Not All Events are Attended Equally: Toward a Middle-Range Theory of Industry Attention to External Events

Abstract

Published as: Hoffman, A. and W. Ocasio (2001) "Not all events are attended equally: Toward a middle-range theory of industry attention to external events," Organization Science, 12 (4): 414-434. ABSTRACTThis paper builds on prior theory and research on attention and identity to examine whether and how industries publicly attend to external events. Events are critical triggers of institutional transformation and industry evolution. Yet, they must first become the focus of public attention to have this effect. We draw on a paired case comparison of media coverage of eight non-routine events affecting the natural environment and the U.S. chemical industry. We employ both deductive and inductive analysis to develop a model and hypotheses to explain two research questions. First, what determines the initial public attention to an event? Second, when and why do certain events attain high and sustained levels of industry attention? A key inference is that whether an event receives industry level attention depends on either outsiders holding the industry accountable for the event, or insiders' internal concerns with the industry image. We further infer that an event can be transformed into a critical issue for an industry, warranting sustained attention, if there is contestation with outsiders over the accountability for the event and its enactment and internal contradictions and challenges to the industry's identity.

Examining How Media Coverage Impacts the Regulatory Notice and Comment Process

“…The positive, significant coefficient for the variable measuring average daily media coverage suggests that media coverage is associated with increased comments during FAA comment periods. This result supports research that shows that media coverage can draw attention to particular issues, such as airplane safety (Caroll & McCombs, 2003; Hoffman & Occasio, 2002). Moreover, because we examine airline industry comments, the result illustrates that firms’ attention is also drawn to issues by media coverage.…”

Examining How Media Coverage Impacts the Regulatory Notice and Comment Process

“…The positive, significant coefficient for the variable measuring average daily media coverage suggests that media coverage is associated with increased comments during FAA comment periods. This result supports research that shows that media coverage can draw attention to particular issues, such as airplane safety (Caroll & McCombs, 2003; Hoffman & Occasio, 2002). Moreover, because we examine airline industry comments, the result illustrates that firms’ attention is also drawn to issues by media coverage.…”

New challenges and opportunities in the global marketplace: learning from developed-country multinationals’ failures

“……”

A Model of Competitive Impression Management: Edison versus Westinghouse in the War of the Currents

“…Our findings complement prior work (Hoffman and Ocasio, 2001) that has argued the reason why individuals and organizations selectively attend to certain events in the environment and ignore others is driven not by the objective characteristics of the event but by the event’s enactment in the environment (Weick, 1979). Hoffman and Ocasio (2001: 415–416) specified three principles of attention-based perspectives: (1) individuals, organizations, and industries attend to some events while ignoring others (selective attention), (2) actors’ attention is situated within communication channels through which actors interact with others (situated cognition), and (3) how actors think and attend to events is a socio-cultural process “shaped by the group, organization, industry, and organizational field” (structural determination of attention). Our findings extend theory on the origins of industry attention and its connection to threats to perception by suggesting that attention is curated by organizational actors who perceive the world through their own filters and remain mindful of how others do the same.…”

Examining How Media Coverage Impacts the Regulatory Notice and Comment Process

“…The positive, significant coefficient for the variable measuring average daily media coverage suggests that media coverage is associated with increased comments during FAA comment periods. This result supports research that shows that media coverage can draw attention to particular issues, such as airplane safety (Caroll & McCombs, 2003; Hoffman & Occasio, 2002). Moreover, because we examine airline industry comments, the result illustrates that firms’ attention is also drawn to issues by media coverage.…”

New challenges and opportunities in the global marketplace: learning from developed-country multinationals’ failures

“……”

A Model of Competitive Impression Management: Edison versus Westinghouse in the War of the Currents

“…Our findings complement prior work (Hoffman and Ocasio, 2001) that has argued the reason why individuals and organizations selectively attend to certain events in the environment and ignore others is driven not by the objective characteristics of the event but by the event’s enactment in the environment (Weick, 1979). Hoffman and Ocasio (2001: 415–416) specified three principles of attention-based perspectives: (1) individuals, organizations, and industries attend to some events while ignoring others (selective attention), (2) actors’ attention is situated within communication channels through which actors interact with others (situated cognition), and (3) how actors think and attend to events is a socio-cultural process “shaped by the group, organization, industry, and organizational field” (structural determination of attention). Our findings extend theory on the origins of industry attention and its connection to threats to perception by suggesting that attention is curated by organizational actors who perceive the world through their own filters and remain mindful of how others do the same.…”

Examining How Media Coverage Impacts the Regulatory Notice and Comment Process

“…The positive, significant coefficient for the variable measuring average daily media coverage suggests that media coverage is associated with increased comments during FAA comment periods. This result supports research that shows that media coverage can draw attention to particular issues, such as airplane safety (Caroll & McCombs, 2003; Hoffman & Occasio, 2002). Moreover, because we examine airline industry comments, the result illustrates that firms’ attention is also drawn to issues by media coverage.…”

New challenges and opportunities in the global marketplace: learning from developed-country multinationals’ failures

“……”

A Model of Competitive Impression Management: Edison versus Westinghouse in the War of the Currents

“…Our findings complement prior work (Hoffman and Ocasio, 2001) that has argued the reason why individuals and organizations selectively attend to certain events in the environment and ignore others is driven not by the objective characteristics of the event but by the event’s enactment in the environment (Weick, 1979). Hoffman and Ocasio (2001: 415–416) specified three principles of attention-based perspectives: (1) individuals, organizations, and industries attend to some events while ignoring others (selective attention), (2) actors’ attention is situated within communication channels through which actors interact with others (situated cognition), and (3) how actors think and attend to events is a socio-cultural process “shaped by the group, organization, industry, and organizational field” (structural determination of attention). Our findings extend theory on the origins of industry attention and its connection to threats to perception by suggesting that attention is curated by organizational actors who perceive the world through their own filters and remain mindful of how others do the same.…”