A Behavioral Perspective on Attention Allocation Among Multiple Goals: An Exploratory Examination of the Automotive Industry

Goals (aspirations) and attention allocation are of considerable interest in practice, in strategic theory, and in research on a behavioral theory of the firm. Empirical studies of the allocation of attention to goals have been limited to two or fewer goals where sequential attention to goals is either not an issue or obvious. The exploratory research discussed in this dissertation is concerned with attention allocation when there are more than two goals. Here sequential attention is ambiguous regarding what goal to which attention should be shifted when the current focal goal is satisfied. Relying on the combination of multiple statistical methods including panel vector autoregression, ordinary least squares regression, and hierarchical linear regression, I test the long-run interplay of and attention allocation among three product goals (car fuel efficiency, safety, and reliability) using a large dataset from the US automotive industry from 1980 to 2009. Major results involve the complexity of shifting attention among goals, issues raised by the correlation structure among multiple goals, and the context dependence of attention shifts. These results suggest the necessity of a substantial modification of the theory of attention allocation. Conjectures are discussed regarding aspects of a new theory of attention allocation for more than two goals in the presence of interdependency.Doctor of Philosoph

Why Do Some New Insider CEOs Make More Strategic Changes Than Others?

12 month embargo; first published 1 August 2019This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Why do some insider CEOs make more strategic changes than others? The impact of prior board experience on new CEO insiderness

Research Summary This study draws attention to the impact of prior board experiences on the variation in new insider CEOs' degree of "insiderness" in terms of commitment to the status quo and their propensity to make strategic change. We theorize and find that new insider CEOs' prior board experience at the focal firm has a negative effect on strategic change, whereas their prior board experience at other firms has a positive effect. Moreover, the positive effect of prior board experience at other firms is stronger (weaker) for new insider CEOs who have less (more) prior board experience at the focal firm. Our study contributes to upper echelons theory and research on new CEOs, and has important implications for organizational practices regarding CEO succession and strategic change. Managerial Summary Although new insider CEOs tend to make less strategic changes than new outsider CEOs, some of them do make more than others. Our study focuses on new insider CEOs' prior board experiences to explain the difference in their tendency to make strategic change. We find that new insider CEOs who have greater prior experience on the focal firm's board make less strategic changes, whereas those who have greater prior experience on the boards of other firms make more strategic changes. Moreover, our analysis shows that new insider CEOs who have both a high level of prior board experience at other firms and a low level of prior board experience at the focal firm make the most strategic changes.12 month embargo; published online: 2 June 2020This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Who's in the Driver's Seat? Exploring Firm-Level vs. CEO-Level Effects on Problemistic Search

The Behavioral Theory of the Firm suggests that performance below an aspiration triggers problemistic search that can lead to organizational change and risk-taking. This compelling perspective has spawned considerable empirical examination of diverse strategic outcomes as firms’ responses to performance feedback. However, empirical studies have provided inconsistent evidence of problemistic search effects on various organizational search outcomes. This empirical controversy is likely attributed to the fact that most research has considered problemistic search as a firm-level and relatively routinized process with a high degree of automaticity in firms’ responses to performance feedback while overlooking the role of managerial agency. Rather than viewing problemistic search as an automatic firm-level process, we believe that behavioral responses are shaped, at least partially, by top executives, notably CEOs. To this end, we first examine whether problemistic search effects vary across a range of organizational change and risk outcomes. We then explore whether the relative size of firm and CEO effects varies across different search outcomes. Using a multilevel approach, we show not only the heterogeneity in problemistic search effects on different organizational outcomes but also heterogeneity in the relative size of firm and CEO effects on these outcomes. While firm effects are substantial in directing some strategic decisions, as proposed by the problemistic search model, CEO effects are large for certain organizational outcomes, such as changes in resource allocation. This study serves as a jumping-off point for future theorizing and empirical work on problemistic search that incorporate the role of managerial agency.Immediate accessThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Conflict inside and outside: Social comparisons and attention shifts in multidivisional firms

Research summary: Behavioral Theory highlights the crucial role of social comparisons in attention allocation in adaptive aspirations. Yet, both the specification of social reference points and the dynamics of attention allocation have received little scholarly examination. We address performance feedback from two social reference points relative to divisions in multidivisional firms: economic reference point and political reference point. Comparing divisional performance with the two reference points can give consistent or inconsistent feedback, which has important consequences for the dynamics of attention allocation in adaptive aspirations. We find consistent feedback leads to more attention to own experience, while inconsistent feedback results in more attention to the social reference point the focal division underperforms. Results reveal that political reference point plays an important role in determining managerial attention allocation.Managerial summary: This article is based on how goal-based performance of divisions relative to both their relevant external market rivals and sister divisions in multidivisional firms influences corporate resource allocation. As a result, various combinations of performance against the two groups of peers drive the reallocation of divisional management attention. We show that specific attention shifts occur on average as a function of the focal division's performance relative to the marketplace performance and that of sister divisions. Copyright (c) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.24 month embargo; Accepted manuscript online: 13 July 2016This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

PGRL1 overexpression inPhaeodactylum tricornutuminhibits growth and reduces apparent PSII activity

Proton gradient regulation 5-like photosynthetic phenotype 1 (PGRL1)-dependent cyclic electron transport around photosystem I (PSI) plays important roles in the response to different stresses, including high light. Although the function of PGRL1 in higher plants and green algae has been thoroughly investigated, little information is available on the molecular mechanism of PGRL1 in diatoms. We created PGRL1 overexpression and knockdown transformants ofPhaeodactylum tricornutum, the diatom model species, and investigated the impact on growth and photosynthesis under constant and fluctuating light conditions. PGRL1 over-accumulation resulted in significant decreases in growth rate and apparent photosystem II (PSII) activity and led to an opposing change of apparent PSII activity when turning to high light, demonstrating a similar influence on photosynthesis as a PSII inhibitor. Our results suggested that PGRL1 overexpression can reduce the apparent efficiency of PSII and inhibit growth inP. tricornutum. These findings provide physiological evidence that the accumulation of PGRL1 mainly functions around PSII instead of PSI