Certification Relics: Entrepreneurship Amidst Discontinued Certifications

The authors acknowledge Michael Alfant of Fusion Systems, Inc. and John Thomas, who made this research possible and gave important advice. They particularly thank Keiko Ohara for excellent guidance on the Japanese legal environment. The authors are indebted to Kathleen Eisenhardt; Chuck Eesley; all the students and faculty at the Stanford Technology Ventures Program; the participants of the Stanford Project on Japanese Entrepreneurship (STAJE) conferences at Stanford University, including Christine Ahmadjian, Ulrike Schaede, and Steven Vogel; Woody Powell; Sarah Soule; and all participants at Stanford’s Scandinavian Consortium for Organizational Research (SCANCOR) seminar. Many thanks to Joel Gehman, Michael Lounsbury, Dev Jennings, David Deephouse, and other seminar participants at the University of Alberta. The authors are also thankful for the comments and the award received at the Western Academy of Management and participants at seminars at the Academy of Management. Their thanks also go to Howard Aldrich. Stephen Barley, Steve Vogel, Jesper Sørensen, George Foster, Kelly Patterson, and Keyvan Kashkooli for their excellent comments. The authors appreciative of the guidance and attention that Wes Sine and three anonymous reviewers generously provided. Any errors in this paper are the sole responsibility of the authors. D. Armanios would like to thank his former employer (Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Engineering and Public Policy) for their role in these efforts.

The authors dedicate this paper to the memory of William Miller, Henry Rowen, and Masahiko Aoki for their helpful comments and encouragement.