Information Gathering and Changes in Threat and Opportunity Perceptions*

Abstract

Managers need to make sense of emerging strategic issues that could significantly impact their businesses. While models of this sensemaking process suggest that information gathering affects interpretations (which affect action and performance), researchers have argued that our understanding of the role of information in changing interpretations is underdeveloped. This paper investigates the role of the time managers spend searching for information and the diversity of the information they find in changing managers' perceptions that an equivocal, strategic issue represents a threat and opportunity for their businesses. The methodology involves a longitudinal research design in which managers recorded multiple, process-oriented measures of their information gathering activity. Results suggest that time spent searching for information leads to changes towards seeing the issue as more of a threat, while the diversity of information found leads to changes towards seeing it as less of a threat. We found no effect of information gathering on opportunity perceptions. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2007.

Social networks and the cognitive motivation to realize network opportunities: a study of managers' information gathering behaviors

“…The distinction between these variables warrants more attention. This is particularly true in the context of ambiguous issues, where there is a theoretical rationale and suggestive evidence that they have different effects on managerial sensemaking (Anderson, 2007). While diverse information often leads to new insights, it can also prove irrelevant and unhelpful, or lead to conflict.…”

Reduced opportunities for regional renewal: The role of rigid threat responses among a region's established firms

“…Second, it proposes that issues can be framed as threats due to competition of resources and legitimacy. As such, the study adds to an extended picture of threat modelling by illustrating that issues (such as new industry initiatives) can in fact be framed as a threat on a regional level, and that consistent with prior research on other levels of analysis, the behaviour following such framing is quite different than it would have been if framed as an opportunity (cf Jackson and Dutton 1988;Anderson and Nichols 2007).…”

“…Prior studies have particularly highlighted how such responses and decision making are results of framing and homogeneous macrocultures (e.g. Kahneman and Tversky 1984;Abrahamson and Fombrun 1994;Highhouse, Paese, and Leatherberry 1996), where, for example, the framing leads to an issue being perceived as a threat or as an opportunity (Jackson and Dutton 1988;Anderson and Nichols 2007). Issues associated as a 'positive situation', 'gain', 'high levels of resources' and 'control' are categorized as opportunities; whereas threats are associated with 'negative situations', 'loss', 'low levels of resources' and 'little control' (Dutton and Jackson 1987, 80).…”

A brief history of the idea of opportunity

“…There is a substantial body of work after 2000 that has been accomplished as well (cf. Highhouse et al, 2002;Kuvas, 2002;Mohammed and Billings, 2002;Barr and Glynn, 2004;Anderson and Nichols, 2007) that has significant relevance to current research on opportunity. 3.…”

“…(Jackson and Dutton, 1988, pp. 375-6) Subsequent research has explored, in more detail, the characteristics of opportunities, as well as how certain issues are labeled as 'opportunities' Milliken and Lant, 1991;Thomas et al, 1993;Denison et al, 1996;Highhouse and Yuce, 1996;Barr, 1998;Kuvas, 2002;Anderson and Nichols, 2007).…”