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We conduct an experiment asking participants to choose to purchase either a traditional or hybrid car to examine how federal-state conformity of tax incentives impacts the decisions of taxpayers. We also examine perceptions of taxpayers surrounding federal-state conformity. Consistent with theory related to the effects of information environment and using an experiment in which taxpayers are asked to evaluate tax incentives related to a purchase decision between a traditional and hybrid car, we find that conformity is a significant factor in increasing the propensity to take advantage of the tax incentive. Specifically, we find that participants with simple and conforming federal-state incentives are more likely to take advantage of the tax incentive than with complex and conforming federal-state incentives. In addition, the effects of conformity between federal and state incentives suggest that participant perceptions of the federal system were heavily influenced by the actions of the state.

This analysis investigates the micro-dynamics of organizational decision-making by exploring connections between institutional theory, on the one hand, and both social psychological research on conformity and recent work in economics on herd behavior and information cascades, on the other hand. The authors draw attention to the differences between normative and informational conformity as distinct motivational drivers of adoption behaviors by exploring their differential effects on the post-adoption outcomes of decoupling (e.g., Westphal & Zajac, 1994), customization (e.g., Fiss, Kennedy, & Davis, 2012), and abandonment (e.g., Ahmadjian & Robinson, 2001). The authors conclude that normative conformity leads to certain post-adoption outcomes while informational conformity is associated with others.

Intuition, along with empirical research, suggests that the generation of creative ideas benefits from divergent thinking among team members. However, the generation of creative ideas represents only one stage of the innovative process; teams also must implement ideas. In this chapter, we propose that effective idea implementation may depend on the opposite of team divergence: team conformity. Specifically, we propose that conformity facilitates various group processes important for effective idea implementation, including team coordination, information exchange, conflict management, and collective efficacy. Next, we discuss the role of leaders in managing the magnitude and processes of conformity. The chapter concludes with a discussion of implications and important next steps for studying conformity in relation to team innovative effectiveness.

Facilitating members' continual participation in a community is crucial for ensuring the community's long-term survival. However, knowledge regarding whether member similarity is related to member participation and the mechanism underlying this relationship is limited. Drawing on similarity–attraction, social exchange and social identity theories, this study explored the influences of different facets of similarity (i.e. value, personality and goal similarity) on group norm conformity, group identity and social participation.

Data were collected from 444 Taiwanese members of social networking sites (SNSs), and structural equation modeling was employed to examine the hypothesized relationships.

The results revealed that value similarity directly affected group norm conformity but did not directly affect group identity; personality similarity influenced group identity but not group norm conformity. Goal similarity had positive influences on group norm conformity and group identity. Moreover, group norm conformity had direct and positive influences on group identity and social participation; group identity also had a positive influence on social participation.

On the basis of the aforementioned findings, this study contributes to the understanding of factors facilitating SNS members' participation from the perspective of similarity. These findings can serve as a reference for SNS administrators to facilitate social participation by emphasizing member similarity.

With the tremendous increase in the number of netizens, online consumer behavior has become an important issue nowadays. One of the important issues of online consumer behavior is e-consumer conformity. This paper aims to explore prominent factors of e-consumer conformity and its impact on consumer attitude, which helps marketers to understand this new business arena and involve this relationship to enhance their business.

For the purpose, convenience sampling was used with sample size of 510. Offline as well as online mode of survey was applied. The resultant hypotheses (based on the developed model depicting normative and informational consumer conformity effect on attitude) were examined by structured equation modeling.

The present study presents the different dimensions of e-consumer conformity and its difference in metro and non-metro cities on which marketers have to frame their strategies. The study revealed that the customer attitude is largely affected by others expectations (conformance with others expectations, NCC) rather others knowledge and expertise (ICC). Additionally, the comparison of virtual conformity behavior of metro and non-metro customers was made, and it was found that conformity behavior does not significantly differ in these two contexts.

Business saturation in metro cities, infrastructural growth and technological advancement in non-metro cities, companies are moving toward non-metro cities. Due to contextual differences existing between metro and non-metro market, it is difficult to trace the changes in the marketing policies and device the appropriate strategy accordingly for the marketers. In lieu of this, the present study presents the different dimensions of e-consumer conformity and its degree of difference in metro and non-metro cities on which marketers have to frame their strategies.

Good number of research has been conducted on consumer conformity in India; however, there is a scarcity of literature in virtual consumer conformity in India. This research is not only establishing the relationship between virtual consumer conformity and consumer attitude but also establishing the difference of virtual consumer conformity in metro and non-metro cities in India.

This paper aims to investigate the role of informational and relational mechanisms on equity crowdfunding investors' conformity behaviors by focusing on a relational culture of China.

The data of 108 financing projects and 7,688 investment records from a union of Chinese equity crowdfunding platforms are gathered. Lead investors' response to a campaign and follow-investors’ former links explain investors' conformity by social network analysis (SNA) and ordinary least squares (OLS) analysis.

The results show that informational and relational influences drive conformity in Chinese equity crowdfunding. Moreover, the informational influence weakens in a highly centralized structure of linked investors.

The results add new knowledge to follow-investors’ conformity behaviors in equity crowdfunding and enrich the literature on conformity theory by finding the contextual effect of information-influenced conformity and the adaption of conformity theory to cultural uniqueness. Besides, this preliminary work also suggests opportunities for future research.

The paper inspires new consideration on a strategical use of follow-investors’ conformity mentality to promote successfully financing and reminds platform managers to be alert to the interference of small groups formed based on informal relationships to the normal financing order.

This is the first study that discovers the non-informational influence and the limited influence of information on equity crowdfunding conformity through contextual concerns.

An individual engages in a façade of conformity by attempting to appear to embrace their organization's values when, in truth, they do not. While numerous studies investigate the negative outcomes associated with facades of conformity, fewer studies consider its antecedents. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the association between diversity-related influences – including individuals' beliefs, other unit members' beliefs, unit gender diversity and unit racial diversity – and individuals' propensities to engage in a façade of conformity.

This paper administered an online survey to 2,122 employees nested within 151 units located at a hospital site located in the southeastern United States. Hierarchical linear modeling and relative weights analyses were used to test the study hypotheses which aimed to determine how objective diversity and perceptions associated with diversity increase or diminish facades of conformity.

In this paper individuals' and other unit members' beliefs that their organization values diversity were negatively associated with facades of conformity; however, there was a positive association between unit gender diversity and facades of conformity. There were no statistically significant associations involving unit racial diversity or interactive effects. Overall, the results indicate that it is less likely that employees will engage in façades of conformity when diversity is valued within organizations.

By further expanding understanding of the concept of façades of conformity within the humanities and social sciences literature, this study highlight the importance of allowing and encouraging employees to “be themselves.”

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether isomorphism and mimetic, coercive, and normative mechanisms apply to cross‐border mergers and acquisitions initiated by Chinese firms. Unlike prior studies, the paper aims to identify multiple bases for imitation of firm strategy and verify: whether the degree of conformity in the multiple bases of firm strategy increases over time; and how mimetic, coercive, and normative pressures affect the degree of conformity.

Hypotheses are tested on a sample of 1,004 cross‐border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) initiated by 671 Chinese firms from 1985 to 2006. The four decisions for imitation in cross‐border M&As are based on: the product relatedness between the acquiring and target firms; the location of the target firm; the ownership structure; and the size of the deal.

The results show that not all decisions on cross‐border M&As react to forces of conformity in the same way. Overtime, the overall degree of conformity in cross‐border M&As decreases. Factors that significantly affect the degree of conformity include the experiences of failure other firms in the industry, regulatory changes, and membership or entry into the World Trade Organization.

This paper re‐examines the concept of isomorphism and explores the conditions under which firms from emergent markets conform to others' decisions.

The paper aims to explore the structure of both normative and informational consumer conformity in an online virtual community. The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a conceptual model of e‐formity in virtual communities.

Data were collected online from consumers who belonged to at least one virtual community. A total of 2,000 customers were drawn from a list of online consumer panels maintained by an online research company. Overall, 14.8 percent of those invited replied to the survey and were analyzed with structure equation modelling.

The results from the analysis indicate that both dimensions of conformity are distinct and have separate antecedents. Normative consumer conformity is influenced by internal consumer characteristics, whereas informational consumer conformity is related to external virtual community characteristics.

Although this paper found evidence for e‐formity, the full nature and scope of e‐formity must be held to the classic findings of experimental versions of conformity research. There are broad implications for e‐formity in consumer behaviour and retailing. Retailers or manufacturers must realize that virtual communities and consumers' e‐formity behaviour are a valuable source of helping or hurting the sale and promotion of their products.

At the very least, the influence of e‐formity suggests that it is crucial for them to monitor closely the purposeful and nonpurposeful influences these virtual communications may have.

Given the scarcity of literature in the online conformity research area, this paper shows conformity in virtual communities does not change its influences on consumers' behaviour. As in the studies of traditional communities, e‐formity has found influence on virtual communities within two aspects. Virtual communities not only have inherited the social functions of traditional communities, but also have differences in antecedents.

This study focuses around the central question of whether or not the relative importance of conformity to institutional norms varies as markets become more competitive.

Using data gathered for 187 managed health care plans in the US, this study uses hierarchical regression analysis involving blocked variables.

This study finds that conformity to technical environmental requirements has a significant impact on performance at all levels of competition. However, the importance of conformity to institutional norms increases as markets becomes more competitive.

From the perspective of MCOs, this means that managers need to carefully monitor the prevailing technical and institutional environmental forces and match their responses according to the competitiveness of their individual markets. From a societal perspective, this study suggests that improved health care delivery is likely to result from increased competition in the managed care market.

Prior research has shown that conformity to social norms is important for MCO performance. However, this is the first study to examine the whether the importance of conformity to social norms varies as a function of market competition.