Marya Besharov

Overview

Marya Besharov is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at the ILR School at Cornell University. An organizational theorist with a background in organizational sociology, she studies how organizations and their leaders navigate competing goals. Much of her research focuses on social-business hybrid organizations such as social enterprises and mission-driven businesses that combine social and commercial goals.

Marya’s work has been published in journals such as Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Business Ethics Quarterly, Academy of Management Learning and Education, Research in Organizational Behavior, Research in the Sociology of Organizations, and Industrial and Corporate Change. She currently serves on the editorial boards of the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Administrative Science Quarterly, and Organization Science.

Marya received a BA in Social Studies, an MA in Sociology, and a PhD in Organizational Behavior from Harvard University. She also holds an MBA from Stanford. Prior to her academic career, Marya worked as a researcher and consultant in the health care field.

Teaching Statement

There are two central premises underlying my approach to teaching. First, like my research, my teaching draws inspiration from the work of early organizational theorists who recognized that organizations are complex social systems in which there is not a universally correct approach to management and leadership. Contingencies abound, tensions arise between the technical and symbolic elements of organizations, and decisions are constrained by political, historical, and cultural factors. Managing and leading such complex social systems involves making trade-offs. My courses are designed to provide students with theoretical frameworks for analyzing these trade-offs.

The second premise is that organizational theory will be more effectively retained, and ultimately more useful to students, when its application to practice is apparent. In my courses, I focus on the application of organizational theories to the types of situations students are likely to encounter when they leave the university setting. To this end, my courses rely heavily on case discussions and experiential exercises that help students develop skills in applying theoretical frameworks to real-world problems.

Currently, I am working with a cross-departmental team of ILR faculty to develop an undergraduate curriculum in Social Sector Studies (3S). The 3S program consists of an introductory course, summer engaged learning experiences with a pre-course to prepare students for the placement and a post-course for research/reflection, and a suite of electives organized around substantive themes (e.g., health, environment, education, immigration). The goal is to provide students with both academic frameworks and practical experience for understanding and contributing to the growing number of non-profits, businesses and hybrid organizations focused on social and cultural issues. Curricular offerings and engaged learning experiences address issues such as the legal and institutional environment, the distinctive organizational and leadership challenges associated with generating revenues, managing volunteers, and addressing multiple stakeholders, and the values and perspectives that distinguish the social and cultural sector as an alternative to the for-profit and government sectors.

Research Statement

I study how organizations and their leaders sustain competing demands, particularly those associated with multiple and seemingly incompatible values. Much of my research focuses on hybrid organizations such as social enterprises and mission-driven businesses. Hybrids present a theoretical and practical puzzle: Some experience severe internal conflict or mission drift and ultimately fail to uphold their dual social and commercial missions, yet others survive and thrive. I investigate the structures, practices, and processes for addressing these challenges and sustaining competing demands over time. In recent work, I have shown that the severity of conflict in hybrids depends on the extent to which there is a clear hierarchy of goals and on the extent to which organizational members treat multiple goals as compatible or incompatible (Besharov & Smith, 2014). I have also found that frontline managers are critical and detailed the practices through which “pluralist” managers who value both social and commercial goals mitigate tensions between employees who value just one goal or the other (Besharov, 2014).

Service Statement

In my service to the ILR School, the University, and the profession, I aim to help build and maintain a vibrant, supportive, and productive intellectual community. Through Engaged Cornell, the Social Sector Studies program at ILR, and my role as a Campus Change Leader for Ashoka Innovators for the Public, I am working to strengthen connections among faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members involved in researching, participating in, and leading social and cultural organizations. I currently serve on the editorial boards of Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, and Organization Science.

Publications

Journal Articles

• Wendy K Smith, Marya Besharov. . Bowing before dual gods: How structured flexibility sustains organizational hybridity, Administrative Science Quarterly .
• Marya Besharov, Rakesh Khurana. 2015. Leading amidst competing technical and institutional demands: Revisiting Selznick''s conception of leadership, Research in the Sociology of Organizations . 44:53-88.
• Marya Besharov, Wendy K Smith. 2014. Multiple institutional logics in organizations: Explaining their varied nature and implications, Academy of Management Review . 39(3):364-381.
• Marya Besharov. 2014. The relational ecology of identification: How organizational identification emerges when individuals hold divergent values, Academy of Management Journal . 57(5):1485-1512.
• Michael Gonin, Wendy K. Smith, Marya Besharov. 2013. Managing social-business tensions: A review and research agenda for social enterprise, Academy of Management Proceedings .
• Wendy K. Smith, Michael Gonin, Marya Besharov. 2013. Managing social-business tensions: A review and research agenda for social enterprise, Business Ethics Quarterly . 23(3):407-442.
• Wendy K Smith, Marya Besharov, Anke Wessels, Michael Chertok. 2012. A paradoxical leadership model for social entrepreneurs: Challenges, leadership skills, and pedagogical tools for managing at double bottom line, Academy of Mgmt Learning & Education . 11(3):463-478.
• Joel M Podolny, Rakesh Khurana, Marya Besharov. 2005. Revisiting the Meaning of Leadership, Research in Organizational Behavior . 26:1-37.
• Joel M Podolny, Marya Besharov. 2004. Hedonic and Transcendent Conceptions of Value, Industrial and Corporate Change . 13:91-116.

Book Chapters

• Julie Battilana, Marya Besharov, Bjoern Mitzinneck. 2017. On hybrids and hybrid organizing: A review and roadmap for future research. in The SAGE Handbook of Organizational Institutionalism. Thousand Oaks, CA, United States: Sage Publications, 2017. Greenwood, R., Oliver, C. Lawrence, T., & Meyer R. (133-169)
• Marya Besharov, Garima Sharma. 2017. Paradoxes of Organizational Identity. in The Oxford Handbook of Organizational Paradoxes: Approaches to Plurality, Contradictions, and Tensions. New York, NY, United States: Oxford University Press, 2017. Lewis, M. W., Smith, W. K., Jarzabkowski, P., & Langley, A. . (178-196)
• Marya Besharov, Shelley L. Brickson. 2016. Organizational identity and institutional forces: Toward an integrative framework. in The Oxford Handbook of Organizational Identity. New York, NY, United States: Oxford University Press, 2016. Michael Pratt, Majken Schultz, Blake Ashforth, Davide Ravasi. (396-414 )
• Spela Trefalt, Marya Besharov. 2016. The journey from data to qualitative, inductive paper: Who helps and how?. in Handbook of Qualitative Organizational Research: Innovative Pathways and Methods. New York, NY, United States: Routledge, 2016. K.D. Elsbach & R. M. Kramer. (401-410)
• Joel M Podolny, Rakesh Khurana, Marya Besharov. 2010. Revisiting the Meaning of Leadership. in Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice. Boston, MA, United States: Harvard Business Press, 2010. Nitin Nohria, Rakesh Khurana. (65-105)

Written Cases

• Christopher Marquis, Marya Besharov, Bobbi Thomason. 2010. Whole Foods: Balancing Social Mission and Growth. Boston, MA, United States: Harvard Business School, 2010.
• Nancy F Koehn, Marya Besharov, Katherine Miller. 2008. Starbucks Coffee Company in the 21st Century. Boston, MA, United States: Harvard Business Publishing, 2008. (45p.)

Book Reviews

• Marya Besharov. 2017. Book Review: Organizing Organic: Conflict and Compromise in an Emerging Market. Organization Studies, 2017. (285-288)

Professional Activities

• Measuring social value: The process of performance measurement in nonprofit social enterprises. Presented to Northeastern University. Boston, MA. 2017.
• Bowing before dual gods: How structured flexibility sustains hybridity. Presented to Yale School of Management. New Haven, CT. 2017.
• Bowing before dual gods: How structured flexibility sustains hybridity. Presented to Harvard Business School. Boston, MA. 2017.
• Attending to emotions in studying organizational hybridity. Presented to Academy of Management. Atlanta, GA. 2017.
• Bowing before dual gods: How structured flexibility sustains organizational hybridity. Presented to Academy of Management. Atlanta, GA. 2017.
• Bowing before dual gods: How structured flexibility sustains hybridity. Presented to Milgard School of Business, University of Washington. Tacoma, WA. 2017.
• Transcending the formalization dilemma? How communities formalize without subverting collectivist values. Presented to Said Business School, University of Oxford. Oxford UK. 2017.
• Transcending the formalization dilemma? How communities formalize without subverting collectivist values. Presented to London School of Economics. London UK. 2017.
• Transcending the formalization dilemma? How communities formalize without subverting collectivist values. Presented to Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. Cambridge UK. 2017.
• Transcending the formalization dilemma? How communities formalize without subverting collectivist values. Presented to Cass Business School, City University of London. London UK. 2017.
• Bowing before dual gods: How structured flexibility sustains hybridity. Presented to INSEAD. Fontainebleau, France. 2017.
• Bowing before dual gods: How structured flexibility sustains hybridity. Presented to Catolica. Lisbon, Portugal. 2017.
• Bowing before dual gods: How structured flexibility sustains hybridity. Presented to ESSEC. Paris, France. 2017.
• Bowing before dual gods: How structured flexibility sustains hybridity. Presented to IESE. Barcelona, Spain. 2017.
• Bowing before dual gods: How structured flexibility sustains hybridity. Presented to HEC. Paris, France. 2017.
• Bowing before dual gods: How structured flexibility sustains hybridity. Presented to School of Management, University of New South Wales. Sydney, Australia. 2017.
• A Hybrid Perspective on Social Enterprise. Presented to University of Massachusetts. Amherst, MA. 2016.
• Bowing before dual gods: How structured flexibility sustains hybridity. Presented to George Washington School of Business. Washington, DC. 2016.
• Incorporating values into research on organizational hybridity. Presented to Academy of Management. Anaheim, CA. 2016.
• Microfoundations of institutions: The role of identity as a filter and catalyst. Presented to Academy of Management. Anaheim, California. 2016.
• Reflections on managing the pre-tenure years of your career. Presented to Academy of Management. Anaheim, CA. 2016.
• Cooperative compromise: Avoiding logic tensions in practice. Presented to European Group for Organizational Studies. Naples, Italy. 2016.
• Embracing multiplicity and dynamism in the study of organizational hybridity. Presented to European Group for Organizational Studies. Naples, Italy. 2016.
• Reflections on teaching social innovation and social entrepreneurship. Presented to Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Stanford, CA. 2016.

Honors and Awards

• General Mills Award for Exemplary Graduate Teaching, ILR School, Cornell Univeristy. 2016
• Public Voices Fellow, The Op-Ed Project. 2016
• Graduate Society Fellowship, Harvard University. 2008
• Honors, General Exam in Sociology, Sociology Department, Harvard University. 2003
• Phi Beta Kappa, Harvard University. 1996

### Areas of Expertise

Change and development

Complex organizations

Institutional structure and politics

Leadership

Organizations

Organizing

Workplace cultures