The assumption that economic actors behave in a boundedly self-interested manner promises fruitful new insights for strategic management. A growing literature spanning multiple disciplines indicates most actors' selfish utility maximizing behaviors are bounded by norms of fairness. Rather than...

Firms must allocate some minimum amount of value to stakeholders in order to retain access to the resources they provide. Stakeholder theory suggests managers optimize firm-level performance by allocating more than this minimum amount. However, how much is too much? This article addresses the...

A growing literature suggests that some entrepreneurs lie to investors in order to improve the likelihood of acquiring resources needed for firm survival and growth. We propose a framework outlining the conditions that may enable an investor who has been told a lie by an entrepreneur to respond...

Bank loans are a common source of financing for small firms. While scholars have examined specific conditions that affect small firm loan approval and interest rates, practical questions remain about how these loans are structured to address characteristically acute challenges from asymmetric...

This study uses a real options framework to predict small firm bootstrapping behavior with regard to trade credit discounts. Findings from a sample of 606 small firms suggest their managers place high value on the ability to adjust their decisions over time in response to firm-specific changes...