Comparing Aspiration Models: The Role of Selective Attention.

Washburn, Mark; Bromiley, Philip

doi:10.5465/ambpp.2010.54493901

Cited by 24 publications

(50 citation statements)

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“…Comparisons with the previous historical performance of a firm itself or with the performance of similar firms are generally considered the best options managers have in forming aspiration levels (Cyert and March, ). Following prior literature, we chose to model historical and social aspirations separately because recent empirical work suggests that firms tend not to combine these two and may respond to them differently (Bromiley and Harris, ; Kim, Finkelstein, and Haleblian, ; Washburn and Bromiley, ). The historical comparison‐based performance shortfall was built using the classic recursive measure, which weights previous performance and previous aspiration levels to form current aspiration levels (Cyert and March, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Driven by aspirations, but in what direction? Performance shortfalls, slack resources, and resource-consuming vs. resource-freeing organizational change

2016

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Research summary: Prior literature drawing on the behavioral theory of the firm has not considered how resource constraints impact the direction of organizational change in response to performance shortfalls relative to aspirations. We argue that decreasing financial resources resulting from substantial performance shortfalls and the absence or availability of slack resources together affect the emphasis on different types of organizational change in response to performance shortfalls. Using data on the acquisition and divestment behavior of 530 companies in the information and communications technology sector from 1992 to 2014, we find that the frequency of resource‐consuming acquisitions and of resource‐freeing divestments are affected differently by performance below aspirations and that these relationships are moderated by the level of financial slack. Managerial summary: This paper examines whether firms respond to performance shortfalls with acquisitions or divestments. We argue and show that the closer the firm is to the aspired level of performance, the more likely it is to respond with resource‐consuming acquisitions to close the performance gap, whereas the further it is from aspired performance, the more likely the firm is to respond with divestments to free resources. Financial slack weakens these relationships between performance relative to aspirations and acquisitions or divestments such that it increases the likelihood of a response through acquisitions while it reduces the likelihood of a response through divestments. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Driven by aspirations, but in what direction? Performance shortfalls, slack resources, and resource-consuming vs. resource-freeing organizational change

2016

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“…When the ABV was first proposed, the objective was to develop a deeper understanding of the importance of the structuring of attention in line with Simon's () pioneering work on structure and cognition and to “link individual information processing and behavior to organizational structure” (Ocasio, , p. 188). This information‐processing view is reflected in applications of the ABV in strategy research, including the work on performance feedback effects (Chen & Miller, ; Iyer & Miller, ; Washburn & Bromiley, ), firm forecasting ability (Durand, ), and how the proximity of a deadline changes attention focus (Lehman, Hahn, Ramanujam, & Alge, ).…”

Section: From Information Processing To Communication In the Abvmentioning

confidence: 99%

Communication and attention dynamics: An attention‐based view of strategic change

Ocasio

Laamanen

Vaara

2017

Strategic Management Journal

223

205

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Research Summary: The attention-based view (ABV) has highlighted the role of organizational attention in strategic decision making and adaptation. The tendency to view communication channels as "pipes and prisms" for information processing has, however, limited its ability to address strategic change. We propose a broader role for communication as a process by which actors can attend to and engage with organizational and environmental issues and initiatives and argue that such a view can significantly advance understanding of strategic change. On this basis, we offer suggestions for future research on communication practices, vocabularies, rhetorical tactics, and talk and text in shaping organizational attention in strategic change. We also maintain that this enhanced view of the ABV can help advance research on dynamic capabilities, strategy processes, strategy-as-practice, and behavioral strategy. Managerial Summary: To further enhance our capabilities to manage strategic change and renewal processes in organizations, we need a better understanding of how to manage organizational attention. In this article, we highlight the importance of understanding the role of communication and discuss the use of different communication practices, vocabularies, rhetorical tactics, and talk and text as possible levers that can be used to dynamically shape organizational attention. We call for further research to advance the understanding of how these levers can be used to influence the ways in which different sets of strategic issues, initiatives, and action alternatives are handled. We believe that such an enhanced view of organizational attention can enable the development of new, improved strategy practices to manage strategic change and renewal processes.

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“…This conceptual foundation has been supplanted by a strong focus on profitability as the most salient goal (Shinkle, ), or at best, the analysis of sequential attention to goals (Cyert and March, ; Ethiraj and Levinthal, ). While research has begun to examine simultaneous feedback from multiple referents on the same goal (Washburn and Bromiley, ), we deconstruct performance feedback by goal variable. Hence, we demonstrate that productivity and profitability outcomes both independently and jointly inform organizations’ responses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Causality Rules: Performance Feedback on Hierarchically Related Goals and Capital Investment Variability

Mazzelli

Nason²,

Massis

et al. 2019

J Management Studies

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We extend March and Simon’s (1958) analysis of strategic decisions by distinguishing between two rules for allocating attention – priority versus causality. We develop theory concerning causality rules which have been largely overlooked in prior literature. Specifically, we examine how performance feedback on the intermediate productivity goal and the higher‐order profitability goal independently and jointly influence the variability of firm capital investments. Panel analysis of 2,477 Spanish manufacturing firms reveals that these goals jointly affect the variability of capital investments through both priority and causality attention rules. Our study provides new insights on how firms handle multiple goals, deconstruct performance feedback, and cope with the attentional constraints of bounded rationality.

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Comparing Aspiration Models: The Role of Selective Attention.

Cited by 24 publications

References 0 publications

Driven by aspirations, but in what direction? Performance shortfalls, slack resources, and resource-consuming vs. resource-freeing organizational change

Driven by aspirations, but in what direction? Performance shortfalls, slack resources, and resource-consuming vs. resource-freeing organizational change

Communication and attention dynamics: An attention‐based view of strategic change

Causality Rules: Performance Feedback on Hierarchically Related Goals and Capital Investment Variability

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