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Interpersonal Society : Essays on Shared Beliefs, Trust, Mnemonic Interpersonal Society i ii Interpersonal Society: Essays on Shared Beliefs, Trust, Mnemonic Oppression, Distributive Fairness, and Value Creation Per Henrik Hedberg iii Dissertation for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D., in Business Administration Stockholm School of Economics 2012 Keywords: social construction, social memory, shared reality, discrimination, prejudice, distributive fairness, negotiation, individual differences, organization Interpersonal Society: Essays on Shared Beliefs, Trust, Mnemonic Oppres- sion, Distributive Fairness, and Value Creation © SSE and the author, 2012 ISBN 978-91-7258-867-7 Cover by: John Mellkvist Photo by: Claes Henrik Hedberg Printed in Sweden by: Ineko, Göteborg 2012 Distributed by: The Research Secretariat Stockholm School of Economics Box 6501, SE-113 83 Stockholm, Sweden www.hhs.se iv Preface This report is a result of a research project carried out at the Department of Marketing and Strategy at the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE). This volume is submitted as a doctor’s thesis at SSE. The author has been entirely free to conduct and present his research in his own ways as an expression of his own ideas. SSE is grateful for the financial support provided by a grant from Jan Wallanders och Tom Hedelius Stiftelse which contributed toward the completion of the project. Göran Lindqvist Richard Wahlund Director of Research Professor and Head of the Stockholm School of Economics Department of Marketing and Strategy Stockholm School of Economics v vi Acknowledgements Writing the present dissertation has been a lonelier affair than when I did it the first time, as my research topics this time were quite different from what the people around me are working on. Nonetheless, looking back, there are a remarkable number of colleagues and friends that have helped me in various ways. My advisor Richard Wahlund has been a steady support. For several years he has been available with encouragement and coaching. Even though my research questions have been quite different from his, Richard has main- tained a loyal, open and interested attitude, and engaged me in useful discus- sions and offered helpful advice at several stages of the research process. I have been fortunate to work in the vicinity of two people in academia who take their leadership responsibility seriously. Richard is one; Anders Liljenberg is another. Anders has been an inspiration, both as a leader and as a careful mentor in leadership. Also, Anders explicitly encouraged me to finish my dissertation project and offered support by even taking on part of my re- sponsibilities when it was needed. Balancing administration, teaching, and re- search was a distraction, so I am very grateful for the extended hand, Anders. Indeed, as many know who have experienced the Russian adventure at SSE, it can be challenging to handle at times, and I am grateful to the many individuals, friends, in our St. Petersburg office, and Moscow, who make me and everyone else feel welcome. Olga, Tatiana, Igor, Anna, Irina Z, Alexey, Pavel, Seva K, Seva S, Evgeny, Katja, Elena L, Liza, Jane, Irina A, Irina B, Vika, Alexander, Julia, Grigory, Lyubov, Olga Le, Julia E, Irina A, Tatiana S, Elena A, Yana… (plus the stellar Stockholm and Småland group of Ciara, Mats, Katerina, Lars, Jörgen, Alena and Sergey). I am looking forward toward being able to spend more time in St. Petersburg again now that the intense end-game of the dissertation project is coming to an end. My journey has been facilitated also by the knowledgeable and helpful people on my dissertation committee. Magnus Johannesson has been a steady force to rely on for feedback with the speed of light. His reassuring and pre- cise observations from an economics viewpoint have been very helpful. Mag- nus and Richard have been paralleled by Linnda Caporael as the third member of the committee and the invisible Keyser Soze in this lineup. Although we had never met, Linnda agreed to serve on my committee after we had ex- changed a few emails. When we have been in touch during the last couple of years, she has provided much needed expertise in not only evolutionary pro- vii cesses, which I eventually pursued less than I had thought I would, but also in relativistic ontologies, social memories, real social cognition, and other things that I wish I had had more time to pursue in the dissertation but which in any case benefitted from Linnda’s wise advice (which she provided at the end even in the face of her own book project’s “drop dead” deadlines looming). Looking forward to seeing you one day, Linnda! Because this is a dissertation in business administration, I benefitted greatly from my interactions with my business mentor: Henrik Glimstedt. Surely there is still much (all?) in the dissertation that he will disapprove of, but Henrik generously and confidently guided me on authoritative journeys to various business destinations. Thank you for your tough love and advice in business, as well for your careful attention to detail in feedback on excerpts of my text. (Henrik convinced me that I needed a single theme as an entry into the introductory chapter, so the reader may be grateful to him too.) In this context I would also like to thank my long-time colleague, corri- dor neighbor, friend, and brother in arms, Patric Andersson, who is always available with well-intended, careful, and reliable advice, valuable feedback, and fun comments. May we have many more years together, Patric! Many other helpful people in the corridor should be mentioned. To Emre Yildiz for friendly and contagiously enthusiastic and knowledgeable ad- vice, assistance, and guidance in most matters including organization theory, but also for thoughtful feedback and fun discussions about anything including religion. Thanks to Göran Lindqvist for advice on a number of practical issues the value of which increased dramatically as they deadline drew closer. To Patric Regnér for quick and knowledgeable tips in the corridor. To Udo Zan- der for contacting Madan Pillutla, my dissertation discussant. For advice about book layout, I owe thanks to additional people in the corridor (Erik, Mattias and Emelie), as well as my esthetically inclined buddy Kristoffer and relatives (Maria, Claes Henrik, Carl Fredrik, and Charlotte). Among other people at SSE, I am grateful to Jan Eklöf for helpful talks about statistical analyses. Outside of SSE, I have benefitted from Richard Swedberg’s introduction to economic sociology and general encouragement. Jan Tullberg has shared his wide-ranging perspectives on matters including fairness, morality and ide- ology. Additional friends in various disciplines inside and outside of academia have contributed in many and various ways. Markus Ejenäs provided early orientations in organization theory during epic taxi rides on Eastern adven- tures. Anna Dreber Almenberg has provided precise feedback and engaged viii me in fun and stimulating lunch discussions. Torun Lindholm gracefully agreed to read a very rough version of the introductory chapter. Andreas Ols- son and I have had many stimulating lunches on wide-ranging topics, and he has also provided precise feedback in relation to learning and ecology. To Kristoffer Strandqvist for his perennial readiness to provide reality checks and advice aimed at saving me from ill-fated mistakes. To Ludvig Beckman for his quick and knowledgeable guides to political science references, and patience with me despite my misguided pre-occupation with empirical questions. You need people the most when you know the least about what you are doing. My cousin, John Mellkvist, has been a lighthouse of strength in book- cover esthetics. Although the process took place at the same time that he es- tablished a new business (SWE Design), he designed the cover of the book and endured a high number of my ignorant and doubtlessly annoying “correc- tions” of earlier drafts. My father, too, has been very helpful toward the end of the thesis pro- ject. Besides his constant willingness to handle emergencies (and only occa- sionally create them), he is nowadays weighing in not only on layout and photography but has even helped me to proofread reference lists. Mom is a constant support of me and my research, and has saved me on a number of occasions toward the end by offering last minute care of her grand-children. Thanks also to Torborg and Torbjörn for your enthusiastic caretaking. Sonia and Malkolm, my shockingly grownup darlings, you have had to endure many evenings lately that I have not been at home; now that will change, and I can’t wait to enjoy the summer with you. My companion in this, as in all things, is my good and beloved Maria. I am very grateful that you provided room for me to focus on the dissertation when I needed it the most. Although it is not much in the way of compensa- tion, the work is dedicated to you and Sonia and Malkolm. ix x Table of Contents 1. Overview .................................................................................................................................... 3 2. Business Contexts ...................................................................................................................... 4 2.1 Business and Business studies............................................................................................. 6 3. Theoretical Problems ................................................................................................................ 10 3.1 Evolutionary perspectives ................................................................................................
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