Intellectual structure of research in organizational behavior, 1972-1984: A cocitation analysis

Within all academic disciplines, researchers typically cluster into informal networks or “invisible colleges” that focus on common questions in common ways (Burt, 1977; Price, 1963). Within these networks, one scholar’s concepts and results may be picked up by another, to be extended, tested, and refined. Through this process, one person’s work builds on that of another. The history of the exchanges between members of these networks, revealed in patterns of citations, describes the intellectual history of the field. When one scholar cites the prior work of another, citations provide a means of documenting this history. Researchers can benefit by understanding these processes and their outcomes because they both reveal the evolution of thought in a discipline and provide a sense of the future. Understanding the intellectual roots of a field also identifies the basic intellectual commitments that serve as the foundations of that field as it matures. Additionally, publication and citation practices provide an empirical basis for understanding and transmitting the norms in a field. As an area of research matures, theories are continually advanced, competing until paradigms emerge. The purpose of this study is to document through citation analysis the intellectual development of research on organizations. Using citations which appeared in published research from 1972 to 1984 (from the So&l Sciences Citation Index), the study identifies the subspecialties that constitute the foundations of current research.