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Article
Publication date: 15 February 2011

Oana Cătălina Iederan, Petru Lucian Curşeu, Patrick A.M. Vermeulen and Jac L.A. Geurts

The purpose of this paper is to examine the cognitive factors explaining how exogenous institutional change (IC) impacts on organizational actions.

1865

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the cognitive factors explaining how exogenous institutional change (IC) impacts on organizational actions.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors interviewed 121 Romanian entrepreneurs, 69 before and 52 after Romania's ascension to the EU and used cognitive mapping to elicit their cognitive schemas about this macro‐IC. Similarities and differences between cognitive structures are explored and the aggregated cognitive maps before and after the IC are created, in order to understand how managerial cognition changed following IC.

Findings

The results show that the richness of the cognitive schemas before the IC is lower than after the IC took place. Furthermore, the entrepreneurs who framed the IC as a threat adopted isomorphic actions and reported less positive organizational outcomes as compared to the entrepreneurs that represented the IC as an opportunity.

Research limitations/implications

The research described is exploratory in nature and opens new interesting research directions in the cognitive pillar of institutional theory. Moreover, a cognitive mapping technique is used to elicit and represent managerial cognition and in this way adds to the methods used in institutional research.

Practical implications

The results presented in this paper help policy makers to understand that the impact of exogenous IC on organizational actions is not direct, but mediated by the cognitive representations developed by strategic decision makers.

Originality/value

The paper integrates institutional theory with the work on cognition and explores how cognitive representations affect the relation between environmental pressures and organizational responses.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 24 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 15 February 2011

Slawek Magala

790

Abstract

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 24 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Article
Publication date: 12 September 2016

Oana Catalina Fodor, Petru Lucian Curşeu and Alina Maria Fleştea

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of affective appraisal dimensions on the use of two ecologically rational, social heuristics: imitate the majority (IMH) and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of affective appraisal dimensions on the use of two ecologically rational, social heuristics: imitate the majority (IMH) and imitate the best (IBH) during an entrepreneurial strategic decision-making process (ESDM).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors test the hypotheses in a controlled field experiment, on a final sample of 98 entrepreneurs.

Findings

The study shows that entrepreneurs experiencing affect described by certainty appraisal display a preference for relying on IMH, but not on IBH. Moreover, entrepreneurs who experience unpleasant affect tend to rely more on IMH, rather than IBH. The reverse is true for the entrepreneurs who experience positive affect. Finally, the use of IMH is most likely under unpleasant and certain affect, while the use of IBH is most likely under pleasant and certain affect.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this study is that it provides initial support for the impact of affective appraisal dimensions on the use of ecologically rational heuristics (i.e. heuristics that save important resources, but bring beneficial results) during an ESDM process.

Details

Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 31 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-3946

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 August 2016

Petru Lucian Curseu, Sandra G. L. Schruijer and Oana Catalina Fodor

The purpose of this paper is to test the influence of collaborative and consultative decision rules on groups’ sensitivity to framing effect (FE) and escalation of commitment…

2510

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to test the influence of collaborative and consultative decision rules on groups’ sensitivity to framing effect (FE) and escalation of commitment (EOC).

Design/methodology/approach

In an experimental study (using a sample of 233 professionals with project management experience), the authors test the effects of collaborative and consultative decision rules on groups’ sensitivity to EOC and FE. The authors use four group decision-making tasks to evaluate decision consistency across gain/loss framed decision situations and six decision tasks to evaluate EOC for money as well as time as resources previously invested in the initial decisions.

Findings

The results show that the collaborative decision rule increases sensitivity to EOC when financial resources are involved and decreases sensitivity to EOC when time is of essence. Moreover, the authors show that the collaborative decision rule decreases sensitivity to FE in group decision making.

Research limitations/implications

The results have important implications for group rationality as an emergent group level competence by extending the insights concerning the impact of decision rules on emergent group level cognitive competencies. Due to the experimental nature of the design, the authors can probe the causal relations between the investigated variables, yet the authors cannot generalize the results to other settings.

Practical implications

Managers can use the insights of this study in order to optimize the functioning of decision-making groups and to reduce their sensitivity to FEs and EOC.

Originality/value

The study extends the research on group rationality and it is one of the few experimental attempts used to understand the role of decision rules on emergent group level rationality.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 54 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

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