Affiliation:
1. Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63130
Abstract
When formulating strategic problems, managers and executives routinely overlook relevant causes. This oversight, in turn, compromises the effectiveness of solutions and strategies. To illuminate the factors determining the success of problem formulation, we develop a model of the individual-level drivers of problem formulation comprehensiveness—the number of nonredundant and relevant causes to a problem that individuals identify. Specifically, we theorize that epistemic motivation—the desire to learn and hold well-informed views of the world—is an important driver of comprehensiveness. Furthermore, we suggest that high construal levels—an abstract thinking style—enhance the benefits of epistemic motivation because they direct individual information processing away from the symptoms of a problem toward its underlying causes. We test this interaction model in two experimental studies involving Chinese top executives and university students in the United States. The results of our two studies are consistent with our theoretical model. High construal levels strengthen the effect of epistemic motivation, resulting in greater comprehensiveness of problem formulation. We discuss the implications of our work for theory and practice. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/stsc.2022.0155 .
Publisher
Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS)
Subject
Management of Technology and Innovation,Management Science and Operations Research,Strategy and Management,Business and International Management
Cited by
3 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献