For instance, how might other types of relationships, such as strategic partnerships, alliances, and pro- fessional association memberships, offer firms in- formation that impacts how they hire senior exec- utives? And what about other types of employees (e.g., middle-level managers)? How might network effects apply in other hiring scenarios? Additional research on these and related questions may help corporations develop more effective hiring prac- tices for executives as well as other employees. And that may, for example, confirm what many already believe: following the lead of larger com- panies when recruiting executives means that firms are more likely to hire seasoned corporate leaders with extensive experiences in world-class firms. Source: Williamson, I.O., & Cable, D.M. 2003. Organizational hiring patterns, interfirm network ties, and interorganizational imitation. Academy of Management Journal, 46(3): 349 –358. Managerial Values and Culture: Where Do Iranian Executives Stand? Jafar Alavi and Mahmoud M. Yasin, East Tennessee State University There’s no doubt that many businesses are rapidly becoming more technology-driven, particularly in response to continuing economic integration worldwide. Even so, people still make or break 2003 147 Research Briefs