Linking Issue Labels And Managerial Actions: A Study Of Participation In Crisis Vs. Opportunity Issues

Abstract

<span>The way in which top level executives frame strategic issues is likely to affect how these e3xecutives go about resolving issues and deciding on a course of action. The particular label given to a strategic issue may alter how much information is processed in resolving the issue. Specifically, differences in the way strategic issues are labeled are believed to affect the amount of top level executive participation in deciding the issues Dutton and Jackson, 1987), although there has been no empirical support of this claim. Data from high ranking executives in 21 defense contracting companies indicate that the participation of top level executives is significantly reduced when responding to issues labeled as crises than when responding to issues labeled as o9pportunities. Further, the absolute extent of these differences is modified by the information processing and participation climate in organizations. The results suggest that top level executives should be aware of the labels given to strategic issues, recognize the implications of such labels, and make special efforts to overcome the tendency to reduce information processing capacity when confronting crisis strategic issues.</span>

Do environment and intuition matter in the relationship between decision politics and success?

“…We selected two moderating factors (product and competition uncertainties), representing industry environment as it has been frequently used in the literature as a key moderator of decision success (e.g., Calantone, Garcia, & Dröge, 2003;Shepherd & Rudd, 2014). Moreover, we examine the role of an additional moderator variable at the society/nation environment level, namely, the global financial crisis, as this will be particularly relevant to the study of the use of political behavior in decision making (e.g., Ashmos, Duchon, & Bodensteiner, 1997;Vaaler & McNamara, 2004) and aids our understanding of organizational behavior under such conditions (Tushman, 1977). For example, decision making in a context of high uncertainty, which is typical for global financial crisis, is particularly susceptible to political behavior (cf.…”

“…Here, decision makers may perceive that the survival of the organization is at stake (Ashmos, Duchon, & Bodensteiner, 1997) and that immediate action should be taken, for instance, seeking a Said Elbanna, C Anthony Di Benedetto and Jouhaina Gherib merger to stave off bankruptcy (Mintzberg, Raisinghani, & Theoret, 1976). In this environment, some prospects may negatively influence decision makers themselves, for example, of a drop in income and of being laid off.…”

Exploring Crisis Management in UK Small‐ and Medium‐Sized Enterprises

“…While many studies seek to understand the motivations and perceptions of managers relating to crisis management planning in large firms (for instance, Ashmos, Duchon, & Bodensteiner, ; Pauchant & Mitroff, ; Penrose, ), a paucity of empirical evidence prevails in relating this to the SME context. This study moves beyond previous studies about crisis planning in SMEs in the United Kingdom by shifting the focus away from simply what the organization has in terms of plans and resources for crisis management to examine senior managements' – in particular, the managing directors' – perceptions and experiences of crisis threats.…”

Managerial Cognition, Strategy and Performance of Foreign SMEs in Romania

“…These categorisations made by individuals are important because managers will enact their environment consistently with their psychological set (Smart & Vertinsky, 1984). The way managers perceive a crisis has consequences, in terms of determining strategic responses; thus, the level of individual tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty becomes a critical factor in determining organisational responses to environmental stimuli (Dutton & Jackson, 1987, in;Ashmos et al, 1997;Smart & Vertinsky, 1984).…”