Cognitive Complexity and Conformity: Effects on Performance in a Turbulent Environment

McGill, Andrew R.; Johnson, Michael D.; Bantel, Karen A.

doi:10.2466/pr0.1994.75.3f.1451

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Consistent with the psychology literature on ambiguity tolerance (see Frenkel-Brunswik, 1949; McLain, 2009), CEOs who tolerate ambiguity are expected to be more proactive and open to experimentation, suggesting that they would drive more immediate change in response to poor performance. Similarly, CEOs who possess greater cognitive complexity are expected to comprehend and integrate more frameworks when making decisions (McGill et al, 1994; Van Seggelen-Damen, 2013) and be better equipped to adapt to environmental changes (Bogner and Barr, 2000). Thus, when necessary, CEOs with greater cognitive complexity are expected to drive broader and more extensive strategic change.…”

Section: Literature Review and Development Of Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Not all responses are the same: How CEO cognitions impact strategy when performance falls below aspirations

Wangrow

Kolev

Hughes-Morgan

2019

Journal of General Management

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This study integrates research on managerial discretion within the behavioral theory of the firm to examine how four CEO psychological traits serving as antecedents of managerial discretion-ambiguity tolerance, cognitive complexity, locus of control, and commitment to the status quo-moderate firm responses to poor performance. Using CEOs' responses to questionnaires, CEO ambiguity tolerance is found to positively moderate the relationship between negative attainment discrepancy and strategic change when performance is slightly below aspirations, defined as average market return for the firm's industry. Further, CEOs with greater cognitive complexity are found to engage in more strategic change when performance is farther below aspirations. Thus, this study begins to unpack the role of CEOs' cognitive makeup on firm responses to performance shortfalls.

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Section: Literature Review and Development Of Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Not all responses are the same: How CEO cognitions impact strategy when performance falls below aspirations

Wangrow

Kolev

Hughes-Morgan

2019

Journal of General Management

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“…Much of the conceptual complexity literature looks at the impact of complexity on levels of cooperation and conflict (e.g., Hermann, 1980, 1984; Kaarbo & Hermann, 1998). However, Levinson (1994), McGill et al. (1994), and others have looked at the effect of conceptual complexity on the adaptation of business entrepreneurs during uncertain periods of corporate crises or adverse economic conditions.…”

Section: The Management Of Exchange Rate Volatility and The Asian Finmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Conceptual Complexity of Central Bankers and the Asian Financial Crisis

Thies¹

2009

Political Psychology

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This paper examines the impact of the conceptual complexity of central bankers on exchange rate volatility during the Asian Financial Crisis of the late 1990s. Theoretically, this paper develops a framework to study the cognitive style of individual central bankers in conjunction with the institutional features of the central banks they head. The paper also controls for a variety of other common explanations for exchange rate volatility during this time period, including the number of veto players representing the political system and underlying structural features of the Asian economies. Empirically, the cross-sectional time-series analysis finds that more conceptually complex central bankers were able to reduce exchange rate volatility during the crisis years, especially when they inhabited highly independent central banks. This paper concludes that linking the study of key individuals to macroeconomic outcomes in the global political economy is a promising area of research.

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“…At the contextual level, community-based organizations are increasingly challenged by environments subject to turbulence, complexity, and dynamism (Baker 1993;McGill et al 1994). These challenges can be organized at three scales: contextual, institutional, and individual.…”

Section: ᭤ Explaining Collaborationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collaboration among Small, Community-Based Organizations

Takahashi¹,

Smutny

2001

Journal of Planning Education and Research

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Because of shifts in funding resources and calls for mandated cooperation, small community-based organizations are increasingly engaging in collaborative partnerships. This article focuses on how well collaboration works in practice for small community-based organizations. Existing research suggests that small community-based organizations, because of their informal organizational structures and adapttability, can develop highly effective partnerships. However, such organizations are largely inexperienced at implementing formal partnerships with other groups, leading to a potential for significant conflict. The article presents the case study of three small community-based organizations and illustrates the rather unexpected result that even with high degrees of interagency conflict, collaboration can result in highly effective programmatic outcomes.

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Cognitive Complexity and Conformity: Effects on Performance in a Turbulent Environment

Cited by 14 publications

References 50 publications

Not all responses are the same: How CEO cognitions impact strategy when performance falls below aspirations

Not all responses are the same: How CEO cognitions impact strategy when performance falls below aspirations

The Conceptual Complexity of Central Bankers and the Asian Financial Crisis

Collaboration among Small, Community-Based Organizations

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