FROM THE ‘TREATY OF DETROIT’ TO THE 401(k): THE DEVELOPMENT AND EVOLUTION OF PRIVATIZED RETIREMENT IN THE UNITED STATES by J. Adam Cobb A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Business Administration) in The University of Michigan 2012 Dissertation Committee: Professor Gerald F. Davis, Chair Professor Mark S. Mizruchi Professor Kathleen M. Sutcliffe Adjunct Associate Professor Margaret C. Levenstein Joel Adam Cobb © 2012 All Rights Reserved ii To Mom, Dad, Audra and Anissa ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Though a dissertation is typically thought of as an individual effort comprising of several years of thought and work, to lay claim that I have accomplished this on my own would be, to say the least, inaccurate. Writing the acknowledgments for my dissertation in many ways seems a futile exercise due to the fact that I have been so fortunate throughout my life to be surrounded by excellent teachers, classmates, friends and a loving, supporting family who have all been instrumental in this process. I will undoubtedly give short shrift to many, so my apologies in advance. First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor, Jerry Davis. Jerry has been, and continues to be the consummate mentor. Never short on time or advice, always equipped with the perfect answer to questions I could not always fully articulate and constant in his belief that my work was worthwhile and important (despite my near constant doubts to the contrary) – I cannot imagine what my last five years would have been like without Jerry. His wisdom and good humor is in abundance and he was so generous in sharing both with me in the exact dosage when I needed them most. I will never cease to be grateful that I wound up at Michigan and had the pleasure of having Jerry as my advisor. He is and will always be, "the man." My other committee members – Maggie Levenstein, Mark Mizruchi and Kathie Sutcliffe – also have been extremely influential. Maggie gave particularly useful iii comments and guidance early in the conceptualization of this project. She helped connect me with researchers with overlapping interests and with data necessary to push my work into new and undoubtedly fruitful directions. Her knowledge of labor history and feedback on Chapter 3 of my dissertation has been invaluable. Outside of Jerry, Mark has read more drafts of what became Chapter 4 of my dissertation. In fact, it was in his Economic Sociology seminar my second year in the program that I first began work on that paper. The fact that he provided excellent feedback on each and every version of that paper I wrote is a testament to his patience! Being a member of his Economic Sociology workshop and the feedback I received from its participants were also extremely helpful. Kathie's blend of kindness and constructive feedback, both as an instructor and as a dissertation reader, proved instrumental in helping me develop my skills at theory building. Other members of the Michigan faculty have also contributed to my academic development. In particular, I thank Sue Ashford, Jane Dutton and Jim Walsh with tolerating me as a student during my first two years in the PhD program. Having no research background, combined with an eager desire to prove that I belonged at a place like Michigan made me a difficult student to be sure. Each was incredibly supportive of my work and gave excellent feedback in the many presentations I made before the department. At various times each paid me compliments on my progress as a scholar, which meant more to me than they likely realize. I also owe a debt of thanks to both Maxim Sytch and Dave Mayer for generously providing me advice on my research as well as serving as wonderful templates for how to be an involved junior faculty member. I would be remiss to exclude Alison Davis-Blake and Rueben McDaniel from iv acknowledgement. Both were members of the faculty at University of Texas during my time there as an MBA student and each displayed considerable support for me as I chose to pursue a career in academia. Without them I would have never found myself at Michigan and I am forever thankful that they indulged me in my pursuits! The University of Michigan is a very special place to be a doctoral student, and a large part of that is due to the students there. I thank all who came before, with, and after me in Management & Organizations for their friendship and insights. Thank you to Eric for the sage wisdom you have shown me throughout the years. Emily was amazing to me and the other members of my cohort our first year in school and served as an excellent example for the role senior students should play in a doctoral program. Olenka was always generous with her time in helping me develop my Stata skills and always had positive words of encouragement for me. Georges was always quick with a joke and even quicker with an insightful comment or question and I greatly enjoyed our casual conversations over the years. Thank you also to Kathryn, Brent, Ned, Jeff, Chak Fu, Samir, Matt, Suntae, Kristina, Chris and J.P. for your friendship as well. I owe you all a great debt of gratitude for the patience, kindness and laughter you each shared with me. I was particularly fortunate to have a wonderful cohort – Flannery, Maria, Natalie and our honorary member, Helena. Each of them, at various times, provided me with support, encouragement and feedback on my work. Moreover, on those rare occasions when we were not fastidiously working on our research, they provided me with many smiles as well! I must, however, single out Flannery, who was my dearest friend and "partner in crime" during my tenure at Michigan. I am absolutely positive that I could v not have made it without her. She listened to me vent my frustrations, shared in my successes, provided excellent counsel and advice and was always ready to help me blow off some steam when I needed it. Moreover, she was the one I measured myself against. I never felt like we were in a competition but I always knew I had to be the best, hardest- working version of myself to keep pace with her. Thanks, boss! The process of writing this dissertation was greatly eased by the financial support I received from the Ross School of Business, the Rackham Graduate School, the State Farm Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Award and the Louis O. Kelso Fellowship. I am very grateful to each of them. Special thanks also go to the Institute of Social Research at the University of Michigan as well as its generous donors. Being the inaugural winner of the Robert Kahn Fellowship for the Scientific Study of Social Issues has been the most significant academic honor I have received and I am extremely proud to have my name associated with this award. I am very thankful and fortunate to have received support from numerous friends outside of academia. So many thanks to Ryan, Dave, Ed, Curt, Rodney, Allen and Kristen. A special nod goes to Tommy, who kept me sane by sharing with me his encyclopedic knowledge of music, ensuring that I always had something fresh to listen to during my seemingly endless data cleaning efforts. Lance remains one of the most thoughtful people I know and is always searching for new ways to make me laugh. I am fortunate to have such a friend. Jason, however, went beyond the call of duty. Some of my fondest memories of graduate school were the two of us watching, in our respective cities, Longhorns, Mavericks and Rangers games on TV and talking on the phone about vi all the happenings. It was hard to be so far away from home, but he helped me stay connected with our near weekly phone calls and I will forever be grateful for that unwavering friendship. I could not have done any of this without the love and support of the people who have known me the longest. My sister, Anissa, has been wonderful. Sending me cards, notes and pictures of her three children made the long distance seem much more tolerable. I cannot thank my father, Larry, enough. His hard work, diligence and willingness to sacrifice for his family cannot be elaborated upon enough to do him justice. I will forever be grateful for everything he taught me about the importance of showing respect to others and striving for excellence in all that I do. My mother, Barbara, is the most graceful and loving person I know. She exemplifies kindness and humility and has a deft awareness of when I need a kind word of encouragement. Despite my many failings she always seems so proud of me and that means more to me than I could ever adequately express in words. I am truly blessed to have such wonderful parents. Lastly, I want to acknowledge the memory of my sister, Audra. Audra, you are never far from my thoughts and I wish more than anything I could have shared this with you. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION .................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................. x LIST OF ACRONYMS ..................................................................................................... xi ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 Organization