Abstract
Understanding the conclusions a body of evidence offers involves accumulating findings. Two recent articles used vote counting to assess the evidence related to important macro theories: transaction cost theory and resource-based theory. Each concluded that its focal theory is not well supported. In contrast, recent meta‐analyses of the same theories concluded that both are strongly supported. We explain why macro researchers should trust the findings of meta‐analyses but not those of vote counts. A direct implication is that researchers interested in advancing transaction cost and resource‐based theories need to build upon the meta‐analytic evidence. A broader implication is that, as the preferred method for accumulating evidence, meta‐analysis can be a catalyst for the re‐evaluation of established theories and the development of new theory.
Keywords
MacroTransaction costResource (disambiguation)Meta-analysisDatabase transactionPositive economicsMicro levelEmpirical evidenceContrast (vision)Macro levelPsychologyEconomicsComputer scienceMicroeconomicsEpistemologyMacroeconomicsMedicineArtificial intelligence
Affiliated Institutions
Related Publications
PRISMA 2020 explanation and elaboration: updated guidance and exemplars for reporting systematic reviews
The methods and results of systematic reviews should be reported in sufficient detail to allow users to assess the trustworthiness and applicability of the review findings. The ...
A Historical Comparison of Resource-Based Theory and Five Schools of Thought Within Industrial Organization Economics: Do We Have a New Theory of the Firm?
A resource-based approach to strategic management focuses on costly-to-copy attributes of the firm as sources of economic rents and, therefore, as the fundamental drivers of per...
The Theory of the Firm Revisited
Abstract From the birth of modern economics in 1776 to 1970, a span of almost 200 years, only two works seem to have been written about the theory of the firm that have altered ...
Resource-based View of Strategic Alliance Formation: Strategic and Social Effects in Entrepreneurial Firms
Why do firms form strategic alliances? The traditional theoretical answer has been transaction cost explanations. Yet, these explanations which center on transaction characteris...
The PRISMA Statement for Reporting Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of Studies That Evaluate Health Care Interventions: Explanation and Elaboration
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are essential to summarize evidence relating to efficacy and safety of health care interventions accurately and reliably. The clarity and tr...
Publication Info
- Year
- 2009
- Type
- article
- Volume
- 48
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 178-197
- Citations
- 145
- Access
- Closed
External Links
Social Impact
Altmetric
PlumX Metrics
Social media, news, blog, policy document mentions
Citation Metrics
145
OpenAlex
Cite This
James G. Combs,
David J. Ketchen,
T. Russell Crook
et al.
(2009).
Assessing Cumulative Evidence within ‘Macro’ Research: Why Meta-Analysis Should be Preferred Over Vote Counting.
Journal of Management Studies
, 48
(1)
, 178-197.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2009.00899.x
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.1111/j.1467-6486.2009.00899.x