Managing with Style? Microevidence on the Allocation of Managerial Attention
Journal
Management Science
Subject
Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Publishing details
Authors / Editors
Brahm F;Dessein W;Ho-Fu Lo D;Minam C
Biographies
Publication Year
2022
Abstract
How does task expertise affect the allocation of attention? Our theory argues that when attention is scarce, expertise and attention are complements: A manager optimally focuses her attention on tasks in which she has relatively more expertise; she “manages with style.” In contrast, when attention is abundant, attention and expertise become substitutes: A manager shifts her attention toward tasks in which she has less expertise; she “manages against her style.” Using microlevel data on managers from two unrelated companies and employing various measures of time stress and managerial attention, we find converging and supporting evidence. A manager’s attention capacity determines whether she manages with style or against it. Whereas current behavioral approaches view managing with style as prevalent and biased, our theory and findings suggest, instead, that it is contingent and optimal
Keywords
Organizational economics; Microeconomics Behavior; Organizational Behavior; Managerial Attention; Bounded Rationality
Available on ECCH
No
