Socialization and Proactive Behavior: Multilevel Exploration of Research Productivity Drivers in U.S. Business Schools

We explore the joint relationship that organizational environment and individual proactive behavior have with the research performance of business school academics. We draw upon sociology of science research, “new careers” literature, and social capital research to build a multilevel model of individual research productivity emergence. The study looks at the interplay between organizational scripts and individual strategies as part of a microfoundations research program, and seeks to create consensus on the relative importance of each antecedent in supporting research outcomes. Our hypotheses are tested using a sample of 500 academics randomly selected from 25 research-intensive U.S. business schools ranked at the top of the University of Texas at Dallas ranking. The findings of the study demonstrate that both organizational environment and individual behavior influence the research performance of U.S. business school faculties, with collaboration behavior being the most important driver of research outcomes. These findings can inform decision making for academics at all stages of a research-active career. We hope that the developmental practices based on these results will become part of doctoral students’ training and will facilitate the students’ socialization into the research profession